Ten

Melissa could only see Josh from the waist down, encased in his usual blue coveralls, as he leaned far into the engine compartment of her car. She didn’t know what he could hear with his head tucked way down there, especially over the noise as he tapped and banged on various parts of the engine, but she had to know.

She rested her hands on the fender and peeked down with no idea what to look for. “Have you found anything?”

His voice echoed strangely from his awkward position, but he didn’t straighten. “Not so far. Can you shine that flashlight here for me?”

She tried her best to aim it on what she thought he was trying to see, then backed up quickly when he straightened.

“It doesn’t look like anything’s been touched, but I want to have a look from underneath, just to be sure. Wait for a sec. I brought my dolly from the shop.”

Melissa waited while he walked to his van and removed what she could best describe as a surfboard with wheels. He put it on the ground beside her car, sat on it, and then leaned back on one elbow as he prepared to lie down on his back on the unit. “Can I have the flashlight?” he asked as he lowered himself fully, then stuck out his hand.

Melissa hesitated for only a second. Instead of giving it to him, she hid it behind her back. “May I have the flashlight?”

“What? Do you think you know where someone might have done something?”

“No, you’re missing my point. You’re talking to a teacher. I know you’re perfectly capable of using the flashlight, but you’re asking if you may have it.”

Before she realized what he was doing, Josh was off the dolly and stood no more than an inch in front of her. Laughter radiated from his eyes, and one side of his mouth quirked up. He lowered his head slightly to just the right spot. . .as if he was going to kiss her.

Melissa’s chest constricted to a point she had to tell her body to inhale and exhale. She should have backed up, but her feet wouldn’t move.

“Okay, Teacher. May I have the flashlight?”

Her heart nearly stopped when he reached behind her, keeping his body parallel with hers by lowering himself slightly and bending at the knees. He was so close, from head to toe, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek in the cooling evening air when he reached behind her. Almost in slow motion, he gently removed the flashlight from her hand, still behind her back, then stepped back, very slowly.

The reprimand for not saying “please” wouldn’t come out. All she could do was stare as he laid back down on the dolly and pushed himself underneath her car, so again all she could see was the lower half of him.

What was she doing? By not simply giving him the flashlight when he asked for it, she had goaded him into doing something she wasn’t sure she could define. She didn’t know why she did it, but she had dared him into taking action to obtain possession of the flashlight. What she hadn’t expected was for him take her up on it in that way.

She had teased him, and her actions had backfired. Instead, he had teased her. He could have kissed her, right in the middle of her driveway, and she wouldn’t have stopped him. If she had to be honest with herself, for that split second in time, she had wanted him to kiss her.

And that was wrong.

This was Josh McMillian. The guardian of one of her students. A man whose life was in such a dramatic state of transition she should have been helping him to get his life in order, not further complicating his life with hints of something neither of them were in any position to do anything about. The man was in some phase of a relationship with another woman. He had never spoken of her except to say he wouldn’t marry her, but without knowing the background or being positive there was no chance of reconciliation, she still didn’t consider him truly free.

She was doing exactly what she had promised herself she would not do when she didn’t know Cleo was a dog, and that was to step in the middle of an existing relationship.

It was too late to think about Principal Swain’s mandate about not getting involved with the parent of a student. The best she could do now would be to temper whatever was building into a controllable level, knowing it would be unrealistic to think she could go back to the impersonal parent and teacher association she maintained with her other students’ families.

The scrape of the metal wheels of the dolly against the cement of the driveway snapped her mind back to where it should have been in the first place.

Josh stood, then began to unbutton the coveralls as he spoke. “You’re fine. Every bolt and nut is tight, every line is intact, every wire and cable is untouched.” He stepped out of the legs, and draped the garment over his arm, leaving him in rumpled jeans and a T-shirt. “I’m glad you called. I hope this puts your mind at ease. I’ll be sure to tell Bradley when I get home that everything is fine and he won’t have to worry any more about your car. I wish I could find out what it is that makes him have me check up on you so much.”

“I wish I could figure it out too. While you’re here, would you like to stay for supper? It’s the least I can do.”

“That would be great. The kids are ordering pizza, so there won’t be anything left for me. You can bet that Cleo won’t be getting anything, either.”

