Page 21 of Secret Love

“I’m assuming you're new to town since I'm only just now seeing you everywhere I turn.” I grin and she looks down at her desk.

“Yes, I'm new to town, and I am loving Silver Hills so far.” Her cheeks deepen in color and she clears her throat. “The cinnamon rolls were?—”

Bree knocks a few seconds later and comes in looking rushed and breathless. I can tell from her expression that she's stressed. She prefers to be everywhere five minutes early, rather than coming in hot.

“I’m so sorry to be late,” she says.

“You're right on time,” Tru says, her smile wide. “I’m Tru Seymour.”

I feel cheated that I didn’t get that smile.

“I’m Bree Ward. Nice to meet you.” They shake hands and Bree sits down next to me. “Hey, Hen.” She takes a deep breath, but her posture doesn’t falter. Ever since she started her wedding planner business, I can practically see her wheels turning.

“Hey.” I smile back at her and we turn to face Tru.

“Thanks so much for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice,” Tru says. “Word hasn’t officially gotten out yet, but I’ve taken the full-time position here as an English teacher and I’ll be working hard to catch up since I’m coming on late in the school year.”

“That’s great. Congratulations,” I say.

She’s caught off guard by my comment and nods slightly. “Thank you. I’m excited to be here.” Her lips lift in the corners and she looks down at her folder. “I want to start by saying I’m enjoying having Cassidy in my class. She’s kind and she’s smart and I look forward to getting to know her better as the year progresses.”

Her lips press together and it’s difficult to appear like I’m not watching every move she makes and hanging on her every word.

“I hoped I might get some perspective from you both about Cassidy’s aversion to reading.” She looks up at Bree and then me, and it’s quiet for a moment.

“Her aversion to reading…” Bree starts.

“Maybe I should word it a different way. Cassidy hasn’t wanted to read aloud in class and when she did, it was challenging for her. Later, when I asked her about it, she said it’s hard for her…that she’s not a good reader and the kids tease her about it.”

I instantly feel sick. “The kids tease her about it? It’s true she’s never loved to read, but…I wouldn’t think of her as a bad reader.” I look at Bree, whose expression is concerned.

Tru presses ahead. “Right. I’d rather not term it as her being a bad reader either, but it does concern me that she says it’s hard. In college, one of my mentors specialized in dyslexia, and I worked closely with her. Cassidy’s project was excellent, but some of the homework she’s turned in since then, the spelling isn’t as clean, and the way she read in class and talked about it…I just wonder if she might need a little extra help.”

I feel like I’ve been dealt a blow. This news feels much worse than getting hit on the field, knowing my girl has been going through this for so long…not just the struggles with reading, but she’s being teased about it? I shift in my seat, remembering all the spelling corrections I suggested while looking over her project.

“Are you saying she’s dyslexic?” Bree asks, leaning forward. “But she knows how to read.”

“No, not yet, but I’d like to do some tests to be sure. Having dyslexia doesn’t mean you can’t read. Whether it’s the case for her or not, reading appears to be a struggle. It doesn’t come easily for her, and I’d like to help with that.” Tru’s voice is patient but firm.

“It just seems like someone would’ve noticed by now if she was dyslexic.Wewould’ve noticed,” Bree says. She looks at me and her eyes are watery. “We’d be horrible parents if we missed that.”

I reach out and pat Bree’s hand briefly and she lets out a shaky exhale.

“We’ve known she wasn’t a reader like Audrey…or Gracie.” I look at Tru, feeling helpless. “But I assumed she just didn’t enjoy it, not that she struggled with it.” I lean forward and my head drops. “God, how could we have missed this? We’ve talked about how long it takes her to finish doing her homework…” I look over at Bree and she looks devastated. “It’s been more of an issue in middle school. It never occurred to me that it could be this.”

“No one has ever brought this up with us before,” Bree says. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Please don’t take this as a reflection of your parenting,” Tru says. “Kids can learn to mask these things and it does get missed more often than you’d think, especially because shecanread. If she is dyslexic, she’s just having to work so much harder all the time and that can be really taxing.”

“What would we do to be sure?” I ask.

“I can do a few tests with her, and once we know for sure, I could work with her one-on-one, or we could see what other options are out there if you’d rather pursue that,” she says.

“I just—” Bree looks at me helplessly, and when she doesn’t keep going, I look at Tru.

“I’m really grateful you’ve brought this to our attention. As you can see, we’re thrown by this news. It makes me want to reexamine everything.” I rub the scruff on my jaw. “I’d like to get started on this as soon as we can.”

“She’s so busy as it is,” Bree says, shaking her head. “Does she have time for one more thing? Can’t we do something at home that will help her?”

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