Page 94 of Happy Harbor
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The weekend had been crazy, to say the least. Not only was Josie still exhausted physically, she was emotionally reeling.
She had never felt this way about somebody, even the man she was engaged to. It was crazy how quickly she had fallen for Walker, and it was scary. She didn’t like to feel vulnerable, yet she knew she couldn’t feel such deep emotions for somebody without being vulnerable.
They were still waiting on the final tally to come in from the accountant, but she knew they had to have exceeded it. She was so thrilled to have the money to cover Nana’s debts.
She couldn’t imagine all the work that Walker had put into it just for her. Just so she didn’t leave town. How could he feel that strongly about her so quickly? She knew that was a crazy question because she felt just as strongly about him, even if she didn’t want to admit it to herself or anyone else.
This morning, she was heading over to Kendra’s school for reasons she didn’t understand. Kendra’s teacher had called and asked for a special meeting with her, and she was worried. As far as she knew, her daughter was doing well in school and enjoying her experience there, but what if there was something else? What if she wasn’t getting the full story?
Maybe Kendra wasn’t doing as well as she thought. Josie remembered how there were many times that her grandmother thought she was doing well in school, but she wasn’t. She was getting into all kinds of trouble, and for a while, the teachers tried to protect her. Tried to help her. Tried to keep her from getting into trouble with her grandmother or the authorities.
She got out of her car and walked toward the school, nervously putting her keys into her purse. She couldn’t think of a positive reason that a teacher would call her in for a conference.
“I’m here to see Mrs. Reynolds. I’m Josie Campbell.”
She didn’t recognize the woman behind the desk, so at least there was no small talk that had to be made. Being the granddaughter of Adeline Campbell had made everybody want to regale her with stories of her grandmother. While she appreciated it, sometimes she didn’t have time to stand around chatting for long periods.
A few moments later, the woman waved at Josie and pointed her to the correct room. The school wasn’t all that big, so there were only two parallel hallways with a connecting hallway in the middle. It looked much like a capitalH.
Josie walked down the hallway, turning her head and looking into each classroom as she did. This place held so many memories for her, good and bad. She remembered how much she loved art class, even though she was terrible at drawing and painting.
She also remembered how much she hated home economics. She couldn’t understand why she had to take a class about learning to become a good homemaker when she had absolutely no plans to be one. Thankfully, she had gotten through the class and learned enough to run her own home. Maybe there was something to it after all.
She also remembered history class with Mr. Boggs. He was the worst teacher she ever had. So into history, yet so boring at the same time. Once she got older and started watching history documentaries, she realized how interesting it could be. But Mr. Boggs was like watching paint dry, and he expected everybody to remember every single date, fact, and figure about all historical events.
Finally, she came to the room where she was meeting Mrs. Reynolds. She hadn’t met any of Kendra’s teachers before, and this one was new to the school from what she understood.
“Mrs. Reynolds?” Josie said as she lightly tapped on the door and stepped through the threshold.
A young woman, probably around Josie’s age, smiled and stood up from behind her desk. The classroom was empty, as it was lunchtime.
“Josie? It’s so nice to meet you. Come on in.” She pointed to a chair across from her desk. Josie walked over and sat down.
“I hope this isn’t keeping you from eating lunch?”
Mrs. Reynolds smiled and shook her head. “I always bring my lunch from home because, frankly, the cafeteria leaves a lot to be desired.”
“Yes, I definitely remember that,” Josie said, laughing.
“I ate before you got here. No worries.”
“Okay, good. I have to say I’m a little confused as to why I’m here today.”
“I understand. And I know you were super busy this past weekend with the fundraiser. How did that turn out?”
“They are still tallying the figures. I guess that’s a good sign.”
She nodded, smiling. “I was lucky enough to get one of those concert tickets. What a great show!”
“Absolutely. It was wonderful. I don’t mean to rush, but I need to get back to the restaurant soon. Can you tell me what this is all about?”
“Of course. First, I want to say what a pleasure it is to teach Kendra. She’s very good at math and science, both of which I teach. You know we’re a small school, so we have to double up on some classes.”
“Understandable.”
“I haven’t spoken to Kendra about this, but I’ve been talking to some of her other teachers, and we feel like she could benefit from a program we have here.”
