Page 31 of She Wolf

Me:The flowers are stunning. Thank you.

Gunner Grey:They’ve got nothing on you, Peaches.

A sigh escapes me as I swoon over his words just before a knock sounds at the door forcing me to drop my phone into my bag. After a hectic week, I’m glad it’s Friday. I take a steadying breath and then tell whoever is outside to come in. As we’re heading to the end of the semester, I’m a little busier than usual. The door opens and my first kid of the morning comes in and takes a seat.

The rest of the day flies by and before I know it, I’m carrying the massive arrangement of flowers to the car. I would have left them at school but seeing as it’s the weekend I want to take full advantage of them.

Once I’ve pushed the passenger seat back—yeah, that’s how big they are—I carefully place the vase in the footwell. I take extra care on the turns as I drive, and soon I’m pulling into Jack's school. The scent fills the car drawing me into a daydream about running through a meadow, not sitting behind the wheel of my mom-Ford.

As soon as I’m parked and out of the car, I make my way up to where I know Jack

will be, coming to a stop when I see him throw his head back laughing at something his friend Beau must have said.

I always feel guilty when he has to go to after school club. It’s set up for working parents and today he will have been here for an hour and twenty-five minutes after school ended. He seems to enjoy it though, especially when he gets his homework done. The adults support the children but it’s more laid back than the regular school day.

He spots me just as I press the buzzer and runs to get his bag together. Miss Archer, one of the teachers, lets me in.

“Hi. Jack’ll be right out.”

“Thank you,” she smiles and then hushes her voice.

“Excited about the last PTA meeting of the year?” she asks with a smile.

In a moment of weakness last year, I said yes when asked if I could be part of the Parent and Teacher Association. Why? I hear you cry—I have no clue.

I mimic her, talking out the side of my mouth. “Yes thank goodness it’s the last one. I don’t know how much more of Dawn I can take. I think we need the summer break.” I laugh and she stifles a giggle.

I love about seventy percent of being involved in the PTA the other thirty is mainly me just trying not to strangle George’s mom, Dawn, with craft ribbon. She just sees every single thing as a damn competition, and she has very strong views on the changing world and doesn’t seem too—accepting—if you catch my drift.

Squeaky sneakers padding off the tiled floor signifies the end of both our school days.

“Hey, Mom,” Jack says hugging my hip.

“Hi buddy, good day?”

“We had gym; does it get better than that?”

“No,” I say laughing. “I guess it doesn’t.” He regales me with tales from the kickball session they had and then he forces out the rest of the day, which is tedious and boring compared to P.E.

“Wow, Mom. That’s a lot of flowers,” he says as we near the car.

“I know, they fill the whole seat, huh?”

He nods and stares at them in awe, as he climbs in and buckles himself up.

“Who got them for you?” Getting in myself, I try to sound as casual as possible.

“Umm, Gunner had them delivered to me at my school today.” I spare a glance in the mirror and catch him nodding his head and smiling.

“Everything okay?” I say, unable to gauge his reaction.

“He wanted you to remember him because he’s away playing the Lightning.”

My eyes widen and I can’t help but ask, “Is that what you think? That he doesn’t want me to forget about him while he’s away?”

“Deffo,” is all I get as he stares out the window with a whisper of that smile still playing across his face. I turn on the engine and make my way out of the parking lot.

“Can I have my song on, please? And you have to sing.”

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