Page 26 of A Chance at Forever
Bud understood and followed her to the back porch. He sprayed her with water when he shook himself, and she pinched her nose. “Oh, Bud, you stink to high heaven. You need a bath before I let you inside the house.”
She squirted him with the hose and grabbed his doggy shampoo. He loved bath time and enjoyed Victoria’s attention. Wrapping her arms around him, she murmured, “I love you, boy.” He licked her face.
When they were both dry, they went inside. She filled Bud’s water and food bowls before she took a warm, relaxing shower and dressed in a comfortable pair of drawstring shorts and an old T-shirt. She fixed a simple supper, and after she ate, she carried a glass of iced tea with a sprig of mint outside as she watched the sun paint the sky with brushstrokes of soft pink and orange.
Leaning back in the rocking chair, her eyes half-closed, she heard Bud let out a yip. “What is it, boy?” She followed his gaze and saw Rusty running along the edge of the lake. “No wonder he’s lost weight. A full day teaching, coaching in this heat, and now he’srunning?”
A crazy thought occurred to her. Leaving her leftovers for him on the small round table on his back porch. Or if he left his kitchen door unlocked, she could leave the food for him on a counter.
Before she changed her mind, Victoria jumped to her feet, went inside, and grabbed the container of leftovers. It was a small gesture because she suddenly felt sorry for him. She crossed the yard between their houses and climbed the back steps. Rusty may have already eaten, but his pallor and thinness played upon her sympathy.
Victoria found the kitchen door unlocked. Without being nosy, she entered the cool interior and set the container on the granite countertop. Then she hightailed it back to her place.
*
When Victoria passedthe front desk the next morning, Patsy stopped her. “Wait, Ms. Lockridge.” She gestured toward a glass beaker with a single rose in it. “It’s for you. And there’s a note, too.”
Victoria adjusted her laptop bag and reached for the beaker. She slipped the note into the pocket of her denim dress.
“He doesn’t date, you know,” Patsy declared as Victoria took a few steps to the right.
“Who?”
“Dr. Sinclair.”
Victoria frowned. “I’m sorry. Dr. Sinclair?”
Patsy clucked her tongue. “For goodness’ sake, don’t you know your young man hastwoPHDs?”
“No, I wasn’t aware. And he’s notmy‘young man.’ We barely know each other.”
“Well, that’s about to change. He doesn’t date,” she repeated. “And believe me, every unmarried woman in Marysville has tried to change his mind about it. But you, you waltz back into town and suddenly he’s leaving a rose in a beaker for you.” Patsy chuckled. “It’s original, for sure. Now, run along, Ms. Lockridge.”
Victoria made her way to her room in a daze. It boggled her mind to hear Rusty had earned two PHDs. How in the world had he earned them while playing pro-football? Her hand shook as she unlocked her classroom and set the beaker on her desk. She reached into her pocket and unfolded the note.
Dear Victoria, thank you for the tuna salad. Your kindness in spite of our conversation yesterday morning means a great deal to me. I hope…would you be willing to start over as friends? This time without any misunderstandings. Yours, Rusty
Her heart thrummed with a strange feeling. For a few precious minutes she reveled in it. Then the crushing weight of her secret obliterated the hope fluttering in her breast. Victoria couldn’t expose Rusty or Jeff or any man interested in her to her shame, to her humiliation. The fear that her most private, intimate moment could be splashed all over social media made her ill. She couldn’t trust Alan not to betray her again.
There was no starting over for her.
Victoria refolded the note and tucked it into her purse before locking it in her desk drawer. Squaring her shoulders, she madecontrolthe key to a successful second day. She took charge of her homeroom with an efficiency that surprised her students. After teaching a lesson on writing to her English classes, Victoria looked forward to working with her drama students.
As she entered the auditorium, she saw her class standing around a brand-new upright piano. Mr. Noyes hadn’t wasted any time satisfying one of the requests she’d made of him the previous week.
“What’s the piano for?” Kaylee asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough. Do you play?”
“All the time. I do the music for chorus.”
“Great. We’ll be needing your talent soon. All right, everyone. Let’s get started. I’m going to show you some warm-up exercises that will become second nature as often as we will do them.”
Though Victoria’s day ended on a high note, a heaviness settled deep in her soul. At home, she prepared two stuffed chicken breasts and seasoned fresh green beans and fixed a plate for Rusty. When she heard his truck rumbling up the street, she stepped onto her back porch and waited to see if he decided to jog around the lake again. He didn’t, so she grabbed the plate and walked next door. Victoria knocked once, half hoping Rusty wouldn’t hear it. Then she could set the plate on his back porch and leave.
No such luck. He pulled open his kitchen door and smiled at her. Her heart somersaulted. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Victoria held out the plate. “I made extra food for you. Thank you for the rose in a beaker. It was a cute idea and I liked it. I read your note, and, well, I can’t, Rusty. I’m sorry, but I can’t. I will respect you as my colleague, both in and out of school, and as a friend of the people I love the most. But I can’t give more than that.”
