“Well, I had a great time,” I said when the check came.
“How about I get tonight’s dinner and the next time you can pay?”
“Oh, already planning our second date, huh?” I said with a smile.
She shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Let’s give it a try. What do you say?”
“I say, ‘sure, why not?’”
“I have to go out of town until next week, but I have an idea,” Alice said as we made our way to the front of the restaurant. “How about we go to that Movie in the Park in Thornton. I don’t know what’s playing, but I bet it would be fun.”
“Yeah, I like that idea.”
We exchanged phone numbers, said our goodbyes, and I watched as she walked to a small sports car, her hips swaying provocatively, making my heart beat just a tad bit harder. She had to be one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen.
And we were going to have a second date!
Chapter Three
The students were off at recess. I was glad I did not have duty; that was up to Georgia today. I did not mind it so much, but I wanted to get as much of the homework graded as I could so I would not have to take it home…again. Grading papers seemed to take up almost all of my personal time and I was sick of it.
“So? How was the date last night?” Susan asked as she walked into the room, her own stack of homework that needed grading in her arms. She sat down at the table across from me, looking uncomfortable in the small student chairs. But we were used to it. Sometimes I went to her room, sometimes she came to mine. Either way, one of us had to sit in a small chair.
Last night. A slight tingle spread through me as I thought about Alice. I still could not believe how beautiful she was.
“It went really well,” I said, adding a plus sign to the page in front of me.
Susan put her pen on the desk, intertwined her fingers, and gave me her full, undivided attention. “So? Tell me about it!”
I laughed. “You sure are nosy.”
That smile I recognized popped onto her face. It was the smile she always gave when she wanted to know juicy gossip, either about me or anyone else.
“OK, OK, she was really, really pretty. She does modeling…”
Her eyebrows shot upwards. “A model? Well, well, well.” She picked up her pen and went back to grading.
“Oh, stop it,” I said circling an incorrect answer. “She does a lot of…I can’t remember what she called it, but she holds up the numbers at boxing and Mixed Martial Arts matches.” I snapped my fingers. “Ring girl, that’s what she called it.”
Susan whistled. “Lucky you.”
“We really hit it off. She was nice and funny, just the kind of person I’ve been looking for.”
“Are you going to see her again?”
“Yeah, we’ve decided to go to that Movie in a Park in Thornton. I don’t even know what’s playing yet, but we figured that if it’s not something we want to see, we can just leave and go do something else.”
“Oh, yeah, I think it’s Shrek.”
“I love that one!” I paused and then laughed. “I wonder what she thinks of watching a kids cartoon. It kind of goes with the territory.” I waved my hand around the classroom.
“Well, at least you have set the option to do something else if she doesn’t like it.”
“True.” I was more than a little worried that Alice would be upset, but it had been her idea. “She’s probably used to action movies since she spends so much time with guys, especially those guys who just want to beat up on each other. I didn’t even ask her what she likes to watch.” My laugh was halfhearted. “There is a lot I didn’t ask her about. What if she’s more of a rough person in real life?”
“Real life? You’ve already met her. It’s not like you met in a chat room.”
I laughed. “No, I know it, but what if she’s more into all that fighting stuff? I get enough of that here with the kids trying to pop each other for the smallest infractions. I don’t know if I want to deal with that outside of school.”
“Look, give it a chance,” Susan said, grabbing my hand. “You have had one date, and you’re already acting like it’s not going to work out. Don’t judge before you two have even had the chance to get to know each other. And think of it this way…were you completely open and honest with her about every aspect of your life? Did you really expect to learn everything about her, or her you, in that one sitting alone?”
I laughed. “No I guess I wouldn’t,” I said. “You’re right. We just won’t know until we’ve had a few more dates.”
“And when you get to see your first match,” Susan added with a smile.
“Stop pushing me,” Chris Bakersfield yelled from the doorway.
I groaned inwardly. I had to do something about Chris.
***
Georgia Collins was a soft-spoken, easy-going woman around forty with red hair and freckles. She always had a ready smile and obviously loved her job. I had never seen her get upset with a student or lose her temper, something I wish I did less often.
I figured she had to be on some sort of medication.
I sat across a table from her in one of the student chairs. Instead of desks, she had seven tables students shared, and supplies were kept in bins on shelves along the wall. I almost envied her setup, until I thought about students carting bins to their tables, leaving them lying in the middle of the floor for other students to trip over. Not that it happened, but I could not help but imagine things like that happening.
“So, what are we going to do about Chris?” I asked as I set my notebook and a pencil on the table.
“I don’t know,” Georgia said. “I don’t really have problems with him.”
“I realize that, but I have him for two and a half hours straight with no breaks. I need some help with ideas. He’s not a bad kid, I just need some way to get him interested enough in reading that he’s not falling asleep or causing distractions for the other students.”
“Would you like to send him to me when he’s misbehaving? I can set up a desk in the corner, sort of a time-out for him.”
