13

Angelina’s heels clicked on the faded black and white checked linoleum as she made her way down to the classroom she’d been assigned. Now that she was here, she was regretting her impulsivity. What had she been thinking?

Room 207.

Her hand moved up to the knob but didn’t actually connect with the door. Her gaze flitted up and down the hall. No one was around. She could turn and leave.

Go back to her car and go home. The only place she felt relatively safe. It had come as a surprise to her, but the tiny apartment over the garage actually did feel safe. Almost as safe as the clinic.

The garage apartment had been built to house the down-on-their-luck employees their parents hired. Over the years, the apartment had been shelter to a few chauffeurs, a gardener, even a maid. Her family believed in helping others since they’d been blessed more than most.

Another reason why she’d picked this volunteer program from the list Cooper gave her. Their purpose was to read to children who might not get read to at home. The goal was to instill a love of reading and, therefore, create a reader.

Help others less fortunate than herself. It had been her family’s mantra.

She’d forgotten it and certainly hadn’t been living it.

Cooper was right.

It was time to stop focusing on herself and help someone else for a change.

She stared at the classroom door. But maybe not quite yet. She’d call the school later and make some excuse up about why she couldn’t follow through on the volunteer program right now. Chicken. You’re just a chicken.

She took a deep breath and knocked.

The door opened. The teacher was all smiles. “Good morning. You must be Angelina. I’m Deb, or Miss Dawkins to the children.” She leaned closer. “I saw you standing out there and thought you might be having second thoughts. Glad you decided to come in.”

“Last minute jitters.”

“No reason to have them. The kids will love you.” She put a hand on Angelina’s arm and guided her to the front of the class. “Class, this is Miss Angelina. She’s here to have some fun with us. She’ll be reading some great stories with you.”

The kids clapped.

Angelina’s anxiety level dropped a notch or two. This might not be so bad after all.

“OK, who wants to be in Miss Angelina’s reading group today?”

Every child raised their hand except one little boy. He simply stared down at his desk.

“Break into your groups as usual. Miss Angelina will pick three of you to sit with her in the reading corner.” Miss Dawkins pointed at the far corner of the room where a bean bag chair sat. A big bright red and yellow sign announced it was the READING CORNER.

The students picked up chairs and formed circles. Each group had five to six children in it. As they seated themselves, they gave her hopeful looks. A few even pointed at themselves trying to get her to pick them.

Angelina chose a beautiful little African-American girl with braids all over her head. Then she picked a boy who couldn’t sit still, and finally she went over and touched the shoulder of the little boy who hadn’t raised his hand.

The other kids moaned.

“Don’t worry. She’s coming in twice a week. Everyone will get their turn sooner or later.” Deb winked at her and then mouthed, ‘they love you.’

Angelina’s little group made their way to the back of the room. The little girl took a dive and landed in the bean bag chair. The two boys picked up their own pillows and made themselves comfortable.

What was she supposed to do now?

“Now, I wonder where I’m supposed to sit,” she mused aloud.

“You can sit here with me.” The girl scooted over.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, but I’d better find a book first.” She looked over at the sad little boy. “What’s your favorite book?”

He shook his head.

Her gaze moved to the other boy. “What about you?”

He jumped up and ran to the bookshelf. A moment later, he handed her a book. “Where the Wild Things Are. OK, I’ve never read this one. It looks scary.”

“It’s not scary.” The little girl declared. “Well, not too scary. Just a little.”

Angelina sat in the bean bag chair.

The little girl smiled, obviously happy Angelina had chosen to sit with her.

“Before we get started, tell me your names.”

The girl poked Angelina in the arm. “My name is Latasha.”

“Nice to meet you. I love your braids.”

Latasha’s smile grew even bigger as her dark brown eyes sparkled.

Angelina pointed at the boy on the right side of the bean bag. “And yours?”

“I’m Robert English the Third, but everybody calls me Bobby.” He pointed at the other boy. “This is Charles. He doesn’t like to talk very much.”

