Haley sat across from John Bates at the Graceful Gardens Cafe. He was talking about his career in banking.
At least he'll have money.
Haley picked at the hem of her sweater.
I'll have to remember to get the lint off of this next time.
She stifled a yawn.
"Haley?" John looked concerned.
"Hmm?"
"Is everything all right?" He reached across the table to grab her hand.
"Oh..I'm..uh, fine." She sat on her hands so he couldn't hold it. He raised an eyebrow towards her.
"My hands are, uh, cold. Is it chilly in here to you?" Haley explained, rubbing her arms, as if trying to warm up.
John called the next waiter that walked by, to their table.
"Excuse me, Sir," He said, "Is there any way you can turn the air down a little bit? The lady here is freezing."
"I'll tell my boss." He grumbled and walked off. Haley knew that he had no intentions to tell his boss.
"I'm sure they'll get to that." John said.
Haley smiled. She couldn't hold that against him. After all, he was only trying to please her.
A different waiter came to their table to take their order.
"I'll have the toasted turkey sandwich, and a house salad." Haley said.
"And you?" The waiter looked towards John.
"I'll have what she's having." He said.
Haley sipped slowly on her iced tea.
"More tea for you?" The waiter asked.
"Sure." She replied.
Their meal had come and John was talking about stock now. Haley thought about her date a few nights ago with Isaac. Everything had seemed to have been going well, right until the end where Isaac blew her off. She looked John over. He definately was cute. Dark brown hair, dark brown eyes. He was wearing a black button down shirt over a pair of Levis. He looked incredible. But so did Isaac. Haley shook the thought from her head.
Before she knew it, their date was over and John was walking her to her door. She knew he was going out of his way tonight to be a gentlemen to her, and that's what she found most attractive.
"I had a really nice time tonight." John said. "You are an amazing person."
"Thank you." Haley said, slightly blushing, "I had a nice time, too."
He leaned down and kissed her softly on her cheek.
"Good-bye for now." He said in a half-whisper.
He waited for her to get into the house before he left the driveway.
Haley held a hand to her cheek where he'd kissed her.
What's this funny feeling I'm getting?
Haley did not want to admit that she was starting to like him. She didn't want to admit that her mother could be right.
**
Isaac watched Mikey as he played in the sandbox in his mom's backyard. The years had gone by so fast with Mikey. It seems just like yesterday when he was born.
And when I lost you.
Mikey hadn't asked questions about his mother, yet, but Isaac knew the day would come. He'd already prepared a scrapbook in Michelle's memory for when that day come. It contained photos of her, several scraps of paper she saved, and even a letter that she adressed to her future son "Michael" when she first found out she was pregnant. She was so confidant that the baby was going to be a boy, she had always called him Michael from the day she found out she was pregnant.
If only you could see him now, Mish.
Mikey poured sand into the back of his Tonka dump truck, and tipped the load over one of Zoe's clothe-less Barbie's. Isaac permanetly recorded that moment in his memory. Everything about his son amazed him.
Isaac thought he was ready for the dating scene again. And he'd almost pulled it off.
I feel like I cheated on you, Mish. It still hurts.
It wasn't Haley's fault at all. Isaac blew it towards the end, and he knew it. But right now, he can't deal with anything more than a friendship with another woman.
Diana walked up behind her son, watching him stare out the window at Mikey.
"He reminds me of you when you were little." Diana said. "You were such a good kid. You were always coming up with little adventures with your imaginary friend. And if you got in trouble, it was never your fault. It was always the invisible Tom."
She put a hand on Isaac's back.
"You're doing a great job with him, Isaac." She said reassuringly.
"Do you think Michelle can see him now?" Isaac asked. His mother had always been spiritual.
"I think so." She said. "And I think she knows you're doing a wonderful job."
Tears sprung up into Isaac's eyes.
"I feel so guilty." He said through clenched teeth.
"Honey, there was nothing you could do, you know that. And the doctors did the very best they could. But you've got to remember, that Michelle chose Mikey over herself." Diana hugged Isaac close to her.
Mikey came running towards the house, screaming.
"It hurts, daddy!" He screamed "The bee bit me and it hurts!!"
Tears poured down the toddler's pinched face.
Isaac was quick to pick Mikey up. Mikey held up a spot on his arm. Isaac quickly took him into the kitchen, and sat him down at the table. Diana disappeared into the bathroom, and came back with tweezers. Isaac already had an ice pack applied to the sting.
Zoe came running into the kitchen, "What's going on?"
"Mikey got his first bee sting. It's all right." Diana informed her youngest daughter.
Isaac took the ice off, and pulled the stinger out with the tweezers. Mikey sniffled, but his tears had stopped. Isaac put the ice pack back on the sting, to soothe the burning. He ducked down to Mikey's eye level.
"Are you okay, buddy?" He asked, as he wiped at his son's tear-streaked face, with his free hand.
Mikey nodded bravely.
Mackie, who now preffered to go by Mac, heard about what happened and brought Mikey a popsicle. Mikey forgot all about the sting, and Mac took him up to his room, to amuse him with video games.
Isaac wiped at his forehead, "Whew!"
He leaned against the kitchen counter.
"I know," Diana said looking at Isaac. "The worst thing is seeing your child in pain."
**
Teresa called her daughter the next day on her lunch break.
Haley was just getting ready to go out the door. The teachers at Lynwood Elementary were having a meeting and Haley got to see her class room. Within the next two weeks, Haley would be very busy. She'd already worked over the summer on her planned teaching.