I shook my head. “No. I appreciate the offer, but he would see it as a reward. Plus, I want to get us to the point where he’s learning. If he’s not in my classroom, he’s not learning.”
“What do you suggest, then?” Although she was not outright condescending, I wondered what the point of getting together with her was if she was not going to give me any ideas.
“I don’t know. Maybe I can give him an interest inventory, find out what he’s interested in.”
“That’s a good idea. And if you get some books on topics he enjoys, let him have those in his book box to read for choice time.”
I considered this. “That’s a good idea. Maybe I can do that for the entire class, that way I’m not pointing him out on his own.”
Georgia nodded. “Yes, because he’s pretty smart. He’ll know if you’re trying to get one over on him.”
I laughed. “Yeah, that’s very true. What do you do to build relationships with the students you have trouble with?”
“Well, one thing I do is to have lunch with students, give them a chance to talk about themselves. You’d be surprised how often children feel unheard.”
I held back a chuckle. Chris’s parents made it clear he was heard. Then again, maybe it was he was the center of attention at home and could not handle not being that at school.
“That’s a really good idea. Maybe I’ll have lunch with him as a reward.”
Georgia shook her head. “You don’t want him thinking that he has to earn your time. Make him feel like there are no strings attached and he’ll buy in more.”
I considered this. If I equalized this with my date with Alice, I would be irate if I had to earn my time with her, or with anyone I wanted to have a relationship with. It made sense. This meeting really was worth the time.
“You’re so right,” I said finally. “Thanks, Georgia.”
She smiled. �
��Thanks for what? I didn’t even really do anything.”
“Sure you did. You gave me the chance to talk it through and gave me some suggestions. That’s exactly what I needed.”
“Well, in that case, you’re welcome.” She smiled broadly just as then the bell rang.
“It’s time,” I said as I got up from the chair, my legs feeling the burn of getting up from close to a squatting position. “Thanks again.”
“Sure, anytime,” Georgia said, then added, “Oh, I might need to meet up with you about Gaven. He’s not doing well in math and I have to figure out something to help him out.”
“No problem. Gaven works great for me, but that’s because he loves to read. Maybe we do some planning together and come up with some activities that cross the curriculum so everyone gets what they want.”
“That’s a good idea.” She paused at the door. “You’re doing a really good job, Carrie, I just want you to know that. I appreciate the chance to work this way. I can’t stand having to teach language arts.” She cringed.
I laughed as we walked out to the hallway. “And I can’t imagine having to teach math and science.” I feigned a shiver. “This setup works out for both of us.”
“It does.” She turned to the group of students walking quietly down the hall. “Nice job, Mrs. Peterson’s class!” she said as she high-fived all of the first graders as they went by. They all beamed. One little guy jumped up to slam his hand as hard as he could against her hand. She pulled away and laughed. “Nope, none of that,” she said. “Try again.” He hit her hand softly and they both laughed.
That was what I wanted with my students. I wanted that relationship where we laughed together and we both enjoyed school.
And it would come. I just had to get through to Chris
Chapter Four
Alice picked me up from my apartment at seven. I had packed a picnic dinner, and since I was not sure what Alice preferred, I added a variety of items to cover all my bases.
“What’s that?” Alice asked as I set the basket in the back seat.
“Just a picnic dinner. It’s my turn to pay, remember?”
Alice laughed and I smiled at her.
“I didn’t know if you ate or not, and I know I didn’t, so I figured I’d throw a few things together and bring them along. You don’t have to eat any of it if you don’t want to.”
For some reason, my anxiety rose. All sorts of thoughts bounced around my head. What if she thought a picnic dinner was stupid? Crap, what if she was a vegetarian? We both had salads on our date, but it never occurred to me to ask before I put together food for us.
“Nice!” she said. It even seemed real. “What did you pack?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure what you like, so I added a variety of items. I have different kinds of lunch meats to make sandwiches: ham, roast beef, turkey, with different condiments like mustard, mayo, and ketchup.”
“Ketchup?” Alice said, amused.
“Yeah, my brother only likes ketchup with any of his sandwiches so I always have it just in case.”
“That’s awesome,” she said with a laugh. “I love ketchup.”
I chuckled. “My brother would be so excited to hear that.”
“I don’t get to eat it often, it has too much sugar, and I have to watch my figure.”
Heat spread through my stomach as I looked at her tight t-shirt and jeans. “I’ll watch your figure, don’t you worry,” I mumbled just before I slid into the front seat.
“What was that?”
“Oh, nothing.” I felt my face heat up. “Um…I also brought some potato salad, and before you ask, no, I did not make it. It’s store bought. Then I have some salad in bowls ready-to-eat, and different types of chips.”
“Wow, you really came prepared.”
“Yeah, sorry. Like I said, I had no idea what to bring.”
“Well, luckily it’s my free night.”
“Free night? What’s that?”