“Since I’ve been standing outside, I don’t have anything ready, and I forgot to take something out of the freezer. How about Tuna Noodle Casserole?”

He smiled, and Melissa almost forgot what she suggested. “That sounds good. I haven’t had that for a long time. The kids won’t eat anything made out of fish or seafood of any kind. Can I help?”

“Oh, sure. You can open the can. I buy the kind of casserole that comes in a box. Add water, a can of tuna, simmer, and serve.”

“I buy lots of stuff that starts out in a box. Bradley probably told you that already.”

She chuckled as she led him into the house. “Actually, I think it was one of the other boys.”

Josh sat at the kitchen table while Melissa removed the box from the cupboard.

“Tonight when you go home, I wonder if it would be a good idea to take Bradley aside and ask him what’s bothering him. I don’t really have time during the school day for that. Also, if he really does have a crush on me, I don’t want to break his little heart. So far, he’s done nothing in the class to indicate any special feelings toward me, which is another thing that doesn’t add up. All he does is talk about you.”

“I probably should be the one to ask him. Today is the first time you’ve called me, not Bradley, to come and see you, but really, it’s from Bradley’s prompting. Or maybe we should talk to him together. Tomorrow night is Boys Club and the youth group meeting, as well as that adult Bible study at Mike and Patty’s house. How about if I pick you up, and we can take the kids out for an ice cream cone or something, and take Bradley aside and talk to him privately?”

“That sounds like a good idea.” She placed the lid on the supper. “It’s just got to simmer for twenty minutes. Want to watch television or something?”

Melissa flipped on the television to a popular sitcom, but neither of them paid much attention to the show. First Josh told her all about his day at work, mostly about how one of their best customers had paid an unbelievable amount of money on fixing up an older car for her grandson. She listened with fascination when he told her about his own first car, and then what directed his decision to become an auto mechanic as his livelihood.

Knowing she didn’t know much, if anything, about cars, Josh tempered his descriptions to what she could understand, leaving out anything technical or what he didn’t think she would be interested in, which she greatly appreciated. A few times she couldn’t help herself and teased him because she knew a little about cars, just not much.

The timer went off to signify the casserole was ready.

Melissa stood. “I have a far better tool than you do. In case something goes wrong with my car, I have the world’s greatest automotive tool. It’s guaranteed to help me fix whatever is wrong, even in the middle of the night.”

Instead of getting up, Josh leaned farther back on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “Really?”

“Yes. I have the world’s greatest handyman’s tool: my cell phone and the number to a great mechanic.”

With that statement, Melissa sauntered into the kitchen with her nose in the air, and Josh following, laughing all the way.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a man over to her house for supper, if she ever had. Being at home instead of in a restaurant gave their time together less formality, and she liked it that way. When dinner was over and Josh had to leave, she felt strangely sad to see him go.

On the bright side, she knew she would see him again tomorrow.

Melissa closed the door when the van was no longer in sight and returned to the kitchen, humming.

❧

“Hello, Bradley. Are we ready to go?”

“Yes, Miss Klassen. We saved the front seat for you. Next to Uncle Josh.”

Melissa smiled. “Thank you, Bradley. I’ll be right there.”

Bradley waited politely while she locked the house, and then he accompanied her to the van, opening the door for her. She wondered if he learned his good manners from his parents or from his uncle.

She noticed that Josh didn’t attempt to talk the entire drive to the church. The boys all had something to say to her, except for Tyler who sat quietly in the back.

She accompanied Josh inside the building to see the boys to their individual groups, and then they continued on to the Flannigans’ home in relative silence. Melissa didn’t say a word, choosing to let Josh simply enjoy what she suspected was a rare quiet.

Since they had arrived separately last week, many eyebrows raised as people watched them arrive together this time. Melissa tried to suppress the nagging thought that sometime in the future Josh would eventually bring another woman, a woman with whom he would be pursuing a real relationship, not simply being with his youngest ward’s teacher because they were trying to solve a problem.

The meeting went much the same as the previous week, except that this time, when the goodies were served, they left together.

As Josh pulled into traffic, he glanced quickly at her over his shoulder and voiced what she’d been thinking about most of the evening.

