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Luke looked at Jeremiah, a silent apology in his eyes. He wanted to make things right, to wash away all the mistakes he had made. He wanted to tell him he was sorry for everything. But they were still in a meeting with the principal and had to find the words to convince him to allow Jeremiah to start his senior year;
Principal Kennedy turned back to his computer and began typing. “I just did a quick Google search for your name, Jeremiah, and I’m finding all the competitions you’ve participated in over the years. It’s quite impressive.”
Luke couldn’t help feeling a surge of pride for his son. “He is, isn’t he?”
The principal nodded and leaned back in his chair. “I’ll tell you what, Jeremiah and Mr. Grayson. I’m impressed by your achievements, and I understand the impact a death can have on a student’s coursework. Here’s what I propose: I’ll pass you to your senior year on the condition that you help the school’s history club prepare and compete in the National History Bee. However, for the first semester, you’ll be on probation just to see how things go.”
Luke’s heart leapt at the offer. “Thank you, Principal Kennedy. We really appreciate it.”
Jeremiah, however, remained quiet and looked down at his hands. Luke knew his son was still upset with him, and he couldn’t blame him. But this was a start, a chance to make things right.
Principal Kennedy stood up and extended his hand to Luke, who shook it firmly. Then he turned to Jeremiah. Luke nudged him in the side, prompting him to shake the principal’s hand.
“Thank you so much, Principal Kennedy. We look forward to registering for classes later in the week.”
Jeremiah was the first out of the office. Luke hurried to catch up, struggling to match his son’s quick pace.
“Jeremiah, this is great news,” he said, trying to hide his excitement. “I had no idea about your achievements in history. I’m sorry I missed all those competitions. I know your mother sent me the information, but I was always away on business trips.”
Jeremiah sighed and gave him the cold shoulder as they reached the main entry doors. Luke wanted to keep praising his son, but could sense now was not the time. It seemed like the last thing Jeremiah wanted was to be around him.
Luke and Jeremiah drove home in an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the occasional sounds of cars passing by. When they arrived, Jeremiah headed straight upstairs, and slammed his bedroom door shut. Meanwhile, Luke walked into his office and sat down at the desk. He opened his laptop and logged in to his wife’s digital scrapbook, labeled Kate’s Mementos and Memories, which she had put together before falling sick.
He took a deep breath when he saw a picture of himself, Kate, and a five-year-old Jeremiah, all smiling happily together. The scrapbook was organized by year, so he clicked through the folders of Jeremiah’s freshman and sophomore years. Within those folders, he found photos of Jeremiah holding numerous trophies and medals he had earned from competitions, videos of him practicing with Kate, and recordings of the competitions themselves. Luke was even able to find photos and videos of the historical landmarks Kate and Jeremiah had visited together.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Luke shut his laptop and slumped back in his chair. A bitter realization creeped in, overwhelming him with remorse for not having been an active part of Jeremiah’s life, no matter how hard Kate had tried to fill in the gaps. Tears welled up in Luke’s eyes as he realized the magnitude of what he had lost.
But Luke wasn’t one to let circumstances hold him back. With a renewed strength surging through him, he slowly rose from the chair and vowed to do whatever it took to fix the broken relationship with his son.
Chapter 15
Emma
It had been four days since Luke had texted her. Emma had watched the clock relentlessly, hoping to hear from him again soon, but all she got were hours and days of dead radio silence.
She had tried to forget about him and channel her energy into something more productive, but his image still lingered in the back of her mind. A part of her thought maybe he liked her too. But after spending the past few nights mulling it over, she was finally certain that Luke was only being friendly. He had been genuinely worried about his son and that was the only reason he sought her out, Emma told herself. She decided she would go on with life as usual and forget about her silly crush.
Fortunately, the timing couldn’t have been better for Emma. She had just started teaching summer classes at Hadley Cove High and had also been busy with her tutoring sessions, leaving her with hardly any spare time to dwell on her thoughts. Instead, she focused on creating engaging lesson plans and study guides for her students.
As Emma locked up her classroom after a long day of teaching, she was surprised to see Luke and Jeremiah walking out of the front office. Luke was carrying a hefty stack of papers, and Jeremiah seemed to be trailing behind reluctantly. Emma had no choice but to head in their direction. She straightened her posture and consciously relaxed her muscles, mentally preparing herself to appear at ease and unconcerned, hoping to sidestep any uncomfortable moments.
Approaching Luke, she could feel her heart racing and her cheeks flushing. She attempted to take a deep breath and steady herself, but as she drew nearer, the feelings only intensified.
“Well, hello,” she said, flashing them a smile and putting on her best poker face. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Luke smiled back at her. “Hey there. What are you doing here?”
Emma’s heart fluttered at the sound of his voice, but remained calm, holding up her ID badge. “Summer school...I teach a couple of the courses. And run tutoring sessions as well.”
Recognition flickered in Luke’s eyes. “Ah, that’s right. I think I remember you mentioning that. Sorry that I forgot.”
Emma felt a rush of warmth spread through her body. “No worries,” she said, discreetly wiping her sweaty palms on her pants. “I’m not sure if I ever mentioned I teach summer school, so don’t worry about it. How about you two? What brings you here today?”
Jeremiah rolled his eyes. “Just registering for the fall semester,” he muttered.
Luke interjected, “Yeah, we picked up the syllabi for his classes so he can get started now.”
Jeremiah let out an exasperated sigh. “Keys?”
