August 15th

Ames,

Sounds like you've had quite a whirlwind! I'm sure that's not at all what you expected with this guy. Does he make you happy? That's the main thing. I know you, Ames, and you can get through anything. A kid changes things but does it change how you feel about him? Keep living it up, you're doing great.

Talk soon,

Dex

Life as a teacher showed me a new side to elementary school I'd never witnessed before: the teacher's job is never done. This was something that stuck with me after watching Lucy in class and the way she struggled with reading. And yet, for all the days that Braden picked her up after school—late each time—she and I would spend a few minutes working on some extra practice.

"Miss Lawence," Lucy asked at the end of the first week. "Can we read the moo—mowse book?

"Again?" I was pleased she enjoyed it. It was wonderful watching her begin to feel comfortable with reading the words, but still she struggled in class with the other students.

"Uh huh." Her little head nodded up and down and she looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes.

"Of course."

She settled in a beanbag chair, leaning over my shoulder while I sat with my legs tucked beneath me on the floor.

"If you give a mouse a cookie," I began. Lucy's breath was warm on my cheek from where she perched. Her small fingers curled around the ends of my hair. "He's going to ask for—"

A pair of heels clicked their way across the linoleum floor. "Mrs. Lawrence?" a strong feminine voice called out.

I stood up, easing Lucy carefully away from her spot nestled against my shoulder, and smoothed down my skirt. "It's 'Miss', actually. Hi, you must be Ms. Callahan."

"Mommy!" Lucy squealed, running over to catapult into her mother's long, slender legs.

Ms. Callahan's dark hair was tied back into a simple twist and she held a Prada handbag between perfectly manicured fingers. She smiled ever so slightly at the child clinging to her and extended a hand in my direction. "Formerly, Callahan. Linda Freeman, pleasure to meet you. How was Lucy today?"

"She was great as always. We were just reading one of her favorite stories together."

"Miss Law-ence reads me the cookie mouse book every day," Lucy contributed.

I beamed down at her as Lucy gave me a cheeky grin. "Are you and, um, Mr. Callahan coming to the Parent-Teacher night next week?"

"Yes, I'll be there. Braden should be there as well, but we haven't quite talked about it yet," Linda replied. She fiddled with the straps of her daughter's backpack.

"No worries." An awkward silence spread between us, broken up only by the slow ticking of the clock on the wall.

Miss Freeman looked me up and down. "Braden speaks very highly of you, Miss Lawrence."

I swallowed. "Does he?"

"Hm." Linda turned up her nose. "Lucy worships her father. I'm sure it's just because she talks about you on his nights."

Lucy nodded at us. "That's because Miss La-wence is the bestest."

I laughed. "Thank you, Lucy." I turned back to Linda. "I look forward to seeing you and, um, hopefully Lucy's dad next week at the event. Have a great weekend."

With a smile and a wave, Linda left with Lucy clutching at her hand.

"Mommy, Miss Law-la-wence read me the cookie moose book!" I heard Lucy say to her mom as they walked down the hall.

"That's nice, sweetie. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah!" Lucy skipped alongside her mom. "Can we get ice cream?"

"Maybe later, baby. Mommy's got to finish up some work before we get dinner and then maybe we can get ice cream."

"Yay! Can daddy..." Her voice trailed off as she and Linda walked further away from the room.

I sighed. All of my students were like my own children, I loved them in their own ways. Watching them leave at the end of the day was hard, but it was even harder when I thought about my future with Braden.

Whatever a future like that looked like, Linda would still most likely be in the picture. I could never replace Lucy's mom, nor did I ever want to.

I shook my head. Where was that even coming from? Braden and I could only be friends right now. There was no future for us.

A knock sounded at the connecting door between my classroom and Daphne's classroom, and I turned to find my friend lingering in the doorway.

"First week over," she commented. "How'd you do?"

I took a deep breath. "It's a learning curve. I miss having my professors to lean on for support."

Daphne nodded. "I totally understand." Her gaze lingered on a spot behind us on my desk. "What have you determined about Braden?"

"Nothing." I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers. We'd seen each other throughout the week at drop off and pick up, not exchanging more than a pleasant 'hello' and 'see you tomorrow'. He hadn't texted me since that first day and I hadn't reached out either.

What would I say?

