Page 6 of Sycamore Circle

He needed to slow down. Seriously. He was making Joy uncomfortable, and Bo didn’t blame her one bit. If their situations were reversed, he would’ve already told himself to take a hike. “So... you tutor?”

Her eyes lit up. “I do. Not always for money, though. I volunteer to help adults learn to read.” Looking earnest, she added, “A lot of people don’t realize it, but illiteracy still happens. People either quit school or even get out of school without knowing much more than the most basic of words. It’s frightening.”

“Frightening?”

“Well, yes.” Looking like she was choosing her words with care, she said, “Illiteracy is frightening because it affects the rest of your life. If you can’t read, you can’t read road signs or directions or fill out an employment application. Illiteracy makes a person feel stuck.”

“I guess it would.”

Looking pleased that he understood, she nodded. “Over the years, I’ve helped quite a few people learn to read. And it’s changed their lives. I love that.”

He was loving the way her brown eyes shone. “I bet. What you’re doing is a real good thing. Fantastic.”

“Helping people like Anthony is one of the best parts of my week, for sure.” She smiled happily.

“What else do you do?”

“A couple of things, but my main job is taking care of my daughter.”

“You have kids.”

“I do. A sixteen-year-old girl.”

“You have a sixteen-year-old?” Once again he wondered how old she was. He couldn’t care less, but it would give him something else to know about her.

“I do. Her name is Chloe.”

“What about her dad?”

She looked him in the eye. “I’m divorced,” she blurted, as if she thought he’d be scandalized to hear it.

He was simply pleased she was single. Now he just had to figure out how out of the picture her fool of an ex-husband was. “When did that happen? Did you get divorced years ago or more recently?”

“We got divorced four years ago. I don’t know if that counts as the past or recently.”

“How does it feel to you?”

A hint of a smile played on the corners of her mouth. “Sometimes like four years ago and sometimes like four weeks. It all depends on the day of the week.”

“Do y’all get along?” Worried he was sounding like an interrogator, he added, “You don’t have to answer. I’m just curious.”

“Have you been married before?”

“No.” Jenny came to mind. She’d been his girlfriend before he’d gotten arrested. They’d been close—maybe even in love. But had he been even close to marrying her? Nope. And after he was sentenced to three years, it became real obvious that she hadn’t been anywhere close to marrying him either.

“Oh, well then you might not see the humor in your question. I think it’s pretty hard to get along with an ex. It’s the nature of a broken relationship, don’t you think?” Before he could answer, she added, “It was in my case.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“He loves our daughter and spends time with her, so I can’t complain.” She exhaled. “What about you?”

“I’m not near as good as you. I don’t tutor or anything and I’ve never been married. I don’t have any kids either.” It was time to tell her the truth about himself. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure where to start.

“What do you do for a living?”

“I do a couple of things, but mainly, I work for a guy I know. His name is Lincoln, and he works with a number of organizations who help ex-cons transition into civilian life.”

“You help ex-cons.”

---