by Laura Ann
Maybe I won’t tell her the rest of it. She looks ready to do battle. Charlotte had only mentioned that Mrs. Tremain confronted her about being a bad teacher and hoped she got fired, she did mention the Secret Santa gift, but didn’t mention the threat. I wonder what’s bothering Christian. It isn’t like him to be so brooding.
She reached out her fingertips and stretched partway across the table. “Christian, are you sure you’re okay?” She whispered, trying not to draw attention to him again. She studied the top of his head, and his long, lean fingers as he held the fork. Usually his movements were smooth and calm, but today he seemed antsy and anxious.
“I’ll be fine. Thank you for asking.” He whispered back, keeping his eyes on his food.
When her finger tips landed on his arm, his eyes darted up to hers. Tingles shot up her spine. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking into his eyes.
His face softened as he continued to look at her. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Didn’t you say there was also a book? Did she ruin that too?”
Since he hadn’t objected, she left her fingers where they were, enjoying the sensation of his warmth as it soaked through his shirt sleeve. “The book is lovely. Whoever bought it knew me well. The pictures are just beautiful. My class will really enjoy hearing it.” She smiled gently, then jerked when she realized she had started stroking his arm.
She began to pull away, but Christian quickly reached out his other hand and covered hers, preventing her from letting go. Charlotte sighed internally, delighted with his move.
Neither one noticed their whole table had gone silent and was now watching their exchange. A determined look came into his eyes and Christian took a deep breath. “Ms. Cinders. I mean, Charlotte.”
Her heart fluttered at the way he caressed her name.
“Would you go out to dinner with me?”
Charlotte’s mouth gaped open. She had been dreaming about this moment for so long. “Yes!” She said breathlessly.
A radiant smile burst across his face and Charlotte felt her own smile mimic his.
Applause burst from the table they were at and the sound of it shocked the two out of their moment.
“It’s about time!” Rory called over the clapping.
Both Charlotte and Christian were beet red, but their smiles never faltered. Turning back towards Charlotte, Christian prepared to finalize the details of their upcoming date. Before he could get a word in, the doors burst open.
“Ms. Cinders!” Mrs. Merryweather called. “Oh, my dear! It’s terrible, just terrible. You must come quick.” Mrs. Merryweather rushed over and grabbed her hand.
“What is it?” Charlotte’s voice was shaky as she tried to compose herself from the moment with Christian.
“Troublemakers, the lot of them. Don’t know what their mother sees in them.” Mrs. Merryweather shook her head and clucked her tongue.
Charlotte scrunched her eyebrows and tried to figure out what the secretary was saying. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Merryweather. I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
“Those two rascals have made a mess of it.”
“A mess of what? Are you talking about Jackson and Andrew?”
“Of course! Who else would I be talking about?” Mrs. Merryweather huffed.
“Well what happened? They didn’t get on the roof again did they?” Charlotte jumped up from her chair, ready to run out the door, forgetting all about what had just happened with Christian.
“Oh no, no, no. They glued themselves together, that’s what they’ve done. Right in the middle of the lunch room! If their mother wasn’t PTO president...” She shook her head, a scowl marred her features.
“Is that even possible?” Charlotte started walking quickly.
“Apparently it is, since they did it.” Mrs. Merryweather wheezed behind her as she tried to keep up with Charlotte’s pace.
Once in the cafeteria, Charlotte headed towards the large crowd of children and adults. “Excuse me...excuse me...excuse me...” She spoke softly as she worked her way through the crowd.
The look-a-likes were hugging each other and grinning from ear to ear. Bouncing in excitement at the attention they had garnered.
I’m not sure I’m going to last the school year with these two. How do they come up with these things? “Alright, gentlemen, let me see the problem.”
Groaning, the boys let go of each other and tried to step away, but their shirts and pants were not letting go. “Oh, it’s only their clothes. Thank goodness.” Charlotte said, relieved that they hadn’t managed to get their skin to stick.
