by Mia Carson
“Hmm, I bet the summer band kids did that. But, hey, at least they’re clean,” Callie replied with a laugh.
I gave her a baleful look. “Yeah, right.”
“Well, I was just stepping in to make sure some kids weren’t in here making out. I’ve caught them in here before,” she told me.
“Better than the bathroom, I guess,” I murmured as my phone dinged, interrupting my music. I walked over and saw a text from Will.
“See you later,” Callie said as she walked out the door.
“Bye,” I said distractedly as I read the text.
Will: Hey, good looking. Are you busy?
Mel: Just cleaning out the dance closet. I’m glad you interrupted me.
Will: Can you come out front? I have a gift for you.
Mel: Will! You don’t have to shower me with gifts. I already agreed to go out with you again.
Will: I’m getting old. Have to keep you intrigued. Come out front, please.
Mel: Give me five, goofy man.
I hadn’t realized the last bell had rung to end the final class until I was in the crowded hallway, heading for the front of the building. Several students called out goodbyes, and I answered them with a smile. I hoped I beat Cara to Will’s truck. I didn’t need the added teasing from my dance team.
When I pushed open the front door, several students were milling about, chatting as they waited for their parents to pick them up. I saw Will’s truck immediately and headed for it. I felt the eyes of the students on me, and I felt a little uncomfortable with them watching me chat with a parent. I’d hear about it again. Damn teenagers, I thought with a smile as I walked around to the driver’s side.
“Hi, Will,” I said. I didn’t lean in close enough for a kiss because I didn’t feel comfortable with that.
“Hi Mel,” he replied with a wink. He knew exactly why I wasn’t leaning in close. “How was your day?”
“Good. And it just got better.” I flirted unashamedly.
“Ah, that was my line. You beat me to it,” he said with a smile. “I’m really excited about Thursday, but I couldn’t wait to see you.”
I pointed at him playfully. “You just did it, you flirty little slut.”
He laughed loudly, drawing several pairs of eyes to the truck. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
“Well that’s a good thing. I like to do it,” I told him. “So, where’s my present?”
“Greedy little thing, aren’t you?” he teased as he grabbed a small bag off the passenger seat. “Buy her a bed, but it’s not enough.”
“Shut up, ass,” I laughed. “I’m hoping you get a little use out of that bed, too.”
He wiggled his eyebrows and held the bag just out of my reach. “I plan to. Now, let me explain as you open the gift.”
“Okay.” I was skeptical of a gift that needed an explanation. I pulled out a piece of paper first. When I unfolded it, I read the lyrics to a song I loved, Every Girl, by Turnpike Troubadours. I looked up at him questioningly.
“I am a music nut, mostly Texas country, and I was listening to this today while working in my office. The words made me think of you,” he said sheepishly, smiling as color bloomed in his cheeks.
The idea that a song made him think of me in the middle of the day warmed my heart, and the fact that he blushed while telling me melted it. “This is one of my favorite songs. You’re something special, you know that?”
His blush deepened, and his smile widened, showing his perfect white teeth. “Thanks. So are you. Very special.” He nodded at the paper. “Look on the back.”
I flipped the page over and found a list of songs, some that I knew, others I didn’t. The list ranged from George Strait to Ed Sheeran, James Taylor and Justin Timberlake. Like me, he had a wide range of taste when it came to music. “What is this?”
“There’s one more thing in your bag,” he told me. I fished out a gift card for twenty-five dollars for iTunes. I looked back up at him, my eyebrows raised. “The twenty-first century version of a mixed tape.”
After a moment’s thought, I giggled, and the giggle quickly escalated into a guffaw. Without thinking, I put my head through the driver’s window and kissed him soundly on the mouth. I heard a couple of woos as I withdrew.
“Oops. Probably shouldn’t have done that,” he teased.
“This is a great gift, Will. Thank you,” I told him, my smile stuck on my face.
“I’d do anything to put a smile on your beautiful face,” he murmured.
Cara cleared her throat. “Um, may I get in, or do you two need another moment?” I glanced through the truck at Cara’s smiling face and felt my own redden.
“Shut up,” Will said as he unlocked the door. Cara climbed in and watched us with curiosity. “And don’t stare. It’s rude.” She giggled and turned her head in the other direction.
“Bye, Will. Thank you again,” I said. “I’ll put these on my phone as soon as I get home.”
“Bye. Can’t wait until Thursday,” he said. “Call you tonight?”
“I’d be mad if you didn’t.” He laughed and put his truck into gear. His hand was out the window and waving as I stepped back and watched him drive away.
Like a lovesick teenager, I watched until his truck pulled out of the parking lot. When I turned around, my principal, who I hadn’t noticed but who I knew usually stood out front after school, watched me, her eyes hidden behind sunglasses. I grimaced and walked toward her. When I reached her, I stood beside her and watched the few stragglers still waiting for their parents.
