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Jewel gave a half smile as she went through the order she had decided on that morning. Mrs. Parris would be back to join them once a week until the week prior to the concert when she would be there every day. If there was a woman in town who loved helping and teaching children as much as Mrs. Parris, Jewel had no idea who she was. But she was also surprised that she hadn’t worked toward becoming a teacher herself in the school district, although as Mrs. Parris had pointed out, the world was a completely different place sixty-five years ago when she had been making those decisions.
Jewel waited until her classroom was full and bustling with noise before she rolled her shoulders and got her kids’ attention. She pulled them into the lesson and started her plans for the day, directing not only her students but Mrs. Parris as well. She went through her two afternoon choirs that day before switching over to band and orchestra for the final periods, when Mrs. Parris was finished but stayed to listen to the kids anyway.
It was so sweet of her, and Jewel was pretty sure if that woman had a love outside of her family it was to music, and she was damn talented. Finding an accompanist in the city had been hard, someone who was good enough to be able to be handed the music and run with it, but Mrs. Parris had all that talent and more. She truly was a gem. Jewel would have to find a way to honor and thank her, some way that was special so she’d come back the next year and do it all again.
They ran through each piece twice before the bell rang to end the school day. The kids shoved their instruments away and packed up their bags, Jewel shouting last-minute instructions over the noise, hoping they all heard her and did as she asked but knowing that would never be the case. The best she could hope for was the majority.
Mrs. Parris snuck out just before the rush of students moved toward the door. Jewel stayed behind to answer some questions from a few students and got lost in organizing her music. It was clear the Beatles medley was in for the concert; however, it was also clear that the second piece they’d sung was out. She’d have to replace it with something.
The small volunteer ensemble that was the pride of the music department filed into the room. She worked with them two days a week and she worked with the pep band two other days of the week. Pressing her lips together, she handed out a new song she’d chosen for them and sat down at the piano as they all dropped their bags and prepared to sing. At least this group wanted to be here and had some talent. In some ways that made teaching them easier, and in others, far harder. She gave them much more complicated music.
They rehearsed for an hour before Jewel released them to go home. Jewel then spent the next hour listening to the recordings she had done and playing the songs over and over as she listened to where the kids needed to work, where she needed to work, and choices that needed to be made. It was nearing half past five before she managed to leave school and slink back to her house for a quiet dinner.
* * *
By the time Friday rolled around, Jewel was exhausted. She’d worked more hours that week than she cared to count. It was nearing seven when she made the decision after staring at her fridge and pantry that she wasn’t going to cook anything that night. She was too tired to even figure out what she should cook, not to mention she really needed to get on the grocery shopping bandwagon sometime in the next couple days.
Jewel climbed into her car and drove the few blocks to the Grill House in the old Legion building. The parking lot was packed. Ever since it had reopened the year before, it had been doing very well. She didn’t relish the idea of wading into a bunch of people that night, but she also didn’t want to bring the food home with her.
She went inside, pocketing her keys. The place was busy. Empty tables were hard to find. She walked straight to the bar, sitting on the far end of it so there was only one open seat next to her. She hoped to avoid the world for a few minutes while still being among the living. Lea preferred to hide out in isolation, but Jewel preferred to observe and watch. It had been a pain to drag Lea out here the few times she had convinced her to come.
Tommie stepped up to Jewel and put her hand on the top of the counter. “Alone tonight?”
“Yeah,” Jewel responded with a grim smile. “Not sure I can handle company after the week I’ve had. I’m tired of people.”
“Oh, I understand that.” Tommie gave her a wan smile. “Want a drink, then?”
“I think just a tea and whatever the special is tonight.”
“Coming right up.” Tommie slapped the wooden countertop of the bar lightly before stepping toward the computer to input the order. They were the first business in town to have an electronic ordering system, and it had been a learning curve for all the other waitresses who had jumped on board to work here. Tommie had been patient in teaching them, though.
Jewel pulled out her phone, skimming through the social media she seemed to rarely check unless it was summer. She liked a few posts, thanked Tommie when she brought the tea over, and went back to minding her own business. Luckily just about everyone left her alone, but it could also have been the vibe she was giving off.
The text message from Lea was a surprise. She opened it, reading the one simple word. “Tomorrow?”
Confused, Jewel read the word over and over, trying to find the hidden meaning that Lea hadn’t shared. Sometimes Lea missed the need for context. Tomorrow was Saturday. Maybe she meant to ask if they were still doing their bimonthly shopping trip to town. But it could also mean, “Hey, I haven’t seen you in a week, what about tomorrow?”
Growling, Jewel was about to type out a response when she froze. The deep voice grated on her nerves. She tensed, eyeing the rest of the Grill House without moving her head to try and figure out where it came from. Maybe it wasn’t too late to ask Tommie to pack up her meal in a to-go box and then she could eat at home in silence without the asshole coming near her.
It took longer than she expected, but she found him. Just inside the front door, surrounded by a bunch of his buddies and his arm slung over the shoulders of a petite blonde who looked like she could be broken in half if the wind blew too strong. Narrowing her gaze even more, Jewel realized she recognized the woman. A mom. Not just any mom, but the mom of two of her students: a sweet kindergartner and a second grader.
Cursing under her breath, Jewel looked around frantically for Tommie. She wanted to get out of there. She wanted to go home and crawl into her bed and hide for the rest of the weekend before she had to face the music that was her students, and eventually, that mom. Brady she could avoid, but if he started playing daddy of the year, she was going to have to deal with him when she definitely was not ready.
Tommie came by to refill her tea, but before Jewel could even manage to remember to ask for her dinner to go, she’d already left. She gripped her phone hard, wondering if she sent a text to Lea and begged her to come out if she would, or if she’d claim she was too tired or antisocial to deal with people. Jewel should have just stayed home.
His voice got louder as he came up to the bar to order for Cora Velsco and himself. Jewel gritted her teeth. Hopefully he didn’t see her over in the corner, and even more, hopefully he left her alone for the night. Tommie set her food down in front of her and walked away, going to help Brady and Cora.
“What can I do for you, Brady?”
“I’d like two Buds. One for me and one for the missus.”
Jewel shuddered. God, had she really ever thought he was sexy or that the possessive attitude he had was attractive? The answer was no. She hadn’t. She’d fought against it in the beginning and toward the middle she’d given in, writing it off as him just being him. Tommie walked away, but Brady made eye contact with her, raising an eyebrow in her direction. He gripped his arm tighter around Cora’s shoulders and pulled her in to kiss the top of her head. Tommie set the drinks on the counter and took Brady’s card to start a tab. He took his drink and moved, with Cora plastered to his side, toward Jewel and the far end of the bar.
“Fuck this,” Jewel mumbled to no one but herself. She hadn’t even managed to take a bite of her dinner because she was so engrossed in what he was going to say or do. She watched as he moved around and came to stand right in front of her.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
Jewel shrugged. “They make a mean steak.”
