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Uh, yeah. I’d say so.
“So, there’s no one to fill the gym teacher position?” I ask.
“Unfortunately not. There are a handful of resumes I’m going to go over, but if you think of anyone….”
I nod. “I’ll definitely let you know.”
“Thank you. Good day, Miss Swenson.”
“Good day, Mr. Wells.”
Then he’s gone. And I’m left in a room that feels like it’s spinning as I try to ignore the first dream that slipped through my fingers while holding onto the new one I managed to create after Owen left.
Sixth-grade Boo Bash?
Bring it on.
3
Saylor
“I saw a certain someone in the parking lot after school,” Skye notes as soon as I enter our apartment. She started working at Granite Elementary as a teacher’s assistant after getting fired from her nanny job because of her connection to Liam, her husband, and soon-to-be-ex.
The door closes behind me before I toss my keys onto the kitchen counter. “Really? Already with the interrogation?”
She raises her hands in defense. “I’m just curious, that’s all. I thought you said Grady rides the bus.”
“He does, but I asked Owen to pick him up so we could chat about a little altercation during recess.” Defeated, I slide off my black jacket, then hang it up on the hook near the front door before voicing aloud the words that have been haunting me for way too long.
“I seriously hate him, Skye.”
“You don’t hate him,” Skye corrects me gently.
“I really do, though.”
“What happened?”
“Grady got into a fight at school with Turner.”
“Aw, poor Turner. That kid’s story breaks my heart. Is he okay?”
I laugh. “You should see the kid’s black eye. He was a little shit to Grady and definitely deserved the sucker punch, but that’s not the point. The point is that I had to call Grady’s dad in for a little meeting.”
She cringes. “And how’d it go?”
“Awkward. And then fine. And then not so great.” I rub my hand over my face. “I yelled at him, Skye.”
“You?” Her eyes widen in surprise. “You never yell.”
With a scowl, I admit, “Well, today I did. And I hate that I lost control and got mad at him for calling me by my name. Not Miss Swenson, but Say.” My stomach tightens. “Just like he used to, ya know? I can still hear it. After all these years. The way he’d whisper my name in my ear. The way he’d promise to be with me forever. The way we’d dream about our future. The life we were going to build. What our home would look like. What we….” I squeeze my eyes shut.
Her flats scuff against the floor as she steps closer and squeezes my arm softly. “Tell me, Say.”
“What we would name our kids. What they might look like. If they’d have his wavy hair or my eyes. All of it.”
She pulls me into a hug, then runs her hand up and down my back. “Aw, Say, you’re breaking my heart.”
I laugh, though there isn’t any humor in it. “I thought you didn’t have a heart.”
