Page 15 of Loathe at First Sight

My head snaps toward her so fast I can hear my neck pop. “How in the hell did you already hear about that?”

I barely get the question out before I realize the answer.

In unison, we both say, “Misty.”

Jana adds, “You ought to know that there wasn’t any way that woman was not going to start flapping her gums about the latest big news in town. I hear Liz was making a fool of herself at the Quick Stop.”

“How did you know that? I didn’t even tell Misty that part of the story.”

“Oh, she heard that straight from Gina.”

“Good lord, the woman works fast,” I say with a sigh. It never ceases to amaze me how fast gossip spreads in a small town. I came from Miami, where no one even knew who their neighbors were.

“Especially when it comes to Liz Lawson.”

“Why is she so interested in Liz Lawson?” I ask.

She sits down to pet Ellie while she talks.

“Well, everyone around here is interested in her because she’s been pretty much a mystery ever since she left. But Misty and her were pretty much rivals back in high school. Misty was always second place to Liz’s first. When Liz left, you would have thought Misty won some kind of prize or something. She even got with Liz’s ex-boyfriend for a stint.”

Moments later, Tali reappears with her backpack slung over her shoulders. She grabs one hand while I hold Ellie in the other. With my hands full, I tell Jana that I will be back in a bit to grab the donuts.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be walking a five-year-old to school. I really never thought that it would be a kid who wasn’t mine—not that I’m anywhere close to having my own kids.

“What are you going to do in school today?” I ask her.

She shrugs her shoulders but doesn’t say anything. I’m sensing something is up because quite literally, this little girl never stops talking.

“Hey,” I try to get her to look at me. “Tali, what’s going on?”

She still doesn’t answer, so the next bench we come to, I stop walking. “Park it, little lady.”

She sits down, and I kneel in front of her. “What’s wrong? You are usually super excited about going to school. Is something happening?”

She thinks for a moment before her words come pouring out. “There’s this boy named Austin who’s mean to me. He makes fun of my red hair, and he says my freckles are just dirt. And when we are at recess, he pulls my pigtails.”

I use my thumb to wipe away the one tear that snuck out and is rolling down her cheek. “I’m sorry, Tali. I’ve dealt with a lot of bullies in my time, and you know the one thing that I learned?”

She looks at me with her big eyes, waiting for me to answer.

"The one thing that they want is a reaction out of you. It makes them happy to see you upset. Chances are, they are unhappy with something in their own lives, and they take it out on you. The best way to handle them is just to ignore them. Don’t let them see you upset.”

“But what if I’m sad?”

“Well, you act like you don’t care. And then, you can come home and call me so that we can go get ice cream.”

I’m not going to feed her that line of maybe he’s being mean to you because he likes you. No. Maybe he’s just being mean because he’s a little brat.

She nods her head and agrees, but I don’t want to send her off to school when she’s still so upset.

“Do you want me to beat him up?” I joke.

“Yes,” she sniffles.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do. Come on, we don’t want you to be late.”

We finish walking to school, and I do my best to keep her mind off of her bully. We talk about Ellie, and I do whatever I can to make her laugh. When I finally drop her off at the door, she seems to be in a much better frame of mind.

---