Page 98 of Second Time Around
Chapter 18
Kyra checked the kitchen clock, an old Timex promotional item that someone had donated to the center. She had two hours before the adoption ceremony began ... and Will would be there.
Isaiah was so excited about a CEO attending athisinvitation that he’d shared the news with everyone. Evidently, Will had also promised to finish his interrupted history lesson about the Spartans versus the Persians.
In fact, the three boys he’d started with had gathered a whole crew to hear the rest of the story. Kyra couldn’t help feeling a sense of satisfaction at the thought of Will holding a group of preteen boys spellbound with a tale from a couple of thousand years ago without a single video game in sight. It just proved that she was right. He should be a teacher.
The satisfaction faded as she wondered what he would do and what she would feel when they saw each other again. She had already scoped out a hidden corner from which to observe the ceremony, but, as Isaiah’s guest and a potential donor to the center, Will would have a position of honor. How hard would it be to watch him from across the room, knowing he was forever out of her reach?
She closed her eyes as anguish ripped through her. That answered her question. Maybe she should embrace cowardice and hide in the pantry until Will was gone.
But forty hungry kids were counting on her for their snack, so she opened her eyes and forced herself to focus on that task. Cooking had gotten her through the hard times with her parents. It would get her through losing Will, too.
As she sprinkled cheese over the veggie and meat pizzas, Diego came through the door, slinging his backpack onto a stool. “Hey, Ms.Kyra. You said you had some good news for me,” he said. “I could sure use some. I got my chem test back today and it sucked.”
“Oh, no. What happened?” Diego was taking every science course his school offered so he would be prepared for a pre-veterinary major in college.
“The teacher is a douchebag. Sorry about the language,” the boy muttered. “At least he’s curving it, so I won’t get a D.”
“That makes it better, right?”
“He put stuff on the test that was like a footnote in the book. Stupid stuff. That ain’t ... isn’t right.”
The teacher really did sound like a douchebag. “Let me cheer you up, then.” Kyra took a deep breath, knowing that once she made this commitment to Diego, she couldn’t go back on it. “If Shaq can’t come back to the center, I will adopt him.”
Once the thought had crossed her mind, she’d become convinced it was the right thing to do, despite the expense. She might even be excited about it.
Diego’s frown eased but he didn’t jump right on the news the way Kyra had expected. “You for real? I didn’t know you even liked dogs.”
“I like Shaq. And he’s gotten a bum deal.” The big pit bull had turned her into a friend when he’d leaned against her thigh and practically knocked her over in search of a good ear scratch.
“Don’t you work a lot of hours at night?”
“I do and that’s where you come in. My landlady, Ms.Woods, will let Shaq out during the day when I’m here and you’re in school.” Gloria’s house had a tiny fenced yard in back where Shaq could do his doggybusiness. “But I need someone to take Shaq out at night.” Someone who could walk the dark streets without anxiety, whether alone or with the pit bull. Very few people in the neighborhood would bother Diego because of his size, and who his father was. “I spoke with Violet and she says it’s okay with her, if you’re willing to take on the job.”
She’d asked Emily first and received her blessing before lining up all the other members of the support network. It was a patched-together solution, but she knew everyone involved would do their best to make it work.
“I won’t be able to pay you much,” she warned. Shaq’s food alone would cut into her debt payments, but she was tired of making all her decisions based on financial obligations. It might take longer to retire the debt, but at least she’d be living her life for more than money.
Diego nodded. “Shaq’s my man, so I’ll do it for free.”
“No way. You’re helping me out, so I’ll compensate you for it,” Kyra said, but she was moved by the boy’s selfless offer. It made her feel ashamed about hesitating to rescue Shaq because of her money problems. “I’ll give you a key to my apartment once we find out when Shaq can be released to me.”
Diego’s eyes widened. “You’re gonna give me a key?”
“It makes the most sense.” Kyra picked up another handful of cheese to sprinkle.
“Toyourplace.” She looked up to see what was making Diego so slow to grasp the concept. Amazement was written on his face. “You’re giving me a key?”
“How else would you get in?” She dropped the cheese when Diego launched himself at her, wrapping her in a bear hug that squeezed the breath out of her.
“Thank you, Ms.Kyra,” he said. “Ain’t nobody but Aunt Violet ever trusted me with a key to their place before. And that don’t count because I live there.”
Kyra felt tears brim in her eyes. Such a simple thing to her but such a huge validation to Diego. That was why she loved working with these kids so much. You never knew when you were going to do something so right that their reaction made you cry.
She hugged Diego back. “I’ll give you two keys since it makes you so happy,” she joked to cover her emotions.
Diego stepped back and cleared his throat. “Min-Joo will be real pleased about this. She been so worried about Shaq.”
