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“Just don’t try to tell her how to do her job.” Brinkley reached for her glass of red wine and took a sip. “She told Mom that I was too bossy.”
My mother’s head fell back in laughter. “She had something to say about each of you, but it always came from a good place. She thought Brinks needed to be reminded that she wasn’t the teacher.”
“Well, my girl does things better than most people, so it only seems right that she would take control of her classroom.” Lincoln chuckled as he leaned over and kissed the top of her head. He was the best quarterback in the league, and we were all hoping he was going to lead the New York Thunderbirds to the Super Bowl this year. They tried to fly home to Cottonwood Cove on the free weekends that he didn’t have a game and Brinkley could work remotely.
“Can’t argue with that.” My mother gazed around the table, her eyes landing on her firstborn, my older brother, and a wide grin spread across her face. “And she said that Cage needed to work on his patience. I think we got called in several times about that.”
“Didn’t Cage pop someone in the nose because they cut him in line? He got sent home for the afternoon if I’m remembering right,” Dad said, and the table erupted in laughter.
“You got suspended from kindergarten, brother,” Hugh said with a chuckle.
“Tony Landry cut me in line one too many times. A kid can only take so much.” Cage rolled his eyes before looking at his daughter with a brow raised. “But you’re better than Daddy ever was as a kid, so don’t do what I did.”
“Sounds like the kid had it coming,” Maddox said. He and my sister, Georgia, had been married for a few weeks now, and they were ridiculously in love. “What did she have to say about Mrs. Lancaster?”
“I think I recall her telling us that Georgie was a bit of a daydreamer,” my father said as he smiled at my youngest sibling.
“Yes. She said that Georgie had her head in the clouds sometimes,” my mother added.
More laughter.
“I’ve always liked the clouds and the stars,” Georgia said, smiling at her husband.
“Didn’t she call me a stubborn child?” Olivia huffed, looking from her father to her mother.
“Yes. She’d said Reese was a people pleaser and that you were too stubborn for your own good,” Jenny said.
“What can I say? I was ahead of my years. I would not be put into a box.”
“Power to the woman!” Reese, Georgia, and Brinkley shouted at the same time.
“Damn straight. And since when is being a people pleaser at five years old a bad thing?” Reese said over her laughter.
“Okay. We get it. It’s the year of the woman.” Cage raised a brow. “And let me guess. Hugh and Finn were perfect angels?”
My father barked out a laugh. “I don’t think Mrs. Clifton thought any child was perfect. What did she say about Hugh?”
My mom thought it over. “Hugh was not a big fan of full-day school. He’d fall asleep every afternoon during circle time.”
My sister-in-law, Lila, smiled up at her husband. “Awww… he was a tired bear.”
“Thanks, baby. If memory serves, I thrived at recess and lunch, and work time had me tapping out for a little siesta.”
Gracie was giggling so hard and clapping her hands. “What about Uncle Finny?”
“Uncle Finny was a chatty little guy,” my father said. “What did she call him?”
“She said that he was the mayor of the classroom. Always buzzing around from table to table. And, do you remember, Jenny?” My mother smiled, turning her attention to her best friend. “She’d said that Finn couldn’t handle being separated from Reese in line.”
“I sure do. They had that fire drill when Reese was in the bathroom, and Finn was frantic that Mrs. Clifton was going to leave her.”
“Awww… you always had my back,” Reese said.
“Always. That will never change.”
“You two were ridiculous back then,” Olivia said over her laughter. “Do you remember when Reese found out that she and Finn weren’t going to be in the same class in second or third grade, and she cried so hard that you had to go to the school and get them switched into the same class?”
“That was third grade, and it would have been the first time that we weren’t together.” Reese shrugged.