“We tried to glue our hands together, but Andrew couldn’t hold his hand still, so it didn’t work.” Jackson accused.
“Did not!” Andrew pushed Jackson, which tumbled them both to the ground since they were still attached.
“Did too!” Jackson yelled back and tried to push his brother off.
“Boys! Stop that right now. Mrs. Merryweather, if you would please grab that one?” Charlotte nodded to the boy closest to the secretary. Working together, they stood the twins up. “Now, to the office we go. You’ll have to walk sidestep since you can’t walk forward.”
In a slow procession, they made their way out of the cafeteria and into the hall.
“He stepped on my toes!” One of the boys yelled.
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“Prove it!”
Before a struggle could break out again, Mrs. Merryweather let out her famous two-fingered whistle. “That’s enough of that. Do you hear? Both of you will be silent the rest of the way to the office or I will give you to my garden gnome. He has always loved things that come in twos.”
The boys’ eyes got wide but their mouths closed. Shuffling, they made their way to the office.
What is it with her and gnomes? “Mrs. Merryweather, if you would please have the boys’ mother notified that they will need to be picked up, I will take a moment to speak to the children.”
“Of course my dear.”
“Now gentlemen, give me the bottle.”
Andrew and Jackson looked at each other and then looked at her.
“The bottle of glue that you snuck into the cafeteria. Where is it?”
Two sets of shoulders shrugged.
“Alright.” Charlotte walked around the boys and took a good look at their pockets. Seeing the bulge in a back pocket, she quickly reached out and grabbed the glue.
“Hey! That’s mine!” Andrew tried to see behind him and get what she took, but she held it away from him.
“Actually that’s not true. If you look right here, it has my name and room number on it.”
The boys’ shoulders slumped.
“Mrs. Tremain is on her way, dearie. Perhaps it’s best if you leave the children here and are gone before she arrives.” Mrs. Merryweather said the last part in a whisper, so the twins wouldn’t hear.
“As tempted as I am to accept that offer, it leaves you with your hands full. Are you sure you can manage?”
“Absolutely. Now go on before she gets here.”
“Okay, well if you’re sure?” Charlotte started towards the door.
“Oh! And I wanted to tell you that keeping your kitchen clean has, obviously, made a world of difference. Keep up the good work, hon.”
“O-of course!” Charlotte agreed. I still have no idea what she is talking about, my kitchen is always clean. She darted out of the office, determined to be gone before Mrs. Tremain came in and blew a gasket
AS CHRISTIAN WALKED back to his room, he flip flopped between elation and anger. How dare she confront Charlotte like that. Cornering her in classroom! Threatening her job! That woman is nuts! And then eating her chocolate! Chocolate I put there just for Charlotte. To show her I cared. I’ve had enough. He sighed deeply. At least one good thing came from all this. Mrs. Tremain’s antics finally gave me the courage to ask her out. He smiled as he walked. And she said yes! His elation was quickly followed by a scowl. But then those
two boys had to interfere again! We didn’t even get the day and time worked out. The smile was back as an idea hit. I guess that gives me an excuse to talk to her again.
He shook his head, frustration again taking over. But now what do I do about the Secret Santa gift? Just leave her another gift? Where can I put it so Mrs. Tremain can’t get her greedy hands on it?
When he got back to his classroom, he sat down and opened his drawer to grab his afternoon lesson plans. Inside the drawer he spotted the bag of chocolate he had purchased and an idea sprung into his head. Maybe instead of leaving her a bag of treats, I’ll leave little ones all over. Surely Mrs. Tremain can’t stop all of them. Can she?
With a new plan in place, an excuse to go see Charlotte and a date on the horizon, he felt better. Some way, somehow, he would get the woman of his dreams.
CHAPTER 10
Tonight! She thought excitedly, as she walked into the building. She had worn a pencil skirt to work today with a new, blue blouse that brought out her eyes, just for the occasion. She had previously planned to reclean Christian’s room today, so when Christian had suggested Friday night, Charlotte had had to come up with an excuse for him to pick her up at the school later.
