Schooled in Love

by Emma Nichols

  After dropping Skipper off at his parent's empty old house, he drove down the familiar streets in search of a Starbucks. The place proved easy to find. The coffeehouse stood where the convenience store used to be—the place where he had worked during high school, where he had taken his first car for gas, and where his old pals used to hang out if they weren’t at the bowling alley or the mall.

  Wasted adolescence at the time, the good old days now.

  The town had changed a lot in the past ten years. He really should have come home sooner.

  It seemed odd to romanticize the tiny town now, especially after traveling for work, living in Europe for a brief time, and always longing for the big–city life. Meeting an old friend for coffee should have felt like going backward, but it didn't.

  It felt right.

  Once at Starbucks, he saw Kacie across the room. Her white vet coat was gone, and she wore a blue summer dress that picked up the hue of her eyes and made them sparkle like sapphires—even from across the space.

  Her hair remained up in a ponytail, the way he remembered it. Sloppy bun and getting stuff done was an old saying. It described the girls who were self–reliant and determined to get better grades.

  Kacie had certainly fit the bill back then. Even today, with the black–rimmed, no–nonsense glasses she wore, she gave off a scholarly appearance—one filled with confidence.

  She looked like someone comfortable in her own skin. Not someone pretending they weren’t a hot mess—the way he usually felt. Sure, he was successful in business, but his personal life had been in the crapper for years. Kacie looked self–confident, like she had taken on the world over the last ten years and had won.

  “There you are,” she said as she approached him and raised her arms for a hug.

  The embrace seemed slightly awkward at first, but he settled into it and hugged her back, warmly. Her hair still smelled like lilacs.

  Years may have passed, but she remained the same person who had helped him through chemistry. She had been there during his breakup with his high school sweetheart his senior year. And she had encouraged him to follow a business career when his father wanted him to become a mechanic in his shop.

  Once they got their orders, they settled on a couch.

  “I knew you would follow your dream and become a vet.” He smiled at her, thinking of all her determination in high school. “You never had a dream you couldn’t chase and catch.”

  The blush on her face was pure Kacie. She glanced away, not able to take the compliment. Facing how wonderful she was had always been a shortcoming she had. Now, thinking back on how strong of a woman she was, it was really her only shortcoming.

  “The vet clinic is doing okay, but I’d like to move it a little farther north. Maybe somewhere near Congress Street. The location would be better and I could get a bigger place. I’d have to do more advertising, but the effort would be worth it.”

  Just like her to think towards the future. She was such a planner.

  “Anyway, when I first saw you, I figured you were visiting your parents,” she said, changing the subject. “I didn’t realize you had been back for a few years.”

  He pushed back the pain of what that move had done to his marriage. The endless fights, the selfish accusations, and the hateful resentment from his wife for what she called ‘dragging her and the kids’ across the United States for a move she never wanted.

  “My company made me an offer to head up their Pennsylvania office,” he said, settling on a safer topic than his marriage. “I rented a house about an hour away, but then my parents needed more help.”

  His mother was fairing rather well, but she was a good eight years younger than his father. Altzheimers was a horrible condition, and his mother had gotten to the point where she could no longer be his sole caregiver. “I helped them move into a retirement home several months ago.”

  “I keep forgetting you're the youngest of five kids.”

  A large family, with everyone scattered across the United States. Maybe because he was the baby of the family, he wanted to be here for his parents. “If I remember correctly, you're the oldest of three.”

  They exchanged family news, sharing what each of their siblings was up to until Kacie asked, “I heard your parents finally sold their house.”

  “I bought it.” A proud smile crept across his face. He had purchased a house. He was growing up. Finally.

  One eyebrow lifted and hid beneath her bangs. “You own the place?”

  “They wanted to hold onto it, maybe even rent it out. But we came to an agreement.” Another toothy grin spread across his face. “It's closer to my work than the apartment I have in the Cedar Bend suburb.”

  “How nice. At least I know one family in the neighborhood. My little brother is a senior this year.”

  A senior? He remembered the day Tommy was born. It didn't seem so long ago. Kacie had come over with her other sibling. The two of them had hung out in his basement, talking and watching movies until the family brought the baby home.

  “Speaking of school,” he said, changing the topic. “Are you going to the reunion?”

  “Maybe.” She glanced away and sighed. “If I go, it’d just be for the Saturday night event.”

  The sigh—heavy with despair—sounded familiar. Her expression became the same every time something frustrated her. Uncertain what it could be, he noticed a massive diamond ring on her finger once again. “Maybe I can meet your fiancé at the reunion.”

  An odd expression crossed her face, but, as if the ring became a beacon, she held up her hand. “He’s a wonderful man.”

  “Congratulations.” He felt happy for her, but an odd sensation tugged at his heart. Kacie was in no way his safety woman. No pact existed between them where if the two of them weren’t married by a certain age, they would tie the knot. But, to him, there had always been an unspoken arrangement.

  “I heard you're married.”

  His stomach flopped, not once, but twice. “Married and divorced.”

  A look of pity followed by a head nod came from her. It was the expression he usually received when he mentioned the divorce, but why did Kacie give it to him? She was never one of the masses, the people who didn't know him or care. This was Kacie.

