Life's Second Chances: The Show Me Series: Book One

by Anne Stone

  This book was given to Lee Aitchison on Instafreebie.

  www.instafreebie.com

  Life’s Second Chances

  The Show Me Series: Book One

  Anne Stone

  Dedication

  This novel is dedicated to my father. He believed in me and made me promise that I would never give up on the dream of being a published author. And now, that dream is becoming a reality.

  To my sister, Isabel, who has been by my side throughout this journey spending countless hours on the telephone discussing my path to self-publishing.

  To my friend Chloe Barlow who introduced me to my fabulous editor.

  To my editor, Melissa Schirmer, who guided me down a path of rewrites to make this book what it is today. I appreciate all of your help and support. I am proud of what you helped me accomplish.

  Chapter One

  “You’re hired,” said Mary Flynn, Principal of St. Margaret’s Catholic School.

  Angelina Samuels couldn’t believe her ears. This was her last hope that she’d find a job before the beginning of the school year—she thought she’d end up being an aide or substitute teacher. The previous school where she’d worked since graduating from college eight years ago had closed due to decreasing enrollment. She’d wanted to teach in the Catholic schools, but it was difficult finding a job with limited positions available. She was lucky that the teacher she was replacing decided to relocate unexpectedly. With her résumé on file with the school office, she had been immediately contacted to interview for the position.

  “Mary, could you show me to my classroom? I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me to be ready by next week. Oh, by the way, what time do the meetings start tomorrow?”

  “The building opens at seven, and the opening meetings begin promptly at nine o’clock.” Mary stood and came around her desk to welcome her. “Welcome to St. Margaret’s, Angelina. I am excited for you to join our team. I think you’ll find everyone here very friendly and welcoming. I’m sure you’ll fit in without any problems.” Mary smiled warmly and shook Angelina’s hand. “Now, let me show you to your new home-away-from-home.”

  Mary led Angelina from her office. Just as they turned the corner to head down a long hallway, a body came out of nowhere, flying around the corner, running smack into Angelina. Angelina blinked once, then twice, taking in the beautiful brown-haired woman who nearly knocked her off her feet. A look of utter surprise crossed the other woman’s face as Angelina stood staring at her in complete shock.

  Overjoyed with excitement, Angelina screamed out Gabriella’s name in delight, pulling her into a tight embrace. Both women were jumping up and down in glee. Mary looked on, not sure what was transpiring before her eyes. All she knew was that two of her teachers were more than excited to see one another.

  “I take it you two know one another,” Mary said, laughing.

  “Yes,” they said in unison, continuing their dance.

  “We went to college together. I lost track of you after graduation,” said Gabriella, turning back to Angelina. “What happened to you? Are you taking Lauren’s place since she decided to bolt before the school year?”

  “Yes, I am. Mary just hired me and she was in the process of showing me to my classroom.”

  “Mary, don’t bother. I’ll take Angelina to her classroom since it is right across the hall from mine.”

  Mary waved them on, and arm in arm they walked down the hallway.

  “I didn’t know you were interviewing for the job. I guess it came up pretty fast. When Lauren didn’t show up to begin working in her classroom, Mary contacted her and discovered she was relocating and had no plans to notify her. She was a new teacher last year and had some discipline issues. I can’t believe she wasn’t going to let Mary know, but I guess that show’s her immaturity.”

  “Well, I got a call from Mary this morning, and she asked me to come in this afternoon to interview. I’m stunned. I can’t believe that she hired me right on the spot. I was getting a little nervous since I hadn’t found a full-time job yet. I thought I was going to have to settle on being an aide or a substitute. I’d taught at St. Mark’s since I graduated, but they closed at the end of the school year due to decreasing enrollment.”

  They stopped midway down the hallway while Angelina told her about St. Mark’s closure. “I was so upset when we discovered that St. Mark’s was closing. The school was over ninety years old and was so entrenched in the neighborhood. It was sad watching the enrollment decrease over the years. We saw the closure coming, but still it was difficult. Everyone wants to live in the suburbs today and people with school aged children have dwindled in the neighborhood over the years. I think I heard that the average age in the parish is something like fifty years old. I’m just really sad to see what was once a thriving school close its doors.”

  “Angelina, I’m just beside myself. I can’t believe you are standing right here in front of me.” Gabriella pulled her in for another hug. “We are so lucky to have you join the staff. You are going to absolutely love Mary. She is a one-of-a-kind principal, and she’s so supportive of her teachers and staff. I’m lucky that she hired me right out of school. She’s been a terrific role model to me, and I don’t plan on ever leaving as long as she is here. Now, let’s get you to your classroom. You’re right across the hall from me. I’ve already finished setting up my room, so why don’t I help you set up yours?”

  “Would you? First of all, I need to check out the space and look at the class listing.”

  “You’ve got a lot to do to get ready for next week.”

  “I know I do. I’m not sure what I need, but with your help I’m sure it will take no time.”

