Page 8 of Single Teddy
They both looked at me with bated breath, and I crouched to reassure them both.
“If you need anything, just ask. Okay, Bear?”
I got a nod from the kid and a thanks from the uncle, and he left the classroom, leaving me all flustered to return to reality.
A reality without Dream Man.
Toughest morning ever.
I got busy with attendance and briefly mentioned Bear, but I skipped the proper introductions because I didn’t want to makehim feel more uncomfortable than he already was. I then went straight into my lesson plan. I kept my eye on Bear and my mind on Teddy, and somehow—some-fucking-how—I made it through the first hour and then the second one and on and on until lunchtime came and I felt all spent and exhausted like I never had before.
Teddy and Bear’s arrival was like a wrench in my routine. An unexpected but welcome distraction that I didn’t know what to do with or how to function now that it was here.
As I unwrapped my sandwich, my phone buzzed and I looked at the screen.
Ruby
Hey, how’s it going?
I dropped my sandwich mid-bite, sighed, and picked up my phone.
Wes
I’m screwed. I’m in love.
And wasn’t that the truth.
I just hoped it was really just lust, a fleeting desire that would die down after a good round of “beat the meat” in the privacy of my own bedroom.
Gods, please make it so. The last thing I needed right now was to have an unrelenting crush on one of my students’ parents.
THREE
TEDDY
Ididn’t know how long I sat in the parking lot, staring at the school and wondering how Bear was doing, but when I decided enough was enough and turned the engine on, the clock on my dashboard told me I’d been theretoofuckinglong.
I drove back to the B&B without consulting my GPS, and even I was impressed with my ability to find it right away. Then again, I hadn’t spent the last decade and some change of my life going through hell for nothing.
Whatever good that would do me now. I was officially out of the Navy. Silver Legend no more. Just Teddy.
I had no idea where I would go from here, but it didn’t matter. Bear needed me. And for him, I’d figure it all out, one way or the other.
I parked in front of the lodge, fished my earbuds out of my pocket, looked to either side of the road, and started running.
The houses on this street were all prettier than the next: picturesque, as if out of a storybook with their shingled fronts, huge front yards, and pretty gardens along the cobbled streets. It almost looked like England, but not the real England. More like the Canadian type of England that shows up on TV shows, posing as the real England when it’s pretty obvious it’s North America. But it was still cozy and cute. It had a magic to it I hadn’t seen anywhere else, definitely not in West Virginia, although I imagined my experience growing up with the shittiest parents in the world might have something to do with my inability to see the magic in my home state or town.
After a while, I turned left, then right, weaving through the streets of Mayberry Holm, becoming more and more intoxicated with this island. By the time I stopped to catch my breath and drink some water, I felt… It was odd, but I felt right at home.
I looked around me at the people on the streets—far and few between in the middle of a workday—who glanced and waved at me, smiled, or let their dogs approach to sniff me. And I embraced it all. It made me feel, even if for a second, as if everything would be okay.
I parked myself in front of a tree and used it for my stretches, running through this morning in my head. To say it had been overwhelming was an understatement, but all in all, it had been a successful drop-off, so perhaps I could use it as a blueprint for Bear’s and my morning routine, though preferably without all the unnecessary waffling and oversharing with Mr. Crawford.
I dreaded to think what he must have made of me. Hopefully, I hadn’t made a complete fool of myself and he would forgive my flustered state. I needed Bear’s teacher as an ally and friend. He looked the part, but one could never be sure with people. I mean,my parents looked cute and normal at first glance, but that didn’t mean they were anything close to that first impression.
I shook my head, ridding it of thoughts of those toxic monsters, and focused on my workout. There was no use lingering. It wouldn’t bring Josie back, and they didn’t deserve a brain cell wasted thinking about them. I was ready to run again, but I stopped in my tracks when I looked at the house across the street.
It was as if a forest had been dropped in the middle of the suburbs. Hedges and trees covered the house from top to bottom, almost concealing it. The white fence and small driveway to the side were the only giveaways of it being more than just an overgrown garden with blue, pink, and purple hydrangeas, and when I crossed the road to inspect it closer, a sweet herbal scent invaded my nostrils, washing me with warmth and joy.