“I guess this is it. In a few minutes it’ll be time to ask Bradley why he keeps sending me over to fix your car when there’s nothing wrong with it. Plus I’m still not convinced that I didn’t tighten his thermos good enough, even the first time, bringing me to the school three days in a row. I’m not sure it was completely because he wanted the fries, either. Bradley just isn’t that devious.”

Melissa nodded. “I know. He’s so sweet in class. He’s helpful to the other kids, and he always behaves well. I did notice a difference in his attention span when his parents moved away, but it seems to have gone back to normal recently. Are the other boys handling their parents being gone okay?”

“Within reason. I can tell when something unexpected reminds them of Brian and Sasha. Every so often, one of them will be really quiet for awhile, but they seem to get over it quickly enough. I don’t know that I would have handled that kind of thing well as a kid. I think what’s holding them together is that they are all positive it’s only temporary, even though they’ve clearly been told it could be years.”

“I still can’t imagine looking after five kids who aren’t my own on a long-term basis. I truthfully don’t think I’d want to have five kids even of my own in this day and age. I doubt people ask you to your face, but I’d bet everyone you know is wondering why you’re doing this.”

He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “As you can guess, this condition of Sasha’s has been in existence for years, maybe even her whole life. Over the years, it’s gotten worse and worse, and changing her medication hasn’t been working anymore. One night, Brian was really down about it, and he started telling me about this clinic in Switzerland he’d been looking into. He said that with some extra medical insurance he’d picked up years ago before the problem became so extreme, plus some extra he’d been saving on the side, he could actually afford to take her. The only thing that was stopping them from trying it as a last resort was the kids.”

“And that made you offer to take the kids and raise them on your own?”

“I’ve tried over the years to share the good news and the hope Jesus gives to all who believe, but when a person does nothing but talk, it’s just hollow words. So I guess I put my money where my mouth is. Brian talked about how the boys needed to stay put in school, with their friends, in their own home, and to stay together. He could have put them in foster care, but no home would be able to take five of them at once, and even if they could have found someplace that would, it’s not the same, having paid care instead of your own family. They’re all the family I’ve got, I couldn’t not do it. So I said I’d look after the kids until Sasha got well enough to come home and everything got back to normal.”

Melissa turned to study Josh as they pulled into the church parking lot. “Is that very likely?”

“No. But miracles do happen. I’m not going to count it out.”

“We don’t have time now, but next time we get together, would you like to pray for Sasha?”

His smile was the saddest she’d ever seen. It nearly brought tears to her eyes. “Yes. I’d like that. Thank you.”

“I guess we should go get the kids, then.”

“Yeah.”

Once everyone was buckled into their seat belts, Josh announced that they were all going out for ice cream. The resounding cheer nearly made the van shake, showing Melissa that he hadn’t told them of his plans beforehand.

Since they had to sit in two booths, Josh and Melissa easily sequestered Bradley with them, allowing the other four boys what they thought was more freedom, since they didn’t have an adult at their table.

Josh casually licked his ice cream, then, resting one elbow on the table, leaned forward toward Bradley. “I’ve got to ask you something, Sport.”

Bradley didn’t eat his ice cream as delicately as his uncle. Bradley was already almost down to the cone, making Melissa want to poke Josh to get him to talk faster.

“I want to know why you’ve been sending me to fix Miss Klassen’s car when there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Bradley’s tongue stopped moving midlick, then started again much more slowly. “I thought there was something wrong. She even said so.”

Melissa rested her elbows on the table, holding the cone in the air in front of her. “I didn’t, Bradley. I told you it was something that happened to all cars, not just mine. And when you sent your uncle the second time, you knew it was just the battery, and it was already fixed.”

He looked down at his cone, studying it far too intently. “I guess.”

Josh rested his fingers on Bradley’s little arm. “I’m not mad at you, Bradley. I just want you to know that it’s not very nice to do stuff like that. And speaking of not nice, I’d like to know why you had me go to the school three days in a row like that. I know I tightened your thermos lid, and I could be very mad at you for wrecking your good lunch. Why did you want me to go to the school? You didn’t seem like you wanted to talk to me. I ended up talking to Miss Klassen every time.”

“Didn’t you like talking to Miss Klassen?” He turned to Melissa. “You had fun talking to Uncle Josh, didn’t you?”