  Gabriella led Angelina down the hallway to her classroom. She stopped outside the only room with a closed door. “Ready to see your new home?”

  “Of course, I am! I can’t wait. This day has been so surreal. Open the door already,” Angelina called out. Gabriella threw open the door to Angelina’s new home. She couldn’t believe her eyes as she walked through the door. The room was huge! One whole wall was lined with windows that provided the best natural light she’d ever seen in any of the classrooms that she’d ever taught in at St. Mark’s.

  “Oh, my gosh! I love all of the light. It’s fabulous.”

  “Yes, we’re lucky. All of the classrooms have an abundance of natural light.”

  Angelina walked towards the back of the room and noticed the huge walk-in closet.

  “Oh, my.”

  “What?” asked Gabriella.

  “Look at all of this storage. I’m speechless, absolutely speechless.”

  “Now, that you’ve come down from this shock of a classroom, let’s see what you need.” They worked well into the early evening sorting through the books and materials that were in the classroom. Angelina made lists as she went of the additional materials that she would need to purchase to get her classroom together before school started the following week. She was switching grades and wouldn’t be able to use anything that she had used previously. They stopped and took a break so Angelina could purchase some supplies and then returned to begin the task of preparing her classroom for the start of school.

  While they were working on her bulletin boards, Angelina discovered that Gabriella lived just down the street from St. Margaret’s. “I love this neighborhood. It’s so family-oriented. Families are constantly milling about, taking walks, dining at the local restaurants. It can be both positive and negative living and working in the same community, but I love it and have absolutely no complaints. I love going to the grocery store and running into my students. I can’t say it enough that
this is a great area to live and work in.”

  “I’m looking forward to getting to know the neighborhood as well, along with the families. I had the same sense of neighborhood and family while working at St. Mark’s. Even though I still live at home, I was able to experience those same feelings because I spent an awful lot of time in the neighborhood going to sporting events and various other parish activities. Did you move here right after school?”

  “No, I lived at home for a couple of years so I could save enough money for a down payment on my house. I can’t wait for you to come over and see it. It’s not too large, just a starter home, but I love it just the same.”

  “Well, I still live at home. In time, I’d like to move out, but I’m okay living there for now. I help my mom a lot with Colleen and Wyatt. Can you believe Wyatt just turned twelve and Colleen’s a junior in high school?”

  “You’re kidding me. I remember when she was a little thing! I can’t believe Wyatt’s twelve. I remember when he was born.”

  “Yep, I can’t believe Colleen will be in college in one more year. I can still see her climbing on your bed in our old dorm room, playing hide and seek under the covers. Remember the curly mop of hair she had?”

  Gabriella nodded.

  “Now, it’s straight as a pin,” Angelina chuckled. “Oh, and can you believe she’s already had universities contacting her to play field hockey for them? Time sure flies by, doesn’t it?”

  “It certainly does,” Gabriella added in agreement. “What about Kelly and James? What are they up to?”

  “Kelly is twenty-five now and is currently attending graduate school at Emory University, and James is twenty-seven. He’s engaged to his high school sweetheart and has followed my dad into banking. How are your parents and brothers?”

  Gabriella couldn’t stop talking about her family as she helped Angelina finish hanging the remaining border on her bulletin boards. “Mom and Dad are semi-retired. As I’m sure you already know, Dad has turned over his medical practice to Alec and Joseph and works three days a week. He’s kept his favorite patients, so I’m sure Colleen and Wyatt still see him. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll practice since he has so many other interests. He worked so hard building that practice that I think he now believes he can successfully turn it over to my brothers.

  “Alejandro just moved back to town. He lived in Madison, Wisconsin and worked for the University Hospital. He’s a renowned transplant surgeon and was recruited to head up the Transplant Services here. I think deep down he decided to come home because Mom and Dad are nearing retirement, and he wanted to spend more time with them as they get older. Being the oldest, he has a sense of responsibility to take care of them.” Gabriella paused, twirling her hair as she thought about her brother. “I can’t believe he’s been gone since he left for college almost twenty years ago. He’s thirty-seven now. Although, it came out of the blue, I think he’s got other stuff going on and just wants to be near family.”

  “What do you think is going on with him? I remember how intense he was all the time when I talked with him on the phone, and then other times he was a jokester. Do you think he is running away from someone or something?”

  Gabriella just looked at Angelina—she wasn’t going to comment on what Angelina was saying.

  Angelina continued, “I’m just glad that he’s living in town now. Maybe I’ll finally have a chance to meet him in person.”

  “Of course, you will. I’ll make sure it happens.” Thinking back, Gabriella said, “That’s right. I forgot you’ve never met face to face. He was never around us… Was he?”

  “No, he wasn’t.”

  Gabriella stepped down from the ladder after completing the finishing touches on the bulletin board. She would make sure that would happen in the near future.

