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Chapter 31
Alison inhaled as she walked with Troy down the laminate-floored hall of the school building. The air had a peculiar mix of scents that she hadn’t smelled since she’d left school herself. Pencil shavings, old books, paste. Musty coats brought in from the rain and put away wet too many times. The faint odor of the lunch ladies heating up the noon meal drifting across from the cafeteria. And, underneath it all, just a hint of the industrial cleaner that the janitor mopped the floors with at night.
It brought her back. She glanced at Troy’s face and was filled with nostalgia. For a moment, she didn’t understand why the two things—memories of school and being with Troy—were somehow connected in her psyche, but then it hit her like a lightning bolt. The epiphany was overwhelming.
It was because Troy made her feel like a teenager again.
The last time she’d felt this optimistic, this full of wonder about the world and enthusiasm for the future, she’d been walking the halls of her own school, daily inhaling the very same smell that was causing those long-ago memories to flood her memory now.
Dion and the Belmonts had asked the world, in their famous harmonic lament, “Why must I be a teenager in love?” And, sure, when it was happening to her in real time, it hadn’t been a walk in the park. But revisiting a second teenagerhood through the power of love? That was a whole different story. She was enjoying that experience to the hilt.
She stopped short, the blood draining from her face.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
The concern in Troy’s voice told her that her expression must be dire. She made a concerted effort to relax the muscles in her shoulders and her face, to put on a casual smile and an even more casual air. “I’m fine. Just got a little chill.”
His head tilted to the side and, even though he didn’t seem entirely convinced, he let it drop as they started to walk again.
Wow. The body of work she’d done in drama school was really serving her well, here. The last thing she wanted to tell him, right smack dab in the middle of the hall at his little sister’s middle school, was, Hey, guess what? I think I just realized I’m in love with you!
Even if it was true.
One of the many doors that lined the corridor opened at that moment and a man with John Lennon glasses and perfectly-pressed khakis stepped out into the hall. “Ms. Bartholomew? Mr. Valentine? We’re in here.”
Alison gratefully accepted the opportunity to escape Troy’s questioning glance for the moment, as well as her own deepening feelings.
They stepped into the room, and the teacher motioned for them to join the other adults who were lined up against the back wall of the classroom. She saw that Troy greeted each and every one of them with either a smile or a nod and she felt, again, the now-familiar pull of community that Valentine Bay spurred inside her.
Troy knew all of these people. Not just knew who they were. Not just seen them perform or heard about their work. No, he’d lived his life side by side with them. Helped them through their own hardships and accepted their help when times were tough for him. He’d celebrated their milestones along with them and mourned their tragedies.
Thatwas a community. That was what she was missing in her life, and she was realizing it more and more every day she was here.
As the teacher took his place at the front of the room and the students quieted, Mila turned surreptitiously in her seat and gave Troy and Alison a little wave.
Warmth spread throughout Alison as she returned the sly greeting. With one small flick of her hand, Mila had included her in the community. It felt good. It felt damn good.
“Good morning! Good morning, everyone. For our guests, I’m Mr. Harris. I teach social studies here at Valentine Bay Middle School, and I’m thrilled to welcome all of you to our class today. When the students and I originally put out the call to friends and family to fill out our career day roster, I have to say that I was overwhelmed by the response.
“So, let’s get started. Owen, would you please introduce your guest speaker?”
An awkward, gangly boy stood from behind a desk in the front row. “Um, yeah. Hi. I’m Owen. This is my dad. His name’s Bradley. He’s, like, the mayor.”
The kid crashed back down into his seat so quickly that if his butt had been made of steel, the only explanation would’ve been that someone had turned on a powerful magnet on the underside of his chair.
The mayor, who shared his son’s tall and lanky frame but none of his awkwardness, stepped to the front of the room and spoke for a few minutes about the role of local government. The kids, to Alison’s view, didn’t seem particularly interested, but they impressed her with their polite attention. When she’d been in junior high she didn’t remember her classmates behaving with such respect in… well, any situation. This was a good group of kids.
Mr. Harris called on various students to introduce the adult that they’d brought with them until finally, Alison knew that Mila’s turn would be up next. It was a simple matter of the process of elimination—there were no other adults left in the room.
When her name was called, Mila stood proudly. She displayed none of the embarrassed shuffling that the rest of her classmates had when called upon to say even a few words in front of the group. Rather, her shoulders were thrown back confidently and when she spoke, her voice was clear and without hesitation. Alison was proud. The girl knew how to command a room.
“I actually brought two people today. First, my brother Troy. He builds things. Right now, he is working on giving a house he bought a new inside so that people will buy it. And I also brought Alison. She’s a singer. And an actress. And a dancer. She’s on Broadway. She’s, like… The coolest. Ever.”
Troy and Alison walked to the front of the room. Alison stood off to the side so the Troy could take his turn to speak first.
“Well, let me start off by saying thank you for having me. It’s an honor to come speak for your career day. Although, I am disappointed to find out that I’m not the coolest ever. I was under the impression I was.”
Mila hid her face in her hands, but the comment drew laughs from a few of the other students Alison guessed must be familiar with Troy’s patented style of a dad joke.
