Now Allie and Tripp were the only single kids left in the Lawrence family. Honestly, Tripp seemed like he would be an eternal bachelor, chasing fun and reveling in his family.
But Allie wasn’t like that at all. She longed for a husband and children of her own. The big green Victorian house on her parents’ land was just waiting for her to fill it up. But some days it felt like that would never happen.
When would she even have the time? Teaching took up all her energy. Most evenings and weekends melted away as she lost herself in lesson plans and progress reports.
She tried to say yes sometimes when Charlotte asked her out for coffee, or the other teachers decided to go to the diner after school.
But for the most part, choir practice was her only social outlet. And while it was a wonderful place to share her love of music with friends, it was no place to meet aman. The Sugarville Grove church choir was mostly made up of women, with just a handful of married men joining their wives.
She pulled the station wagon into the church lot and parked in a spot that was far from the building, leaving the better spaces for the older women in case it got slippery when the sun set.
“Allie,” a familiar voice called out.
It was Becca, who Allie had just been thinking of. The second-grade teacher was married to Allie’s quiet brother, Zane, and she also sang in the choir.
“We’re both early,” Allie said, catching up to her sister-in-law.
“I brought snacks,” Becca said, patting her backpack.
“Amazing,”Allie groaned appreciatively. “I missed breakfast and had a granola bar for lunch.”
“Why?” Becca asked, looking horrified.
“Well, I wanted to move the desks around in my classroom,” Allie explained, holding open the door. “And then I had to meet with Principal Chittenden at lunchtime.”
“Maya Tailor?” Becca asked as they stepped into the warmth of the church. There was a look of commiseration on her face.
“No,” Allie said. “Well, mostly no. We had another meeting about that after school. But I was proposing my greenhouse idea at lunch.”
Becca was one of the only people Allie had told about her dream for a greenhouse on school property.
“How did it go?” Becca asked, leading the way to the kitchen.
“Not well, actually,” Allie told her. “Shepointed out that even if I raised all the funds, we can’t guarantee that we could afford to maintain it.”
“I guess that’s fair,” Becca said. “The school itself is barely maintained.”
“We had volunteers painting and doing landscaping last year,” Allie agreed, nodding. “This would only be an added burden.”
“I’m so sorry,” Becca told her. “I thought it was a great idea.”
“Thanks,” Allie said.
“So how was the meeting about Maya?” Becca asked, pulling a container from her bag and popping it in the microwave.
“It was actually really good,” Allie said, grabbing the pitcher of water from the fridge to pour them each a glass.
“Really?” Becca asked.
“Maya is energetic, but she’s a really good kid,” Allie said fondly. “She told the truth, and she even told Eloise she was sorry.”
“Eloise is in first grade,” Becca said.
“Well, bigger or smaller, Maya still can’t push her,” Allie said. “Though it came out that Eloise cut in line in front of Timmy Lanford. So Maya’s heart was in the right place, even if she could have handled it better.”
“Wow,” Becca said, nodding. “Yeah, that makes more sense.”
“Anyway, the dad was there,” Allie said, wondering how much she dared to tell Becca.
