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“I am. I’m Miss…”
“We’ll go on in, shall we?” she interrupts before I’ve even said my name, and rather than waiting for my reply, she drags her scowling son through the door.
Charming.
A few older children walk past, chattering and looking me up and down, and then Margot comes out.
“You’ve met Mrs. Knox, then?”
“Have I?”
“Yes. Alexander’s mother.”
“Was that the little boy with the black look on his face?”
“That’s the one. He was born like that, I think.”
I laugh out loud and she chuckles, returning to the classroom.
A steady stream of children are coming through the doors now, some with parents and some without, and a few of them stop by my classroom. Many of them look even more nervous than I feel, and I do my best to remember this is a big day for them, too. Now we’re in the swing of things, I greet them all warmly, telling most of them my name, and they all seem a lot more friendly than Mrs. Knox, who I notice still doesn’t seem to have come back out of the classroom.
None of the other parents go inside, but hand their offspring over to Margot at the door, and I hear her showing them where to put their coats, and telling them which desks to sit at.
I’ll bet those name tags are coming in useful now.
I check my watch, noting that it’s just a few minutes before eight-thirty. I’ve tried to keep count of the number of children who’ve filed into class, but it’s been difficult, although I think we must be close to capacity now.
Even so, I think I should wait here just a little longer, especially as Miss Montgomery is still standing guard. It wouldn’t do for me to disappear into my classroom ahead of time, and Margot seems to be coping without me. I certainly can’t hear any noise from behind me.
I glance down the hall just as the door opens and a young boy comes in, looking over his shoulder and saying something, before he turns his blond head, a grin formed on his face. There’s something vaguely familiar about him, but as I contemplate that, a man steps through behind him and my breath catches in my throat, almost making me choke.
It’s Tanner.
He’s talking to the little boy, and reaches down, taking his hand, the two of them engrossed in conversation.
“It wasn’t my fault we had to rush around this morning,” the little boy says. “Mom didn’t put my things in my bag last night.”
“And you don’t think you’re old enough to put your things in your bag yourself?” Tanner replies, shaking his head.
“We were busy all weekend, Dad. Remember?” the boy says, and I let out a slight yelp, which Tanner obviously hears because he stops walking and looks up, his eyes meeting mine.
Dad?
This little boy is his son?
I wish I’d ignored Miss Montgomery’s presence and gone inside the classroom. Such a move might have incurred her wrath, but I’d have risked it. I’d have endured anything to avoid this.
How could I have done what I did, thought what I thought, and said what I said? The man I was thinking of and whispering to in the privacy of my bedroom, is married. He’s got a child, or maybe even children, and even if I wasn’t to know that, I feel so ashamed.
“Hi,” Tanner says, moving a little closer as a woman dodges past him, pulling her son behind her. “A—Are you okay?”
“I—I’m fine, thanks.”
“You’re not still in shock, or anything?”
He blushes and I frown at him. “In shock?”
“Yes. You said you were in shock last night, if you remember?”
