“It wouldn’t be a bad idea, Victoria.”
My phone rings, and seeing it's Corey’s school I take the call quickly. “Hello?”
“Hello, is that Victoria?”
“Yes, speaking,” I reply.
“Hello, Victoria, this is Mrs. Gosworth at Corey’s school. If you could stop in when you pick Corey up today it would be appreciated. It’s nothing to worry about, he’s not in trouble of any kind.”
“Okay. I can do that,” I quickly respond.
“Thank you. I’ll see you later.”
Looking at my phone, as Mrs. Gosworth had already cut the call. “That’s odd.”
“What’s odd?” Specs asks.
“That was Corey’s school. They want me to stop in when I pick him up today.”
“Is he in trouble do you think?”
I shake my head, “No, she said he wasn’t. Oh, well, it will come to light when I pick him up.”
The day rushes past, and when my phone chimes I know it’s time to leave. I need time to get to Corey’s school, and setting the alarm on my phone makes sure I don’t get too engrossed and forget to go to him.
“I’ll finish the coding tomorrow, Specs. It’s nearly ready and so far it’s looking good.”
Specs watches me collect my purse and get ready to leave. “No problem, and have a good evening. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I pat Specs' shoulder as I pass him. “Tomorrow.”
Walking into Corey’s school twenty-five minutes later. I’m greeted by the secretary who seems to have been waiting for me. “Follow me to Corey and Mrs. Gosworth. They are waiting for you in Corey’s classroom.”
In the classroom, Corey gives me a huge smile from where he is sitting at his desk. Mrs. Gosworth stands from behind her deskand walks around it to hold out her hand for me to shake. “It’s lovely to meet you, Victoria. I hope you don’t mind my being so informal? I hate the starchiness we get most of the time. I’m Ann Gosworth, and I’d be fine with you calling me Ann.”
“I, um, thank you, Ann,” I notice Corey smirking at my awkwardness, but I’ve never met a teacher who wants me to call her by her first name before.
“Now, I’ve not asked you to come into school for anything bad. I wanted you to know and see from Corey’s work how much he has improved since you and your husband adopted him. The transformation in his work is nothing short of amazing,” I look at Corey while Ann continues raving on how well Corey is improving. She shows me his work, and I see the continual B+ and then the A markings appear. I smile when I see the A+ and look at him so he can see how happy I am.
“I’m amazed and delighted. Corey, you are doing so well. I’m very proud of you.” I hold my arms out, and he doesn’t hesitate to walk over to me and accept the hug.
“With how well Corey has worked he is now in the top three percent in his academic year. He has climbed from the bottom to the top. Well done, Corey. As your teacher, I am so proud of you.”
“Wait until your dad finds out, Corey. Maybe you’ll get a reward,” I say with a huge smile on my face.
“I already got my reward, Mom. It’s you and Dad.”
I hug Corey again before I thank Ann and take Corey home with me. We are going to make another homemade pizza since we didso well the last time. This time we are adding pineapple, just to mess with Chaos who is an anti-pineapple man.
We had the pizza in the oven when my phone rings. Picking it up, I see it’s the Bridal Shop calling. I quickly answer, “Hello, Victoria speaking.”
“Hello. This is Spell. Just a heads-up that your suit is ready. If you can, please pop in before Thursday so we can make sure the fit is right. We are on a tight schedule with your wedding being Saturday, but if you stop by Thursday and it needs no alterations, then you can take it with you. If it needs any changes, it gives us twenty-four hours to do it.”
“Oh, that is great, Spell. Thank you. I will see you in the morning. It will be early. I’ll drop my son at school, then stop by.” I see Corey freeze when I say son, and I turn my back on him so he doesn’t see the tears of joy I have going on.
Placing my phone on the counter, Corey gives me a huge smile. “Is that your dress for the wedding?”
I giggle a little because honestly it is only once I hope that I’ll get married. “Yes, it is. I’m going to try it on in the morning, and let’s hope I have put no weight on my bones after I’ve eaten our fan-tas-tic pizza.”
Corey giggles along with me, and for some reason he feels like mine. Truly mine, and let anyone try to hurt him now!
