“It’s my first job, so I don’t know how it’s going to go. But I have high hopes.” Jessica smiled to hide her anxiety.
“You must love kids, I guess. I’m not sure how I feel about them. I’m an only child.”
“I do love them,” Jessica replied. “They’re pretty great. And I have three younger sisters I practically raised, so I already had a lot of experience with kids. Mom always talks about how I used to make them sit at desks and learn how to read while they were still toddlers.”
“I can sure picture it. I wish I had sisters. Lucky thing.”
“They certainly make life more interesting.”
“Where are you from?” Teja asked, her eyes narrowing as though she was trying to figure it out.
“Oklahoma.”
“Okay. I couldn’t pick out that accent, but I could tell you weren’t from ’round here.”
“I’m new to the area, but I’m looking forward to becoming a local. I have a permanent position at the school, so I’ll have to do at least a year.”
“Do you think you’ll move after that?”
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll see how it goes.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’ve got to go check on dinner before it burns, but I’m sure we’ll see each other around,” said Teja.
“Nice to meet you too. Thanks for calling out,” Jessica said, giving a wave as Teja headed back into her small single-level brick house.
Jessica’s dream job had been an opening at her own middle school. She’d seen it advertised and had applied immediately, heart racing. It seemed too perfect that her alma mater was hiring at the exact time she would graduate, but then she hadn’t even gotten an interview. It was a devastating blow, especially since she didn’t land any of the other jobs she’d applied for in and around Tulsa, and now she’d been forced to move out of state to find work. She couldn’t understand it.
Everyone else she knew had gotten the jobs they’d wanted, but not her. What had gone wrong? She didn’t have the best grades, but they were adequate—at least, she’d thought they were. And she’d been nervous in the interviews. When it came to the position in Georgia, though, she hadn’t struggled with those same nerves because she never intended to take the job. It’d been her backup plan. Now here she was, smack-dab in the middle of plan B.
Chapter Two
“Grapevine! One two three, and one two three!” the instructor shouted.
Rita Osbourne, puffing hard, did her best to keep up, but it was impossible. She hadn’t done aerobics since she was twenty-five years old, and that was back when her coordination skills were mediocre at best. More than a quarter of a century later, she certainly hadn’t improved.
Beside her, Cathy moved in time to the music as though she was built for this exact moment. Her blonde-grey hair barely moved due to the enormous amounts of hair spray she’d apparently applied, and her aqua-coloured tights blazed like a bright beam in the midst of a sea of black and charcoal workout clothes.
Finally, the class ended, and Rita collapsed onto a bench seat against the wall, her chest heaving.
“That was fantastic,” Cathy crooned as she wiped sweat off her face with a matching aqua hand towel. “Don’t you think?”
Rita nodded, unable to speak.
“I’m going to grab a shower. I’ll meet you in the café after?” Cathy waved over her shoulder as she departed, her matching athletic bag swinging from her other hand.
Slowly, Rita pushed herself back onto her feet and followed her cousin to the locker room. Cathy had convinced her to join the gym a few weeks earlier, saying it would be good for her health and would give them a chance to bond. Rita had lost almost one hundred pounds since she started chemotherapy. It’d been a tough journey but now that it was over and she’d recovered from the treatment, she felt better than she had in twenty years. But still, she struggled to get through an aerobics class. Lack of coordination aside, she’d been so busy taking care of her family and running the café, she’d been lax with her exercise routine.
She took a shower and changed, and by the time she found Cathy in the café attached to the gym, she felt a lot better. It was a small setup with a little deck and a few black tables. Her muscles ached and she was tired, but it was a good feeling — she’d pushed her body to its limit, and she’d made it through. It was satisfying.
Her phone rang as she sat down. Cathy motioned that she’d order for them, and Rita answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Hey, Aunt Rita. It’s Julie. How are you doin’?”
“I’m well, honey. How are you?”
“I’m well too, thanks. I’m glad to be back at school, honestly. I miss you and the lake house, of course, but it feels good to be on campus again. I feel refreshed. I’ve been studying so much harder than I was before, and I think it’s because I had a break — I must’ve really needed it.”
Cathy sat down with two takeout coffee cups and pushed one toward Rita. Rita took a sip.
