AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You could touch one if you want. Get a little three-day trial before buying the subscription.”
Next, he’d probably start popping his pecs in front of me. He was relentless for a guy who’d been mortified by his overreaction involving Paul and me and what was nothing more than a professional relationship.
“All right, parents.” The strong female voice echoed around the cavernous gym, followed by a clicking of heels across the basketball court floor. Vice Principal Elizabeth tapped the microphone with her perfectly manicured nail. “Can everyone hear me?”
There were maybe thirty of us in here, so I wasn’t positive the microphone was necessary, but what did I know?
After a resounding dry, monotone yes, she continued.
“Fantastic. I want to start this off by saying thank you. You are all so gracious to volunteer for this year’s spring festival. If all goes according to plan, this will be the biggest and most successful event this school has had to date. I’ll run through the details of the festival, the setup, and the games, so please hold all questions till the end.”
She continued on, though I’d gotten stuck on one single word: volunteer. I had not, by any means, volunteered for this. Between work, sports for the boys, overseeing homework, and quality family time, I was running at a deficit for hours. How was I supposed to tack on volunteer work? And how had I even gotten roped into an event volunteer meeting?
Liam. That was the only explanation. I glared over at him, my eyebrows two vicious little caterpillars I made sure showed my outrage. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d played a prank on me, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Once, when we were together, he replaced all of our family picture frames in the apartment with pictures of Steve Buscemi. It took me a month to notice.
Only, when I turned to him, his jaw was practically on the floor, and he was squinting in confusion, as if he also couldn’t believe what he’d heard.
Had the boys’ teacher signed us up without asking? Kim was…enthusiastic, but she didn’t seem like the type to throw me in the deep end like this.
Liam’s hand shot up next to me, his knuckles brushing the outside of my arm, leaving prickly tingles in its wake.
When Elizabeth looked his way and then didn’t answer, he cleared his throat obnoxiously. “Hey, yeah. Excuse me. I didn’t sign up for this.”
I shrank back, trying to make it obvious to the parents around us that I was not in cahoots with this man.
Elizabeth looked down at her ultra-official clipboard and hummed for a long moment, then pointed to the very bottom. “Ah. Yes, you did, Mr. Wells. As did Mrs. Wells.” She looked from Liam to me.
The Mrs. Wells was proof enough that the woman was new. All the teachers, parents, and faculty involved in the school were highly aware of our co-parenting relationship. In other words, each one understood that I would likely spontaneously combust if in this man’s proximity for longer than ten minutes.
With a dismissive, judgmental mmm, she went back to her agenda, discussing themes and project managers.
My mind was still halted. I knew I hadn’t signed up. Liam was married to his job, so the man certainly was not volunteering for anything willy-nilly. Except when it came to pouncing on my nerves. Then he was all in. Any time, any place. But that was beside the point.
Liam’s hand was still in the air, but clearly, Elizabeth had no intention of acknowledging him again. Letting a breath out through my nose, I grasped his elbow and pulled it down.
He turned to me, his eyes swimming with an annoyance and confusion that matched mine.
I whispered roughly, pure venom dripping out of me. “I did not sign up for this.”
“And you think I did? I can’t afford time off right now.”
Of course he couldn’t, because that was where his priorities lay. Work, the boys, his family, his house. Above all, except our sons, was work.
“Now that we’ve gone over safety details—we certainly do not want anyone to fall down a manhole again this year—let’s talk assignments.”
The woman was way too chipper for this meeting.
“The majority of you will be assigned to booths and tables. A few others will be chosen for security, concessions, and parking duty. You can see your assignment on page three of your packet.”
Side by side, Liam and I frantically flipped pages as if our lives depended on it until we found the sheet printed with names and assignments. Quickly, I scanned each line, and sure enough, on the bottom right, under the Fun and Games tab, was my full name.
“What the—” he gritted out.
I side-eyed him, and he did the same. Then we both homed in on the assignment again. Surely, we were mistaken. It had to be a mirage. A shared nightmare.
Unfortunately, no. Our eyes weren’t playing some cruel joke. Side by side, our names, just our names, sat in the same column.
Liam Wells / Marigold Wells - Fun and Games Booth #5
