Ed's Blind Date Dilemma

by Katie O'Sullivan

  Claire ran her hand through short spiky locks, happy that headbands and ponytails were things of the past. “Empty classroom. C’mon in.”

  Emily O’Toole was ten years older than Claire, and had been among the first to make her feel welcome in the school district. The seventh grade teacher skipped into the classroom, wearing khakis and a navy twinset, and planted herself atop one of the student desks in the front row. She cocked an eyebrow and gave her a teasing smirk. “The kids were still talking about your class today in the line for busses. From the buzz I hear, they’re even excited about the homework assignment.”

  “Their homework is to play an online video game. Of course they’re excited.” At the surprise on Emily’s face, Claire’s smile widened and she laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s on the Scholastic website, created to go along with Holes, the Louis Sachar book I introduced this week. And I told them all that the Community Center will be showing the movie version on the Friday of April vacation week to give them incentive to finish reading it early.”

  Emily shook her head. “Lady, I can see a few things wrong with your statement, but I’ll let you sink or swim on your own, newbie.”

  That made her frown. “What do you mean?”

  “You tell them there’s a movie version – one starring Shia LaBeouf no less – and still expect them to read the book first? Plus, does the principal know you’ve assigned what’s essentially a banned book to your class?”

  Claire froze. “Banned?”

  Emily’s laugh filled the room. “Man, you should see your face right now. Relax, lady. Our principal doesn’t care. Yes, it got put on the banned book list back in 2004 by some small minded parents who found it inappropriate for their tender children. You were probably still in school yourself back then, but we never took it off the curriculum here in Chatham. And it’s still an award winning best seller for the age group. Even if the kids would rather watch the movie.”

  Claire opened her mouth to protest, but Emily raised a hand to stop her. “I didn’t come in here to argue, I’m supposed to fetch you for the emergency preparedness meeting in the cafeteria. You’re representing the fifth grade wing. I’ll introduce you to some of the elementary teachers, since they’re coming over too.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t remember signing up.”

  “I may have signed up for both of us. It’s an annual meeting with the police and fire departments to go over evacuation plans in case of emergencies. You know, like hurricanes, nor’easters, sharknado, or in case the local nuclear plant finally has a meltdown.”

  Claire couldn’t stop the shiver that ran down her back at her co-worker’s listing of natural disasters. “Are you serious?”

  Emily laughed. “All except sharknado, although sometimes it feels like that’s the one that’s gonna get us in the end.”

  “Not the zombie apocalypse? And here I’ve been practicing my cardio.”

  Shaking her head, Emily turned back toward the hallway. “C’mon or we’ll be late. I’ll take you out for dinner when it’s over. Maybe we can talk a few of the others into coming along.”

  “On a school night?” Claire shoved her folders and paperwork into her bag and stood to follow Emily out the door, shutting off the lights on her way.

  “It’s just dinner,” Emily said with an exaggerated shrug. They headed down the hall toward the cafeteria. “Everyone’s gotta eat, right?” Emily whipped the sunglasses from her hair as she ducked into her classroom to grab her bag. She returned in less than a minute. “Okay, let’s go ace this emergency preparedness thing.”

  Claire narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You didn’t tell me this was a test.”

  “Only a test of friendship,” Emily said with a smile. “I really didn’t want to sit through this thing alone.”

  “So, Claire. What do you think of Chatham?”

  Their pitcher of beer had arrived at the table and Jared, the lone male elementary teacher in their group, poured it into glasses as he gave Claire the third degree. They’d come straight from the after-school meeting and he still sported a coat and tie, but the tie itself was brightly colored and decorated with characters from Dr. Seuss. His eyes twinkled with merriment behind thick glasses. He radiated energy, and Claire could totally see his third graders hanging on every word the guy said.

  “Different than what I pictured,” she admitted, accepting a glass of something called Cape Cod Red, a local brew. “I thought by coming to a more rural school district, the kids would be… I don’t know? Maybe a little more innocent or sheltered than in Stamford?” She’d been wrong.