  *****

  The school year started without issue two weeks before the Labor Day holiday. Angelina really enjoyed all of her students, and she was excited to be working with Gabriella. They both realized how much they’d truly missed their friendship. Graduating from college and entering the workforce was a hard transition, and they both realized they’d failed one another by not keeping their friendship alive. They started spending their weekends together shopping and going to their students’ soccer games. They had a ball reliving their collegiate experiences and sharing their new life challenges.

  The day after Labor Day, Angelina got a call out of the blue from Maria, Gabriella’s mother. Gabriella was turning thirty the following week, September 9th, and her mother wanted to throw a surprise party for her only daughter. She wanted Angelina to put together a listing of the teachers at St. Margaret’s. The party was scheduled for the first weekend of October, so Gabriella would be clueless as to the surprise.

  Angelina was thrilled that Maria asked for her input, and she wasn’t shy about volunteering to help Maria with the details. Angelina was crafty and immediately volunteered to make all of the party favors and invitations. Angelina designed the card that would be used as the invitation. Using her various supplies, she spent the entire weekend after Labor Day cutting paper, gluing flowers and addressing the large number of invitations that Maria needed. Maria was surprised with how quickly she completed everything in such a short amount of time.

  Maria had thought of absolutely everything. She’d even arranged for Alejandro to spend the afternoon with Gabriella leading up to the party: Alejandro was going to take Gabriella to a matinée showing of Miss Saigon that was playing at the Opera House. Then, he was taking her to an early dinner. Of course, the early dinner would lead to her surprise party.

  Alejandro picked Gabriella up for the musical the day of the party. She wouldn’t stop talking about Angelina. She was elated that Angelina was working across the hall from her. “Alejandro, you’ve never actually met Angelina, have you?”

  “I’ve heard a lot about her over the years since, what was it, your freshman year?”

  “Yeah, we’ve known one another since our first semester of freshman year. Remember, at first we lived across the hall from one another?”

  “That’s right. I can’t believe I’ve never met her in all these years.”

  “Well, now that we’re working together, we’ll have to go to happy hour so you two can meet. She’s met everyone in the family except you. I think after all of these years you need to put the name and face together.”

  “I would have to agree. I talked to her often on the phone while you roomed together, but since I never had the chance to visit you, we never met. I’d love to put the name and the face together, but I don’t know about happy hour. I’m sure we can meet at some point.”

  Gabriella thoroughly enjoyed the musical. As they walked out of the Opera House, Gabriella looped her arm through Alejandro’s. “Thank you. This was such a treat. I’ve wanted to see that for a long time.”

  “I enjoyed it, too. Now, let’s go have something to eat.”

  “Alejandro.”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For today… For moving back home. I’ve missed you so much. I hardly saw you after you moved away to college. I know we’ve talked often but it wasn’t the same… Now I feel like I have another brother again. I can see you whenever I want. I can relate to what you are doing and what you are experiencing. It’s different, that’s all. I love you so much.”

  Alejandro turned and pulled her into his arms. “I’m glad I came home, too. I missed seeing you grow up. You were only ten when I went away to school. I’d see you on holidays but that was it. I never got to experience your firsts with you. I should have been there for you, too, especially since you are the only girl in the family. We’re going to remedy that now. I’m home to stay, and I expect to be as involved in your life as you want me to be. We need to plan regular outings because you mean way too much to me.” Alejandro kissed her on the temple and said, “I love you, too.”

  Alejandro helped Gabriella into the car and
pointed it towards the restaurant where the surprise party was scheduled for five o’clock. Conveniently, his phone rang as planned. He pulled off the highway to take the call. The call lasted a few minutes and they were on their way again.

  “Was that the hospital?” He had talked to the person on the other end of the line cryptically so she wouldn’t discover what they were discussing. He told a little white lie and said that he was speaking with his assistant who was following up on some travel arrangements.

  Alejandro pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and helped Gabriella from the car.

  “I can’t believe you brought me here. This is one of my favorite Italian restaurants.”

  “I’m glad I chose something you enjoy,” he said as he opened the door to the restaurant.

  As they entered the restaurant, the hostess asked if they would like to sit outdoors. They agreed since it was such a beautiful day. For a mid-autumn day, they were lucky with mild temperatures hovering in the mid-sixties. It was a welcome relief after the horribly hot and humid summer they’d had. “That’s the one thing I’ve missed since moving back from Wisconsin. I forgot how awful the summers tend to be in St. Louis. Wisconsin is like this a good part of summer, nice and comfortable.”

  As the hostess led them to the patio, Alejandro winked at her. Gabriella smiled to herself thinking that only Alejandro would wink at the hostess. Unbeknownst to Gabriella, that was the hostess’s cue to lead them to the backroom. She explained to Gabriella that this was an alternative route to their seating. The hostess threw open the doors and Gabriella was greeted with a loud, “Surprise!”

  Gabriella was speechless as she threw her hands up to cover her mouth. She wasn’t actually sure what was going on in front of her. As she walked further into the room, she noticed the streamers hanging from the ceiling and balloons scattered about the room. The partygoers all screamed, “Happy birthday!” in unison.