Page 25 of Class Act

Some of the warm feelings dissipated as I followed, grateful that she didn’t need a response, because she was already gabbing about how long it had taken her nanny, Ellie, to get her hair and makeup done and how hard it had been to wear a seatbelt in the car without squishing the costume she was wearing for her performance. I was thankful for her enthusiasm, because it gave me time to get my bearings as we moved through the crowds of people.

Plan A had been dashed. That’s okay. I’d had plans dashed before, and I was capable of regrouping. Sitting by her family wasn’t the end of the world. I was hoping upon hope that I wasn’t the only guest. Maybe her Grams was still in town, or her nanny was there too, and I could put some distance between Ford and I. So, Plan B was born. Space. That was the entire plan.

No, distance is bad . . . my sneaky brain thought. I swallowed hard, promising myself that either way, I’d be totally unaffected, very pleasant, and keep all emotions and strange zinging reactions to myself. Scratch that, there would be zero zinging because that stuff was out of my system thanks to the power of the mind, which power I had been exercising more often lately than I’d like to admit.

“Here’s Daddy.” Hillary stopped so suddenly that I almost plowed her down.

As it was, I came to a stop as the bouquet was about to come to rest on top of her head. I lifted the flowers in the air and forced my body into backwards motion, steadying myself in the process. The stop-and-start way she moved made me want to crack up, and amusement tugged at my lips as I looked up to see where she was pointing. Ford was standing up in greeting. We made eye contact, me with my face amused and warm before I could pull it back to polite. He took me in as he always did, his own expression brightening a little.

Hillary saved me from figuring out how to greet him by spouting off some more excited gibberish that I barely understood. The main message seemed to be that she was supposed to be with her class, and she’d see me after. She looked up with glowing gray eyes, waiting for a response.

“Sounds good,” I said with a smile for her, hoping it was what I was supposed to say.

It was enough, and she spun around, braids flying, before making her way to the stage. I followed her zig-zagging blur of teal fluff until she disappeared through a side door. Sadly, that took only a few moments, and then I was forced to face Ford again. The last time I’d seen him had been at my parents’ house, a memory I wouldn’t exactly be scrapbooking. I took quick note of the fact that it was just him and Henry, and Henry was on Ford’s opposite side. I did not take note of how handsome he looked in a blue sweater and casual jeans, because I did not care, at all.

Looks aren’t everything. Sure, they can suck a girl in and make her dream of sailing the Mediterranean together, but they’re not the real seal-the-deal kind of stuff.

“Pretty flowers.” Ford gestured.

I looked down at them and back up, sensing immediately that I wasn’t nearly as committed to giving him space as I’d hoped to be at this point in my efforts. Plan B cracked under my eager heartbeats.

“Dahlias are my favorite. I thought Hillary would like them too.”

“Pink is always appropriate with Hillary,” he added.

I noticed an open seat on the other side of Henry, shining like a lighthouse in a storm. I was going to duct tape Plan B together if it killed me.

“I’m happy to take that seat near Henry and leave this open for others, it being near the aisle and all.” I beautifully phrased it like I was being thoughtful. “If you’ll let me slip past you.”

Ford shook his head, amusement lighting his eyes. “If you’d prefer not to sit next to me, I can have Henry trade, but that seat is actually saved by the family next to us. Sorry.”

I purposely flashed my dimples and pasted on an innocent expression like I wasn’t at all ruffled by him being on to what I really thought. “I’m not trying to avoid sitting next to you.” Another lie for the universe to lap up and use against me later.

“Great.” He gestured to the seat next to him and waited for me to arrange myself, my purse, and the flowers before he took his seat. “Hillary has talked non-stop about you coming tonight. Thank you for being here.”

It was the final nail in the coffin. All plans had failed. There would be no more making plans. I was a pawn in this whole situation.

“She’s a sweet girl. I’m happy to support her.” I mustered up some genuine good cheer.

My purse slipped off my lap and I reached for it at the same time Ford did. We both bent down, and our hands tangled, sending that same shiver I’d experienced at my parents’ house snaking its way up my arm. I immediately let go, and Ford picked it up, handing it to me.

“Thanks,” I said, trying to sound calm but coming off unnerved.

“Do other students invite you to their recitals and performances?” Ford asked, settling back into his chair.

His wide shoulder brushed mine in the narrow space as he placed his right ankle on his left knee and folded his hands against his stomach. I shifted away, ruffled over the fact that I’d let a few zings through the gate.

“Um, not often,” I replied, opening my purse to get out a piece of mint gum, hoping the chewing would help with my agitation. I was not supposed to be reacting to him in any way. He was nothing more than a friend of Leonard’s, the parent of a former student, a member of my community . . .

“She really likes you. I tried to get her to invite her current teacher, Mrs. Slater, but she insisted it had to be you.”

I was halfway through unwrapping the gum, but his statement had me pausing to look his way. “You tried to talk her out of inviting me?”

The dimples were gone, and my eyebrows dropped. Offended and grateful is a strange mixture, I’ll tell you what. Knowing it would be for the best but still taking it personally isn’t a good feeling.

“It sounds bad when you say it that way.”

“I’m saying it exactly how you said it,” I replied, popping the gum in my mouth while looking straight ahead at the stage. “I suppose it’s a good thing, then, that I’m only a blip in her life.”

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