The Teacher

by Gray, Meg

  Behind him, Margaret stepped in to embrace her youngest son, cheerfully exclaiming her greeting, all notes of disgust from their earlier conversation gone, even though Luke was six days late in arriving.

  Chapter Eleven

  Emma lifted her half-empty glass of ginger ale and toasted the TV. “Happy New Year,” she said, as she watched the glittering, mirrored ball drop in Times Square. Chester, her sister’s lazy orange tabby cat, yawned up at her and stretched his front paw. She swallowed the rest of her drink and zapped the remote at the TV, drawing the screen blank.

  “Thanks for the company,” she said as she rubbed the cat between the ears. She dropped her glass off in the kitchen before she climbed the stairs to her nieces’ room. Emma looked over the side of Lauren’s crib. Her niece was curled peacefully in a ball and sleeping, her mouth formed in a perfect circle. Chelsea’s legs dangled off the side of her twin bed and Emma pulled her back to the center before covering her with the duvet.

  The pink princess clock glowed 12:17 when Emma slipped beneath the sheets of the twin pull out bed on the floor. Audrey and Finn were celebrating at a neighbor’s house and Emma hoped they were having fun. She was happy to babysit Chelsea and Lauren for the evening because it gave her the perfect excuse not to go to the New Year’s Eve bash Stacy wanted to drag her to. If Seth were around to tag along with, that would be different, but he was in California tonight kissing his own someone special. No, Emma preferred to be alone, with no one to kiss, instead of lost in a crowd of drunken strangers with no one she wanted to kiss.

  Emma awoke to her sister’s warm breath on her cheek as she leaned down and whispered in her ear.

  “We’re back,” she hissed, then giggled. The smell of champagne was heavy on her breath. Finn watched from the doorway. Emma barely glimpsed his face, but he looked tired and annoyed at his wife who was holding a finger to her own lips saying, “Shhh,” as if he was the one who might wake the children. Audrey staggered out with her heels in hand and Finn took her by the arm steadying her down the hallway.

  The next morning Emma awakened to Chelsea jumping on her belly. The smell of bacon drifted up the stairs. She looked over at Lauren’s crib and saw that it was empty.

  “Where’s your sister?” she asked in a near panic.

  “Daddy got her out this morning. He’s making pancakes and said I could see if you were awake yet.”

  “Oh, I’m definitely awake now, thank you Chelsea. I’ll be right down.”

  The little girl bounced off the bed and sped down the stairs. Emma found Finn and the girls in the kitchen. Her brother-in-law wore a worn-out pair of sweat pants, a white t-shirt and thick wool socks. He held Lauren, who drank from a sippy cup, in one arm and the pancake flipper in the other. He grinned at her when she walked in. Emma took Lauren from him and buckled her into her highchair next to Chelsea who was already at the table ready to eat.

  Finn brought a plate piled high with pancakes over to the table and Emma helped the girls with the butter and syrup. She cut each pancake into bite size pieces. Finn returned with another plate of bacon and eggs and a cup of coffee for Emma.

  “Thank you,” she said, accepting it and they both sat in two of the empty chairs at the table. One chair remained empty. The girls were deep into their pancake breakfast.

  “Thanks for staying the night,” Finn said.

  “Absolutely,” Emma told him. “Did you guys have fun?”

  “Yeah, sure,” he said, unconvincingly as he helped Lauren reach her sippy cup.

  “Is Audrey awake?”

  He shook his head, his mouth full of pancakes. “Nah, she’s still sleepin’ it off.”

  Emma nodded and took another bite of her own pancake. Chelsea jumped from her seat at the table, announced she was finished, and licked the syrup from her fingers. Lauren, not wanting to be left behind, started squirming in her highchair saying, “Out, out, out…” and Finn released her, doing a quick swipe of her hands with his napkin before she followed her sister into the living room to watch the morning cartoons.

  Emma and Finn finished their pancakes in silence. He seemed deep in thought about something and Emma didn’t want to disturb whatever it was he was working out, so she saved her questions until they were clearing the table.

