AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ali followed Janice’s gaze outside through the window, where Lucy had joined Cornell in throwing the ball to the dogs. “There’s nothing wrong with quiet.”
“No, I suppose there isn’t. But you probably know that things weren’t easy for him at a certain point.” Janice sighed. “They weren’t for a long time, actually.”
Trying to hide her frown, Ali nodded. She hated thinking about a young Cornell, torn between grieving his mother and fear of disappointing his father.
“I thought for a long time that he just needed to come to things on his own.” Janice turned back to Ali. “I was wrong.”
Ali furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
“All he needed was someone to believe in him.” Janice smiled sadly. “There’s been a big change in him since you came along.”
Heat began to tickle Ali’s cheeks. “I wouldn’t say—”
“I would. Take my word for it,” Janice said with a wink. “I’ve known him longer.”
Ali laughed.
“It’s in your nature, I can tell. You see the best in people. That’s probably what makes you so good at what you do.”
Swallowing heavily at Janice’s words, Ali pressed her lips together. She hadn’t spoken to anyone apart from Cornell and Linda about her plans to leave Hopperville. The decision was painfully anchored to such a horrible memory that Ali didn’t need to advertise. But she had yet to come up with a good enough reason, especially given Cornell’s promotion, as to why she would leave.
“Patience goes a long way,” Ali offered with a shrug, changing the subject. “I really am happy you made it out here. It’s so nice to have everyone finally meet.”
“Something tells me I’ll be making more visits,” she said softly, glancing around the kitchen. “Can I help you with the coffee?”
Ali nodded, stepping aside before making her way to the screen door. “Hey, birthday boy,” she called into the backyard. “There’s a pecan pie with your name on it.”
“Do we have to sing?” Cornell asked, bending down to pat Porter. “My birthday isn’t until Saturday.”
“We’ll sing Saturday, too. After the game.” Unlike last season, this year Hopperville would play over the holiday weekend. “Come on, it’s tradition. You were born on Thanksgiving.”
Lucy squealed when Mowgli jumped up. “Do you know what you’re going to wish for, Cornell?”
“Yeah.” He winked at Ali. “Something forever.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Lucy said, pushing her blonde hair from her face as she reached for the ball. “But if you say it out loud, it won’t come true.”
Frowning, Ali’s hand went to her neck as if to play with the phantom necklace that had never been recovered. “She’s right.”
“Nah,” Cornell told Ali with a shake of his head, brushing her left hand as he went inside. “Impossible. You can’t lose something forever twice.”
* * *
Exhausted from the Thanksgiving festivities, Ali opted out of going with Cornell to Dallas to spend time with his family and instead spent the bulk of her Black Friday online shopping from the couch. It was hard to believe the season and semester were nearly over, which meant that the self-imposed deadline for her resignation was fast approaching.
She got off the couch, whistling to Mowgli, who was still wiped from the plethora of leftovers and all-day play with Porter. “Let’s go,” she told him, grabbing her keys and badge.
Brady Hall was quiet when she entered, heading down the long hallway to her office, Mowgli trotting beside her, confused over the absence of noise and life of Hopperville’s main academic building. Ali noticed the light from the computer lab glowing into the dark hallway.
“What are you doing here?” Ali asked Dwayne from the doorway.
Dwayne looked up from the screen and scratched the back of his head. “I gotta submit this essay for Comp-2 by Sunday. We’ve got practice later this afternoon and the game tomorrow. Gotta get it done now.”
Ali folded her arms across her chest. “You shouldn’t have an assignment due on a holiday weekend.”
“It’s not. It was due last week.” Dwayne sighed, patting Mowgli, who had nudged his head into his lap. “Got an extension. Or two,” he added, looking up at Ali with a shrug. “Did you have a nice Thanksgiving, Ms. Whitaker? Get a lot of turkey in?”
Nodding, Ali walked across the carpeted floor to her office. “Did you?”
