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“I don’t think so,” Melissa answered. “I can go ask the secretary, if you want. She’s been here for fifteen years.” At his nod, she stood and left the room.
Continuing with his questioning, Kyle turned to Karen. “What about teachers? When did you last have any preparedness training?”
“Aside from last month, I don’t know of any and I’ve been here six years. We have the fire drills, but that’s about it.”
Melissa returned and relayed that the office staff had never been trained.
Damian added that to his list. “Mrs. Mitchell allotted Friday’s entire staff development day for training. If they haven’t been already, I’d like the office staff to be included. Janitors, too. I know we developed lockdown procedures during the training. Has this been disseminated?”
“Yes,” Melissa answered. “Karen and I distributed the information the day we came back.”
“Good. The staff should be familiar with the procedures by Friday’s session.”
The group continued for another hour, and Damian was pleasantly surprised by the suggestions Karen made and incorporated them into his notes. He noticed Karen glancing up at the clock and checked his watch. Once Kyle finished speaking, he said, “How about we call it a day? It’s almost five. We’ve made some good progress, and I’m sure you ladies have other things to do this evening.” Although he said the words to both women, his gaze never strayed from Karen’s.
They agreed to skip tomorrow’s morning meeting and just meet in the afternoon. He and Kyle stood when the women did.
“You guys are great,” Melissa said, passing them on the way out. “See you tomorrow.”
When Karen came around the table, he wanted to say something...anything...but the words stuck in his throat.
“See you later.” She slid a folded piece of paper across the table where he stood and walked out.
He was almost afraid to open it, but curiosity got the best of him. Picking it up, he opened it and read: My house, 7:00p. Whatever it is, we need to work it out—one way or another. K. For the first time in three days, he allowed himself a small smile.
* * *
Later that night, while she was rummaging in the refrigerator for the makings of a chef salad, Karen’s thoughts shifted to Damian. She had never been one to let things build up and do nothing, hence her inviting him over to talk tonight. One way or another, the relationship needed to be settled. A thousand and one scenarios of why he was acting so strange crossed her mind, but she pushed them away and concentrated on her dinner.
While eating, she checked her personal email and clicked on one from Deborah. She had flown to New York the day after Thanksgiving with her theater company. Karen laughed at her cousin’s rant about the cold and snow. She typed back: Hey, you always said you wanted to be on Broadway, so suck it up, and hit Send. Her phone rang, and her heart rate kicked up. She snatched it up.
“Hey, girl. Sorry I couldn’t talk to you last week,” Janae said when Karen answered.
She relaxed. “Hey. No problem. How was dinner?”
“It was wonderful. My parents and Terrence’s grandparents acted like they’d known each other forever. How was yours?”
“Good, except my grandmother started in on her campaign to marry off all her grandkids again.”
Janae laughed, then turned serious. “Have you heard any more from Damian since he came over on your birthday?”
“Are you sitting down?”
“I am now. What happened?”
Karen gave her the details about his first visit, their decision to see each other and his subsequent pulling away. “I don’t know what to think. Everything seemed fine when we talked last week, and now...”
“He seemed like such a nice guy. I never pegged him for the wishy-washy type. What are you going to do?”
“I passed him a note asking him to come over tonight so we can try to work it out or...not.”
“I hope he does and has a good reason for acting so strange, especially since it was his idea for you guys to keep seeing each other.”
“So do I—” Karen stopped midsentence when the doorbell rang. “I have to go. I think he’s here.”
“You’d better call and tell me everything. Oh, yeah, before I forget, the art show is going to be the weekend before Christmas. Don’t forget to call me.”
“I won’t.”
Karen disconnected and went to the front door. After a deep breath, she opened the door. Her heart rate sped up again. “Hey. Come on in.” Karen stepped back for him to enter.
