Chapter Thirty-Eight

Parker

Four months later

 

“Grade three, wow. This is the end of the school year! I can’t believe what a great year we’ve had,” Parker said over the chatter. “I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and a wonderful summer holiday. Come back next year, as big grade four kids! I can’t wait to see you next year.”

As the bell rang, the children grabbed their bags and raced out of the classroom. Parker stood with her hands on her hips, smiling as she surveyed the scene and said farewell to some parents who popped their heads into the room.

“Annnd, that’s a wrap,” Nathan said, appearing out of nowhere and into her classroom.

“That it is.”

“And now for the next steps.”

Kelly suddenly appeared. “Hey, how’s your packing going?”

Parker and Nathan both grimaced a little. “Remind me to never move house again,” Parker said, laughing. “I think I’m making headway on boxes, and suddenly I notice an entire cupboard I haven’t tackled.”

“But you’re excited?” Kelly asked.

Parker nodded. “I am. I can’t believe I’ll be living with this boofhead again though,” she said, gesturing toward Nathan, who smiled. “That’s one thing we haven’t done in many years. We used to live together when we first became teachers.”

Lily, Parker, Nathan, and Scott had decided to live together, in Lily and Scott’s house, but they had all agreed to wait until Bodhi had finished grade three. As of today, Parker and Nathan were going to start moving their boxes across. Kelly grinned. “Well, I’m excited for you all. Perhaps mostly for Bodhi. I think he’ll love having lots of parents to care for him.”

Nathan nodded. “I’ve never moved in with a guy,” he confessed. “I’ve only ever had flings with my housemates.”

“And not this housemate,” Parker said, deadpan, pointing to herself.

“So, I’m going away for a few nights with Dave,” Kelly said, excitedly bouncing on the spot. “I know, it’s only been a couple of weeks, but I have a good feeling about this guy.”

“Gawd,” Nathan said, “slow down! You’re starting to sound like a lesbian. Soon, you’ll be moving in together on your fifth date.”

“Hey! You can talk,” Parker said, pretending to be wounded. “I’ve never seen you run as fast as I saw you run into Scott’s arms.”

“True.” He grinned and then turned to Kelly, suddenly serious. “Actually, I’m happy for you, mate. I think it’s great if Dave happens to be the guy for you. Where are you off to?”

“Batemans Bay,” she said, smiling.

As they kept chatting, Parker picked up her bag and steered them out of her classroom. “Let’s go for a drink. But we really only have time for one, two at the most. Then we have to take a carload of boxes home.”