  “I have two great kids, and life is all right.” The lie came smoothly. Not wanting to focus on his past failures as a father, he said, “I've been dating Ashley Lewis for several months. Do you remember her?”

  He had rambled and talked a mile a minute with no shut–up valve since the minute they had sat down. Talking with Kacie had never felt awkward before, so why should it now?

  Kacie's skin turned ashen, followed by a crimson red. “You're dating Ashley? The wanabee Queen Bee and Mia Franco’s shadow during high school?”

  Mia Franco was the leggy, blue–eyed blonde that everyone wanted to date. She ruled the school as the number one mean girl on campus. Ashley did her best to fit into the tight click Mia ran in. She just wasn’t that much of a bitch to become Mia’s BFF.

  Doing a mental check, Greg tried to remember any history between Ashley and Kacie. There had been a lot. It seemed so long ago, but, judging from Kacie's distressed look, not all had been forgiven.

  5

  Kacie drove straight home after her coffee date, skipping her regular Saturday errands. She just wanted to be alone.

  Entering her home, the alarm unit sounded. She punched in the code and glanced around the sparsely decorated home. This was Braiden's house. Clean and nearly showroom perfect. A few knick knacks here and there were hers, but, overall, this wasn't her home, even though she had lived in it for the last three years.

  Three years of not paying rent or a mortgage. She sank the extra money into the vet clinic, but was it worth the price? Loneliness tugged at her heart, and she closed her eyes, focusing on the faces of the animals she had fostered and cured over the years.

  It was definitely worth it.

  But now she had a more significant
problem than an absent fiancé or living in a place that felt like a hotel room. Once she’d discovered that Ashley Lewis would be on Greg's arm at the reunion, Kacie had said that she wouldn't miss the event for the world.

  Wouldn't miss going to it? Greg would expect her to attend the reunion with her fiancé, and, once again, there'd be no one with her at the big dance.

  She threw her purse down on the kitchen table and took a seat. She’d always thought Greg had better taste than Ashley Lewis. The train wreck of a woman had been a bitch in high school.

  Back in the day, Ashley had kept Kacie off the cheerleading squad, had cheated off her work in algebra, and had made fun of her nearly every chance she got. Worst of all, she had attended the prom with one of Kacie's friends. The one who’d been Kacie’s safety net for a prom date. It wouldn't have been so bad if Ashley hadn't told the entire school and humiliated Kacie in the middle of the gym—the same room where the prom would have been held if it hadn’t flooded.

  She thought back to that night. The flooded gym caused the prom to be held on the drenched football field. Jordan Mitchell, the quarterback and captain of the team, and the rest of the players were certainly in their element. Jordan and Mia danced all night. Since Kacie’s heels had dug into the turf and she had found it difficult to dance, she and Greg sat in the bleachers with friends and talked all night.

  They had talked about college and their futures. She only wished she had told him then how much he had meant to her.

  And now he was back in her life, but he was with Ashley.

  Taking her phone from her purse, Kacie went on Facebook and searched for Ashley. The woman had never married, never had any kids, and hadn’t gained an ounce. She still looked like a doll with the perfect, hard body; beautiful, blonde hair; and a designer wardrobe.

  According to social media, Ashley worked at the local newspaper in their advertising department. It came as no surprise to Kacie. Seems Ashley was the one who’d messed up all the advertisements for the veterinary clinic—even misspelling the address in one ad.

  Kacie knew it had been no accident. Ashley hated Kacie like she hated all the girls at school who weren't in her somewhat Queen Bee clique. She also hated anyone who lived north of Hyde Park Street, where the wealthiest families lived.

  Kacie went to her own social media site and typed: Looking forward to my high school reunion. It should be fun.

  Even reading the words didn't convince her, but she still posted it—making the action her final decision to go to the stupid event—at least the big event on Saturday night.

  Glancing at years’ worth of posted images, she realized that she still looked the same. Holly Hobby–ish. Cute with no chance of happiness.

  She grabbed her phone and dialed Derrick. “Want to be my date next Saturday night?”

  “It's a beautiful day, Skipper.”

  Greg got the dog from the car and walked the short distance to the dog park. Letting the furry baby off his leash, Skipper took off running and joined the other dogs in play.

  “Skipper is adjusting to his new home.” Ned took a sip of his coffee and pointed at his collie. “Copper enjoys his company.”

  The two dogs chased each other at top speed, and a bubbling burst of happiness overcame Greg. “Skipper was saved. Every day is a blessing.”

  “A blessing to you both,” Ned said. “Copper is a rescue, as well. He means so much to me; I can't even begin to tell you. Many people want the purebreds or tiny puppies. They don't understand the joy a mature dog needing a home can bring to them.”

  Many people didn't. Greg didn't know much about Ned, other than the fact that he worked at some social media company, but he liked the man. He seemed hard–working and appeared to know what was important in life.

  “Skipper just had a checkup. Kacie told me that he's in excellent shape. Maybe even a little younger than I thought. He's only about six or seven years old.”

  “Look at him,”—Ned tapped Greg on the shoulder—”you'd swear he was a puppy.”

