Carolyn sent her high school students to the kitchenettes to do their projects then walked from group to group to supervise and assist.
Every time she moved her hand, she became aware of the unaccustomed ring on her finger. She’d never worn a ring before; no one had ever given her one. She enjoyed and appreciated both the look and the feel of the fine gold and tiny diamond on her finger, but conversely, it was a constant reminder of Mitchell.
She still didn’t know what to do about him. A man didn’t give a woman a ring with a heart on it to signify friendship.
The man was courting her. Part of her wanted it, and part of her said it wouldn’t work.
A loud bang accompanied by teenaged laughter drew Carolyn’s attention back to her class. Group three again needed more help than the rest of the class, so she stopped thinking about Mitchell and began showing her students how to properly separate an egg when the sound of footsteps clicked on the tile floor so loudly, it almost sounded like someone was wearing taps on their shoes.
“That’s Miss Rutherford,” a teen’s voice piped up.
Abruptly, Carolyn turned to see a man in a horridly bright red bellhop uniform overly embellished with glossy black stripes down the sides of the legs and arms. The outfit was topped off with the ugliest hat she’d ever seen, and the man was holding a brightly wrapped parcel in one hand. He blew a tuning harmonica then ceremoniously cleared his throat.
“Happy birthday to you,” he sang, drawing out the familiar refrain.
Most of the students burst out laughing.
Carolyn thought she’d die. But she would kill Mitchell first. Except that would probably be a sin.
Red faced and stiff as a board, she listened to the badly dramatized rendition wishing her a happy birthday. When the last torturous line was sufficiently drawn out, with a tip of his fez, the man offered her the gift. The class gave him a rousing round of applause to which he bowed with a flourish and left amidst another chorus of catcalls and whistles.
Carolyn continued to stare at the vacant doorway, barely aware of the brightly wrapped box in her hands. She couldn’t believe the school secretary had allowed him in.
Another round of applause and cheers from the students snapped her mind back to what she was supposed to have been doing.
Carolyn cleared her throat. “That’s enough nonsense. Let’s finish up before we run out of time.”
“What did you get?”
“How old are you?”
“Who sent the singing telegram? Your boyfriend?”
Most of the teenaged girls giggled.
Carolyn sighed. She didn’t exactly think of Mitchell as her boyfriend, but the trouble was, she didn’t know what to call him. The only thing she did know was that of all her friends, only Mitchell would do such a thing as send a singing telegram.
Again, her fingers drifted to touch the tiny promise ring, outlining the shape of the heart without looking at it. Certainly they’d gone beyond mere friendship, but she still hadn’t figured out to what. In order to get the focus off her personal life and back to the home economics class she was supposed to be leading, she had to provide a response. “Yes, my boyfriend.”
“Ooh,” the students chorused.
“That’s enough, class. Now get back to your kitchenettes.”
Slowly, everyone shuffled back to their lesson project of the day, although she both saw and heard little whisperings in every group.
By the time the lunch bell rang, she was more than ready to be left alone. Rather than go to the staff room, Carolyn sat at her desk and stared at the brightly colored box. It was not professionally wrapped. The paper was cut crooked and the bow lay off center. Only Mitchell could have wrapped this.
Slowly, Carolyn picked off the brightly colored bow and stuck it to the side of her penholder. She unhitched the tape and pulled off the paper.
The box was from a specialty chocolate store, and inside was an assortment of foil-wrapped chocolate kisses and a small card filled with scrawling handwriting.
Happy birthday, Carolyn.
One sweet kiss for each sweet year. Enjoy them, and think of me.
Love, Mitchell
Carolyn squeezed her eyes shut and sighed.
She didn’t know how to respond. As strange as it was, the gesture was unique and far more personal than any gift she had ever received. The addition of the chocolates made the whole thing rather romantic, in a Mitchell Farris kind of way.
She picked up the note and studied it. His handwriting was atrocious, but as bad as it was, the signature “Love, Mitchell” jumped off the paper at her.
She didn’t want to think about the ramifications of the chocolate kisses.
Rather than dwell on it any longer, Carolyn popped one into her mouth, reread the note, and counted the chocolate morsels while the one melted in her mouth. To her dismay, the store had made a mistake, because, counting the one already in her mouth, there were only thirty-two.
She carefully closed the box, mentally kicking herself for having a chocolate before she ate her lunch, and tucked the box into her desk drawer. She checked the clock, picked up her purse, retrieved her lunch bag from the large fridge, and made her way to the staff lunch room, where she could phone Mitchell to thank him for a very unusual but very special birthday gift.
The second she opened the door, a chorus of “happy birthdays” greeted her, along with a cake with one large lighted candle. Carolyn clutched her purse tightly so she wouldn’t drop it or her lunch. All the other teachers either cheered or laughed at her surprise.
Carolyn’s eyes burned, but she blinked a few times, lifted her glasses, and wiped tears away. “Th–thank you,” she stammered. In the six years she’d worked at the school, no one had ever acknowledged her birthday. Though the date was on her job application, she’d never told anyone. Of course some of them would have known because of the singing telegram, but she hadn’t expected this.
Karen, the secretary, stood. “Come on, Carolyn. Blow out the candle before it burns the cake down or sets off the smoke alarm.”
She sucked in a deep breath, blew out the candle, and everyone applauded.
Karen stepped forward, pulled the candle out of the cake, then hurried to run the smoking wick under the cold water. “Your boyfriend phoned first thing this morning and asked for permission and the best time to send the singing telegram, otherwise, I wouldn’t have known it was your birthday. You should have said something.” Karen placed a stack of paper plates and a knife beside the cake. “Here—we got you a card. Happy birthday.”
