by Kathryn Shay
“We’re closing in forty-five minutes,” Tris said. “Why?”
“I wanna buy you a beer at Benson’s.”
Tris shrugged. “I’m game.”
“Tim’s home today.” Lucy’s husband was a computer specialist. “He’s getting the kids off the bus.”
“Great. Close up and I’ll meet you there.” Much of Brightwood was within walking distance of everything.
Tris held back his arm when he started to leave. “How come you’re in such a good mood after somebody crashed your car?”
“It’s only a car. I like to be positive.”
Lucy frowned. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the princess, does it?”
“Nah, but I did have a good day at school.” He winked at them. “Hey, make sure you guys lock up.”
Lucia rolled her eyes at her sister. “He still thinks he has to tell us that.”
Tris shook her head. “He always will. Ignore him, as usual.”
“All right, all right, I get it. See you in a bit.”
As Dante hoofed it to Benson’s, he admitted that he was lying to the girls. But they’d rag on him about Brie. Besides, they’d read too much into his relationship with her.
The whole thing was casual, just to make sure she wasn’t afraid of him. Even though she made him smile, there was nothing romantic in his feelings for Gabriella Gentileschi.
Chapter 3
Brie surveyed her class. “So, we covered a lot this morning. When you come back from gym...”
The students started fidgeting before she finished. Then whispers rumbled through the group.
“Geez, is it him?”
“Wow!”
“Cool.”
She tracked their gazes to the doorway where a big, smiling man stood. Mike Jagielski. “Well, hello.”
“Hi, Ms. Gentileschi. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He nodded to the kids. “Your sister told me you were free at ten.”
“I am. The students are about to go to phys. ed. Come on in and say hello.”
Some of the kids’ mouths dropped. Some had owl-eyes. A few looked confused. And again, the exclamations:
“Oh, man...”
“Geez...”
“Hi, Jag.”
With the grace of a professional athlete, Mike strode inside and waved to the class. “Hi, gang.”
One of her more vocal boys asked, “Ms. Gentileschi, can we stay here? Talk to him?”
She checked the time. “There’s a few minutes before you have to leave. Stay in your seats, though.”
“Can we ask questions?” This from a little girl.
Brie gave Mike a questioning glance.
“Fine by me.”
“Are the Raiders gonna make the playoffs this year?” the girl wanted to know.
“I sure hope so.”
Another hand up. “I saw your walk-off home run last night. It was so cool.”
“I do my best. Like you guys need to do in school.”
“Were you good in school?” someone asked.
“I did my best.”
Evvie had told her Mike had a tough time growing up.
The questions continued until there was a knock on the open door. Dante hung back, though, grinning.
Brie waited for a pause in the dialogue, then said, “Mr. Federico, come on in. We’re ready for you.”
Cocking his head, he said easily, “Doesn’t look that way.”
He surveyed the group. “I got pretty big competition here.”
Brie knew he was used to being enthusiastically welcomed at this time of day. But he was also obviously a good sport.
Dante walked in and held out his hand. “Hello, Mr. Jagielski. I’m a fan.”
They shook. “Pleased to hear it.”
Brie said to the class, “All right, everybody. Line up for Mr. Federico.”
Mike stepped off to the side, and Dante turned to her. “I can’t wait to hear about this later.”
The kids asked, “Will you be here when we get back, Mr. Jag?”
“Um...”
“Sure,” Dante put in. “We’ll head on down here early, if that’s okay with Ms. Gentileschi and the Jag.”
Which it was.
Gently prompting the students, Dante got the kids started out the door. Sammy Simpson was the last to leave. “Hey, Mr. Jag.”
“Hey, there.”
Sam slid a paper from his book bag. “Can he sign this for me, Ms. Gentileschi?”
“It’s up to him.” She hoped Mike would. Sammy was more animated than she’d ever seen him.
“I don’t see why not.”
As Mike put the paper on a kid’s desk and leaned over to sign it, Brie got a glimpse of a newspaper photo, wrinkled as if it had been viewed several times. After the autograph, Sammy left with a lighter step.
When they were alone, Mike turned to her. “Didn’t mean to cause such a fuss.”
“No problem. Your visit brightened their day. You’re much more interesting than decimals.”
Mike laughed.
“Let’s go back to the adult desk and chairs behind the partition.” Brie had set up the section in her classroom for teacher privacy. She intended to provide private areas as part of every room in her own school.
When they were settled, she asked, “What can I do for you? Last time I saw Evvie, she bubbled with joy when she talked about you.”
“Thanks. I’m the same way about her. The guys rag on me all the time.”
“Of course I’m thrilled about that. So?”
“Evvie’s birthday is next week. Unfortunately, I have a game that night. I know your family is coming to celebrate when she turns a quarter of a century.”
“Mamá and Papá are still in the country from Lexy’s party. They’ve been visiting with each of us. Everyone’s coming down to D.C. for the birthday weekend. We’ve planned a party on Saturday because Evvie doesn’t want to miss one of your games.”