“It’s the night I can eat whatever I want. I usually pick Friday or Saturday because that’s when people usually have parties, but I picked today just for us.”
“That’s actually a really good idea.”
She nodded as she pulled the car onto the street. “I’ll just have to be sure to work out for an extra hour tomorrow to make up the difference in calories.”
My mouth hung open. “Extra hour? I can’t even get in a single hour. How long do you work out?”
She laughed. It was a nice laugh that tugged at my heart. “Anywhere from an hour to three hours. It depends on what I’m doing for the day…and what I’ve eaten.”
I could only sit and stare. Three hours? Holy cow, how would I ever keep up with this woman?
She glanced over at me and must have seen my expression because she laughed again. “I was just kidding. I jog every morning which is better than straight working out. I get out in the fresh air and get my exercise at the same time.”
“Oh, my God, you had me going.”
“You’d be surprised how many women, and men, work out more than that every day. It’s crazy. That’s why I picked up jogging. It’s the best exercise. Then I carry weights to help me tone as I’m jogging.”
It was all something I had heard of but did not understand. I was lucky to get in a walk around the track anytime during the day at school, and I said as much.
“It takes a lot of discipline to make it a habit. Believe it or not, I was overweight all through high school.”
“What? You? Overweight? I can’t even imagine it.” That perfect figure, that hot body, could never have been fat.
She smiled. “Well, I didn’t get where I am overnight. I had to start small and build to where I am today. I’m glad I did it. I feel better and am much healthier than I ever was in school. I was so overweight I had type two diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and spent most of my time depressed and bullied. I finally woke up one day and said I had enough.”
“That’s amazing,” I said, still in awe.
“What’s really fun is to show off at my class reunions. The popular girls who picked on me are now the fat housewives.” She paused and then said, “I don’t mean to put down people who are overweight. But it’s unhealthy. I understand the issues behind it, and it just takes perseverance to get to this point.”
Was she saying I was fat? I found myself feeling very uncomfortable, and I glanced down at my stomach. It was still flat, but certainly was not toned.
Alice glanced over at me and laughed. “Don’t worry, you look great.” She placed her hand on my leg and electricity shot through me.
I beamed. “I do try to watch what I eat, but I’m not very good about the exercise part. Chasing after kids is about all I get.”
She removed her hand from my leg and it was as if a cold draft had hit the spot where her hand was. I found myself wishing she would put it back. “I can’t even imagine doing your job,” she said as she signaled to turn into the parking lot of the park. Only a few spaces were available. The lawn was covered in blankets and children ran around chasing each other.
I groaned.
“What’s the matter?”
“I didn’t even think of how many kids would be here. But it’s OK, I can deal with it.” I did not want to back out now.
“We can do something else if you want.”
When I looked at her, I saw the sincerity in her face and had heard it in her voice and I felt relief rush over me. It bothered me how high my anxiety got when I thought of sitting there on a date with someone else’s children screaming and running, parents not saying anything when things got knocked over, even people.
“You have no idea how good it is to hear that,” I said with a sigh. “But only if you want to,” I added quickly. “Don’t leave just on my account.”
She shrugged and merged back into the traffic. “I get it. You’re around kids all day. Like I said, I can’t imagine doing your job. How about this? We can head over to my place and have a picnic on
my patio. It’s enclosed. We can even lay out the blanket if you want to still make it like we’re at the park. The only thing that will be missing is Shrek. Great movie, by the way.” She added the last with a laugh.
I was nervous about going over to her place with us only being on the second date, but it did sound nice. “Sure, why not,” I said finally.
Why not just take a chance?
***
Alice lived in a ground floor apartment in Arvada. The complex was massive and gated, with a small building where visitors could check in before entering. I did not ask, but I assumed it was pricey. She must have been doing well with her work to afford something so nice.
The quadplex in which she lived was quiet. When I asked about it, Alice said, “I lucked out. My upstairs neighbor is a single guy who works nights and the two apartments across the atrium houses an elderly couple that is too cute for words and a man who only has his daughter on weekends. All of them pretty much keep to themselves, but will say hello if we see each other outside.”
Her apartment was decorated in contemporary fashion. She had no television, and when I asked her about it, she said, “Nah, I don’t have time for it. If I want to watch something, I just pull it up on my laptop. Paying for cable is a waste of money, and you end up with crap anyway.”
I nodded. I could not agree with her more. On a teacher’s pay just paying for basic cable was a luxury. She showed me around her apartment, an open concept living room and kitchen with all the modern conveniences. Even the plugs had USB ports on them. The living room furniture was sleek with straight lines. And white. Although I did not have any children yet, I still could not imagine having white furniture, not with how messy I tended to be.
“So, I have a bedroom with an en-suite and the second bedroom I use as a guest room slash office.” The office consisted of a desk, a bookcase, a wing chair and office chair, and a small table with a trophy on it.
I walked over to it and squatted down to look at the inscription.
Perfect Match: A Lesbian Romance Page 2
