“Yes, fifth grade.” As the kids hang from the monkey bars and chase each other around, shrieking, I tell her more about my experiences teaching in California and then in Memphis.
“Were you thinking of teaching again?”
“I miss it, and I’ve been thinking about it more. I’m not showing yet, but I’m pregnant again, so that’s likely to throw a spanner in the works.”
“Not necessarily,” she says thoughtfully. “Maybe I could tempt you to join us as a part-time assistant teacher. We’re always short-staffed, and you’d have time to decide whether you want to get back into being a teacher full-time. Think about it over the summer if you like. We don’t usually hire teaching assistants until closer to the start of the school year.”
The unexpected offer is surprisingly perfect. I’d be back in a classroom again; I wouldn’t be committing to returning full-time, and I could stop when I had my baby and start up again afterward.
“That’s a very attractive offer, and I’m definitely interested.”
We chat a little more about pay and the school curriculum until recess ends, and, as expected, Ben is ready to join the kindergarten class right away. I pull him away from his friends, and we swing by the administrative office to collect the forms and information I’ll need to enroll Ben.
Fresh from the successful tour of the elementary school, we stop by the Rios playground with ice cream, enjoying the beautifulweather before we swing by the diner to check on Sam’s progress with Nico’s office before heading home.
It’s after 2 p.m., and the diner is past its busy lunch rush. Ben and I say hi to familiar faces as we make our way to the front counter to grab a stool, where Nico gets Ben a juice box and a glass of water for me. Win nods a quick hello from the kitchen hatch, but he’s busy finishing a big order for a table of ten, so he can’t come hang out for a bit. Lina’s just as busy clearing dirty plates, so she flashes us a smile and continues with her task.
I’m sipping my water when Sam thumps onto the stool beside me. He’s in dusty blue overalls and looks exhausted.
“Hey! Want me to order you something?” I note the shadows under his eyes and add, “Coffee or a chocolate shake with more sugar than is good for you?”
He yawns and shakes his head. “No. I’m about to head home for the day. I’m beat.”
“Hi, Uncle Sam.” Ben leans forward to see Sam because I’m sitting between them.
“Hey, Ben,” Sam says tiredly. “What did you guys get up to today?”
“Visited a school,” Ben says, beaming. “I’m going to have a class pet when I start kindergarten. Mrs. Kane has a hamster called Caramel Cookie.”
Before we left, she let Ben hold and pet the hamster, Caramel Cookie, caramel-colored with white and light-brown spots. She’s utterly adorable, and Ben isobsessed. He hasn’t stopped talking about her, and IknowI’ll be carefully checking his schoolbag when he starts school because I wouldn’t be surprised to find he’d brought her home.
Ben rambles on a bit more about the hamster to Sam, who listens patiently until Ben’s gotten this round of excitement out of his system and returned to sipping his juice box.
“School, huh?” Sam waggles his eyebrows at me. “Sounds like a piece of advice I suggested had a pretty big impact, huh?”
I roll my eyes at him. “What happened to not rubbing it in my face for too long?”
He bounces his shoulder against mine. “I barely did any rubbing at all. But that’s great news. When are you moving all your stuff up here?”
I let out a tired sigh. “Don’t ask. I have no idea how I’m going to manage it, but for today at least, I’m going to pretend angels will fly all our things from Memphis and I’ll wake up tomorrow to find everything unpacked and exactly where I want it. Anyway, enough about me. How’s the office going?”
He scratches the back of his neck, avoiding my gaze. "Uh..."
I glance toward Nico’s office. The door is closed, giving me no clue what it conceals, but Sam sure is nervous. “Did something go wrong?”
When I say Sam can work magic, I’m not being dramatic. He can build almost anything he sets his mind to. Hell, one glance at the mess Nico’s office was in before, and he had a solution to maximize the space in under five minutes. But maybe the room was too awkward, and the built-in desk idea he had was more complex than he expected.
“It’s done,” he says so reluctantly that it’s clear he didn’t want to tell me at all. “But I’m not ready to show anyone.”
I consider him for a beat. “Talk to Murph.”
“Murph? Why?”
“His bosses started a construction business not that long ago. They were all freelance construction workers before then. A lot of the fears you’re having are ones they probably had. They can give you practical advice and maybe even get you some work until you have your own clients.” I add dryly. “Though I can’t imagine you’ll need any help finding them once everyone sees the magic you worked in Nico’s office.”
A tiny smile lifts one corner of his mouth. “Youhaven’t seen it yet.”
“I’ve seen your work, Sam,” I tell him quietly. “The crib you made for Ben had me crying for two hours straight, and you know I’m not joking about that because I ran out of all the tissues in the house. You work magic, and you should be doing more than living in your parents’ basement, too afraid to chase your dreams. You’re way too talented for that.”
