“It’s nice to hear your voice. It’s been a long time.”
“I know. Considering that when we first started teaching, we were talking every day.”
“Twice a day, morning and evening. I think we needed the moral support. It’s not for the faint of heart.”
“No. I was scared to death I was gonna ruin an entire classroom full of kids when I first started.”
“Me too. And it was nice to know that I wasn’t the only person in the world who felt like that.”
They had had many shared conversations that first year especially, and then as they slowly became almost veteran teachers, their conversations became more about their lives and less about their students, although they still enjoyed exchanging stories.
“What’s going on?” Kate asked, and Nelly gave her a few updates on her life and then asked about hers.
After they were done getting each other up to speed on the various things that were going on, Nelly finally waited for a break in the conversation, and then she said, “I’ve got a little bit of a problem, and I wanted your perspective on it.”
“It’s about a man, isn’t it?” Kate said immediately, laughing.
“How’d you guess?” she said with a chuckle.
“Woman’s intuition, right?”
They shared another moment of laughter, and then Nelly said, “So I told you that I’m doing some Secret Saint work.”
“Right, and that’s just basically like a Secret Santa, only townwide.”
“Yes. And no one knows my identity. What I didn’t mention is that I have a partner.”
“Oh? Tall, dark, and handsome?”
“I’m not sure. He is tall, taller than me anyway, but I have no idea what he looks like.”
“Intriguing.”
“Right?” Nelly took in a deep breath and blew it out, trying to figure out where to start. “Anyway, we work well together, and…I’ve already found out that he’s about my age and he’s not married.”
“Those are important details to know.”
“Right, and then he was telling me about some issues that he had, and…when he gave me the details of his family, I was able to piece a few things together and figure out who he was.”
“Okay.”
“Do you remember the guy I told you about that I was always in competition with in high school and elementary school?”
“The one who got the valentine that you accidentally gave to the wrong person, and he made fun of you?”
“Yeah. That one.”
“Oh my goodness, he’s the Secret Saint that you’ve been working with?”
“Yes. We’re doing the Christmas program together too. Through our own volunteering, we kind of got pushed into it. So it’s not like he’s secretly trying to be with me.”
“Okay. And does he know your identity as a Secret Saint?”
“No. He doesn’t, at least—I’ve been very careful to try to make sure that he doesn’t. So unless he recognizes my voice, he hasn’t seen me or anything of me, except my hands.”
“Okay. Are you wearing jewelry?”
“No.”