“Yeah, I heard. Another idea hit me this week and I talked to Lexy about it, but she said I had to run this by you. Would you want to celebrate at the game?”
“Meaning?”
“Here’s my request.”
When he finished, she squeezed his arm. “Oh, Mike, I’m sure Evvie would love that.”
“Music to my ears, Brie. I owe you one.”
Which she might collect someday.
For Sammy Simpson, who apparently had an idol.
* * *
At two, Dante waited in the teacher’s lounge for Brie to join him. As he sipped his coffee, he thought back to the morning, and how the kids buzzed about The Jag. Something that felt like jealousy had curled inside him because of the man who’d visited Brie’s classroom. Dante had been squelching the feeling all day. He only wanted Brie to be comfortable with him, and to meet with her publicly to show the rest of the teachers that he was a nice guy. This morning, one of the guys had already invited him for a drink on Friday, the first payday, at the local hangout.
“Hi.” Brie slid into a chair adjacent to him. He hadn’t seen her arrive.
She’d braided back her hair, and the thick rope inched down her back. The light blue dress she wore was an exact match to her eyes. He got a whiff of something like perfume. “Hi.” He gestured to a cup. “I got your coffee.”
“Thanks.” She sipped.
“Is it hot enough?”
“Uh-huh.”
Lazing back easily in the chair, he clasped his hands behind his neck in a casual pose. “So, Mike Jagielski, huh?”
“What about him?”
“We haven’t talked about dating.”
“No, we haven’t.”
He didn’t want to ask, but he blurted out, “Are you...seeing him?”
“I see him a lot. But not how you mean. He’s my sister’s fiancé.”
Immediately, Dante’s heart lightened. The overreaction didn’t make sense to him. “Which one?”
“Evangelina. She’s a rabid Lions fan.”
“Lions
? He plays for the Raiders.”
“That’s a long story. He came to see me today because Evvie turns twenty-five next week and he has a game the same night. He’s figured out how my family and I can celebrate with him. He’s booked a private suite for us.”
“Cool. I’m going to be there, too, that night. My niece is also a rabid fan. Her thirteenth birthday present is tickets to that game.”
“How sweet. I’ll wave to you.”
“So, any other guys in your life?”
“No one serious. You?”
“I date. No one serious.”
“How come? A guy like you?”
“Haven’t met the right person. But a girl, now a woman, and me were pretty serious all through high school. She just came back to town, so maybe.”
“Where did you go to college?”
“When I finally got to go, I attended a public school in upstate New York. Fredonia.”
“What do you mean?”
“After my father died, I got mega depressed. And concerned about my mother and sisters. I put college on hold.”
“Which college did you give up to stay home?”
“How’d you know I did?”
“The inflection of your voice.”
“I had a track scholarship to Yale.”
Reaching out, she squeezed his hand where it rested on the table. He wanted to keep her warm skin on his.
“What about college for you?” he asked.
“I went to university in Casarina. Then I came here to get a Masters at Georgetown and work in a low-income school.”
“Intentionally low-income?”
“Yep. I plan to start my own private school for grades K through four. I’ll be working on it full-time next year, opening the following year.”
“That’s a big goal.”
“I know. But it’s doable.”
When it was time to leave, Dante once again walked down the hall with her and was surprised by the twinge he felt because Brie wouldn’t be teaching with him next year.
Again, his reaction to her stumped him.
* * *
When Brie swerved into her driveway, she noticed Mariella’s car parked at the house next to hers. Instead of going inside her own home, she crossed immediately to Mari’s garage. Without knocking, she walked inside. She found her sister wearing old shorts and a shirt which read Georgetown University. One of those kerchief things covered her hair. “Mari, don’t get scared, it’s Brie.”
Mari looked up from the table and smiled warmly. “Buongiorno.”
Gesturing to encompass the house, Brie asked, “You got it so soon?”
“The sale went through quickly. I transferred the money in a couple of days and we closed this morning.”
“Wow, that was fast.”
Setting down the sketch pad and pencil she’d been using, she crossed to Brie and squeezed her arm. “Is being inside it hard for you?”
“Truthfully, I was so excited to see your car, I didn’t even think about this being Eddie’s house.” She scanned the kitchen. “I didn’t spend much time here.”
“I’m so relieved.”
“I was in this room several times, and the family room, but that’s it.”
Mari’s brow arched. “Not in the bedroom?”
Brie rolled her eyes. “Thankfully, never. But I was beginning to think it might go that way.”
“Coffee?” Mari asked, going to the pot.
“First. Then I could help with whatever you’re doing.”
“You don’t have to ask twice.”
As Mari poured coffee—its pungent scent was wonderful—Brie asked, “Where’s Lilliana?”
“School started and she’s scheduled for the after-school care at Georgetown when I have late classes. But she insisted she go today, even though I’m off.”
“You have to pick her up?”
“Hmm.”
“Let me do that.”
“Maybe.” They sat at the card table and chairs Mari had set up and looked through the sliding doors to the backyard. “I love the view here.”