  Next to her, Emily let out a snort of laughter. “Innocent is not a word I’d use to describe any of my seventh graders.”

  “Jaded might be a better adjective,” chimed in Marie Louise. She taught eighth grade science, a floor above the fifth grade hallway. Despite the masses of grey hair tied in a messy bun on the top of her head, Marie Louise wore slim jeans and high black leather boots paired with a sparkly black top and stylish long black sweater. Claire made a mental note to ask the woman where she shopped. The atmosphere at Monomoy was a lot more laid back than Stamford, and it might be nice to add a little variety to her wardrobe.

  “Full of real life experience,” Jared agreed. “Even my third graders.”

  Claire nodded her agreement. “It’s probably not much different back in Stamford, but those kids were a whole lot better at hiding it.”

  “Wait until they get to my grade.” Marie Louise raised her glass with a frown. “During cafeteria duty yesterday, I overheard one of my students explaining the mechanics of giving a blowjob to another girl – now, granted, as a science teacher I should applaud any application of physics to real life situations, but these are thirteen year olds!”

  Jared stopped pouring. “Wait, there are physics involved with giving a BJ?”

  The table burst into giggles while Marie Louise rolled her eyes. “If you don’t believe me, ask your husband.”

  Claire looked around the group of teachers crowded around the long table, four from the Chatham elementary school and the four representing each grade at Monomoy Middle, laughing and joking together as if they’d known each other forever. Which, if she thought about it, they probably had. It was a small community. Most of them probably grew up in the area. She wondered whether they got together like this on a regular basis. And wondered if they’d welcome her joining them next time, too. The thought gave her hope.

  She’d spent most of her free time in the last few months fixing her grandmother’s cottage. Her childhood memories painted a much rosier picture than the house warranted, as it spent the last several summers rented by seasonal workers and empty through the winter and spring. Everything needed to be repaired, replaced or updated, and the never-ending list of home repairs kept her busy. And isolated. Not to mention the grey, rainy weather which seemed to envelop the town every weekend.

  She needed to get out more. Make friends. Become more familiar with her community. Especially if she was going to stick around past the last day of school in June.

  Is that what she wanted? She had a few more months to figure out if Chatham was where she wanted to be, and she’d barely seen any of the town or the area. Since the check from the house sale finally cleared, she should take time to figure out if this was the right place for her or if she should move on. Or move out to California to be closer to her sisters, who’d both stayed out there after college and become professors. Teaching was in the family blood, her parents both professors in New York City. She’d been the only one to choose childhood education as opposed to their loftier pursuits. Taking the easy way out, according to her dad, disappointing him with her mere Masters in Education instead of choosing a focus and getting her PhD like the rest of them.

  “Hey.” Emily nudged her with an elbow. “What’s the sad look all about?”

  Claire sighed and pasted on a smile. “Nothing. Tired after a long day.” A long, productive day, she reminded herself. She
enjoyed her new job, the new students, and her new coworkers. Focus on this. Focus on the future.

  The sympathetic look on Emily’s face said she didn’t quite believe her, but she let it go and changed the subject. “Got anything good planned for April vacation? Visiting friends? Family?”

  Claire shook her head, not wanting to get into the family dynamics with her new friend. “I’ve got a few roofers lined up to give me quotes.”

  “Didn’t you say it was your grandmother’s place? I hope she’s paying for it.”

  Again, Claire shook her head, thinking of her Grandmother Mimi in Florida. She’d left Cape Cod a few years ago, after a winter when there were actual ice floes in Chatham’s harbor. Now she lived in a different beach community, one which never worried about snow or ice, where everyone in her condo building was close to her age and always up for a game of bridge. Or shuffleboard. Or whatever it was the 80-something crowd did with their free time.

