Page 75 of The Blessings of Christmas
“Those kids were bad ass,” Tyrone said, eyes glowing. “My kind of peeps.”
“What did they know? They doing the best they can.” Clarice tossed her dark braids.
“You gonna bring another story tomorrow and read to us again?” Westin asked from the back.
“You bet.” She had a copy ofTheCharlie Brown Christmassomewhere.
The bell rang.
“See you tomorrow,” Amanda called out as they filed from the room. One more day. Sissy Hendricks was going to take over her class during the maternity leave. Amanda already had everything ready, her lesson plan book in the top drawer. For just a second, things seemed right with the world. The doubts lurking in the corners of her mind lifted. Maybe she’s just jumped to conclusions about Angie’s call.
Clarice approached her desk. “Got a present for you, Miss Amanda. For your baby.” She pulled a wrapped present from her book bag. “Can’t wait ‘til tomorrow.”
“Oh, Clarice, that’s so sweet. You shouldn’t have.” These kids needed every penny.
“Aren’t you gonna open it?” She bobbed on her toes.
The green tissue rustled as Amanda unwrapped the blue booties made from a thick yarn.
“My grandma made ‘em,” Clarice said proudly. “She took an old hat and ripped out all the yarn.”
“They’re beautiful. Thank you and please thank your grandmother for me.” She would bring in a thank you note with her tomorrow. This handmade gift seemed more precious than any box she’d opened the day before.
“Glad you like them. See you tomorrow.” Blushing, Clarice backed toward the door.
Opening her side closet, Amanda tucked the booties into her purse. She was really going to miss her classes. Maybe tomorrow she’d bring cookies.
The next two classes had heard word of the story and came into the room ready to listen. The morning passed quickly. During her lunch hour, Amanda phoned McKenna.
“Connor’s already gotten a hold of me,” McKenna said.
So he was worried after all.
“Give me a little while to find out what’s happening okay?” her sister-in-law continued. “I’m trying to contact Cindy, to see if she’s had any contact with Angie.” A social worker at the hospital, Cindy Warren had been a tremendous help with the adoption.
“Fine. Sorry we’re pestering you like this.”
“Not a problem.”
Amanda put her phone away and took a seat at the circular table in the teachers lounge. Rita Gerencher, one of the other English teachers, looked up from the papers she was grading. “Everything okay?”
“Sure. Just cannot wait until break.” A plate of Christmas donuts sat in the center of the table, red and green jimmies on the frosting. Weird that she didn’t even feel like taking one.
Rita wasn’t having that problem. She picked out a donut, broke it into sections, and began to nibble. “If only they’d give us the whole two weeks off.”
“It’s all about the snow days. The winters have been so bad the last couple of years. The school year already drags into June.Administration doesn’t want to add two more days just so we can have a two week vacation.”
Rita dusted the jimmies from her fingers. “Must be so exciting to look forward to having your baby.”
“I can hardly believe it.” Amanda delivered the line people wanted to hear. The teachers had given her a huge shower in early December at Rita’s house. Clothes galore, a humidifier and a wireless baby monitor had all come from her co-workers.
Why did the gifts make her so nervous? Maybe they seemed to tempt fate. Amanda was glad when the bell rang. “See you later, Rita.” She was off, her sensible brown loafers making a beeline for room 207 where she could engage her class and put a halt to the worries spinning in her mind like over-dry laundry. Connor sent a text saying he’d called Angie but she didn’t pick up. Amanda slammed into her classroom that smelled of chalk and old books and took her seat on the stool.
The last two classes of the day passed pretty quickly. Her throat felt scratchy from all the reading. Tonight, she’d have to see if she could find a video recording ofCharlie Brown’s Christmas. They must have a copy somewhere. When they were first married, they watched it together. Midway through sixth period, Amanda took a peek at her phone to see if McKenna had called. Only a message from her parents popped up, saying they’d arrived. In between sixth and seventh periods, she called home.
“The Kirkpatrick residence.”
Her mother’s careful enunciation made Amanda smile. “Mom, it’s me. Did you and Dad get settled?”
