Page 74 of Here and Now
Just for a second and I knew it was stupid.
He moves to me, his hands cupping my cheeks. “Anytime you need something, call me. Anytime. I’ll always show up for you.”
As though he can sense the storm that’s raging in my chest, he gives me a moment to let it sink in.
I thought I was a mess before, but it’s nothing compared to now. I’ve never had someone, other than Quinn, make me a promise like that, and I believe it.
He was so honest, so sincere, that I’m questioning everything.
Then, with the tenderness of how you’d handle a breakable doll, he slowly brings his lips to the tip of my nose before releasing me. “Always.”
Miles walks out the door, and I stand here, wishing I’d said something, but not sure what it would’ve been.
fourteen
Miles
“Okay, Miles, here’s a doughnut and that cold brew coffee you asked for,” Mrs. Hendrix, my secretary, says as she places down a plate and cup from Prose & Perk on my desk in my office. “Don’t know when you started drinking coffee, but I’m not asking questions.”
“No, you’re just making an observation.”
She grins. “Five years of dealing with you and I’ve never seen you drink coffee. In fact, I’ve listened to you gripe about the amount of money the school spends on coffee beans.”
“Consider those days behind us, Mrs. Hendrix. From now on, it’s good coffee for everyone.”
“Pfft, you just like that pretty young barista; that’s what the change is.”
She’s not wrong. “Did Penny make me this?”
“Yes, she did. I told her that I had strict instructions that she was the only one allowed to make it, which earned me a strange look.”
“You get strange looks all the time from students and staff,” I remind her.
“This is true. Usually it’s because I’m giving one of your dictates.”
Lois Hendrix is one of the best secretaries that has ever lived. She’s kind, firm, thoughtful, and remembers everything that I don’t. I truly don’t think I could make it through a school year without her.
Since my head of the English department quit, we’ve been in scramble mode to get a replacement. Being that it’s nearing the end of summer, all the candidates I probably would’ve hired are already taken, leaving us with slim pickings. However, sometimes you find a pearl among the clams, and that’s what I’m hoping for here.
I grin and then drop the coffee cup in the garbage.
“Wait, you’re not even going to drink that?” she asks incredulously.
“No, I hate coffee.”
Her eyes are wide. “You just bought it.”
“Yes, I paid for it, Penelope had to think of me as she was making it, and now I’m done with it. This is my daily routine.”
“You are a mess. Do you know that?”
“I do. Now, how many interviews today?”
“Twelve.”
I glance up at her, hoping I misheard that number. “What?”
“Twe-elve,” she says slowly as though I’m a three-year-old who doesn’t understand.
