Orchard Hill Volume Two

by Kara Lynn Russell

  Shortly after lunch break, Andrew called Faith into his office. She grabbed the Memorial Day picnic file, knowing this was what they’d discuss. They’d worked together for so long, she often knew what Andrew wanted before he did.

  Settling into the chair across the desk from him, Faith juggled the folder and a legal pad and pen. “Where do you want to start, Andrew?”

  “With the food, of course.” He smiled at her, sending a jolt to her heart. How could he still do that after all this time? Did her smile ever affect him that way?

  Faith looked up the amount of hot dogs, hamburgers and buns they’d bought the year before. “Will you do the grilling as usual, Andrew?”

  “Yes. What else do we need?”

  “Pickles, ketchup, mustard, carrot and celery sticks, chips and lemonade.”

  “Our enrollment is pretty much the same as last year, isn’t it?”

  “The kindergarten classes were a little larger this year, so I might order a bit more. But basically I think we can go by last year’s numbers.”

  “What about dessert?” asked Andrew.

  “The PTA members have offered to make bars.”

  “Oliver Laurence will start a baseball game for any of the kids who want to play.”

  “That’s a good idea. It will keep them out of trouble after they’ve finished eating.” Faith closed the folder. “I’ll get started on the ordering.”

  She’d half risen when Andrew said, “Aren’t you going to ask me about my date?”

  Faith fell back into her chair with a thump. “All right. How was your date?” She struggled to keep her voice neutral.

  “It was great. I was afraid we’d have nothing to talk about, but we managed to keep the conversation going all evening. I did it, Faith. Now, I can tell Robin I kept my promise.”

  “Well, congratulations,” Faith replied woodenly. “I’m sure she’ll be pleased.”

  “It’s just that it’s been so long since I’ve been on a date, I wasn’t sure if I’d know how to behave any more. I wouldn’t tell this to anyone else, but I was scared.”

  He looked so earnest, his eyes staring into hers. Faith’s heart melted, but her stomach twisted. If there was one thing she couldn’t handle, it was being Andrew’s confidante. This date was a success. That meant there would be others. Faith decided then and there, she wouldn’t be around to hear about them.

  “Andrew, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

  ****

  Andrew closed himself into his office that afternoon. He had work in front of him, but he hadn’t touched it in over an hour. He was still reeling from Faith’s announcement. She was quitting.

  She said she’d stay until the end of the school year, but she wouldn’t be back in the fall.

  That would leave him the whole summer to find a new administrative assistant, but Andrew didn’t want a new one. He wanted Faith. They were a team. They were friends—best friends. Nothing would be the same if she left.

  Why did she want to leave anyway? She’d been very evasive about the whole thing, saying she just needed a new challenge, a change of scenery.

  Andrew had been a principal for enough years to know an excuse when he heard it, and this one was about as good as “the dog ate my homework.” He had to find out what was going on.

  Because he wasn’t going to let Faith quit. Whatever it took, Andrew vowed, he was keeping Faith.

  ****

  “I did it,” Faith told Misty as she walked into the Green Scene after school that day. “I quit.”

  “Well, that’s great honey.”

  “No, it’s horrible,” moaned Faith, leaning on the counter and cradling her head in her hands. “Maybe I can plead temporary insanity and get my job back tomorrow. What was I thinking? I don’t even have another job lined up.”

  “Don’t you have all summer to look for another one?”

  “Well, I usually work with Andrew through July and just take August off, but I suppose we could make it through the summer if I didn’t work.”

  “You’re a fabulous secretary with an impeccable track record. Andrew’s sure to give you a glowing recommendation. You’ll have a new job by the fall.”

  “Maybe.”

  “This is a step in the right direction,” Misty told her, with a funny little smile. “You’ll be glad you did this Faith.”

  ****

  Kevin and Andrew were in the back yard working with Davy. He was learning to “stay” today. So far, they weren’t having much success.

  “Patience,” Andrew encouraged the teen. “You need lots of patience to train a dog.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” said Kevin, his frustration evident in his voice.

  “Why don’t we take a break? Let’s see what your mom has for a snack.”

  That perked Kevin up. “Okay. Come on Davy, let’s go.”

  Andrew followed the boy to the house. He could see Faith moving around in the kitchen. That was fine with him. He wasn’t about to start avoiding her now. In fact, he was itching to talk to her.

  “Hi Faith,” he said as he and Kevin came in from the back yard.

  “Oh, hi Andrew.” She was putting groceries away and hardly spared him a glance. Kevin began to rummage around in a cupboard and pulled out a bag of chips. She didn’t say a word to him about ruining his supper. Andrew frowned.