“So, you have a new beau,” she said with a smile.
“I do. I hope it’s not an issue,” I replied. She hadn’t looked at me, and I considered her a friendly boss, but not too friendly. She was the principal, not my pal, and she maintained that distance. But she was also kind.
“Who you date is none of my business unless it adversely affects the students, which I can’t imagine it will,” she answered. “He’s a nice man.”
“You know him?” I asked, surprised.
“Not socially, if you’re worried about that,” she smirked. “He made a sizable donation to our library last year when his daughter was in eighth grade. I met him then.” She looked at me. “Nice catch.”
I laughed and said, “Thanks, Mrs. Shaw. Have a good evening.”
“You, too.”
“Gotta clean out that dance closet first. But then I will,” I told her with a smile as I walked away.
Will
“What did you give her?” Cara asked as soon as we pulled away.
“A present.” I sniffed and looked both ways before pulling out of the parking lot, avoiding my daughter’s eyes.
“What kind of present?” she asked. I reached over and turned on the radio, but she turned it off. “Am I going to have a new mommy?”
“Okay, that’s enough of your mouth, young lady,” I told her sternly, at which she giggled.
“So just tell me what you got her,” she cajoled. “All the articles say a girl learns how she should be treated by a boyfriend from watching her father. I’m just trying to learn how a man should treat me.”
“First of all, there is no man who’s going to treat you any way anytime soon. You aren’t dating until you’re thirty,” I lectured, giving her the stern, father look.
“Thirty? That’s ridiculous,” she insisted.
“Get over it.” I glanced at her, grinning like a fool. “I got her a gift card to iTunes and a list of songs.”
“A list of songs? What if she doesn’t like them?”
I shrugged and said, “I think she will.”
“Are we still going to dinner with Nana and Grandpa tonight?”
The abrupt change of subject surprised me. “Of course. I need to run home and change first. They’re dying to see you. According to Nana, it’s been ages.”
“It’s been two weeks since I stayed over there,” she said. She reached over and turned the radio on again. She flipped until s
he found her favorite station, a pop station that I did not enjoy.
“None of this nonsense was on Mel’s list,” I murmured, but she couldn’t hear me over the music. I thought about Mel and the list I’d given her. She said the Turnpike song was one of her favorites, so she liked Texas country. Of the sixteen or seventeen songs I’d put on the list, more than half were country artists I liked. I hoped the smile I’d left her with remained on her face for the evening. Thursday couldn’t come too soon.
My phone vibrated in the cup holder in the console, and I glanced down at it, frowning when I saw the name on the screen. Why would Denise be texting me? At the next stoplight, I opened the message.
Hey, Will! Been a long time! I saw you at the school today picking up Cara and thought I’d text you to see how the two of you are doing?
So she was at the school this afternoon. Had she seen Mel and me chatting? The small kiss we’d shared after I’d given her the gift? Irked by the seemingly innocent text, I knew better than to answer and start a conversation with her. When we had broken up, it had not been amicably. She hadn’t wanted the break up but I had, and it had been ugly for a while. Rumors spread all over town, and her daughter and Cara hated each other now. If she was texting me, she was just being nosy.
After nine months, you would think the woman would be over this, I thought with a frown. For the first couple of months after, when we ran into each other, she’d been cold, bordering on rudely inappropriate. I had avoided her as best as I could after that, and eventually, she ignored me at any social or school event we might both attend.
With a sigh, I pulled through the gate at the ranch, automatically scanning the fields as we drove toward the house. I noticed that Cara did it, too. She had picked up my habit. I thanked the stars that Cara had her grandparents and Carol’s sister, Ruth. Otherwise, she may have been the tomboy that beat up the boys. She loved riding horses and would help work with the cows in the summer, but she also enjoyed dancing, shopping and other girly things just as much.
As soon as I pulled up to the porch, Cara hopped out and rushed inside. I called to her. “You’ve got thirty minutes before we have to leave.”
“Gotcha!” she called as she continued inside and down the hall to her room.
I chuckled as I moved at a much slower pace, pausing to close the front door behind me. I meandered down the hall to my bedroom and dug in my closet for a change of clothes. I wasn’t disgustingly dirty, so I didn’t need a shower. My clothes, though, were dusty and stained from mending a fence on the north pasture.
After washing up and changing, I had fifteen minutes before we needed to leave, so I texted Mel.
Will: Hey gorgeous. You like the songs?
Mel: I haven’t downloaded them yet, but I read the list. There’s only one I don’t know, and none I don’t like.
Will: This was meant to be. We like the same music.
Mel: Haha! You’re such a romantic. What are you doing tonight?
Will: Cara and I have dinner with her grandparents.
Mel: Well, enjoy! I’m leaving school in a few. Call me tonight?
