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“Deep breaths, baby. It’s time to start the school year.”
Cody and I inhale and exhale together as we sit in the school parking lot. The students won’t start arriving for a bit, but the teacher parking lot is almost full. I’m sure, like me, they’re all here early to get their classrooms in order.
“Are you ready?” I look in my rearview mirror to find my sweet boy smiling at me.
“Yep!”
I get out of the car and walk around to help Cody get his stuff together. We head inside the red brick building and walk straight to my classroom. Cody runs ahead of me, his Spiderman backpack bouncing as he goes. My keys jingle as I unlock my classroom door. All the chairs have been stacked on top of the desks, which have been pushed into a huge clump in the middle of the room.
Earlier in the week, I came in to change out my decorations with new sayings for the start of the new semester. I just didn’t have it in me to rearrange the desks after all the work I put into updating my room.
Cody gets himself situated in my reading corner at the back of the room while I set my stuff down at my desk. This behemoth of a metal desk has been with me since I started teaching here, right after I graduated from school. I couldn’t believe how lucky I’d gotten to get the post I wanted. Third grade is by far my favorite to teach, and being able to stay in this school for the last six years has been amazing.
I knew I didn’t want to raise Cody in Greensboro, even though that’s where I grew up. Westlake has this small-town feel with a few more city amenities than the other towns in the area. It was also one of the few towns where I could actually afford to live on a teacher’s salary.
The morning passes quickly, and my students should be arriving soon. Cody’s classroom is in the same hallway, so he sticks with me up until the very last minute. He was so bummed he couldn’t have me as a teacher, but I told him it was better this way because then he could be his normal self without feeling like I was constantly watching him as his mom instead of his teacher.
He quickly realized he wouldn’t have been able to relax if he were in my class. He’s been plenty happy to see me in the hallways or at lunch and recess, though.
“Knock, knock!” Andrew calls from my doorway. His wiry blond hair has been gelled back, and his tweed jacket and slacks scream nerdy teacher. “Happy first day back to school.”
“Hey, Andrew! How was your break?” I smile at him. He’s become a great friend over the past couple of years. We hit it off one day during a teacher conference a few years ago. He hasn’t once hit on me in all the time we’ve been friends, which only made me like him as a friend even more. I think he has a partner—whether it’s a girl or a guy, I’m not sure. I think that’s why he’s kept his distance, though. We don’t talk much about our personal lives. Mostly, we just commiserate over how hard it is to be a teacher sometimes.
“Pretty boring. How was yours?”
A flash of Nolan hovering over me, his hips snapping against mine, pops into my head. I’m sure my cheeks are flushed, but thank God Andrew can’t read my mind. “It was good.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I better get going. Have a great first day back. See you later, Cody.” Andrew gives me a little wave before disappearing down the hallway.
“You better get packed up. You’ve got about five minutes before the school becomes a zoo.”
Cody giggles at my description while he puts his book into his backpack.
“Katie?” Dottie, our school’s receptionist, pokes her head around the corner. Her silver curls have been styled into a dome around her head. “I’ve got a delivery for you.”
“You do?”
She comes in carrying a beautiful arrangement of wildflowers. “Someone is a very lucky girl.” Dottie winks.
I shake my head at her. “I can almost guarantee you those flowers are not from a man.” But as I say the words, I realize they may not be true.
“Well, whoever sent them picked out a gorgeous arrangement.” She sets them on the corner of my desk.
I lean in to smell them. “I have to agree with you there.”
Dottie continues to stand there, waiting for me to open the card. I just stare at her until her shoulders slump in disappointment. “All right, all right. Party pooper.” She gives my shoulder a playful tap and then saunters out in her two-inch brown heels and brown slacks.
When she’s around the corner, I snatch the envelope out of the flowers and tear it open.
Katie—
Happy first day back to school! I hope your kids aren’t assholes, and if you need a distraction to get through the day, just know that I’m imagining you as a naughty schoolteacher this morning. Call me later. I want to hear how your day went.
—Nolan
I shake my head. He’s so fucking cheeky. His phone number is at the bottom of the card, taunting me to reach out. God, the temptation of this man. It’s too much sometimes.
“Who are the flowers from?” Cody’s voice makes me jump.
