Page 92 of Love Me Boldly

Nothing I hated more than biting into pizza and finding a mouthful of bread.

My first bite had me closing my eyes in wonder.

“Dang,” I murmured around sausage and pepperoni and bacon and cheese. I might have groaned, too. “This isgood.”

Holly hid her smile and mouthful of food behind her napkin. “Told you. Louie Scalecki’s gift of cooking had to come straight from the hand of God.” She patted the edges of her lips and grinned at me.

“I can’t argue about that.”

I polished off a slice and started working on my second. I should have ordered two larges. I could eat this every day. Fortunate for me that for the next six weeks, Scalecki’s was a short walk away.

Louie and I were going to become good friends. He just didn’t know it yet.

“Teaching,” I finally said, after I raved for a few more minutes about the pizza. “It’s a blast. So much harder than I imagined it would be, and also so much better.”

“You’re teaching chemistry?”

“I wish, but no. Not right now. I’m actually teaching biology. It’s not my favorite, but things change, and I’m still young enough that I’m okay with the wait. I love my hockey team I coach. We made the playoffs last year, and it was the first time in the school’s history they went that far.”

Holly gave me a smile, like she was proud of me. “That’s great, Graham. I can see you being a really good coach.”

“Yeah?” My head tilted to the side. “Why?”

“Because you’re patient and kind. Because you know how to get what you want from people. I can see you inspiring them, encouraging them to keep trying.”

“Man, Holly.” I leaned back on the couch. “That almost sounds like you like me.”

She rolled her eyes, and I chuckled.

I let it go.

While we finished eating, I told her about some of the kids on the team and the difference between living in a smaller town than I’d grown up in around Raleigh. Because I was involved in the school and sports, every time I went to the store, I ran into either a parent, a fellow staff member or teacher, or a student. It’d made me nervous at first to do something simple like grabbing a bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer. It’d given me an appreciation for what Holly had grown up living with, really. That feeling of always being watched, everyone knowing you and your business. It’d faded with time, and maybe for Holly it had, too. She didn’t really act like it bothered her anymore, and she had friends now.

A support system with Jonah.

As soon as I thought of him, I realized the funtime was over.

“Can I ask you something?”

The light faded from her eyes, and she chewed on the inside of her cheek. With a nod, she said, “Go ahead.”

“Your dad. Do you still…?”

“I don’t talk to him anymore.”

She didn’t make it sound like a good thing, and I gave her a moment.

Eventually she blew out a breath and scratched at the back of her neck. “I hated him. I was always so mad at him after Mom left and he fell apart, but I also kept hoping he’d do better, you know?”

She didn’t ask like she really expected an answer, and since I didn’t know anything about having a parent like that, I stayed silent. Not that she gave me time to answer before she continued.

“He only called for money, that was why I never answered. I mean, God”—she laughed—“you didn’t even know where I lived, but it was such a crappy place. It reeked like spilled beer and smoke. We had to move into it when I was in high school when he lost the house.”

My stomach plummeted, both in angerforher and realization of how much she kept hidden from me. We’d been together for months, and I didn’t even know where she lived.

“It was this nasty trailer, and I was working two jobs, and every time he got access to the phone, he called me collect—which only cost me more money—to ask for more.” She sniffed and stared at the blacked-out television screen, like she couldn’t bear to look at me. “That was why I didn’t answer when he called around you. I couldn’t handle it, and I didn’t want you to know that part about me.”

“What part? The part where you are kind and hopeful? The part where you admitted you wanted a decent parent?”

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