Angelina smiled at Charles. “Is that right? You don’t like to talk?”

He stared down at his lap, not responding to her.

She leaned forward. “That’s OK. You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. But can you shake my hand so I know you’re happy to meet me.”

After a long moment, he reached his hand toward her.

Afterwards, Angelina walked down the hall with a smile. That was the most fun she’d had in a long time. There might just be something to this sowing and reaping thing Cooper had talked about. She smiled at the policeman walking toward her.

He stopped and stared. “Angelina?”

She stopped and stared. “Nate. I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you in your uniform. And I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“Don’t worry about it. I almost didn’t recognize you either. You look great.”

“Yeah, I didn’t look so great the last time you saw me.” She gave a half-smile.

His face flushed. “That’s not what I meant. You just…look different. I think you changed your hair or something.”

She touched the short wedge cut that was now back to her natural brown. “Yea, blonde was Ange. This is Angelina’s hair color.”

“I like it. It looks great on you. How are you?”

“Fine.” The response seemed automatic.

“I’ve been thinking about you but wasn’t sure if I should call or not.”

She wouldn’t admit she’d wanted him to call. “That’s OK.”

“So when did you get out of the clinic?”

“Last week. Dr. Markley said I needed to live alone so I moved home.”

“That’s good. So you’re feeling better? Dr. Markley helped?”

“A little, I guess. It’s been difficult. Really difficult. Dr. Markley assures me it won’t always be that way.”

“I’m not surprised after all you’ve been through.” He checked his watch. “I have a little time before I have to get back to work. Why don’t we go get a cup of coffee? And maybe a doughnut?”

“A doughnut?”

He patted his stomach and grinned. “What can I say? There’s always a little truth in every stereotype. And, really, who doesn’t love a doughnut now and then? My car is here. Why don’t you follow me in your vehicle?”

“I know I do.” As Angelina followed Nate to the little bakery, she berated herself for accepting his invitation. What had she been thinking? What would they even talk about? But he had taken a bullet for her. Saved her life. And if that wasn’t enough, he’d be kind enough to find Dr. Markley and her clinic. She really did owe him. The least she could do was have a cup of coffee with the man.

As Cooper said, start sowing seeds of kindness.

In the parking lot, Nate rushed around and opened her car door before she could. He smiled down at her. “I really can’t believe how good you look. That hair style is perfect for the new you. And I love the glasses.”

She touched her hair, feeling pleased that he liked it. “Thanks. The glasses are fake.”

“Fake? Why are you wearing them?”

“I thought they’d keep people from recognizing me.”

His smile was compassionate. “They work, because I almost walked right past you.”

She went through the door he opened.

They walked up to the counter, ordered their doughnuts and coffee, and then found a booth by a window. Once they had their order, Nate looked at her. “I wanted to check on you after you went to the clinic but I figured I’d give you some time. So how are you? Really?”

She stared at him, wondering if she should speak from her heart or just say the right words everyone wanted to hear. “It’s not really been that bad. I was being a bit of a dram—”

“Don’t even go there, Angelina. I didn’t invite you here so you could tell me what I want to hear. I want to know about you. What’s really going on?”

“PTSD.” She forced herself to look up from the doughnut. “At least that’s what the doctors called it.”

“That can be really tough.”

“You were right. I’d let Keren’s bedroom become another prison. But I’m working really hard to not let that happen again. I’m living back here, but Keren and Peter came along for some support.”

“Good for you. Sounds as if you’re taking the right steps.”

She was pleased that he was pleased. “That’s why I was at the school. Volunteering. Trying to think about someone other than myself.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“What about you? Why were you at the school?”

“Same reason. I go read to a different class every week.” He touched the shoulders of his uniform. “Always in my uniform. I want the kids to learn to trust policemen, not to be afraid of us.”

“That’s so nice.”