“Me, too. All those government-owned woods that won’t be knocked down to build houses. The trees are my favorite part, but you have all those flowers, too.” Beautiful pink peonies and blue hydrangeas bloomed in a garden in the yard.
“This place is perfect for us.”
They chatted companionably, then Mari showed her some sketches of the remodeling she planned to do. When she checked the clock, she started to say something, but the phone rang. Mari picked it up. “Hello...hi, Lilliana...yes... Um, no honey. He can’t...I’m sorry, Lill. I’ll be right over.”
“Are you late picking up Lilliana?”
“No. Yvette’s father got there early and wanted to give her a ride home.”
“Yvette’s the little girl who’s teaching Lilly French?”
“Yes. Her dad’s a visiting professor at the law school.”
“Don’t you trust him to drive her here?”
“Of course not! I’ve only met him a couple of times through the girls.”
“Don’t you take his classes?”
“Two, next semester. I’m taking an extra class that I don’t need for graduation, but I really want to learn from him.”
Brie stood. “You put my name on the list to pick her up, right?”
“Yeah, you asked me to.”
“Then let me go. You’ll get another forty minutes’ work here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
Brie listened to some jazz on the way over, and got to the school in a half hour. She saw Lilliana and a girl sitting at a desk. With them was the most beautiful man Brie had ever seen. His hair was chestnut brown, thick and wavy, and as she got close, she could see his eyes were as blue as the lagoon on the palace grounds back home. When he stood to greet her, he was tall and trim.
This was Professor Jordan Dubois?
* * *
While her kids were at art class, Brie met Dante in the lounge again and waited by the back door. “Let’s take a walk. We have forty minutes before the kids come back to get on the bus.”
“Shouldn’t you be wearing sneakers? I can get—”
“If I needed sneakers, I would have put mine on. They’re in the trunk of my car.”
“Why don’t you—”
“Dante, I said I didn’t need them.”
She sounded like his sisters—impatient and irked.
Irked himself—he was trying to help out—he lifted his shoulder. “Fine, then.” They headed outside to the campus. Walkways connected the elementary school to the middle school. There was also a long path behind that building which led to the upper grades’ building.
“It’s hot. Why don’t we walk under the shade of those trees?” When he agreed, she led them down the path. “So, exactly how over-protective are you?”
“The women in my family say too much.”
“Ah. You need to address that, Dante. Some women work very hard for their independence, and when it gets stomped on, they get angry.”
“Would that be you?”
“Yes. After the kidnapping, I took self-defense classes. Mamá had an instructor come out and teach us at the palace when we were teens, but I needed more.” She stared over his shoulder. “I’ve also had counseling, and we focused on my confidence and equilibrium.”
“Fair enough.” He asked her, “Brie, our coffee dates are over today. Are we still going to see each other?”
“Before I answer that, we need to talk about payment for the car.”
His sisters had warned him not to push her into doing the work for free, which he wanted to do. So he gave her the details, and they decided on a price. Then he stopped at a bench. “Let’s sit a minute.”
“Okay.”
He decided to be honest. “So, you’re not afraid of me anymore?”
“Afraid?”
“Yeah. Because of Eddie.”
“I was never afraid of you, Dante. Gi
ven the circumstances, you reminded me of what happened with Eddie. But now that I know you better, I see you’re not like him at all.”
“How do you mean that?”
“You’re more sensitive, considerate. Eddie had a pretty big ego.”
“And I don’t?”
“Nah, you’re a pussycat.”
“Which hits me smack in my male pride.”
Her face sobered. “I’m not much into macho guys.”
Reaching over, he clasped her hand. “Of course you’re not.”
She squeezed his fingers before she drew away. “Why don’t we have coffee once a week now?”
“You want to?”
“I find that I do.”
“It’s a deal.”
* * *
Laurie opened her apartment door to him. “Dante, hi. I was surprised by your call.”
Yeah, so was I. “My mother met your mother at the grocery store. She said you moved back here and gave Mom your number.”
“An opportunity to go in on a yoga studio with a friend from college came up.” She pushed back the door. “Come on in for a minute. We have time before the movie.”
Inside, he found an apartment similar to his. Living room, dining table and kitchen all open to each other. Bedroom straight ahead. “Didn’t you like New York?”
“Yeah, I did. I went there after college to dance, and got some pretty good gigs. But the life was so hard and physically demanding, I got my Zen on and decided to come home when my roommate called.”
“Good for you. Knowing what you want. Going after it.”
“You didn’t go to Yale, did you?”
“Nah. I was thrown by my father’s death. I stayed in Brightwood to help out my family.”
“But you went to college, right? Later?”
“Yeah, up in Fredonia, then I came back here and worked at the shop for a while. I got my Masters at Hunter in Phys Ed. I have a permanent position, now.”
“You like your job?”
“I love teaching, Laurie. Very much. The trajectory of my life is all going well for me. Besides, I get to be around my family. Mom’s great, and I can interfere with the girls’ lives.”
