Page 27 of Well Aware

I grinned.

Iris turned away from the television and started signing.

“Wool gathering comes from the sixteenth century when rural farmers used to wander fields looking for wool that was caught on the briars. It was a mindless activity that left a lot of room for reflection,” she signed.

I grinned and looked to Magnolia. “We actually just watched that on yesterday’s documentary about sheep.”

Iris turned back to the whales on the screen while Magnolia and I looked at her like she was the next Einstein.

“When I registered her for pre-K,” she said. “I thought for sure that they were going to call me and tell me that she was too advanced for that age group. But they haven’t called me yet.”

I chuckled. “I’d look for that in first grade. Pre-K and kindergarten are an adjustment period.”

She lightly smacked herself on the forehead. “I should’ve asked the actual teacher in the room.”

I grinned, but that grin quickly faded as I thought about my students.

I missed teaching.

I’d found my passion in life, guiding the young adults into their new realities.

That’d been what I’d done for the Marines, too. Guiding them and helping them find their path.

Recruitment was literally everyone’s worst nightmare.

But not mine.

I loved it.

When I’d retired, I’d thought nothing could top it.

Then I’d started teaching high school seniors how to survive.

It was a brand-new course offered by the school. We learned about balancing checkbooks, 401Ks, different types of jobs out there.

It was literally my dream come true job.

That was why I’d hated leaving it.

Why I’d be going back in January.

Not that my dad, mom, sister, and brother knew that.

But that decision had a lot to do with a certain someone, too.

With Magnolia no longer here, I couldn’t pretend.

Did I want the best for the organization? Hell yes.

But I didn’t want it to be the rest of my life.

Plus, let’s be honest, they could survive without me.

As long as my sister didn’t get her claws into it, this organization would thrive, regardless of whether we won these last two games or not.

“Done!”

We both jumped at Iris’s clear, melodic voice.