Kindergarten Baby: A Novel (13 page)

She knew exactly what Laura’s note meant. She’d gotten lucky. She liked Brad and he liked her, and they were going to engage in mad, passionate sex all night long. It got her thinking.
I wonder how much Emmett likes me.
She liked him‌—‌of course she didn’t love him, since they’d just met. But it had been over three months since the last time she’d…
I bet Anthony has had more sex in the last three months than I’ve had in my whole damn life.

“Would you like to come in?” Lindsey asked. “There’s a complete kitchen, so I’m sure I can find something for us to eat or drink.”

Emmett looked momentarily surprised, but his expression warmed almost immediately. “I’d like that a lot,” he said, closing the door behind him.

He built a crackling fire while Lindsey poured wine and sliced some cheese. The setting was perfect, except now she’d really had too much to drink. The room began to spin ever so slightly, and she had difficulty stringing words together. Emmett was a perfect gentleman, though. He sensed her tipsiness, coaxed her into bed‌—‌by herself‌—‌then gave her a warm, gentle kiss on her forehead.

“I’ll stay with you tonight, but I’ll sleep in Laura’s bed. I think you and I need to take our time and do things right. Good night, Lindsey. Sleep well.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Miss Lindsey! I got a computer for Christmas,” shouted Emma, her smile bright as the desert sun.

“I got a Katy Perry poster and CD,” Willy reported proudly.

“That’s nothin’,” bragged Joseph. “I got to go to Hawaii, and my parents bought me everything I wanted. I just said, ‘I want that’ and they bought it. I got way more than eight days of Hanukah presents.”

Harley was listening closely. “We don’t get to do Christmas or hakan…‌kanhac…‌what is it that you do, Joseph? We don’t even do birthdays. My mom says those things are bad for people, or that bad people do them. I forget which. It’s something bad, I know that.”

“Oh, Harley, I don’t think that’s what your mom really meant,” Lindsey said gently. His mother probably
had
said that celebrations like Christmas were bad for people, she thought, since she had raised her five kids according to Jehovah’s Witnesses beliefs.

“Since we are all so excited about what we did during the two week winter break, let’s write or draw about our experiences,” she suggested, moving away from Harley’s confusion. “Emma, do you want to write about your new computer?”

“Oh, yes! It’s so cool, and I can write and draw on it, too.”

Lindsey began a brainstorming list to assist other students in formulating their own ideas. At the top of the white board she wrote, ‘I might write about…’ and under this heading she began to write Emma’s idea.

“I might write about…“ she reiterated, pointing at each word as she read it, “…‌my computer. I hear
mmmmm
at the beginning of ‘my’. What letter makes that sound?”

“M,” many of the students said together.

“Good,” said Lindsey. She wrote the letter ‘m’ and added the ‘y’ without any discussion. “Okay. We’ve written the word ‘my.’ Now we need to write the word ‘computer.’
Computer
—what sound do you hear at the beginning of the word? Let’s all say it together.”

“Computer.”

“I hear
ca-ca-ca
,” Armando said. He was still learning to speak English and was often hesitant to answer, so Lindsey beamed with joy at his participation and risk-taking.

“You hear ca-ca?” Bobby said with a sneer. “Then I hear doo-doo.”

Some of the students laughed out loud while others turned and stared at Bobby, shaking their heads with disapproval. Lindsey ignored him.

“Thank you, Armando. You are absolutely correct. What letter might make the ‘ca’ sound?”

“The letter ‘k’,” said Connie. Others nodded in agreement, but a few looked puzzled.

“You’re so close,
Connie
,” said Lindsey, exaggerating the beginning sound of Connie’s name. “The letter ‘k’ does make that sound, but it’s not a ‘k’ this time. What other letter makes that sound?”

There was silence. She waited.

“I’ll give you a clue. The word
cat
has the same beginning sound, and begins with the same letter as our word
computer
.”

Now they all knew the answer and cheerfully offered, ‘c.’ Lindsey wrote the letter.

“What other sounds do you hear in the word, computer?”

“I hear a…‌a…‌P,” said Willy, hoping to make the other kids laugh.

Lindsey quickly gave Willy and Bobby her rarely used ‘teacher look,’ just in case they had any intention of using this second opportunity to be a bit disgusting. The boys saw it and wisely chose to let it go.