  “Kacie took a shine to him. She kept petting him and calling him a good boy.”

  A puzzled expression crossed came across Ned's face. “I thought you were dating a woman named Alice or something.”

  “Ashley.”

  “Right.” Ned nodded. “And Ashley doesn't like Skipper.”

  Brick–by–brick the wall grew stronger. Not that their relationship had seemed perfect to begin with. “She's still upset that I adopted him. I mean… I told her that I wanted to get a dog. I even asked for her to come by on adoption day to meet him before I saved him.”

  “Is she allergic to dogs? Or is she just a cat person?”

  Greg let out a slightly nervous chuckle, wishing it was something so simple. “Nothing like that.”

  “She doesn't like the breed of dog?”

  “She hates dogs period.” The truth was hard to admit, but there it was. “Skipper can't do anything right. He gets into the trash, he barks too much, and the other day, he chewed up one of her shoes.”

  “Did you get him into that training class I told you about?”

  “Yes. I just hope that Ashley can see how much Skipper is changing. He had been a neglected dog for many years. He was a good ten pounds underweight when the shelter found him.”

  Greg thought back to how thin his little buddy had been. His ribcage showed through his skin, and his beseeching eyes had begged for help. “Kacie said he's a healthy weight now.”

  “Who is Kacie?”

  A tingle of excitement filled him as an image of Kacie appeared in his mind. “She's Skipper's new vet. I actually knew her back in high school, and she immediately remembered me.”

  Ned snapped his fingers and pointed at Greg. “That's right, you have your reunion coming up soon. It looks like you got a jump on the event by bumping into her. Maybe it was fate that Skipper needed a checkup.”

  Fate? Or just a fluke? Right now, Greg leaned more toward the former. Skipper would be in wonderful hands with Kacie as his doctor.

  “It was exciting to see her. She hasn't changed a bit.” A smile broke across his face. “She always loved animals and had planned on becoming a vet one day.” He let out a slight chuckle. “She was always so determined with her goals. I'm not surprised that she became a doctor and set up her own vet clinic.”

  “Kacie sounds great.”

  Greg thought back to his teenage days. She had been in the background for some events, and in the spotlight for others. No matter what was going on, she was always there. At first, with their mothers being best friends, they were forced to have playdates. But those early days passed quickly, and then they hung out together out of true friendship. “She always watched my back and knew me better than I knew myself.”

  “Not that it's my place, but why are you and Skipper with the dog hater? Especially since Kacie seems perfect?”

  Kacie? Kacie was his friend, not a potential love interest. “She’s like a sister, or at the very least, a cousin.”

  No. Kacie wasn't perfect. Not for him anyway.

  Of course, she would make a wonderful wife and mother. He had always known that. Just by watching her babysit her younger siblings and take on so much responsibility at an early age, anyone could see that she'd become a Wonder Woman type of female.

  So loving and compassionate.

  Someone that you could spend your life with and know where you stood.

  The air turned thin, and he found it hard to breathe. Kacie was perfect. She had always been perfect. She understood his ups and downs and had been his personal cheerleader for years. Their friendship had only been torn apart due to the physical distance between them.

  Could she be the one?

  No. One major obstacle existed. She was engaged.

  6

  Greg didn’t understand women.

  It wasn’t a big secret. Most men didn’t. But Ashley accentuated the difference between the genders exponentially, making everything so much more difficult than it ne
eded to be.

  “Do you like this dress?”, “Does this dress make me look fat?”, “Should I put on a different set of earrings?”, …

  He knew her not to be an insecure woman. She fished for compliments at every turn, taking them greedily while dishing out enough of the, “Are you really going to wear that outfit tonight? You look like a waiter…” remarks.

  He had hoped the ego–feeding and passive aggressive comments would stop in the car, but he wasn’t that lucky of a man.

  “Circle back around. I’m sure there’s a parking spot closer,” Ashley said in between applying lipstick with the help of the passenger seat mirror. She rolled her eyes after he drove over another bump in the road. “My grandmother can drive smoother than this,” she muttered.

  He wanted to say something, but the smear of lipstick on her cheek was reward enough. Glancing down another row of parked cars, he said, “I told you we should have arrived earlier. Looks like the place has a couple of events tonight.”

  Her chilly gaze was accompanied by her sharp tongue. “You never show up to an event on time. Only losers do that.”

  “It’s 8:11pm,” he said, staring at the clock on the dashboard. “We’re over an hour late.”

  She put away her lipstick and closed the car’s folding mirror. “Anyone who is anybody is only now showing up.” She glared at him, practically sizing him up. “Trust me. I know.”

  His jaw tensed. How is it that high school holds the fastest key to dividing people into the basic “Breakfast Club” categories? Prom queen, geek, jock, misfit, or outlaw. He’d say there were more pigeon holes for people to fit into, but as a geek/jock person, he knew his old role very well.

  “If you’re the first one to arrive, you can’t make a grand entrance. And I didn’t spend this much money on this dress to not be noticed.”

  Her voice softened as she finished her sentence, as though she didn’t want to admit how much she had spent. Like the credit card bill wouldn’t tell him soon enough.