Page 88 of Johnathan

John nodded. Hank was right. There wasn’t anyone before who he’d wanted to bring into his life. Until Abby. When she walked into a room, it was like seeing the first bluebell on a bright spring day. Having her in his arms flooded his body with the warmth of being home. Comfortable. Peaceful. Loved.

“Yeah, I was. And you’re right. I already feel like she’s the one, Hank. I’m planning on asking her to move in with us soon. I just don’t want to scare her away.”

Hank smiled and nodded his head.

“You won’t. I’m going to be sappy here, and if you talk about it to anyone outside of these four walls, I will deny everything and make you do front desk duty for a month. But take it from someone who didn’t make a move until it was almost too late. Tell her what you want. The way you two look at each other, I have no doubt she’s ready to take that next step with you.”

“Sappy looks good on you, buddy.” John ran his hands down his legs. “I asked her to go to my parents’ house for family dinner tomorrow night. I figure if she can make it through that without wanting to run in the other direction, I’ll have a shot of her agreeing to move in.”

“I’m rooting for you.”

“Ms. Abby, could I see you in the hallway please.”

Abby stood at the back of her class, helping some of her kiddos trace their hands onto colored paper. Her principal’s voice was stern, and a million worries flooded Abby’s mind.

“Oh, Ms. Margery, give me just one moment and I’ll be right there.”

Her principal nodded and closed the door behind her as she left the classroom. Unease settled in her stomach. There was no reason why her principal would need to come directly to her classroom to speak with her unless it was bad news.

“Ms. Mary Beth, can you watch over our friends while I go speak with Ms. Margery for a second.”

“Sure. Is everything okay?” Mary Beth had the same concerned look on her face that Abby knew she was wearing.

“I’m not sure. I’ll let you know,” she whispered. “Okay friends! Ms. Abby needs to step out into the hall for just a moment. I want you to keep working on tracing your hands and then cutting them out. All of your turkeys are looking so good! Be ready to show me your progress when I come back.”

Abby stepped into the hallway, closing her classroom door behind her.

“Abby,” Margery looked up from her cell phone. “I’m so sorry, but a parent has complained about your classroom behavior being unprofessional. I’m here to let you know it’s been formally documented and per the school’s policy, we’ll be doing increased observations in your classroom.”

Abby could not have been more shocked. In the myriad of scenarios she’d run through, that had never even crossed her mind as being possible.

“I don’t understand. Who made the complaint? What was it about?”

“The parent wishes to remain anonymous, but the complaint was about favoritism.”

“That’s ridiculous, and you should know that.”

Margery held her hand up. “This is your first year in the classroom. I know that it’s a big adjustment and I remember the struggles with classroom dynamics and what kids tell their parents about what happens at school. I haven’t made a decision one way or the other about the truthfulness of the statement, and that’s why I’ll be coming in to watch your class more frequently over the next several weeks before we break for Christmas and the New Year.”

“I understand the need to take the complaint seriously, but I am a little heartbroken that any of my kids could feel like there is favoritism in my classroom.”

“We’ll figure it out. I’m going to send you a schedule for when I’ll be in your classroom for sure, but remember, I’ll also be randomly dropping in.”

“That’s no problem. Thank you for letting me know, and I’m sure we’ll be able to settle this all very quickly.”

Abby gave herself one minute to just breathe in the hallway as she listened to the clicks of her principal’s high heels fade into the distance. Then she turned and headed back to her class.

“Okay, kiddos! Hold those turkeys up and let me see how far you got.”

A dozen misshapen card stock hand turkeys were held up and she took time to “ooh” and “ahh” over each one. They sang the classroom cleanup song and she helped the kids get their stations cleaned up, all the while a little voice in the back of herhead tried to work through the information she’d been given in the hall.

“It’s time for Ms. Mary Beth to walk you down to the gym. I’m going to be putting these parent volunteer forms into your backpacks for the winter carnival! Please, please, please, remember to have your parents take out your work folder tonight and sign up for a spot if they can! Now, line up, nice and quiet, so Ms. Mary Beth can get you to your next class.”

“Ms. Abby!”

“Yes, Hunter?”

“My mama is gonna come help!”

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