That first week back at school was difficult for Lindsey. Her mind wandered from the classroom back to the canyon more than she wanted to admit, and she was glad when Friday finally arrived. She wanted to talk with Laura about some of her current concerns during their almost weekly, non-alcoholic, happy hour at the Chocolate Lizard coffee house.

Laura was only a few minutes late, and just as perky and vibrant as usual. Her endless energy amazed Lindsey. She never seemed the least bit tired at the end of the day.

“So what’s this big secret you made me wait a whole week to hear about?” asked Laura.

“Well, it’s not really a secret, nor is it all that big. I just needed some time to make sure about my answer to Emmett.”

“Your answer? What was the question?”

“Well, you remember that he is a travel writer?”

“Yes. Yes. Get to the point.”

“Well, he told me he had a choice of taking an assignment in the Seattle area or one in Tucson. If I want to advance our budding relationship, he said he’d take the Tucson assignment. If not, he’d proceed to Seattle with no hard feelings. He’s going to call tonight at ten o’clock for my decision.”

“And your decision is?”

“Well, I’m not officially divorced yet, and I still think about Anthony a lot, and I know it’s really too soon to get involved with anyone, and—”

“And? And? Your decision? What will you say to him tonight?”

Lindsey gripped her coffee mug, needing something to keep her hands from shaking. “I’ll tell him the truth. I’ll be honest about my situation, and if that doesn’t send him running to the Pacific Northwest, I’ll tell him that I’d love to get to know him better.”

“Wow!” Laura’s mouth gave a mischievous grin. “You must have had a really great time with him that night I danced until dawn.”

She smiled, remembering. “Actually, it’s not what you think. He was a perfect gentleman; just like the night he rescued us off the trail. Men like that are rare these days.” She took a sip, then looked into the mug, considering. “Who knows? Maybe he is the one for me. I don’t know that yet, but I’m willing to explore the possibilities if he comes to Tucson for a while.” She looked at Laura from the corner of her eye. “What about you? Did you and Brad make any plans? You guys were quite the pair back at the canyon.”

Laura looked uncharacteristically serious. “No. I don’t think so,” she replied. She sipped her latte and stared blankly ahead.

The sudden silence was more than Lindsey could bear. “So, that’s it? Goodbye and good luck? Nothing more?”

Laura shrugged. “He’s a terrific guy. A terrific and very wealthy, great guy who’s into his own work, his family, and his independent lifestyle. He’s not interested in changing any of that. It was what it was: a great week. Nothing more, nothing less. As we said goodbye, he said, ‘Same time next year?’ and I, of course, said ‘Sure,’ knowing he was just making light conversation. A man like that could have anyone in the world. Why would he want a pixie-haired special education teacher from Tucson?”

This was a whole new Laura she was seeing, deep in thought about herself, her love life‌—‌or the lack thereof. Her usual
c’est la vie
attitude seemed suppressed below layers of melancholy. Within a couple of minutes, she snapped out of it, regrouped and was back to her old self.

“Besides, I still want to get to know that cute, young bartender from the Coyote Café.”

“Oh, that’s right. Ol’ what’s-his-name. Do you even know his name yet?”

“Well, no, but I will. And soon. In fact, I’ll wager that not only will I know his name by next Friday, but he’ll ask me out by then, too. If I’m wrong, I’ll pay our next coffee tab; if I’m right—”

“I’ll pay the next Coyote Café tab,” Lindsey said with a laugh, “though I’d expect a special friend or VIP discount.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Lindsey sat on her sofa, pretending to read as she waited for Emmett’s call. Her eyes kept straying to the clock. Ten o’clock, ten-fifteen, ten-thirty. She tried to stay positive, but memories of her naivety in the realm of romance bombarded her thoughts. Ten forty-five.
He won’t call.
He was never going to call because he’d been toying with her all along. He’d set her up to be hurt, but why? He barely knew her. First Anthony deceived her in the worst way possible and now this. When would she learn?

Then the phone rang, and Lindsey jumped. She stared at the receiver, trying not to grab it on the first ring, then couldn’t manage to do it until the eighth ring. Her heart raced.

“Hello?”

“Lindsey?” Emmett asked. “Is that you? You sound different.”

