Page 24 of The Bachelor's Dilemma

Edith remained by the door, her curiosity clear.

“They need repairs to some of the schoolrooms and to the playground equipment,” Anna said as she skimmed the letter. “They’re asking all parents to lend a hand. Apparently, the school needs to come up to code on various things in order to keep going. If not, the city could shut them down.”

“What kind of help do they want?” Edith asked.

“Either monetary donation or actually physical participation. Gee, what should I do? Give them the extra seventeen dollars from my last paycheck, or go hammer nails, which I’ve never done, and thus probably could cost them more than any pittance I can give them.”

“I’m sure there are other things you can do. You could paint. Or clean up trash. Do they have a list of things needed?”

“It says each room has a list of tasks and goods needed. Could you check for me when you take Zack in tomorrow?”

“Sure. Are major renovations planned?”

“It says the full scope is listed in the classrooms. Maybe I should go in late and take him myself to see what’s needed.”

“I’ll see if they’ll give me a copy of what they have. I think they should have sent all that information to the parents.”

“Me, too, but they didn’t.”

Anna bid Edith goodnight and went to change into casual attire. Soon, she and Zack were sharing dinner. She delighted in hearing about his day. He knew some of the plans at the school because he talked about his classroom getting their bathroom fixed.

“I didn’t know it was broken,” she said.

“We have to use the bathroom in Mrs. O’Donald’s room. So we have to tell our teacher early when we have to go potty,” he said earnestly.

Anna nodded, thoughtful. She knew the building that the preschool operated from was old, but she’d never paid much attention to its state. If Edith couldn’t get a list of tasks needed, she’d call herself Friday afternoon.

How she’d manage another expense remained to be seen. She didn’t want to take Zack out of preschool if she could help it. It provided his only interaction with other children except for when he played at the park. But her money only went so far.

Myles leaned against the wall in the hallway outside of Anna’s flat Friday evening. Glancing at his watch, the second hand swept around another time. Myles had three more minutes until six-fifteen. He’d already been waiting for over eight minutes. Once six o’clock had arrived, he’d been hard-pressed to contain his impatience. They were all going out to dinner together, and he was very much looking forward to the experience.

It was close enough. He rang the doorbell.

A moment later, he heard Anna calling for Zack to wait. But the little boy was too exuberant. He flung open the door and beamed up at Myles.

“Hi.” Zack said. “We’re going to eat pizza.”

“I know,” Myles said, smiling down at the child.

He wanted to lift him up and hug him tightly. But caution was his watchword. He’d to take this one step at a time.

Anna came hurrying into the entryway.

“Zack. I told you not to open the door until I got here.”

“It’s Myles,” Zack said, as if he’d known beforehand.

“You didn’t know that. It could have been anyone.”

“It’s Myles.”

She shook her head and grinned at Myles.

“I don’t want to scare him with tales about ax murderers, but good grief, he can’t throw open the door every time someone knocks.”

“Zack, next time, ask who is there before opening the door. Okay, sport?” Myles said, stepping inside.

“’Kay,” the little boy said, running back to his room. “I’ll get my sweatshirt.”

---