Page 69 of You Didn't Know Me Then

Chapter 25

Hope put her phone down on the nightstand and switched the lamp off, remembering how Jordan had kept turning it on that night. She huffed a deep breath.

She missed him, and not just with her body. Her soul missed him—his presence, his dry humor, the sun of his real and metaphorical gaze on her that illuminated parts of her that had long ago been dimmed.

Less than two weeks. The nearer it got, the less she could wait. And the less she could control her feelings from running wild, her body from going into overdrive.

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“A little bird told me you were driving around town with Jordan the day of the fair,” Avery said the moment they stepped out of the room that was used for staff meetings a few days after.

Hope snapped her head toward her in surprise. Damn those gossips. Took them time, though.

“I guess that saves me talking to you and Chris Kominski about the expected conduct from staff members who have an outside relationship.” Avery smiled. It was obvious she fed off rumors and was trying to get her intel verified.

“If you’re mentioning these names, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.” Hope watched the taller woman tense at her words and thought that Roni would have been proud of her for not taking bullshit from her anymore.

“Yes?” Avery prodded.

“Will there be school funding for the Model UN team’s overnight stay?” She knew Chris had been waiting on that info. They were colleagues again. It felt right.

“There won’t be. I’ll update Chris. Unless you see him first?”

“You go ahead,” Hope replied, enjoying this a bit more than she should. She wasn’t as good as Jordan thought she was.

They continued in silence toward the schoolyard.

Just as the bell rang and multiple doors opened, setting free flocks of excited children, Avery grabbed her elbow and spoke loudly so she could hear her over the commotion. “I was happy to hear about you and Chris, to be honest. He’s a good choice, if you ask me. He won’t shout at waitresses and embarrass you in public. And he’s here and not smooth-talking anyone on the other side of the country.”

Hope shot her a glance that she hoped was as cold as she had intended it to be. “Thanks for the advice. And no, I didn’t ask you.”

“Just a friendly one.”

“Mommy,” a little, high-pitched voice called, and then Naomi threw her arms around Hope’s waist. Hannah had reached the age where she was a bit uncomfortable to show her association to a teacher, but Naomi still relished it. “Can you buy me a Frozen castle like Aisha’s?”

“Take care, Hope,” Avery said, heading outside and leaving Hope to answer Naomi’s inquiries.

She knew Avery’s words on this shouldn’t be taken any more seriously than what she had said about Hannah’s or Hope’s work, or any of her colleagues, or the ideas she’d had for the science fair. But, like always with Avery, she knew how to hit the sensitive spots, the ones that hid where the armor was punctured, anyway, usually around the heart, and get her venom into a wound.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Autumn was present in the crisp night air. Hope entered the girls’ rooms to ensure they hadn’t thrown off the covers. Hannah was sound asleep, but Naomi stirred when she drew the blanket over her shoulders.

“Goodnight, sweetie,” she whispered, patting the blonde hair.

Back in her room, she sat on the bed. The TV was on, but she was only half-listening while going over the new class materials she was working on. She wasn’t in a habit of watching the news at night, or following the ramblings of political commentators on the various channels. If anything, she preferred the lighter-tone shows that had the hosts banter a little while delivering news, gossip, or interviewing people. She had started playing those in the background to glean more into Jordan’s work and life in D.C. The more she saw, the more she felt her life paled in comparison. All those big names, power suits, and matters of importance to the nation—there was glamour to it.

She dozed off over the last slides of her presentation when the tail-end of a sentence from the show’s blonde anchor penetrated her consciousness. “It certainly seems like this is the new political scandal, hot off the press, Dan.”

Hope’s heart skipped a beat, and she snapped her gaze to the TV.

“It sure does, Val. I hope our viewers won’t forget they’ve heard it first here, at The Whisperers. A pregnant congresswoman, a husband away in another state, and a political advisor whose job is to be near and aid?They were seen frequenting the same event only last week.” The co-anchor’s words sealed it.

And just when Hope was trying to swallow the lump in her throat that was really her heart, feeling it beating everywhere, the female anchor named the name.

“It’s strange, though, Dan. Though Mrs. Rush had only been a house representative for two years, Mr. Delaney has been around for over a decade, and if we’ve ever heard him mentioned, it was always in a purely professional context.”

“An impeccable reputation, Val. But there are always skeletons in one’s closet. I hope we can bring his response to this soon.”

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