"What is it Mom? I was just about to walk-"
"I think you've found your soulmate in John Bates!" She interrupted. "He's been asking about you and he wants to know if you want to go out again."
"He has my number." Haley knew her mom was just trying to be nosy.
"Won't you tell me anything?" Teresa pryed.
"No. As a matter of fact, Mom, I have to go now. We're having a teacher's meeting-"
"Well, all right then, I see. You don't want to talk to your mother now. Just remember, I'm the one who set him up with you."
Haley heard the line click, and she hung up. She hurried out the door to get to the school.
The teacher's meeting had been brief. Many of the teachers, including herself were very busy today. She met her parapro teacher, Jean Braden in her classroom.
"How's your summer been?" Jean asked politely. They'd met last year, and kept in touch for over the first half of the summer. But the last few weeks, they hadn't talked.
"It's been pretty good." Haley said. "How about yours? Did you and Ryan go on that trip to Italy as planned?"
"Oh, yeah! Italy was great! I took pictures and I thought about bringing them in to show the kids." Jean said. Both girls were sitting at their desks, shuffling through papers, getting everything prepared.
"That's a good idea." Haley said. "I'm just so excited about teaching."
"Me too." Jean said. "It's only my second year being a parapro. I loved it last year. The kids ended up teaching me a lot."
"This year is going to be great." Haley said. Jean nodded in agreement.
Jean and Haley had been at the school until 6 O'Clock, PM. It had been a long and exhausting day. All of the third grade teachers had had another meeting in the cafeteria. Then, just as Haley and Jean got settled back in at their desk, the principal had called a meeting of all teachers in the assembly room.
Haley sat at her desk, scribbling away on a notepad. Jean started packing her stuff away. She yawned.
"Well, I'm gone for the day. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."
"See ya." Haley said.
She heard Jean's shoe's clicking on the tile all the way down the hallway. Haley was just about to finish up on her notes, when a noise in the hallway made her whole body stiffen. She quietly walked to the door, and pulled it open softly. The noise got closer. It was not Jean, Haley could tell and all of the other third grade teachers had left.
No one should be in this hall.
Slowly, Haley peered around the edge of the door. Her heart pounded out of her chest.
"John!!" She yelled. "You scared me to death! What are you doing here?!"
Haley fell back into her seat, holding her chest. Her heart was still beating irratically. Finally, it started slowing down.
"I just got off work, when I called your house. There was no answer and I remembered your mom said you were coming to work today. They told me in the office that you were still in your room." He explained. He crouched down onto one of the student's chairs. He looked so adorable sitting there, and yet he looked to be a little uncomfortable, all cramped up in the tiny chair.
"You do know we have big people chairs, too, don't you?" Haley smiled.
"I'm all right." He said.
Haley looked him over. "Well, if you're sure. So, why did you come here? You never answered that."
"I just had to see you again, and I wanted to surprise you."
Haley melted.
"Which reminds me," He said, pulling a white rose from under his jacket.
"Oh!" She said, taking the rose and sniffing it, "It's gorgeous. Did Mom tell you they were my favorites?"
"No," He said, grabbing her hand. This time she didn't jerk away, making up some petty excuse. "The white rose stands for beauty, so it seemed like the obvious choice to get for you."
Haley blushed. He had been doing that more easily now, making her blush.
"Thank you so much. Do you want to rent a movie tonight and watch it at my place?"
"Sounds like a wonderful idea to me." He said.
**
Zac Hanson rocked back in the kitchen chair. He was on the phone with his girlfriend, of two months, Natasha Stanley.
Diana walked through the kitchen. "Don't lean in that chair, Zac." She warned.
He made a face at the back of her head, and kept leaning in his chair.
"Zac, I have to tell you something." Natasha said.
Warning bells went off in Zac's head. This does not sound good.
"What is it, Tash?" He rocked back and forth in his chair.
"I love you."
The chair slipped out from under him, and he crashed onto the floor. The cordless phone went flying through the air, landed, and slid between the stove and refrigderator.
Diana came rushing back into the kitchen.
"I told you not to lean in that chair. Are you all right?"
Zac pulled himself up and rubbed the back of his head.
"Just a knot on my head and a bruised ego."
"Uh-huh." Diana said with a smirk. "Think you're too old to listen to Mom now?"
She went back to what she'd previously been doing.
"Oh no! Natasha!" Zac grabbed the broom, to fish the phone out from between the stove and 'fridge with. He had been so stunned by her words, that it literally knocked him over. He hadn't been expecting her to say the "L-Word". It scared him. Was he ready for that kind of commitment?
"Natasha?" Zac said into the phone, surprised she was still on the line.
"Zac, what was that?" She asked.
"Nothing. I mean, sorry about that. So uh, where were we again? Oh, yeah I think we were talking about the new U2 concert, that I just so happen to have tickets for." It was a little lie, but he knew he could get tickets from Bono, anytime.
"Z-ac!" She yelled.
Zac hated it when she turned his one-syllable name into a two-syllable one.
"You are so totally changing the subject! Before you went into your little fit, or whatever that was on the phone, I had just told you I love you."
"Oh." He said.
"Oh?! Aren't you gonna say them back to me, Zac?" She demanded.
"Um..."Zac trailed off. He liked Natasha, and everything. She was pretty and he liked calling her his girlfriend, but the "L Word" was too much.
"Maybe we shouldn't be going out!" Natasha snapped and hung up the phone.
"Natasha!" Zac yelled, but it was too late. He turned the phone off.
"Females!" He yelled. "I'll never understand them!!"
**
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