Page 5 of Candy Cane Dreams
"Are you going to be in the Christmas play this year?" he asked.
She nodded, tossing her gloves in the trash.
He finished putting the last touch on his candy cane and then snapped his gloves off as well. They would have just enough time to head out the back door and get in the car to get to school on time.
Maybe Jack underestimated that just a bit, since the bell rang as Lilly stepped out on the sidewalk.
Knowing that he would need to write her a note, he offered her his hand, and they walked up the sidewalk together toward the principal's office.
This had happened more times than Jack cared to admit. Again, he had to admit he was a little upset with Lauren for dying on him, which he knew made absolutely no sense, but it was the way he felt. After all, as a single dad, trying to keep the candy shop afloat and deal with Lilly, who wasn't hard but was still a child and needed him, and in his spare time, trying to help his brother on the farm and keep that going as well—that was his backup if the candy shop didn't make it. And it was his dream, what he enjoyed.
"We're going to talk to Principal Stevens before you go to your classroom. I'll make sure that he knows it's my fault that you were late."
Lilly squeezed his hand but didn't say anything.
Maybe he was wrong, but he kind of thought that his daughter was annoyed with him, wanting him to be a better dad, wanting more out of him.
Was that just his imagination?
He opened the front door and held it while Lilly walked through.
She waited to take his hand again, which made him feel good. Maybe she wasn't terribly upset with him after all.
The principal's office was in the main hallway, right near the nurse's office and the counselor's office, which was empty. The previous counselor had left the week before, and from what he understood from Principal Stevens, the new one wasn't going to start until the new year, per her contract.
He remembered Principal Stevens saying something about the person coming and hanging around the school just to get to know everyone before she started her official duties. He hoped this counselor would be a little better than the last one and take an interest in Lilly somehow.
Or at least give Jack some better pointers of what he could do, beyond waiting and seeing, which was the solution of the last counselor.
"Good morning, Jack," Principal Stevens said, as he strode to the entrance of his doorway, like they were catching him on his way out.
"Good morning. I'm sorry; we stepped in as the bell rang, so I knew that meant I needed to make a trip here to make sure Lilly got checked in okay."
"Yeah, we've got her," Mr. Stevens said, and he didn't seem to have any judgment on his face. Maybe he truly did thinkthat Jack was doing the best he could. Maybe he wasn't judging. Maybe it was just Jack's imagination that everyone thought he should be doing better.
"Lilly, you go on to your classroom. Your dad and I will take care of this. I saw you guys pulling in, and I messaged your teacher. She's expecting you."
Lilly nodded, and then her sweet blue eyes looked up at her dad.
Jack's heart melted as he knelt on one knee and gave her a hug. Her little arms wrapped around his neck, and she squeezed him back tightly. She was only seven, but it felt like she was growing up way too fast.
"You'll be good," he said, ruffling her hair affectionately as she grinned at him. And then she turned around, her backpack dwarfing her skinny little body as she walked confidently down the hall toward her classroom.
Jack straightened, and he and Mr. Stevens watched Lilly go.
Mr. Stevens must have been waiting for her to be out of earshot, because as soon as she turned the corner, he turned to Jack and said, "Our new counselor is starting after Christmas. I know I told you that."
"Yeah."
"I've already discussed Lilly with her, since she arrived early this morning." Mr. Stevens paused, and then in a rare show of annoyance, he said, "She has a better work ethic than the last counselor, who only seemed to show up for work in order to collect her paycheck."
"It's a bad career choice if a person only wants a paycheck," Jack said, although he had already surmised as much from the previous counselor. He supposed he really didn't know of any job where a person should just show up. If they couldn't put their heart and soul into their work, why didn't they just find something else where they could?
But he knew the answer to that was a lot more complicated than the question would make it seem. And he didn't have time to solve the world's problems. He had enough of his own.
Still, he wanted to live his life for the glory of the Lord, and one way to do that was to do his very best at everything he did, including his job. Even if making candy wasn't exactly what he had dreamed of doing when he was a kid, or even when he was an adult. But it seemed to be the path that God had laid out for him, and regardless of what he wanted, he needed to do what he knew was right.
"I'm sorry I can't introduce you this morning. She's already off checking in on the kindergartners. She said she would start with the youngest first and work her way up."