  “Is everything okay with you and Audrey?” She had asked her sister the same thing at Christmas after she overheard the two having an argument in her parents’ living room on Christmas Eve. Emma hadn’t heard what they were saying, only the tone of their voices and it was unlike any conversation she’d ever heard exchanged between the two of them.

  “Sure, the holidays are always crazy, but I’ve got some down time now and we’ll get back to normal,” he reassured her.

  “Well, I’m glad you guys got to go out last night and have a little fun.”

  “Hmmmph,” he grunted. “Yeah, if you call watching your wife gettin’ plastered with her prissy little friends fun, then yeah, it was great fun.”

  The sound of hearing Finn pronounce the word fun (foon) twice in one sentence usually made Emma smile, but not this morning. She was too caught up in the way he said it, as if he were passing judgment on Audrey. Since when had Finn taken a dislike to Audrey having a few drinks? Finn’s parents owned a pub in Dublin. He grew up in a social drinking climate, unlike Emma and Audrey’s anti-alcohol childhood.

  Had Audrey had too much to drink last night or did something else happen that had irritated Finn? Emma was about to ask when Audrey herself walked into the kitchen with her hand pressed to her forehead. Her robe hung open over her pinstriped pajamas.

  Without a word to anyone, she reached high into a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of aspirin downing two or maybe three, Emma wasn’t sure. Finn handed her a glass of water to chase the pills and then set a cup of coffee on the counter in front of her.

  “Why did you let me drink so much last night?” she asked her husband through the fog of her hangover.

  “Didn’t know it was my job to keep track of your booze last night, love.” Reproachful sarcasm crept into his voice, surprising Emma again. She had never heard Finn talk to her sister like this before. He walked into the living room and snuggled between the girls on the couch.

  “You okay?” Emma asked her sister.

  She nodded, “Yeah, I’ll just be paying for last night all day.” Audrey smiled and sipped her coffee. “Hey, thanks again for watching the girls.”

  “No problem. We had fun,” Emma assured her sister. “I think I’ll head up and shower before I take off.”

  “Sure,” Audrey replied, taking another sip of coffee. “Big plans for today?”

  “Not really, just a little grocery shopping and apartment cleaning.”

  “I see, running home to be with your special friend.” Audrey’s tone was almost mean.

  “Excuse me?” Emma asked, narrowing her eyes on her sister. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing,” Audrey said, changing her tone and waving a hand in front of her face. “It’s just all you seem to talk about is Seth-this and Seth-that. I just don’t want you to waste your time barking up the wrong tree.”

  “Whose tree you barking up, Emma?” Finn asked returning to the kitchen and joining the conversation. He poured himself another cup of coffee and leaned against the counter.

  “Nobody,” Emma replied, rolling her eyes.

  “We were just talking about Seth,” Audrey filled in for her.

  Finn lifted his cup about to take a drink, “Isn’t he…”

  “Yes,” Emma answered. “And I have no delusions about Seth and I being anything more than friends.”

  “You only dream about being married to him,” Audrey snickered into her cup.

  “Audrey!” Emma shrieked at her sister. She didn’t want Finn to hear about her pathetic fantasies.

  “Hey, you know we just bought some new towels.” Finn smirked. “Maybe you’d like to bring them home, so Seth could change up his wardrobe around the place, you know?�
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  Great. Finn was already in on all her secrets. That was the last time she confided anything embarrassing to her sister. Finn and Audrey smiled at each other over their coffee cups, having too much fun at her expense.

  “You guys are just mean,” Emma said, walking out of the kitchen. She heard them laugh behind her. Well, at least they were in a better mood with each other.

  * * *

  For the next two days, Emma spent time watching her new best friends on the Food Network Channel—Rachael Ray, Giada De Laurentiis and Guy Fieri. After spending Christmas Break in Orchard Creek and working with her mother in the kitchen baking fresh cinnamon rolls and roasting a turkey all day for dinner, Emma had made a New Year’s resolution to eat better. No more toast and eggs for dinner or take-out. The tiny apartment freezer was packed full of homemade pasta, pre-cooked lasagnas, soups and casseroles. She hadn’t realized how much she missed being in the kitchen. The apartment offered only a small square of real estate to the kitchen, but she enjoyed every moment of being in there.

