“Who was your first love?” she asks sweetly.
No, no, no… this isn’t supposed to be about me. But I do ponder her question for a long beat.
I suppose Keith was my first love. No, he wasn’t. He was just… I don't want to say he was a mistake because he gave me Christian. Being with him was a decision I don’t regret. But he was not a good person, and I'm shocked every day when I observe Christian. He’s such a sweet, kind boy.
“I've never been in love,” I confess.
Her eyes grow wide. “Not even with the father…” Her words trail off, and she glances over at Christian who is busy playing with Mila. “Not even with Christian’s father?” she whispers.
I shake my head.
“Interesting,” she says. “So you've never been in love… that’s a bit sad.”
An image of Colton flashes across my mind, completely unexpected. Sure, what we shared was sweet, but I can’t exactly call it love. I barely know the man.
“Okay… back to my story,” she starts yet again.
Finally.
“Caleb and I were wildly in love, much to my parents’ dismay. I was a good Catholic girl, and I was teaching back in the day. Multiple grades at the same time.”
“That's crazy,” I quip, thinking this lady's old.
“Well, you know back in Northern Maine small town, there were not enough people so you had to combine the classes,” she clarifies. “So I taught grade one to grade twelve.”
“That is insane,” I say. “You're telling me six-year-olds were in the same class as sixteen-year-olds?”
“Yes, they were separated into sections by grade, but yes.”
“Crazy… okay, back to the story. I want to know more about Caleb.”
“Yes, yes… Caleb. He had a bad reputation around town.”
“Why?”
“Just for being a bad boy, getting into trouble around town.”
“So then what happened?”
“Well, I married him of course.”
Just as it’s about to get good, Christian bounces over to us. “Mommy, I’m bored.”
Really?! This?! Now?!
I glance at the clock. We have been here for a while, and it is a school night. I need to make dinner and do the whole bath and bedtime routine.
“Must you go?” Judy asks, disappointment tracing her tired features.
“Yes… school tomorrow, and I need to get going on dinner. No work for me tomorrow though because it's Monday. I guess you'll have to continue the story later. I want to know everything.”
She smiles. “And I’ll tell you… the whole crazy story.”