"You should come out with us tonight!" Daphne's voice broke my train of thought. "You deserve a chance to let loose after such a long chaotic week. Give yourself a break from thinking about what goes on in that head of yours."

I shook my head and gave her an apologetic smile. "Thanks for the offer, but I already have a date with some pizza and my couch tonight."

If Linda had Lucy tonight, Braden had a chance to go out which meant I could run into him again. And I didn't want that.

"Okay." Daphne chewed her bottom lip. "Next time, then?"

"Sure thing."

She started for the classroom door, lingering in the adjoining doorway and tapping her fingers along the doorframe. "You can't hide from him forever, Ames. Maybe give Dex a call. He's always been good at giving advice."

"I will, thanks. Have fun tonight." I gathered the rest of my things and flicked off the lights in my classroom before locking the door.

The twenty-minute car ride felt instantaneous, likely because I had two days off before I had to be back at school. But it also meant I had to lesson plan for the following week. In school, I'd learned that most of my peers hated the lesson planning part of education. For me, though, it allowed me to come up with creative ways to invest my students in their learning for something as mundane as long and short vowel sounds.

As I sat at the coffee table in the living room, chewing on the end of a pen, my sister came into the room, decked out for another night at a bar. She pouted when she saw me.

"Ames, tell me you're not lesson planning on a Friday night. You just finished teaching at three!"

"I have a lot to do to prepare for next week," I replied, not even looking up from my work. "You go, though. Have fun but be safe."

Eloise pouted. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." I smiled at her. "Now, go! Have fun."

While Eloise was out at the bar, I spent the next few hours working on all the technical details for next week's classes. All of my students were doing great and I was pleased. First grade was meant to introduce these kids to the skills they'd need in further education.

I shuffled through my bag and took out the reading sheets for the class. Most of the students had successfully completed their logs, but one name stood out to me: Lucy Callahan.

Lucy's log included "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" in the first slot, then nothing else for the rest of the time. I thought back to who picked her up during the week. With separated parents, I knew it would be harder for her to always have the log completed, but I was now curious about how much she read on nights when she was with her mom.

She wasn't the only student with an incomplete log, and I made a note to discuss the reading log with all the parents at the Parent-Teacher Night next week. I hoped it would be a fun way for the students to pick what they read at home and I'd encourage them all to check out books on our first library trip next week.

Next week's book of choice for our class would be 'Miss Nelson is Missing', a classic that I hoped all the students would enjoy. That was one part of my teaching degree I always enjoyed: reading the books I grew up with and getting to teach them to my students.

By the time the clock flashed an angry 10:30pm, I was exhausted but not tired enough to go to bed. I grabbed a beer from the fridge and took a sip. The bitter liquid coated my tongue, slipping easily down my throat.

I glanced at my phone. Still no word from Dex.

I frowned. I knew he was busy but he couldn't take just two seconds to text me? I curled my fingers around my phone, willing it to ring or ping with a text.

No luck.

My fingers absentmindedly punched at the keys and a ringing filled my ears.

One ring, two rings, three rings.

Then: Hey, you've reached Alexander Larson! I'm not able to take your call right now but please leave a message and I'll get back to ya. Stay cool!

Hot tears dripped down my cheeks, staining the fabric of my pants. Disappointment choked in my throat and I tried to compose words in my brain.

Beep!

"Hey, Dex," I started breezily. "It's Ames. Just thought I'd give a call to tell you I miss you and hope Cali is treating you well. Portland is different without you. There's just...there's so much going on and I really could use a friend to talk to right now. The girls think I'm being stubborn with not wanting to go out but I can't. The guy I told you about? I'm just so scared. I'm scared of what will happen if we don't see each other. And even more of what will happen—would happen—if we do." My throat constricted again. "You said we'd talk soon but we haven't and I miss you so much and I just feel so lonely..." I trailed off, realizing I'd stumbled into blame territory. Clearing my throat, I started again, letting shaky confidence return to my voice. "We should catch up soon! So, um, give me a call—or send a text, whatever is fine—and we can figure something out. Love ya. Bye."

I hung up and tossed my phone onto the couch.

Another day without Dex, without my best friend.

It hadn't been very long but I already felt like he was slipping away.

Shaking my head, I turned on the tv and picked out Definitely, Maybe—a classic that I'd made Dex watch with me many times before.

I needed something to get my mind off of my MIA best friend and my "not a chance in hell".

What better way than watching a classic romantic comedy?