Page 12 of Secret Love

After I leave the school, with another day lined up in Mrs. Carboni’s place again tomorrow, I drive down Jupiter Lane and decide to explore a little bit. It’s a beautiful day and I have some energy to kill. A car pulls out, and I take the parking spot in front of a few cute shops and businesses. I peek into the window of Wiggles & Whimsy, delighted when I see the small class of young dancers twirling in their tutus and ballet slippers. There’sa small sign on the door, white with polka dots, sayingHelp Wantedin pink block letters. It’s the cutestHelp Wantedsign I’ve ever seen…also the cutest tiny dance studio. I wait until the class has filed out before I walk inside.

“Hello?” I call out.

A beautiful older woman with slicked-back white hair turns and smiles at me.

“Hello,” she says. “You’re a new face around here.”

“I am! I’m Tru Seymour, and I just moved to town…still trying to find my way around.”

Her smile widens. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Tru Seymour. I’m Jacklyn Toussant, and I’m so happy you stopped in here.” She winks and nods knowingly. “You move like a dancer.”

I gradually move into fifth position and she claps her hands.

“Lovely form.”

“Thank you.” I do a curtsy and she laughs, clapping harder. “I saw your sign. What kind of help do you need?”

“Oh, I was hoping that’s why you came in! I need someone a few afternoons a week. Evenings really, I guess. Do you teach dance?”

“I’m hoping to get a more permanent position at Silver Hills Middle School, but right now I’m subbing there. And I taught dance for several years during college.”

“Ah, it’s meant to be.” Her eyes crinkle with her delighted smile. “How soon can you start?”

I open the calendar on my phone and we compare schedules for the next week, coming up with a plan for times I can come in. She shows me around the studio and says I can sit in on the next class if I’d like. But I tell her I’ll come back the next afternoon to see if I can be more involved in class by the Saturday morning sessions. By the time I leave, she's excited and so am I. Herenergy is so positive, it’s infectious and makes the challenges of the day fade away.

When I leave the studio and walk down the street a little farther, the happiness that I’m here builds. Silver Hills is such a cute town and the people so far—except for Mrs. Davenport and Mr. Henley Ward—have all been pleasant. Maybe I just caught Mrs. Davenport at a bad time. And I probably shouldn't give Henley too hard of a time since he was defending his daughter, but the fact that he can go from hot to cold so quickly is concerning. I don't need any more people like that in my life.

In the past, I’ve allowed too many red flags to get past me and I'm done with that. I'm here for a new beginning, not to repeat the same old mistakes.

When I get home and walk from the carport to the side door of the little house I’m renting, I see a kitten hanging out. White and grey andtiny.

“Oh my goodness, you're the cutest thing. What are you doing here?” I look around to see if the mother is nearby, but there’s not another cat in sight. I walk around the backyard and look in every nook, shining my flashlight under the small deck coming off of the kitchen. Nothing.

“Where did you come from?” I ask.

I reach out to pet her and she comes over and rubs against my hand and then goes around my feet, leaning her tiny body against me.

“Well, I can't resist this. Do you have a collar?” She doesn’t. “You’re so little. You don’t even look old enough to be away from your mama yet.”

I pick her up and get back in the car, taking her to Pet Galaxy, a pet store that I’ve passed every day since I moved here. I didn't realize it, but there's a vet attached to the back of the store. The front is distracting with all the dog and cat toys, pet food, and birds and fish in one corner.

An older man with shaggy white hair stands behind the counter. “What have you got there? What a cutie.”

“Isn’t she? She showed up at my door this afternoon. Do you think she belongs to anyone?”

“I’ve heard about a few litters, but I haven’t seen a mom like that around here. She could have been born from one of the strays.”

“I wondered about that. Is there any way to find out if she has an owner besides putting signs up?”

“We can see if she has a chip, but she looks like she might be too young for that. But head on back. Dr. Amber will take a look.”

“I'll do that. Thank you.”

I walk back and besides a big Dalmatian sitting next to a teenage girl, no one else is waiting. There’s a receptionist sitting on a stool behind a counter that’s only big enough to hold a laptop and phone. She grins when she sees the kitten.

“Aww, what a cute kitten. How old is she?” she asks.

“I have no idea. She was outside my house today and I brought her in hoping to find out if she belongs to anyone.”

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