Page 80 of The House on Blueberry Lane

Velvet shrugged. “But nothing.” She sipped her coffee, deciding not to say anything else when the waitress came to take Sierra’s order.

When the waitress left, Sierra looked at her and asked in a low tone, “How was it not to have to sneak around?”

She hesitated, and because this was Sierra, she said, “It was fantastic and it will be hard to go undercover with him again when he returns.”

“He’s out of town?”

“Yes. Instead of returning to the cove as planned, Jaye went to Birmingham. Some problem developed with the bank construction, and he’ll be gone all this week. I’m not expecting him back until Sunday.”

“Why do you think you have to go undercover when he gets back?”

“Because nothing has changed. He’ll be leaving the cove soon and the last thing I want people talking about is my affair with him.”

“It’s really nobody’s business, Velvet, what you do and with whom.”

“I know, but there are some who would make it their business, and I’d rather not be the topic of anyone’s conversation. Especially when Jaye deliberately didn’t date any of the other single women in town.”

“It was his right to do so. Just like a woman has the right to date who they want, so does a man.”

Velvet knew what Sierra said was true, but for years she’d intentionally avoided drawing attention to herself. She loved Catalina Cove. It was her home now and it would be her home long after Jaye left. Although the past week had pretty much shown her how things could be, she had to remember for her and Jaye, they would never be that way again.

The waitress returned with their food and they chatted for another half hour before Velvet had to leave for school.

“MS. SPENCER, are you busy?”

Lenny was standing in the doorway to Velvet’s class. It was nearing the end of the day and she was about ready to pack up to leave. “I’m never too busy for any of my students, Lenny. Come on in.”

He closed the door behind him and came to her desk. His hands were shoved into his jeans pockets. Today, he looked a lot younger than the fifteen-year-old that he was. Maybe it was because there was a shyness about him that normally wasn’t there. He was staring down at his shoes, and she figured he was trying to get his thoughts together. She had time to let him.

When he looked up, he said, “I don’t want to fail the ninth grade, Ms. Spencer.”

She nodded. Report cards went out this week and chances were that seeing his grade had been a wakeup call. “And I don’t want you to fail, either, Lenny. You have two more grading periods to turn it around and I believe you can.”

“Algebra isn’t easy, but I know I can pass if I try,” he said quickly.

“But you haven’t been trying, have you?” she asked, speaking aloud Jaye’s suspicions.

His gaze fell to his shoes again. “No. I figured if I didn’t pass, Dad would see there was more to my life than baseball. I like to draw, too.”

“And who says you can’t do them both? I love gymnastics and took classes while growing up. I also wanted to become a teacher. I discovered I could do both. I teach here and I’m still involved with gymnastics by coaching after school twice a week.”

His eyes widened. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, I do. I know a basketball player who played for the NBA. In addition to his love of basketball, he always wanted to fly planes. He played basketball during that season and when he had the time, he learned to fly. He retired from pro sports last year, and now he’s started a company that builds small planes.”

“Wow!”

“He didn’t limit his abilities, and neither should you.”

A huge smile spread across his face and there was a gleam in his eyes when he said, “I can play baseball and when I’m not playing ball, I can do my art. One day, I can even use the money I made from baseball to open an art gallery.”

Velvet laughed. “Yes, you can certainly do that. I suggest you talk to your father, Lenny, and tell him your plans and let him know you can do both and want to do both. But first you need to work on improving your grades. My offer to help you still stands.”

He looked surprised. “It does?”

“Yes. I can give you extra assignments and even tutor you after class to get you caught up.”

“Thanks, Ms. Spencer. I’ll talk to my Dad about it when he gets home from work.”

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