We danced a little while longer while I pondered his words. Was he my safe space? Ultimately, I decided he was. Micah was a great partner; he was supportive, encouraging, and affectionate, but more importantly, he understood me—the good and bad that came along with that.
“I love you, Micah. I’m happy that we found our way back to each other,” I declared with passion.
“I love you too, Freckles,” he replied with a cocky smirk.
I had gotten my feelings out, and I could finally breathe. We spent another hour outside before the girls came to get us.
“Can you guys come tuck us in?” Reign asked.
Micah and I looked at each other and smiled. We stopped mid-dance and then made our way toward the girls.
Micah picked up Violet while Reign and I walked hand in hand to Violet’s bedroom. The girls each took a spot on Violet’s bunk bed. Reign passed me a book, and Micah and I sat next to each other on the floor. We took turns reading the book aloud to the girls until they fell asleep.
It wasthe last day of school before Thanksgiving break. It was presentation day for our bi-monthly reading project. Some students procrastinated and did their best not to take part. Unfortunately for them, I was serious about the grading policy. I gave the students the option of anonymously reporting anyone who didn’t do their part. While I fairly gave them a chance to prove otherwise, if they couldn’t, I would reduce their grade by a letter. Everyone started out with an A.
Zachary was the first student to lose a letter grade. Since he and Shante had been so vocal, they were on a team with two other students. I was almost certain it was Shante who notified me he wasn’t doing his part. Once Zachary saw I meant what Isaid, he got it together. That particular day, they were the last group presenting to the class.
Zachary would be our first presenter. “I have four takeaways from our book for this month. It discussed how to change your mindset to change your life. One takeaway is having the desire and need to make moves in order to meet your goals. The second takeaway is to have faith. Along with desire, believe in the ability to complete the goal. The third takeaway is using creativity along with knowledge. This can help to create new ideas. The last takeaway is to trust our guts. In business, there is logic and knowledge, but if you trust yourself, you will never go wrong,” he stated.
“Zachary, how do you believe these things will help you be an asset to your community?” I asked.
“I see many people saying they’re entrepreneurs on social media, but I’ve never met one in real life. When I grow up, I want to own a business. Since we have this assignment, I figured this was a good time for me to learn what successful people believe,” he replied.
“Good job on the assignment. Who’s going next?” I asked.
I couldn’t show it, but I was damn proud of Zachary. He executed the assignment perfectly. The initial resistance he posed seemed to no longer exist. That made me excited about our next project. It made me excited to hear what the other students got out of the project. My chest swelled with pride as the class continued.
By the end of the day, the students admitted they understood why I chose the assignment. Everyone did an excellent job with their presentations. Part of me wanted to give Zachary the “A” he deserved, but he had to learn a lesson. He still had all year to get that “A”. The bell rang, and the class emptied quickly. I grabbed my bag and headed down to grab Reign and Violet. Micah was busy at the warehouse, so he asked if I could bring Violet home.
I headed to the courtyard to meet the girls. They were waiting outside when I arrived.
“Hey, guys, did you have a good day today?” I asked.
“Best day ever. I can’t wait to show you my party bag,” Reign said.
“I can’t wait to show my dad mine,” Violet said.
“Well, come on. Let’s go so we can show him,” I replied as we made our way to the car.
After a ten-minute car ride filled with laughter from the girls, we pulled up to Micah’s. He came out a minute later. Violet quickly got out of her seat to greet her father.
“Daddy, I want to show you what I got today!” she shouted.
“Just a second, baby girl. Did you say goodbye to Reign and Ms. Harley?” he asked.
Violet turned around and gave Reign and me a quick wave.
Micah walked over to my side of the car. “Thank you for grabbing her for me. What are you about to do?” he asked.
“I think I’m going to take Lucky for a ride. Whenever you’re free, call me,” I replied.
Micah kissed my lips, then waved goodbye to Reign.
A little while later, Reign and I made it home while PopPop was making his usual rounds around the property. When we entered the house, Nana was in the kitchen.
“Hey, did you guys have a good day?” Nana asked.
“I had a great day,” Reign gushed.