He winked. “Not all that nice. It really is fun for me. I enjoy the kids.”

“Yeah, I have to admit I had a good time today, too. The kids were so excited to have me there. I can’t remember the last time somebody was that happy to see me.”

“The Bible says unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. So spending some time with kids seems like a good idea. Keeps me grounded. I can learn from them.”

“I don’t know many people like you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re always talking about God and the Bible. It must be a big part of your life.”

“It is. And I’m proud of it. How about you? Are you a Christian?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I mean I’m not really sure. It’s been a long time since I went to church or anything.”

He set his coffee cup down. “We should do something about that. How about church with me this Sunday?”

Church? She wasn’t quite ready for that yet, but maybe one day. “I…uh…I don’t think so.”

“No problem. If you change your mind, let me know.” He looked over at the counter. “I think I need one more of those chocolate doughnuts. How about you?”

She shook her head. “I better pass.”

He seemed so nice. So real. Genuine. Not like Zarlengo or any of her celebrity friends. Still she probably should call Zarlengo to let him know she was OK, and that she didn’t harbor any hard feelings. While she was at it, she should call back some of her other friends who’d called to check on her after…after Luther Marks.

When he was back with the doughnut, he sat down. “I’ll need to run an extra mile today.”

“Do you run?”

“Gotta stay fit in this job so I run a few times a week and go to the gym a couple of times as well.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “That might be a good idea for you.”

“You think I’m fat?”

“Not in the least, and you know it. If you’re fishing for a compliment, I’ll give it to you. You look terrific. He laughed. “But physical exercise is good for the soul as well as for the body.”

“I wasn’t fishing for anything.”

He winked. “Sure you weren’t.”

~*~

When she pulled into the drive, Keren rushed out to her car.

Angelina pulled into the six-car garage and stepped out.

“Where have you been?” Keren was breathless. “I was about to call out the National Guard to look for you. I’ve been worried to death.”

“I’m so sorry, Keren. I didn’t mean to worry you. I told you I might take a drive.”

“But I didn’t know it would be for that long. You’ve been gone for hours and hours. Where’d you go?” Keren demanded. Her voice had a note of fear.

It suddenly occurred to Angelina that her initial disappearance had affected Keren more strongly than she’d thought. Her cousin did love her, and the trauma of possibly losing someone was evident in her tone, despite the aggressiveness. Angelina tucked that thought away to examine later. “Certainly not where I expected. I ended up going to the elementary school and reading to some first graders.”

“You did what?”

Angelina explained her visit with Cooper and then the school.

Keren visibly relaxed and smiled as she listened. “Well, that sounds wonderful. It really does. Just make sure you don’t try to do too much too soon. You don’t want to get…umm…relive terrible things again.”

“And then I went out for coffee.”

“By yourself?”

“With a friend actually.” Angelina smiled. It felt good to say that.

“And who was that?”

Keren’s mother-hen attitude was a bit surprising to Angelina, who’d not really answered to anyone since her parents passed away. She’d need to talk with Keren about that sooner or later. Later was better. “I ran into Nate Goodman at the school. We went out for coffee and doughnuts.”

“Nate Goodman? He keeps popping up. Are you sure he’s not stalking you?”

Angelina’s heart rate jumped. “What an awful thing to say. He’s been so kind to me.”

“You’re right. I’m so sorry.” Keren looked ready to cry. “Blame it on me being worried. But why would you want to go anywhere with him? He’s just a cop.”

“Why not? And he asked me to go to church with him on Sunday.”

“Church?” Keren squeaked. “Are you going?”

“I might one of these days. He really is cute. And Nice. And so easy to talk to. But no, I told him I wasn’t ready to go to such a public place yet.”

“Can’t blame you for that. Besides how many people even go to church these days?”

“I have no idea. But I might check it out.”

Keren’s eyes widened. “Really? What could church possibly do for you?”

That was a good question. One Angelina hoped to find an answer to—soon.