Page 27 of The Holiday Exchange

“Now, what’s this about a guy you like?”

I roll my eyes and drop my head to my desk. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Alright, I won’t push. But just know I’m here if you want to talk. And maybe you’re wrong and he really is interested in you. Sometimes men just don’t know how to show what they feel.”

My heart warms at her support. “Maybe.”

“Well, I guess I’d better let you go. I’m sure you have a lot to do to get ready for tonight.”

We say our goodbyes and I drop my phone into my bag. Even though I appreciated Mom’s encouragement, she didn’t see Trevor with Gracelyn the other night. He didn’t look like he was suffering under her attention.

A thought occurs to me – what if he brings her to the play tonight?

I groan. I guess the good news, if you want to call it that, is that I seem to be a terrific teacher and possibly a matchmaker. I taught him how to talk to people and then introduced him to a girl for him to practice on. Maybe I should turn this into a side business, like that movieHitch. I’ll teach guys how to get a girlfriend and try not to fall in love with all them like I did Trevor.

Woah, where did that thought come from? Who said the L-word?

I feel my heart racing as I linger on the thought, examining it carefully. Do I love Trevor? I don’t know. But can definitely say that I feelsomethingfor him. It’s like I can see the edge ofthe feeling just poking up out of the ground like a daffodil shoot, ready to grow and bloom as I get to know him better.

Sitting up straighter in my desk chair, I make a decision. First, I’ll get through tonight. A lot of people have worked hard to make this production a success and I owe it to them to give it my full attention. But tomorrow? Tomorrow I’ll tell Trevor how I feel, even if it means hearing that he doesn’t feel the same way because he’s marrying Gracelyn.

Or just dating her. Whatever.

Regardless of their relationship status, at least I will have laid it out there so he knows.

But not until after the play.

I gather up my things and head for the door. I have just enough time to go grab a bite to eat before I position myself in the auditorium to welcome students as they arrive to get ready.

15

KAYLA

Don’t look for him, don’t look for him.

I repeat this refrain ad nauseam while staying as busy as possible in the minutes before the play begins.

But when I’m standing in the middle of the stage, waiting for the audience to grow quiet so I can give a brief introduction to start us off, I can’t help myself. My eyes scan the sea of faces before me. I see Annie and several other teacher friends. I see many, many strangers. I do not see Trevor.

I push aside my disappointment and put on my best welcoming smile. I thank the parents for coming and assure them with teacherly enthusiasm that their children are about to wow them. Then I go sit on my stool right in front of the stage where any child who needs help with a line or movement can see me.

The production goes more smoothly than I could have hoped for and I feel a sense of pride and triumph as I step onto the stage once again to wrap us up.

“Thank you all so much for coming. I hope you’ve enjoyed our holiday production tonight. The kids have worked so hardand I’m very proud of all of them. I also want to take just a minute to thank a few other people who were instrumental in making this play a reality. Thank you to Coach Arnold, our gym teacher, for staying late to help me set everything up this week.”

I pause to clap in recognition of the coach and the audience joins me. I repeat the process for the PTO parents who volunteered to run our light and sound booth, Annie who helped me audition the kids, the art teacher who helped with the costumes, and the third-grade teacher who helped me wrangle kids at each practice.

“And last but not least, I want to say a special thank you to Trevor Martin, the guy at the hardware store who took it upon himself to help me build some of the set pieces you see behind me. Our stage wouldn’t look half as good without his skill and willingness to help.”

My eyes mist a little as I say this. I really couldn’t have done it without him. I wish he was here to share it with me.

I dismiss the audience with instructions for how the parents can retrieve their pint-sized actors and step off the stage with a sigh of relief, making my way to Annie.

“Hey! It was great.Youwere great. The whole thing was great!” She pulls me into a hug.

“Thanks, girl.” I give her a squeeze and then pull back, glancing around one last time.

“Are you looking for Trevor?”

---