  When Claire first contacted her about renting the cottage, Mimi told her she planned to sell once she got the place fixed up. Claire talked her into letting her stay there in exchange for completing the repairs. “We’ll see how expensive it’s going to be. For now, I’ve got the money from the sale of my house in Connecticut. And don’t forget, she’s letting me stay rent-free.”

  “Sounds to me like you’ve already done plenty to pay her back. All the repainting you’ve been doing, not to mention all the other home improvement projects you regale us with in the breakroom. You make me feel positively sloth-like every Monday morning with your tales of repair and renewal.”

  “I’m not so bad, am I?”

  “Who said you were bad?” Marie Louise leaned in to join the conversation. “I’m always so impressed at how much you accomplish every weekend! I wish my husband and I could get half as excited about fixing up our place. But after living there awhile, you get used to a house’s quirks.”

  “…And you two spend every weekend visiting your grandchildren in Providence,” Emily added with another of her wide smiles.

  “Maybe that’s my real problem,” Claire said with a shrug. “I don’t have much of a social life.”

  Emily gave her a speculative once-over. “We could fix it if you let us.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You should come out with us more often,” Emily said, nudging her elbow.

  Claire smiled. “I’d like that.”

  “And maybe… are you dating?” Marie Louise chimed in. “You’re a young, attractive single woman. You should be out there meeting people and having fun, not spending all of your time hanging around with a bunch of old married farts.” Marie Louise circled her hand to encompass the other teachers at the table. “Do you have a profile somewhere?”

  “A profile?”

  Emily leaned forward again. “You know, on one of those dating sites. Match or Harmony or Cupid-something? They have those in Connecticut too, don’t they?”

  Claire rolled her eyes. “My sister and I tried to set one up after I filed for divorce, but somehow my ex hacked into it and posted nasty stuff. I pulled it down and haven’t tried again.”

  “Huh. How else do people meet each other these days?” Emily turned to Jared. “You and Tim have only been married a year. How did you meet?”

  “A dinner party at the home of a mutual friend. I first noticed him at their summer soiree, but never had a chance to talk. They arranged something smaller so we could get to know one another better.” Jared winked at Claire. “It was like a blind date, except there were six other people there with me in case it turned into a disaster.”

  Marie Louise laughed. “That’s not the definition of a blind date, you ignoramus. You’re describing a text book set-up. You already knew who the guy was. Your friends told you about Tim, they probably told him stuff about you, you both agreed to meet at the dinner party, right?”

  Jared frowned. “Yeah? So? How is it different from a blind date?”

  “A blind date is when the two people don’t know anything about each other and have to trust their friends to know what they’re doing. It’s going sight unseen into a date situation, with no preconceived notions to muddy the waters, thus the term blind date.” Marie Louise used an authoritative tone that brooked no argument. Claire immediately understood how the older woman kept her eighth graders in line.

  Emily nudged her side with an elbow. “Since you’re new in town, any date we set you up on is bound to be a blind one! Now we need to come up with a worthy prospect.”

  Claire shifted nervously in her chair. “What? You mean I don’t get any say in the matter?” Having recently taken charge of her life again, she didn’t like the idea of ceding control. “What if he turns out to be a creep? Or what if he’s actually a serial killer or something?”

  The entire table of teachers laughed out loud, and Claire realized everyone was now paying attention to the conversation about her dating life. Just awesome.

  “First of all,” Emily started, “We’d never send you on a date with anyone even remotely sketchy."

  “And of course the blind date would be in a public place,” Jared chimed in, earning a glare from Emily.

  “And second,” she said pointedly enunciating over the end of Jared’s sentence, “you would meet this guy in a public place. Like here at Gilley’s Bar and Grille for instance.”

  Claire looked around the pub area, which she had to admit was pretty crowded for early on a Wednesday night. “Yeah, this seems like a safe enough spot.” If a little bit of a cliché.

