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She took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes. Houma offered me a teaching position. Kindergarten. Starting after Christmas. I’d be replacing a teacher, but it would be permanent.”
Her father looked sincerely shocked. “Becca, I…”
“It would make things easier here. For us.”
His frown deepened. “But…” He shook his head. “Don’t go. Stay. Please.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“I don’t want you to go. Beau’s absolutely right that Autre needs you.”
“But…we’re arguing. Things are tense between us. You don’t…” She stopped but then realized there was no reason not to finish that sentence. “You don’t listen to me.”
Jonathan seemed legitimately confused. “Of course I listen to you.”
“You hear me,” she conceded. “But you don’tlisten. My opinion doesn’t matter. You can’t play favorites.”
“Of course I can’t play favorites.” Her dad moved in closer.
“Right. So you can’t take my opinions into consideration.”
“That isnotwhat I meant by that, Rebecca,” he said firmly. “I never gave you special attention or consideration because I never wantedyouto think that anything you got—good grades, praise from teachers, accolades—were ever for any reason other than because you earned them. I needed you to know that you were amazing all on your own.”
Becca stared at him. “But…with all of this…the arts program…I didn’t change your mind about any of it.”
“I didn’t need my mind changed. I always agreed with you and everyone who thought it was bullshit that they reallocated that money.”
Becca’s eyes widened. Her father almost never swore.
“But you let them do it.”
“I didn’t have a say in it,” he said, a little exasperated. “That’s what you and Toby and Beau and others are figuring out. The school is a part of the community. Yes, the administration oversees the operations, but the community has a lot of say. As they should.”
“I thought…” Her mind was spinning. “You were so upset with me.”
“I got upset and we argued because I hate the idea of letting you down or making you think that I’m not doing my job well.” He paused, then added. “And inthatway you are different from the other teachers. I can handle it when they get upset with me. It’s a typical employee-boss thing. I expect it. But with you…it does matter more. And I get more emotional. And in trying to keep it professional, I obviously did a bad job of communicating.”
“Oh.” Becca took a breath as that all sunk in. “I guess I was maybe a little unrealistic in my expectations too. And that comes from you being my dad,” she realized as she said it out loud. “With another boss, I might not care as much, but I wantyouto be perfect and be able to fix everything for me.” She gave him a little smile. “I guess we might need to work on that.”
He nodded. “We will. And it might never be easy. You will always be my daughter, not just another teacher.”
Her heart squeezed. “I’m glad. I never want to be just another teacher to you.”
“I know you’re being pressured by the other teachers. You’re going to need to set up some boundaries,” her dad said.
She nodded. “Yeah. I know. I’m learning.”
“We’re all learning. All the time,” Jonathan said with a soft smile. “For instance, Toby realized that a policy change would allow more of the community to get involved in board discussions. That was smart,” Jonathan said. “I can’t override the board. But if the community gets more involved, the board members—who are elected by the town—will listen to that. That’s how it should be. The schoolshouldmatter to the community, and I’d love to see more involvement. As long as the teachers are fully respected and supported and their voices are heard too.”
“You can make sure that happens,” Becca said with a smile.
But Jonathan shook his head. “Youcan make sure that happens. You and Toby and Fletcher and everyone else. This is your job, but it’s also your community. The people here know you and trust you. Just like Beau said. When you’re a part of the community, you can make others understand things in a way strangers can’t. It’s complicated and gets a little messy, but some of the best things in life are like that.”
He looked at Beau when he said that.
Beau nodded. “And I just want to say that I get that you and Becca might set up some rules, like no talking about school at dinner.”
Jonathan lifted a shoulder. “Maybe.”
