Page 103 of Welcome to Forever
Chapter 25
“You look sick,” Val said when Kat walked in on Monday morning.
Kat plopped down in the chair behind her desk, catching a few loose papers as they flew toward the floor. She felt sick, but not the kind that would allow her to stay home in bed, which is what she’d done all weekend after running out on Micah.
“And you didn’t answer my calls yesterday. Julie said you were depressed.” Val cocked an eyebrow, folding her arms at her chest.
“I plead the Fifth,” Kat said miserably. “But I really hate the word ‘depressed.’ ” Even though that’s exactly what she was. So depressed that her bones literally ached and it hurt to move from one side of the room to the other.
“You want to talk about it?” Val asked.
Shaking her head, Kat pressed her lips together. If she spoke, she might get all teary-eyed, and this was where she worked. She was good at her job. At least she still had that.
Val came a little closer and laid a plate of fresh-baked muffins down. “Here. These are for you. I eat when I’m depressed. And you said my baking was good, so…” She shrugged.
“Thank you, Val. You’re the best secretary ever.”
“And you’re a very bad liar,” Val said with a smile.
“I plead the Fifth,” Kat said again, smiling for the first time in the last forty-eight hours, and making herself laugh a little.
“Mrs. Burroughs wanted to know if you could help her set up for the book fair this week. She’s in the media center right now helping the PTO unload boxes.”
Kat reached for a muffin, peeling off its wrapper. Last week, she and Dora had a heart-to-heart, and Dora had apologized, humbly asking for another chance to be a better assistant principal. And everyone deserved another chance—Kat truly believed that. People deserved as many chances as they were sincere in asking for.
Kat took a bite, moaned, then set it down on the paper plate for later. “If you need me, I’ll be in the media center,” she told Val, who chuckled.
“Good luck.”
As Kat walked in that direction, her heart pained seeing a familiar wheelchair in front of her. Ben. She hadn’t just run off on Micah over the weekend. She’d left Ben, too. Poor kid.
“Hey there, buddy,” she said, walking up beside him, fully expecting him to look up at her with those large, adoring eyes that were always so happy to see her.
He didn’t.
“Ben?”
He pushed the wheel of his chair with his right arm harder, attempting to go faster. “Leave me alone, okay?” he said, his words slurring together.
“I’m sorry about the other day. I shouldn’t have run out the way I did.”
He shrugged, not stopping or looking at her. “You’re just like everyone else. I’m used to it.”
“I’m not like—”
He looked at her. “Yeah, you are. Just go, Principal Chandler. I have to get to class.”
She stopped walking and watched him wheel away. Biting the inside of her cheek, she begged herself not to dissolve into tears.
“Eating muffins is better—way better,” she mumbled. Then she turned to go do exactly that and came face-to-face with her assistant principal.
“Kids don’t hold grudges long. I had three boys and one girl. I have six grandchildren. Do something special for them and they’re like putty in your hands.”
“Like what?” Kat asked numbly, surprised that she was actually having a human conversation with Dora. Maybe things really would change between them.
“Saying I’m sorry goes a long way with kids. Especially over a bowl of ice cream.”
Kat swallowed a small laugh. “Thanks. I’ll remember that. Do you still need help with the book fair setup?”