“Hi, Emmett. Sorry. It’s me. I was…‌baking cookies and had to run to the phone. I didn’t realize it was so late,” she lied. She didn’t want him to know that she’d been sitting there, counting each overdue minute, and feeling desperately sorry for herself.

“Yes, it is late.
I’m
late. I’m so sorry. I’ll be able to explain my lateness better tomorrow. So…‌have you thought about my proposal? Should I be packing my rain gear or my sunscreen?”

Lindsey cleared her throat, then performed the speech she’d rehearsed over and over in her head, saying she didn’t know if she was ready for a real relationship, that her divorce wasn’t final, and that she might still have some feelings for Anthony. None of this seemed to bother Emmett. He said he felt all her concerns were legitimate and normal, and nothing he couldn’t live with‌—‌at least for the time being.

She couldn’t stop smiling. “Then by all means,” she said, “head to Tucson, but pack the rain gear, too. We’re due for a wet January this year.”

“You won’t regret your decision, Lindsey. Trust me on this one.”

She sat straight, startled to hear a knock on the door. No one ever came to her door at 11:30 at night. Not even on a Friday night.

“Someone’s at my door,” she whispered into the phone.

“Answer it. I’ll stay on the line. You’ll be okay,” he assured her.

Lindsey might have been naive in the ways of dating and courtship, but she wasn’t stupid. There was no way she was going to simply open the door at 11:30 at night. She scooted the leather ottoman over to the door so she could peek out the glass panes at the top of her front door, cursing herself for not insisting on a door with a peephole when she’d been remodeling. She tried to be quiet so the visitor wouldn’t know she was standing right behind the door peering out into the darkness. It was definitely a man.

“I’m not opening the door,” she whispered. “I don’t know who it is.”

The dark form looked up, meeting her eyes. “You do now. It’s me.”

Lindsey flung open the door and into Emmett’s waiting arms.

***

Before Lindsey could even take the mail and memos out of her school mail slot, Laura was at her side, begging for answers.

“Did he call? What did he say? What did you say? You’re looking pretty happy.”

“Yep. He called Friday,” she said smoothly.

“Why didn’t you call me after you talked to him? What’s going on?”

Lindsey smiled contentedly. “I don’t know where to begin. Everything is happening so fast. Why don’t you drop by my classroom at lunch, and I’ll get you up to speed.”

Laura grabbed her friend’s arm and squeezed it. “No. Absolutely not! I cannot and
will
not wait until lunch to find out what happened.”

Lindsey’s students would be entering the classroom in about ten minutes, and there was much to do before they arrived. “Okay, walk me to my classroom.”

“Is he coming to Tucson?” Laura asked. “That should hold me till lunch.”

“He’s here.”

“He’s
here?
In Tucson? Already?”

Lindsey grinned. “Yes. He was so sure I’d say yes that he took the Tucson assignment. He even rented an apartment, though there seems to be a slight problem with it. Something about a small power or plumbing malfunction, so it won’t be available for a few more days. In the meantime, he’s staying at my place.”

Laura’s jaw dropped. “And you’re okay with that?”

“He’s every bit the perfect gentleman that we met in the canyon,” Lindsey assured her.

“What’s a canyon, Miss Lindsey?” asked Marvin as he approached the classroom doorway.

By now many of the students were skipping, chatting, and singing their way into the classroom. Laura winked meaningfully, then excused herself, making it very clear that she’d return the second Lindsey’s students headed to the cafeteria for lunch. There was some explaining to be done.

Mondays were special in the classroom because that was the day Lindsey displayed the folktale, fairy tale, or fable that she would read on Friday. She showed the cover of the book, read the title of the story, then conducted brief discussions Monday through Thursday as to what the story might be about. Every day one more illustration would be revealed. All week long that story sat on the chalkboard ledge, tantalizing her students’ imaginations and building suspense. Rarely was a child absent on Fairy Tale Friday.

“My mom says
Thumbelina
is really good, Miss Lindsey. Is that going to be the new story?” asked Emma.

Other students overheard Emma’s comment, and they too had things to say about the potential story selection. Connie wanted a story about a giant, which prompted Joseph to make a snide remark correlating Connie’s weight, mentioning the fate that had met the giant in
Jack and the Beanstalk.
Oh well. At least he had comprehended the story. Marvin rooted for a story with a king, Bobby liked the king idea as long as he killed a lot of people, and Willy shouted out, “Fairy tales are for fairies!”