  “And let me add the third reason.” Marie Louise planted both hands on the table and leaned forward. “We like you. So we want you to have a reason to hang around Monomoy Middle School for a long, long time.”

  Her throat tightened. She swallowed around the sudden lump. “Are you sure?”

  “Definitely. You’re good people.” Emily threw an arm around her and hugged her against her side. She was the only one Claire had confided in about her past. About the reason for her divorce. “You deserve a happily ever after.”

  Claire cleared her throat and let out what she hoped sounded like a nonchalant laugh. “Yeah, but one blind date doesn’t make a happily ever after. This isn’t some sort of fairy tale.”

  Marie Louise cackled, rubbing her hands together with glee. “Hopefully it’s more like a steamy romance novel, complete with a swoon-worthy hero. Let’s see… who’d be a good candidate? What about Craig Hansen over at the high school? He’s single.”

  Jared shook his head, making a dismissive hand gesture. “Have you seen the way he dresses? Buttoning his polo shirt all the way to the top like a bad 80s-movie geek? Pu-lease. What about the new basketball coach? Now, there’s a hottie for you.”

  “Not anyone from the school system,” Claire blurted, feeling her cheeks flame as she spoke. “It would be too awkward if it didn’t work out.”

  Emily nudged her shoulder. “So you’re up for this? For real?”

  Claire shrugged. “It’s just one date, right? Besides, you have a point. All men can’t be as bad as my ex.”

  “Don’t worry about a thing.” Emily threw an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll find you a Prince Charming.”

  She laughed out loud. “As long as you don’t expect me to kiss any frogs.”

  4

  Two days later; 7:45 a.m.

  Monomoy Middle School, Chatham

  “Mrs. Masters?”

  Claire looked up from the quizzes she was grading, surprised to hear a student’s voice this early in the morning. One of the fifth graders leaned against the doorframe, her dark hair in tight braids held by pink elastics, her hands clutching the straps of her neon pink backpack.

  “Good morning, Kayleigh. School doesn’t start for another hour, you know.”

  The girl scuffed her pink Converse on the tile floor, looking hesitant as she hovered in the doorway. “Can I come in and talk to you?”

  Claire waved her inside. “Sure. Shut the door behi
nd you.” She stood, motioning for Kayleigh to follow her to the circle of chairs in the room’s reading corner. Taking a seat, she waited while Kayleigh removed her backpack and chose the chair directly across from Claire. She waited a few minutes more, while Kayleigh smoothed her hands up and down her faded jeans, as if trying to figure out where to start the conversation. On the outside, she looked the same as any other day, her perfect pink flannel shirt and jeans looking like she should be on the cover of the L.L. Bean catalog, her hair and face clean and wholesome looking. It was the troubled expression on her face which bothered Claire.

  This was the third time the fifth grader had visited her wanting to talk. The first time had been almost two weeks before, but they’d barely had time for the girl to get comfortable before the bell rang and students started filtering into the room. The second time was last week. Kayleigh showed up in her door after school sporting a black eye she said came from a tae-kwon-do tournament. They’d chatted briefly about the homework assignment before Claire had to leave for a meeting. She’d been hoping Kayleigh would try again. The girl seemed worried about something other than her reading homework.

  This morning, there was plenty of time until first bell. Just as Claire was about to prompt the girl, she began to talk. “I know you’ve only been teaching here for a few months, but you seem like a nice person. And smart, too.” Kayleigh stopped and cleared her throat. “Since you don’t know everyone in town, I thought I could ask you for, you know, an unbiased opinion.”

  “You can ask me anything,” Claire said without hesitation. “I may not have all the answers, but I can help you find them.”

  “So I have this friend,” Kayleigh started. “And she’s having problems with her family. And I want to help her, but I don’t know how.”

  “What kind of problems?”

  “Her mom is gone, and she doesn’t get along too well with her dad. He’s too bossy. And he, um, yells at her. She’s thinking of running away.”