“I..um..I tend to stay late on Friday nights,” she explained. “You know, prepping everything for Monday. I like to be prepared.” She hoped her excuse sounded plausible.
“Okay, would you rather go out Saturday then? Would that be easier?”
“Oh no!” She had waited too long for this date, even one more day seemed like an eternity. “I can go, I just will need you to pick me up at the school instead of my home. Is that okay?”
Christian had smiled. “Of course. Not a big deal at all.”
As Charlotte’s mind rehashed their conversation, she found herself grinning. Finally...
Her grin widened when she walked into her classroom and found chocolate kisses lined up on her projector stand. The day after Christian had asked her out, she had found another note from her Secret Santa.
Dear Ms. Cinders, I understand that the treat left just for you was received by the wrong person. I apologize for the mishap and will do my best to see it doesn’t happen again.
Happy Hunting.
After that she began to find chocolate kisses in all sorts of unexpected places. She had found them on her car, in her bag, even at the lunch table. Charlotte giggled to herself at the subterfuge.
Those kisses had become the highlight of her day; something to look forward to. Who doesn’t like surprises? They were especially nice since she had barely seen Christian since they had set the details for the date. Charlotte sighed. Everytime we have a ‘moment’ it gets interrupted, and then Christian disappeared for the rest of the week. One step forward, two steps back. She had a small moment of panic. If he wanted to cancel the date he would have let me know, right? She shook her head. He must just be busy...I hope.
As she pondered on the cute teacher, she found herself surprised that his tendency toward messiness didn't bother her, only made him more endearing. She felt her cheeks blush as she thought about his messy hair, then his cute bowtie, his glasses and finally his bright, blue eyes that lit up when he was enjoying a conversation. So handsome...
Fanning herself, she prepared to take on the day.
I SHOULD HAVE COME in earlier this week! Charlotte thought in dismay as she surveyed the mess in front of her. Files were once again stacked on his desk along with loose papers. Several large history books were lying on top of each other next to his desk, full of bright yellow pieces of paper that he was using as bookmarks.
She was already a bit tired, her students were getting restless with the promise of a winter break soon, but with a deep breath she dug into her task, humming a song as she worked.
“Oh shoot!” She said as she reached over one of the filing cabinets to clean the top. Looking down, she noticed the cabinet left a dark black smudge on her blouse. “I hope that comes out.” Frowning, she rubbed at it a moment to see if it would brush off. No such luck. “What am I going to do? I can’t go to dinner like this! Maybe I can hurry home and change?” She glanced at her watch and groaned.
Hurriedly putting the last of the books on the shelf, she gathered her duster and bucket of cleaners and prepared to leave the classroom.
“Oh! It’s just you dearie!” Mrs. Merryweather’s voice caught her off guard.
Her hand rushed to her heart as it skipped a beat. “Mrs. Merryweather! I didn’t hear you come in!”
“I was getting ready to leave and saw the light on. Just checking to see what was going on.” She smiled cheerily, until she looked at Charlotte’s blouse. “Oh, no, no, no. That won’t do at all.”
Charlotte looked down. “Yes, I got a bit dirty today. I was cleaning Christian’s room for his Secret Santa gift.” She looked up. “You won’t spoil the surprise will you?”
“Of course not! Mums the word! But we can’t have you walking around looking like that.” Mrs. Merryweather rubbed her hands together in what looked like anticipation..
Charlotte scrunched her eyebrows together. “I, uh, well I was hoping to run home and change before Christian came to pick me up. I’m going to have to really hurry though.” Once again she prepared to leave the classroom.
“I just remembered. I have a dress in my bag. It arrived just yesterday for my niece’s birthday and is still in my car. You two are of a size, and this is a much better use for it. Just follow me, it’s in the office, dear.”
“Oh no, Mrs. Merryweather. I’ll be fine, I’ll just hurry. It wouldn’t be right for me to use a dress you bought for your niece.”
The door had already closed behind the surprisingly speedy, older woman.