  “Faith, can we talk?”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, now. What’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing.” She turned her back on him and continued putting boxes and cans in the cupboards.

  “That’s not true. If nothing’s going on, then why did you quit your job today?

  Kevin turned around so fast he spilled potato chips across the counter. “You did what?”

  Faith shot Andrew an angry look. “I was planning to talk to you about that, Kevin.”

  “What will you do if you don’t work at the school?”

  “There are other jobs in Orchard Hill.”

  “But you already have this one,” Andrew pointed out. “And we like you at the school. Why are you leaving?”

  “We won’t have to move, will we?” asked Kevin.

  “Of course not.”

  “But why are you quitting?” Andrew pushed.

  “Didn’t we have this conversation already?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t get a satisfactory answer from you. What’s going on, Faith?”

  “Andrew, it’s the only answer I have. I need a change of scenery. People change jobs all the time.”

  “But not you, Mom. They love you at the school,” Kevin protested.

  “We need you at the school,” Andrew stressed.

  Faith threw up her hands. “Stop double-teaming me, you two. It’s my decision.” And, what was she supposed to say? I’m hopelessly in love with you and you don’t know I’m alive? Not as a woman, anyway. I’m just a comfortable and dependable friend.

  “But who’ll help me with Davy if you and Andrew stop working together?” demanded Kevin.

  “Your mother and I don’t have to stop being friends if she changes jobs.”

  “Is that right, Mom?”

  Faith swallowed. Great. She wouldn’t work with Andrew anymore. He’d just hang out at her house like an overgrown companion of Kevin’s. “Of course.” She hoped that didn’t sound as unconvincing as she thought it did.

  “I have to go do something,” Kevin mumbled and headed for his room. Davy followed like a shadow.

  “See how upset Kevin is,” hissed Andrew as the boy left the room.

  “He wouldn’t be upset if I’d been able to talk to him about it instead of you just blurting it out!” She began cleaning up the potato chip mess Kevin had left.

  “I still don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

  Faith sighed. Andrew could be relentless. “You don’t have to understand it. Just accept it.” She threw away the spilled chips and closed the bag.

  “I’m not ready to do that.” Andrew
grabbed her arm and spun her around. There was a determined look in his eyes.

  Anger burned in her chest. He couldn’t do this to her. She’d made her decision, and she wasn’t going to let him trample all over her heart anymore. Faith narrowed her eyes. “Go home, Andrew.”

  “Not until we get to the bottom of this.”

  “I refuse to stand here and argue with you.” If he wouldn’t leave she would. Stalking from the kitchen, Faith stomped down the hall to her bedroom and slammed the door in a fine imitation of Kevin in a snit. She leaned against the door and waited until she heard the front door slam, with twice the force she’d used, followed by the sound of Andrew’s car engine starting. Then, she went to Kevin’s room to try to repair the damage Andrew had wrought.

  Knocking on the door, Faith called out, “Honey, can we talk?”

  “Not now Mom. I’m talking to Robin online.”

  “Well, later then, okay. Over supper let’s talk this out.”

  “Whatever.”

  TITLE

  Orchard Hill: volume Two

  Chapter 5

  The next few days were awful. Andrew was cold and distant, but Faith told herself it was better that way. There was no way she’d waver on her decision.

  But she missed him. She missed telling him about what Kevin was up to, or laughing with him over the events of the day. She missed hearing about what Robin was doing at school.

  Things were equally bad at home. Kevin was angry with her and treated her to an icy silence. It was so unlike him that Faith found it eerie. Shouting, stomping, snide comments, slammed doors—that she could live with—but not the quiet disapproval she was getting from him. She wanted to ask Andrew’s advice on how to handle the situation, but that was impossible.

  On Friday, Faith asked two of her friends, Hope Velasquez and Sarah Rogers, to have coffee with her after school. They went downtown to the Grace Place, Orchard Hill’s only coffee shop. Grace herself was behind the counter, and took their orders.

  Hope, the school librarian, was the exact opposite of the stereotypical frumpy, silence-loving librarian. She was tall, athletic and outgoing. Sarah Rogers was a speech therapist at the school. This was her first year in Orchard Hill, but she was already getting a reputation for helping her students make great improvements, not just in their speech, but also in their attitudes.

  Once the three had their orders and settled at a table, Faith started to relax. She needed this, needed to escape from her problems for just a little while. But she was mistaken about being able to forget.

  “Faith,” said Hope, never one to beat around the bush. “We’ve heard rumors that you won’t be back in the fall. What’s up?”

