Page 98 of Kiss the Girl
Spending Saturday mornings with Grace trying new running trails or cafes, being tourists, doing nothing, doing…everything.
For a second, everything in me felt lighter.
Until I realized how hard it was to picture Paige with the kind of stability it would take for me to have that future with Grace. The split second of hope turned heavy. It felt a hundred times worse than the close loss the Bulldogs had suffered in the regional finals.
A million times worse.
Not even in the same universe kind of disappointment.
Paige walked back in with a box, the kind department stores used to wrap shirts. How would a shirt help anything right now?
“Open it,” she said. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever gotten you.”
“Better than the RC car when I was eight?”
“Way better, because I earned this gift for you myself.”
I unwrapped it, determined to like the shirt no matter how “not me” it was—her crusade to spruce up my style never ended. I braced myself to exclaim over an ugly designer shirt.
Instead, when I parted the tissue paper, I found a stack of papers. “What’s this?”
“For Christmas, I got you your life back.”
I picked up the top sheet. It was job paperwork. A W-4 and I-9, all filled out with her name and listing Handy Hardware as the employer. I shot her a confused look.
“Look at the position.”
I scanned it until I found the right line. “Position: Manager.”
“Mike is promoting me. He says I can open every morning, Monday through Friday, and if I take half hour lunches, I can pick Evie up by four-thirty. He says it’s so busy, he’s losing money by not having another full-time employee.” Her eyes shone with excitement, and I didn’t have the heart to point out that even that wouldn’t be enough for her to make it on her own. “He and Lisa are going to lease me the apartment at their house for the cost of utilities, so I can save money and pay for online school at night. I’m going to major in business.”
Whoa. That was huge, and I loved it for her. But it didn’t solve everything. “But Evie will have to change schools.”
She waved her hand. “She doesn’t like her teacher anyway. We checked out Creekville Elementary, and all she needed to see was that they have more swings at their playground, and she was sold. Lisa helped me find this amazing home daycare for a hundred dollars less than the one Evie’s in now, and I won’t need evening babysitting anymore.”
“But your car—”
“Is junk, yes.” She grinned like she’d been waiting for every objection. “But we’re walking distance from the store if it breaks down, and I’ve been saving the money from my shifts at Handy’s. One of our regular customers owns the auto shop, and he came in when I was trying to start my Chevy the other day. Said he had a good deal for me on an older Honda. It’s not too cute, but he says it runs great, and he’ll hold on to it for me until I can pay cash. With this raise plus the drop in rent and daycare, it’ll only take me two months. If my dumb car breaks down during that time, I can handle it. Plus, you’ll still be around for a while. You can’t move to Charleston until the school year ends, right?”
“Right.” I parroted it, trying to absorb everything she was telling me, and something like hope was flickering to life inside of me.
“So you’ll go? Because here’s the other thing, Noah.” She reached into the box and pulled more papers. “I did some research and found all the school districts in and around Charleston. There are six that are all pretty close, and I found a ton of open positions. Between your credential to teach science and your PE experience, you’ll be able to find a job easily. They all use the same portal for applications, so I created an account for you and started applications at the ones that looked good. It won’t take much to finish them. I printed them out and highlighted the parts I didn’t know. And I called Mr. Beaman—”
“Our old principal?”
“Yes. I wanted to know how school hiring goes, and here’s more good news: he said even more jobs open up in the spring when teachers get serious about retiring. You’ll have no problem.”
I took a deep breath, trying to sort through my feelings. “Okay, but—”
“Wait,” she said. “Before you say anything, just think. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in Charleston, teaching, coaching, and seeing Grace as much as you want.”
There was no such thing. I could never get enough of Grace.
“Close your eyes,” she demanded. I snapped them closed. “Picture it. Evie is happy at her new school. She’s in daycare less than two hours a day and with me the rest of the time in a snug little apartment. I have good hours, steady pay, and time to do my schooling. We’re happy, Lisa has introduced us to all kinds of young moms and kids at church and school, and we’re thriving. And you and Grace are just as happy, going wherever this takes you.”
I could picture it. I’d imagined all of that happening here in Creekville, but I could imagine it happening in Charleston as Paige painted the picture. But then I snapped my eyes open.
“And if it doesn’t work out? Then I’ve moved my whole life to Charleston, left behind my job, and for what?”
