Page 33 of No One Like You

“Thank you again. Have a great day, Maria!”

After their lunch, Megan headed back home, where Nocturne greeted her by falling down on her side and rolling around. She spent a good amount of time scratching the cat, who was seemingly starved for attention. Eventually, Megan fell for the classic tummy trap. Nocturne showed Megan her belly, and it looked so fuzzy and inviting, but when Megan went to rub that fuzzy tummy, Nocturne was greatly displeased. Megan was left inspecting her hand for signs of blood as Nocturne stalked off to the couch in a huff. Megan decided that Nocturne must have given her the warning claws rather than the full blades of death.

There was one last thing to do today before she walked over to school to meet Sophia. Megan picked up her phone and opened her contacts. Don’t pick up, don’t pick up, don’t pick up… Yes! Voicemail! After the beep, Megan said, “Hey, Brad. We need to meet and talk. Maybe this weekend. Don’t pull a stunt like Saturday again. I will email you and we can discuss a time and place.”

She made it to Sophia’s school a few minutes early, and hung out awkwardly near some other parents. They all seemed to know each other, and Megan felt like she was an outsider.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the bell. She resolved to go to a PTA meeting or something soon so that she could introduce herself. She watched the wave of students exit the building, searching for Sophia. Sophia came out with the principal and both walked over to Megan. “Hi, sweetheart, did you have a good day?”

“Yes, Mom. Everyone seemed nice.”

“I kept an eye out for Sophia and checked in with her teachers. She seems to be settling in well so far,” the principal said.

“Thank you, you really didn’t have to do that!”

“Starting at a new school mid-year is stressful. I try to look out for those students whenever possible. We all do. The teachers here are amazing.”

“Speaking of, I’m a sub now, so if you ever need someone to cover…”

“Thank you. I will keep that in mind. Are you looking for permanent work or just subbing?”

“I’m thinking about something permanent, but I have a lot going on right now, so...”

“Understandable.”

Megan felt a tug on her arm. “Okay, it seems like we need to go. Thank you again for keeping an eye out for Sophia.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Okay, let’s get you home, munchkin. What did you have for lunch?”

“PBJ!”

“Yum, what other things did they have?”

Megan let Sophia talk about her day, enjoying her excitement about the new school, asking questions as needed. The walk home was very pleasant. Rain was coming soon, but today was a good day.

Back home, Megan got Sophia settled in. They spent some time together before Megan started on dinner. Tasha had texted to say that she would be late, so Megan decided to make a turkey pot pie. She enlisted Sophia’s help, teaching her how to make a pie crust and roll it out. Then they cut some vegetables and diced the last of the turkey from the Friendsgiving leftovers.

Dinner was ready right before Tasha walked through the door. “Honey, I’m home!” Tasha said with a tired smile.

“Welcome home. Dinner’s ready.”

“It smells amazing.”

“Wine?”

“Yes… You are the best!”

“Goddess?”

“Hey now, there’s only one of those in this household and that’s me.” Tasha smiled and added, “Demi-goddess?”

“Hmm, I think maybe the goddess title should go to whoever does the most recent nice thing.”

“Maybe… Fine, I guess that you can have the title for now.”

Nocturne meowed.

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