Will: Always, beautiful.
With a smile on my face, I stepped into the hallway. “Cara! Let’s go!”
***
“Cara, you look lovely,” Nana said when we stepped into the restaurant. They were waiting to be escorted to a table, and we arrived right on time.
“Thank you, Nana,” Cara said, kissing her grandmother on the cheek.
“Hello, Will. How are things?” her grandfather asked as he shook his hand.
“Going well, Ed. How about you?”
“Always good when you’re retired,” he chuckled.
We were interrupted by the hostess offering to show us to our table. We followed, our footsteps quiet against the background mariachi music playing over the speakers. The table was in the back near the bar and bathrooms, the same table Ed and Julia sat at every time they ate there. Their drinks were delivered without them having to be asked what they wanted, and Cara and I ordered sweet teas to match theirs.
After ordering food as well, Cara announced, “I have some news.”
I looked at her, wondering what news she might have. Julia looked up from squeezing the lemon in her drink. “Something exciting?”
“I think so,” Cara replied, her eyes twinkling at me. Before I could kick her under the table to silence her, she proclaimed, “Dad has a girlfriend!”
Ed’s eyebrows lifted, and he and Julia exchanged a glance. I hurried to explain to my dead wife’s parents. “She isn’t my girlfriend. We’ve been on one date.” I glared at Cara, who grinned back, and at that moment, I was grateful she didn’t know I’d bought Mel a bed.
“He’s dating my dance teacher, Ms. Ulrich. You met her this summer, remember?” Cara added.
“Oh, yes. A lovely woman,” Julia said, patting Cara’s hand.
Ed looked at me and winked. “It’s about time you dated a nice woman.”
I smiled at him, grateful. “She agreed to go out on a second date with me, so I’m not sure she’s the smartest gal. But you’d like her.”
“Are you okay with it, Cara?” Julia asked. She had always been concerned about Cara’s well-being above anyone else’s, which was fine by me.
Cara nodded. “I love her! She’s funny and nice, but she’ll get on our butts if we act up. She’s a good teacher.” She sipped her tea and continued. “Of course, like I told Dad, I wish he would date my algebra teacher. Maybe she’d give me an A.”
Julia chuckled and asked her husband, “Ed, is it time to reveal our surprise?”
“I think so,” Ed nodded, winking at me again. He had called me earlier in the day to tell me about the surprise, of which I wholeheartedly approved.
“Surprise?” Cara asked, looking from one to the other.
“We’re taking you to Mexico over Thanksgiving break!” Julia exclaimed, clapping her hands. “You and one of your friends! Happy early birthday!”
Cara looked from me to them and back, her grin so wide I thought it must surely hurt her cheeks. “Dad, can I go?”
“Of course!” I said with a laugh. “You’ll love Mexico!”
“Nana, Grandpa, thank you so much!” She ran around to the other side of the table to hug both their necks. “Oh, gosh, we’ll have so much fun.”
“Yes, we will,” Ed said, winking again, his trademark habit. “Ah, here comes our food. Let’s fill our bellies before we talk about this anymore.”
***
I had left my phone in the truck, so when we climbed in, I glanced at it. Three missed text messages from Denise. Sighing, I returned my phone to the cup holder and turned the ignition. Cara saw my movement and snatched my phone up.
“Why is she texting you?” she asked angrily. “I certainly hope you aren’t planning on dating her again.”
“No, Mom. I have no idea why she’s texting me,” I answered as I pulled my phone out of her hand and dropped it in my lap. “I’ll deal with it when we get home.”
Cara sniffed and looked out the window, her displeasure clear before she spoke. “Dad, she’s awful.”
“I thought you liked her.”
“I pretended to like her, but I never did,” she replied stiffly. “And Brittani is just the worst.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Cara. I really wish you’d told me before this,” I said to her. When Denise and I had been dating, the girls had seemed to like each other, and Cara often went shopping with both of them.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I thought you were happy with her and didn’t want to mess it up.”
“Well, honey, you don’t have to worry about Denise. I will not be dating her again,” I promised.
“Okay, good. I like Ms. Ulrich better, anyway. How long before I can call her Mel?” she asked.
“When she says you can. Or at least not until she comes to the house for dinner,” I told her, nodding my head as if this was the best option.
At home, she again ran in
to her room and closed the door, the typical teenager, and I changed into shorts and a t-shirt. I planned to veg out on the couch and watch some ESPN until time for bed. I had forgotten about the text until I reached for my phone to play Bubble Shooter, my favorite time-wasting game. Each text was spaced about an hour apart.
Denise: Hello? I’m hoping that after all we’ve been through we can still be friends. Just wanted to check on you and Cara.
Denise: So Brittani told me a little piece of gossip about you and a certain teacher. I was just wondering if maybe she was mistaken about seeing the two of you kissing in the front parking lot.
