| |
MacKenzie came to school on Tuesday. The first chance she got, Emily whispered, “You doing OK?”
MacKenzie nodded enthusiastically. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something. I’ve been reading my Bible, and I’m like, super confused. Do you think I could bring you a list of questions, maybe during lunch, and you could explain them to me?”
Emily resisted the urge to shush her. She took a deep breath and said, “Of course. Anytime.”
“I mean, I’ve Googled the verses I don’t understand, but the Bible websites use big words, and every website says something different.” Her face became serious all of a sudden. “I just really want to understand.”
Emily felt guilty for thinking about her job in that moment and nodded. “I’ll help however I can. But when I asked if you were OK, I meant about basketball.”
MacKenzie tipped her head back. “Yeah, totally. I mean, some of the girls are being ... are being words I shouldn’t say, and that hurts a little, but I also don’t care. I mean, I guess on some level, I knew they weren’t really my friends, and I think Milton is telling them to try to pressure me back on the team. But really, I don’t want to go back on the team. I’m so much happier now. I’ve got so much time now.” She looked around and then whispered, “I started karate!”
Emily didn’t understand why this was a conspiratorial topic. “Oh?”
MacKenzie laughed. “Yeah, my mom’s actually going to take me to the mainland twice a week. Isn’t that awesome? I’ve always wanted to do karate, but of course, Milton would never have let me.”
––––––––
James took Emily out to dinner that Thursday. She was as nervous as ever and changed four times. It was ten below zero outside, without the wind chill factor, and her thin-walled house was freezing cold. Her two cats were huddled together in front of the woodstove. So she looked more like she was going snowmobiling than on a date, but she didn’t think she had another choice. It was either bundle up or frostbite.
James greeted her on her front step with a peck on the cheek, which wasn’t unusual, and a “You look beautiful,” which was highly unusual.
Unsure how to respond, she finally said, “Thank you,” but the thanks came so long after the compliment that she cringed at the awkwardness.
He held her hand as they walked to the running pickup in her driveway, and he opened the door for her, and then smiled as she climbed in. As he climbed in the other side, he said, “Cold enough for ya?” sounding about fifty years older than he was.
“Wouldn’t be bad if I never had to go outside.”
“Did you lose power last night?”
“Of course. Didn’t the whole island?”
“Yep.”
He sounded nervous, which made her more nervous. They rode the rest of the short trip in silence.
It was approximately eighty degrees inside the restaurant, and Emily was starting to regret her many layers. Then, after they had ordered their beef, James said, “Can we talk?” which made her blush, which made her feel even hotter. She pushed up her sleeves and pulled down on her collar.
“Of course.” She rummaged through her purse until she found a pencil. She twirled her hair into a pile and then jammed the pencil through it to create a large makeshift bun.
James waited for her to finish before continuing. “I was just wondering what your plans are for next year.”
“Next year?” She didn’t know what to say.
“Right. Next year. I’m wondering what will happen if you don’t have a teaching job next year. Any chance you’ll stay on the island?”
She stared at him, her eyebrows squished together. “James, am I getting fired?”
“I didn’t say that! It’s just a question, Emily. Don’t go getting all dramatic.”
“Dramatic? I’m not getting dramatic! You just said I might not have a job next year, and you don’t expect me to react to something like that?”
“Emily”—he took a deep breath—“I didn’t say that. I’m just asking. What if you didn’t teach here next year? That’s all.”
Emily didn’t know what to say. She wanted to say, “Are you asking me to stay because if you are, of course I would stay. I want to marry you and make little non-basketball-playing island babies. Maybe they could start a school band. Or poetry club.” But she didn’t say that, of course. She didn’t want to scare him, and she didn’t know why he was asking the question.
Apparently annoyed by her silence, he leaned back in his chair. “You know what, never mind.”
She took a shaky breath and leaned forward, trying to regain what had been lost. “I would stay on this island for you, James. If you wanted me to. But I’m also feeling a little, OK, a lot, of pressure at work. Principal Hogan talked to me—”
“About what?”
“Someone complained about me, probably Milton—”
James made a noise that sounded a lot like a growl. “It wasn’t Milton.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just do. What? What did Hogan say to you?”
“He said that someone had told him that I was sharing the gospel with students.”
“He said that?” James looked incredulous.
“Well, he didn’t use those words, but yeah, he accused me of evangelizing.”
“What did you say?”
“I denied it.”
“You did?” Now he looked appalled.
“I didn’t deny Jesus. I just denied preaching at school, which I don’t ... usually.”
He smirked.
“Now it’s your turn,” she said. “What do you know?”
“I don’t know much. But it wasn’t Milton. It was a parent. Not sure who.”
“And?”
“And that’s all I know. Some parent complained to someone, who mentioned something to Hogan. It was probably a basketball parent. MacKenzie is not being quiet about her newfound faith, which is great, but someone might connect the dots.”
“What dots?”
“New teacher shows up, student connects with her, student goes to her church, student finds Jesus, student quits basketball, student claims to be happier than she’s ever been.”
“That’s not the way it happened, and you know it!”
“Of course I know it, but it doesn’t matter a lick how it happened. What matters is what people say happened.”
“That’s not fair!”
“No kidding. And if MacKenzie wasn’t the starting point guard, this wouldn’t be as big of a deal.” He paused and leaned forward again, his face now only inches from hers.
She had an overwhelming urge to grab his face and kiss him madly.
“So, you know what you should do now?”
Marry you and make babies? she thought. “No, what?” she said.
“You need to start evangelizing their top scorer. Get Hailey saved. That would really get their goat.” He sounded completely serious, but his eyes were dancing.
