Page 4 of Mr. Principal

Chapter Two

“Uh oh,” I said to myself. I hoped she wasn’t in trouble. Meredith was a good kid, but she was rambunctious and strong-willed. I joked that she got that from her father, but I was lying. She was totally a little me.

I got out the car and smiled at Carter as I approached. It was so good to see him again. How long had it been? Seven, eight years? Too long. Way too long.

“Principal Knight,” I said formally. “Is my daughter in trouble?”

He laughed. “Meredith did not inherit her mother’s troublemaker genes.”

“That’s a relief.”

We stared at each other, smiling. I’d met Carter in college. He’d lived a few doors down from me in the dorm during our freshman year. We’d instantly become friends. It had been the three of us: me, Piper, and Carter. Piper had been my roommate and was also Tom’s little sister. In fact, I’d met Tom through Piper. We’d all gone to the same college, but Tom had been a senior when the rest of us had been sophomores. Tom had never liked Carter. And I’d suspected, even though Carter never said anything, that the feeling had been mutual.

Piper, Carter and I had hung out all the time. We’d been a dynamic trio. At least, that’s what we told each other. They had been my best friends. I was able to stay in touch with Piper because I’d married her brother, but unfortunately, I hadn’t kept in touch with Carter over the years. I’d heard from Piper that he had done a lot of volunteer work abroad while earning his PhD in some esoteric subject. But he had a teaching degree and had returned to our city just a few months ago and had accepted the principal position at the private school where Meredith was enrolled. It was an international private school, so lots of kids there were from other places. From what I understood, it was the perfect position for Carter.

I felt sort of bad that my work schedule had prevented me from ever meeting up with him in the three months since he’d been at Meredith’s school. I only knew he worked there because of the letter that was sent home to all the parents.

I studied him as my brain tried to make sense of the man in front of me who was no longer the boy I knew. He was tall with broad shoulders. He tanned easily unlike my ex who burned within seconds. I sighed. I was still comparing others to Tom. That wasn’t good, I told myself.

Carter had an easy smile and he surprised me by picking me up and spinning me.

“Carter! Carter! Put me down,” I yelled through giggles.

He finally did and then hugged me tight.

“I’m sorry. I’m a jerk. Did I make you sick?” he asked, pulling away from me with his hands still on my shoulders.

“Maybe. I’m not sure yet,” I said feeling a little wobbly, but more exhilarated than I’d felt in a very long time. “It’s so good to see you,” I said truthfully. “It’s been years. You look great... very happy.” I wasn't just saying that. He looked like he hadn't aged at all. He had the same cheerful demeanor and easy-going vibe. Clearly, he wasn’t a struggling divorcee. Not that he had ever married... I think. Piper would have told me if he had gotten married, right? I subtly tried to look at his hand to see if he wore a ring.

He was still smiling, revealing a cute dimple in one cheek. “Thanks. It’s easy to maintain a proper diet when all you have around you is pretty much fruit and vegetables.”

He slowly released my shoulders and held my hands. He couldn’t stop smiling at me and that made me blush even though we’d known each other for such a long time.

Carter had grown up. He still had that youthfulness about him, but he looked more mature. When he had once been gangly and kind of scrawny, he’d filled out, becoming much more muscular.

His face was the same. He had dark brown hair and arresting green eyes. Women had practically fallen over him in college and he’d ignored most of them. He'd been all about studying and helping others. Instead of keg parties, he did community service. Instead of studying abroad to get drunk in Paris, he’d studied abroad in developing nations helping with underserved communities. Carter had practically been a saint.

He’d been focused, goal-oriented, and as a result, had achieved more in his lifetime than most people his age. His success intimidated me given where I currently was in life.

He’d traveled the world and done amazing things. I only could take credit for being a divorced, single mom, cashier. My existence wasn’t even good enough to be called mediocre.

He’d been in town for at least three months and I hadn’t seen him once. Meredith and Piper frequently saw him, but I never seemed to find the time. I added terrible friend to my list of failures.

I gave him a big smile and said truthfully, “It's great to see you again.”

He continued holding my hands and surprised me by saying, “You look great.”

I was still sexy, thank goodness. I’d let myself go a little while I was married and had started looking a little frumpy, if I were truthful with myself. I’d lost forty pounds during the past year because I’d been so stressed about the divorce that I couldn’t eat. So now I was the same size I was senior year in college. And working all the time meant I couldn't just sit around and stuff my face. Admittedly, I’d been guilty of that during my marriage.

I was glad Carter hadn't seen me when I was a frumpy housewife.

“Thanks.” I shrugged as if his compliment didn’t mean the world to me. Slowly, I pulled my hands from his and wrapped an arm around Meredith’s shoulder and pulled her towards me. She smiled broadly up at me. She was normally a happy kid, but her smile seemed kind of secretive as if she had a secret she was dying to share.

“So what’s going on? Why are you waiting outside for me?”

“Today was early dismissal. Teacher’s work day,” Carter explained.

My eyes widened, and I pulled Meredith closer. “Oh my God, Carter. I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t anyone call me? I’m so sorry I forgot. I have this new manager at work who’s a real ass—”