“Of course,” Melissa and Josh said in unison.

Bradley’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “See?”

Josh cleared his throat, and Melissa continued to watch.

“No, Bradley, I don’t see.”

“You like Miss Klassen, don’t you? She’s nice and smart and pretty and everything.”

Melissa felt her cheeks heat up.

“Yes, Miss Klassen is very nice,” Josh replied.

Suddenly, Bradley turned to Melissa. “And you like Uncle Josh, right? He’s really smart, and he’s a great mechanic, and he cooks good too.”

The heat in her cheeks climbed a few degrees as she wondered how she could reply and keep a little dignity. “Yes, Bradley, that’s right.”

Bradley resumed eating his ice cream cone. “See? Mom and Dad said that part of being a good parent means doing some adult stuff without us, and they sometimes went out to restaurants by themselves. And they were always so happy when they came back. So since you’re trying to be a good parent with Mom and Dad gone, you should go to restaurants and stuff too. Except you don’t have a girlfriend anymore, and since Miss Klassen doesn’t have a boyfriend, and since you’re both so nice, then you two should go out and do adult stuff.”

He stopped eating the ice cream again, and looked back and forth between the two of them. An emotion Melissa couldn’t define emanated from his big brown eyes, so sad for a little boy, yet pleading at the same time.

Bradley’s voice lowered to barely above a whisper. “Just like Mom and Dad.”

Melissa’s heart clenched. That Bradley truly did not have a crush on her suddenly came as no consolation. Not in light of what was really on his mind.

Josh cleared his throat. “So you think that I should go out with Miss Klassen, just like your mom and dad went out?”

Bradley nodded. “Yes. So you can be happy. I want you to be happy, Uncle Josh. Sometimes you don’t look very happy.” He turned to Melissa. “And you too, Miss Klassen. Are you happy when you go do stuff with Uncle Josh?”

Melissa nearly choked. She couldn’t define how she felt when she did “stuff” with Josh. All she did know was that being with Josh felt different than when she had dated other men, probably because it wasn’t a dating relationship, even though she didn’t know what to call it.

“But Bradley, Miss Klassen and I aren’t married like your mom and dad. It’s different.”

He nodded again. “I know. Then it’s called a date. You’re supposed to go out and do dates until you get married. That’s how it works.”

Melissa didn’t think she needed a six year old to tell her how her social life and romantic relationships were supposed to work. “Uncle Josh is right, Bradley. It’s different than with your mom and dad.”

“I know. You gotta be in love when you’re married. But when you’re just in like, that’s why you date. Cody splained it to me, so I know all about dating. Cody’s mom is dating Erica’s dad. They like each other really lots. You like Uncle Josh really lots, don’t you?”

Melissa felt the walls closing in around her. “Well, yes. . .”

Bradley turned to Josh. Josh’s face paled. “You like Miss Klassen really lots, don’t you, Uncle Josh?”

“Well, yes. . .”

Bradley grinned from ear to ear. “See? I was right. That’s why you gotta do dating. That’s what Cody said about dating.”

Melissa knew Cody. He was also in her class at school. Cody had a lot to learn about love and dating before he started “splaining” the intricacies of romantic relationships to his classmates, especially classmates who were looking for difficult answers.

“So,” Bradley mumbled as he rammed the entire bottom of his ice cream cone into his mouth, “are you taking Miss Klassen on a date on Friday? Tyler already said he’d baby-sit.”

“But. . . ,” Josh stammered. “I don’t know. . .”

Melissa couldn’t handle watching Bradley’s excitement turning to disappointment. In this situation, Josh was in far over his head and needed someone to talk to, without being in Bradley’s presence. For the sake of the boy, who had far more to deal with than she ever had as a child, she could endure a real “date” with his uncle, even if all they did this time was talk seriously about what they were going to do about Bradley.

“Yes, Bradley,” Melissa said. “I do believe your uncle and I have a date Friday night, don’t we, Uncle Josh?”

Josh stared at her with his mouth hanging open, then snapped it shut. He turned and glanced quickly at Bradley, then turned back to her. “Yes, Miss Klassen, I believe we do. Oh, by the way, did you know your ice cream is melting down your arm?”