  She took a long drink from her mug, buying a little time to put her thoughts together. “Yes, I’m leaving. I’ve been at Orchard Hill Elementary a long time. I need a new challenge.”

  “This is so sudden,” Sarah piped in. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “Yes,” answered Faith, even though she wasn’t as sure as she’d been at the beginning. What if she didn’t find a new job over the summer?

  Silence fell over the table. The women sipped their drinks, lost in their own thoughts.

  Predictably, Hope broke the silence. “Does this have anything to do with Andrew?”

  “W—what?” sputtered Faith. “No, of course not. He’s a great boss.”

  Hope and Sarah exchanged glances. “I’ve only been at the school a short time, but even I know you and Andrew have a thing for each other,” said Sarah.

  Faith’s face burned. “That’s ridiculous. There’s nothing going on between us.”

  “Well, we know that.” Hope rolled her eyes. “That’s why you’re leaving, isn’t it?”

  “Of course not.”

  “You can tell us,” Hope insisted. “We’re your friends.”

  “Or you can just leave it to our imaginations,” suggested Sarah, with a little smile.

  “Good heavens, no,” exclaimed Faith. “I don’t even want to think about what you two would come up with.”

  Hope grinned. “So, spill it then.”

  She glanced around, making sure no one was within earshot, and then confessed. “Yes, I’m in love with Andrew.”

  “I knew it!” exclaimed Hope as she practically jumped out of her chair with excitement. “You two are perfect for each other.”

  Faith glanced around again and hushed her friend. “That’s what I thought. But I’ve been waiting for years for Andrew to realize it. I have to accept that he doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

  “Who says he doesn’t,” Sarah exclaimed. “If you knew the way he looked at you…”

  “If he feels that same way I do, then he isn’t going to do anything about it. And I’ll never get over him if I stay at the school, working with him. I need a fresh start.” Faith felt tears threatening and ducked her head to hide them.

  Sarah reached out and took one of Faith’s hands in her own. “We understand, but we’ll still miss you.”

  “I’m trying to move on. I have to find something else to occupy my mind.”

  “Or maybe someone else,” suggested Sarah.

  “I have an idea,” announced Hope. “The church’s Spring Fling is coming up. I’m sure my brother would love to take you.” The Spring Fling was an annual fundraiser put on by the youth group.

  “Oh, no,” protested Faith. “I’m sure he wouldn’t. If Joseph were interested in me at all, he would’ve asked me out long before this.”

  “Don’t be silly. I told him you were taken because I thought you and Andrew…”

  “Are you sure?”

  Hope gave her a dazzling smile. “Positive. Plus you both have teens participating in the fundraiser. You’re obligated to go, so you may as well go together. In fact, Pansy Parker suggested it to me the other day.”

  ****

  On Saturday morning, Andrew went running with Oliver Laurence, the phys’ ed’ teacher at the elementary school. Oliver was new in Orchard Hill, having come in at semester break. His predecessor had undergone emergency bypass surgery that fall and decided to retire. Andrew was helping Oliver transition into the community. Otherwise he’d never have tried to keep up with this much younger man, who had been a track star in college.

  Sweaty and winded, they ended up back at Andrew’s house where they sat on the picnic table in the back yard, gulping water.

  “So what’s up with Faith?” asked Oliver. “I hear she’s quitting.”

  Andrew set his water bottle down. “Yes. She’s finishing out the school year, and that’s it.”

  “So what happened? Did you guys have a fight or something?”

  “No, I don’t know what the problem is. She won’t tell me.” Frustration made his voice rough.

  “She won’t tell you? Aren’t you two a couple or something?”

  “Of course not. I’d never date a coworker.” That was a rule Andrew had followed his whole life.

  Oliver raised his eyebrows. “Really? You sure seem close.”

  Andrew shrugged. “We’ve worked together for ten years. We’re friends.”

  “Well, whatever.” Oliver wiped his face with the hem of his t-shirt.

  “Have you…heard anything…about why Faith may be quitting?”

  “Not really. I heard some of the women say something about her having problems with a man. Nothing definite.”

  A man? Andrew considered this bit of gossip as he took another long drink of water. Was Faith dating someone he didn’t know about? No way. Kevin would have told him. So just what was going on?

  Oliver drained his water bottle. “I guess I should get going. I told my neighbor, Mrs. Parker, that I’d help her with some yard work today.”

  “Are you still going to help me with the grilling for the school picnic?”

  “Sure thing. See you on Monday.”

  When Oliver had gone, Andrew continued to contemplate the information he’d been given. He turned over all the possibil
ities in his mind as he showered and dressed for the day. What could a man do that would make Faith leave the school?

  ****