“Honestly, I can’t keep up with her. She’s so sweet but I’m not comfortable with this at all.” Charlotte spoke to the empty room. Grabbing her cleaners and school supplies, she followed quickly. Hopefully she could stop all this nonsense before it went too far.
CHARLOTTE BLINKED AT herself in the mirror. How did I end up dressed like this? I’ll admit the dress is gorgeous. But... She ran her fingers down the blue sheath dress. The matching lace overlay was lovely and feminine; fitting as if it was built just for her. Highlighting her curves without being tight, and the scalloped edging came to rest just at her knees. It was everything a woman could want. But I really shouldn’t. This is for her niece.
“Oh my, you are simply lovely!” Mrs. Merryweather gushed.
“I really don’t think-”
“Now, we just need to add the perfect touch.” Reaching into her bag, the persistent woman pulled out a shoe box.
“Really, Mrs. Merryweather, I shouldn’t even be wearing the dress! I have heels with me, I just can’t keep using your niece’s things!”
Mrs. Merryweather acted as if she hadn’t heard Charlotte, and holding the box out, lifted the lid in a reverent manner.
Charlotte gasped, her fingers flying up to cover her mouth when she saw the shoes.
“Aren’t they just perfect?” Mrs. Merryweather broke the silence.
“Y-yes. They are.” With a trembling hand, she reach in and gently picked up one of the heels. Holding it to the light, she admired the sparkle. The shoe itself was a clear, transparent material with silver vines and curls wound up the foot in a delicate pattern. Each vine ended with a bright, diamond style stone that glinted in the light. “I’ve never seen anything so exquisite.”
“Try it on.”
“I really shouldn’t.”
“You absolutely should. You simply cannot walk out of here in a dress that beautiful in heels that don’t match.” The secretary huffed.
Since it was what she really wanted anyway, Charlotte gave in. She was so grateful the secretary’s bathroom had a full length mirror, so she could admire the stunning creations. Twisting this way and that, she enjoyed watching them flash in the light. “They almost look like glass with the way they reflect the light.”
“Indeed. They are absolutely th
e crowning jewel to this beautiful picture. Now, we must hurry. Time is wasting.” Using a shoo-ing motion with her hands, Mrs. Merryweather started to hurry Charlotte out of the office.
“Okay...I guess I'll see you Monday Mrs Merryweather?” Charlotte grabbed her bags and hurried out of the office. Christian is going to be here any moment! She hurried to her car so she could put her supplies away before Christian saw anything.
AS CHRISTIAN DROVE to the school, a heavenly vision caught his eye. Standing the middle of a mostly empty parking lot was an angel. Her white, blonde hair glowed in the fading sun. The blue of her dress seemed to shimmer and create an ethereal aura surrounding her.
“Charlotte.” He breathed in reverence. His jaw hung loose and he nearly missed the entrance to the parking lot while he gaped.
Swinging in at the last minute, he prayed there wasn't a car behind him.
The angelic being before him looked up at his entrance. He screeched to a halt and admired what lay before him. The blue of the dress was a perfect match to the blue of her eyes. She's perfect. He thought in awe.
Charlotte cocked her head at the still car, as if waiting to see what would happen next.
Heat enveloped Christian’s neck and cheeks as he thought about his ogling. Clearing his throat, he stepped out of the car.
A radiant smile grew on Charlotte’s face as he walked up to her. He tugged at his bow tie and pushed up his glasses as he tried to loosen his tongue from the roof of his suddenly dry mouth.
“You, uh...you look fantastic.” He managed to stutter out.
Her eyes lit up at his compliment and he couldn’t help smiling back at her.
“Thank you Christian, you look very nice yourself.” She said in a soft voice. “I have to be honest though, the dress and the shoes aren’t mine.” She glanced down at her feet while she talked. “I got my clothes dirty while I was working and Mrs. Merryweather happened to have these sitting around.”
His eyes widened. “She just keeps dresses and heels lying around?”