  Stacy was after her to set a date to go out with Peter and James. Again, Emma piled on the excuses. This little set up was the last thing she wanted to do, there was no future for her with Peter or James. A quiet night at home with Seth was far more appealing. Seth would be home any minute. Emma spent the afternoon cooking an eggplant lasagna and homemade French bread, she was anxious to surprise him with her home cooked meal.

  The timer on the stove sounded and the front door opened as Emma pulled the lasagna from the oven.

  “Wow, something smells good,” Seth called. A moment later, he appeared in the doorway.

  “It’s your dinner,” Emma said and smiled at him.

  “Anything I can do to help?” he asked, walking over to look at the lasagna she was holding.

  “No, just take a seat.”

  Seth took a chair at the table and waited while Emma brought the lasagna, salad and bread to the table. They sat and enjoyed their meal together. Emma was happy to see Seth take second and third helpings of everything. She listened while Seth talked of his holiday in California with Kelly and the New Year’s party they attended at the beach.

  Emma told Seth about her quiet Christmas in the country, her nieces and the time she spent over the last few days cooking huge meals and freezing the leftovers.

  “I kind of took all the space in the freezer,” she said with a guilty smile. “I did leave your two frozen dinners in there.”

  “You mean the whole freezer is full of more food like this?” Seth asked, watching her.

  She nodded.

  “This,” he said, pointing to the lasagna pan with only smears of sauce and bits of cheese remaining. “Is better than any of those frozen dinners I have in there. I’ll take your home cooking over those any day.”

  Emma smiled, “I’m glad you liked it.”

  “Loved it is more like it. You know I’ve always heard that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and this, my dear, is almost good enough to change my heart.” He winked at her when he said this and she smiled, her mind sticking to the word almost.

  Emma stood to clear the dishes from the table and Seth followed her to the sink with his own handful of dishes. Together they rinsed and loaded the dishwasher. Emma poured the detergent and latched the door closed, before pressing the “on” button.

  “What are you doing tomorrow?” Seth asked as they walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, sitting together on the couch.

  “Not much,” Emma replied.

  “I’d like to take you to lunch. There’s a place downtown that I think you’ll like. Are you up for it?”

  “Sure,” Emma said.

  Seth picked up the mail Emma had been stacking on the small side table next to the couch for him. He shuffled through the envelopes and then waved a postcard in the air.

  “Hey, my gym is offering a free guest pass for members this month. Maybe you’d like to come with me in the morning and then we could go on to lunch.”

  “I don’t know, Seth, I’m not much into lifting weights or running on a treadmill.”

  “They have other things to do there too, you know, like classes. Yoga, Pilates and all that,” he studied the card again. “Look, a new Zumba class is starting up on Saturdays at nine. That might be fun.”

  “Alright,” Emma said with a shrug. “I guess I could give it a try, but lunch had better be really good.”

  “Don’t worry. It will be.” Emma wanted to refuse him, but how could she when he looked at her with that his sexy charming smile.

  Chapter Twelve

  Emma wore her only pair of black yoga pants and a pink tank top under a sweatshirt. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and Seth met her at the door with a water bottle.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.

  The gym was bright and open, with floor to ceiling windows on two sides. Despite the gray gloom that hovered outside the interior lights kept the inside sunny. The second floor was open, like a balcony, and lined with exercise machines. Emma followed Seth beyond the lines of rowing machines on the first floor and into the group exercise room. A panel of etched glass windows separated the room from the rest of the facility.

  Seth promised to meet her outside the room in one hour and then took off up the stairs to start his circuit training. Emma set her water bottle and sweatshirt near the door and heard someone call her name.

  “Ms. Hewitt.” It was Naomi’s mother, Terry.

