Page 74 of An Adventure For Aster

“We are having dinner together at his place,” she said. “There was no way I wanted to go out tonight. Not even on a Friday night, let alone Valentine’s Day.”

“I don’t blame you,” Beth said. “I’ve been with Shane for so long that we don’t even celebrate anymore, but it’s nice to see others having some fun.”

“If you ladies will excuse me,” she said. “I’ve got to clean my room and then get home and change before I go to Aster’s.”

“You’re not going like that?” Ellen asked. “He might like your red sweater with the heart on the front.”

She looked down and then lifted her head and rolled her eyes. “It’s for the kids.”

She’d worn this sweater for years on this day. It was the only time she wore it and she bought it on clearance for this very reason.

It wasn’t very sexy and she had plans for a sexy night with Aster.

Maybe she had hearts in mind for that, but not like this.

When her colleagues left, she went around the room picking up trash and putting the desks back together nicely. She was going to need two trips to her car with all the stuff she got from the kids, her box of cards and the flowers. The flowers alone were going to be one trip.

No way she was leaving them here at the school.

Once she was sure she had everything she needed, she drove home and made two trips into her apartment and then showered, changed, and drove to Aster’s. He said he’d be home at four thirty and to show up then.

It was earlier than normal, but she didn’t care.

She wanted to thank him for the flowers and then give him his gift too.

24

SACRIFICE OF YOUR COMFORT

“Hi,” Aster said when he opened the door. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Thank you so much for the flowers. I’m not sure what was sweeter. Receiving the flowers or the note telling me to share them with the kids.”

“You’re welcome. I thought the kids would get a kick out of it.”

“They loved it,” she said. “They couldn’t get in line fast enough to pick out their flower. It was the talk of the classroom and who they were going to give it to. Most were giving it to their mother, some to their grandmothers. One little girl said she was giving it to her father because he was a better cook than her mother.”

“I wouldn’t want to be in that household tonight,” he said.

“I thought it was funny too, but I’ve met the parents and there are role reversals there. Stephanie’s father is a stay-at-home dad and is the one I meet with more.”

“He doesn’t work at all?” he asked.

“I think he works from home. Stephanie has an older sister, but the father is the one bringing and picking them up. Going on field trips and the one I deal with for anything. I’m not sure what Stephanie’s mother does, but I’ve heard she travels a lot.”

“People make things work for them,” he said.

“They do,” she said. “And I was the talk of the school once those flowers showed up.”

He lifted his eyebrow and took the box out of her hand. It was a bakery box and normally she baked so he had no idea what was in it.

“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.

She was slipping her boots off and hung up her jacket. “No,” she said. “But I hadn’t told anyone I was dating you so once they found out it was Fireman Allen things got a little loud.”

He wasn’t sure why she hadn’t told anyone. Nothing was a secret.

“Do I even want to know?”

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