  “Oh, hi,” Emma said with a little wave.

  “I didn’t know you belonged to this gym too,” she said.

  “I don’t, actually, my roommate brought me along as his free guest today.”

  “That was your roommate?” asked the woman who’d been chatting with Terry. “I wish I had a roommate like that at my house.”

  “Oh come on, Kitty, doesn’t Bob excite you anymore?” Terry teased her friend.

  “The only thing Bob does that’s exciting is pick up his dirty socks before I ask him to and that hasn’t happened in over a decade.”

  Emma smiled.

  “Good morning,” a cheerful voice boomed from the speakers around the room and Latin music started to thump. Everyone scattered, claiming a spot on the floor. Emma was pushed to the back, near the door and began to follow the thin, perky instructor at the front of the room whose spandex shorts and sports bra barely covered her muscular body. Emma picked up the beat and joined in the warm up.

  The music’s tempo increased and Emma tried to keep up, changing her movements every time the instructor yelled, “Do this.” Everyone else in the class must have been regulars, because they seemed to anticipate the changes whereas Emma found herself a step behind or going the wrong way, but she had to admit she was hip shaking and shoulder shimmying as good as anyone else. They started moving faster again and Emma wondered how bad she was going to hurt in the morning.

  * * *

  Marcus’s persistence finally paid off. The nanny agency called yesterday with a new nanny. He couldn’t help but wonder, when he left this morning, just how long this girl would last. Trying to push the thought from his mind, he popped his earbuds in as his feet treaded slowly along the belt. He took a deep cleansing breath as he tried to relieve the stress layering like bricks inside him. It had been months since he last escaped to the gym.

  His feet moved steadily as he eased into his run. From his perch on the balcony, he watched the people below coming and going from one machine to the next. There was an aerobics class going on in the room below and he noticed one poor participant in a bright pink shirt trying to keep up with the rest of the group. He smiled to himself, amused. She stood out, because she was always a step behind or going in the wrong direction.

  Newbie, he thought to himself and tried to look away, but couldn’t. The class was shaking their hips and Marcus’s attention was drawn to this woman’s backside. He couldn’t help it. It had been a long time, a very long
time, since he let himself look at a woman and he figured just this once wouldn’t hurt.

  The class moved to the right and now to the left, but Miss Pink Shirt missed the cue and almost smacked into the person next to her. Marcus smiled and watched everyone else switch back to the right. Miss Pink Shirt caught the cue this time and moved with the class. Everyone started kicking and two beats later Miss Pink Shirt joined them, but that didn’t last long because the class changed to a swivel step and she was still kicking. Again, Marcus smiled feeling a little guilty about being entertained at this poor woman’s expense. He could at least give her credit she was sticking with it.

  Marcus, into a full run on the treadmill, watched the class below as they did some cowboy roping move, with their arm and pivoted in a circle. Miss Pink Shirt missed the first one but joined in on the next one. When she turned around Marcus saw her red and flush face. He stumbled on his machine and was nearly thrown from the belt. He grabbed the railing and recovered as the guy on the next machine turned to look at him. Regaining his composure Marcus, picked up his pace and returned to his run. He looked down at the class and watched the woman in the pink shirt do another cowboy turn.

  It was exactly whom he’d thought it was. Ms. Hewitt, Brayden’s teacher.

  Now he tried more than ever to look away, but still couldn’t resist a glance every now and again. The class slowed down and looked like they were stretching. Marcus’s program on the treadmill ended and he grabbed his towel wiping the sweat from his brow. He took a drink of water before he headed downstairs to the basketball court.

  The aerobics class was breaking up and Marcus saw Ms. Hewitt looking around, right in his path to the courts. Before he could backtrack her eyes found his and they locked for a moment.

  “Hello, Ms. Hewitt,” he said, sounding more abrupt than he intended.

  “Hello, Mr. Lewis,” she said, matching his tone.

  “I didn’t…” he began, but then her eyes looked past him and she smiled. Turning he saw a man walking toward them. The roommate, he should have known.