Carolyn lowered her head. “Thank you,” she mumbled as she tore the flap open. Everyone had signed it and added a silly comment.
Conversations that had ended when she walked in restarted, and soon it was just like any other lunch break. As everyone finished eating, Carolyn cut a piece of cake for each teacher. She’d barely finished her own slice when the bell rang to return to the classrooms, not allowing her the time to phone Mitchell.
The students all wished her a happy birthday as they filed in. Carolyn forced herself to smile and thank them all, knowing that the singing telegram had now become hot news throughout the entire school population during the lunch break. It also gave her a horrible premonition that there would be a picture of the young man and a summary of the incident in the school’s yearbook.
The afternoon seemed the longest in the time since she’d begun her teaching career. By the time the bell rang signaling the close of classes, she was eager to go home.
She hurried to tidy her demonstration area and was almost finished checking all the kitchenettes to make sure everything was in order for the first class the next day when footsteps echoed through the door opening.
“Hi,” a familiar deep voice drawled. “Happy birthday.”
Carolyn spun around, her hand pressed to her heart. “Mitchell! What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at work?”
“I have lots of time coming to me, so I took off early for a cha
nge.” He grinned that same grin she’d come to know and love, and her heart pounded even more. “I brought you something.”
“But you already gave me a wonderful birthday present. Thank you very much. It was really different.”
He dangled something shiny in the air. “I brought you the last kiss.”
She couldn’t hold back her smile. The store hadn’t made a mistake. “That’s very sweet, but you didn’t have to take time off and come all this way just for that.” As she spoke, she walked toward him to collect it.
No sooner had she taken her first step than Mitchell hastily unwrapped the kiss and popped it into his mouth.
“Hey! That was mine!”
She watched as he guiltlessly grinned, chewed it, and swallowed. “Nope. That one was for me.” He stepped forward. “This one’s for you.”
Before she realized what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. And without thinking about it, she kissed him back. The combination of his embrace and the scent of chocolate on his breath made her head spin and her already pounding heart jump into overdrive.
The bang of someone slamming a locker in the hallway caused them both to jump. Mitchell released her and backed up a step, his confusion evident in his expression.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen like that,” he stammered then shook his head. “No, that’s wrong. Yes, I did mean for that to happen. But not here.”
If he suggested they go elsewhere and pick up where they left off, she thought she might run screaming for the hills.
“I had to come here to see you because it’s Bible study night, and I know we said we’d go to mine tonight, but I’m going to have to get a rain check until next week. I’m going to start making the food for Friday tonight. Knowing my luck, something will happen, and I’ll need two full evenings to do this. I hope you’re proud of me for planning ahead.”
She smiled. “Yes. I’m proud of you. If you need help, I can skip this one week.”
He pressed one palm to his heart. “You’re asking if I need help? You mean you actually considered that I could do this all by myself, without help?”
“Do you want me to be honest or make you feel good?”
His little grin made her breath catch. “I won’t back you into a corner and make you answer that. Instead, I have an idea. How about if we pick up a couple of burgers, and I’d be forever grateful if you could join me in the kitchen this evening, just in case I need you.”
There was no “just in case” to consider. “Yes, I think I’ll do that.”
Chapter 14
Carolyn opened the bag and slid the hamburger and large order of fries across the kitchen table, keeping the other hamburger and smaller order of fries for herself while Mitchell started a pot of coffee.
Killer lay in her bed in the corner of the kitchen, ignoring them while they prayed over the food.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you why you call that sweet animal Killer. That has to be the gentlest, most unexcitable dog I’ve ever seen.”
Mitchell’s ears reddened. “It was one of my lesser inspired moments. I thought if the dog was such a marshmallow, a name like Killer might preserve her reputation, but everyone just laughs.”
“Is she so calm because she’s old, or is she going deaf?”
“I’m not sure. I guess she’s about five or so. I know she’s not deaf. She appears the split second I open the cupboard where her dog cookies are.”
“You guess? You mean you don’t know how old your dog is?”
“Not really. We got her from the pound. Jake and I were looking for a watchdog because we’d just been robbed. We were looking at a bigger dog, but when we learned Killer was going to be put down, those big, sad eyes got to me, and I took her. We haven’t been robbed since, so I suppose she’s at least partly responsible for that. She’s friendly, anyway. And she doesn’t annoy the neighbors with tons of barking.”
“That was a sweet thing to do!”
“Don’t go getting gushy on me. It’s just a dog.”
She wanted to hug him just for being nice but didn’t dare after what happened at the school.
As soon as they finished eating, Mitchell bundled the paper wrappings and they set to work. As a matter of pride, he insisted on doing the pastry while Carolyn mixed the fillings and pâté. Together, they shaped cheese balls and rolled them in the chopped nuts.
Killer jumped to her feet and ran to the door. She barked once then sat quietly and wagged her tail.
Mitchell wiped his hands on his pants, leaving floury handprints on his thighs, and headed for the door. “Killer barked, so it’s not Jake. I’m not expecting anyone.”
Carolyn stood in the kitchen doorway, watching.
Before Mitchell got to the door, it opened and Jake walked in, followed by Gordie and Roland.
“Mitch? What are you doing here? It’s your Bible study night.” Jake glanced at the flour on Mitchell’s nose and burst out laughing.
Gordie stepped forward. “Hi, Miss Rutherford.”
Carolyn cringed. Miss Rutherford. Is that what she would be to his friends? Not his companion or his girlfriend, but the teacher, Miss Rutherford? She smiled shakily. “Hi, Gordie,” she mumbled.
Mitchell’s posture stiffened as he faced his friend. “We’re not in school anymore. Her name is Carolyn.”
“Oops. Sorry, Miss—er, Carolyn.”
Mitchell turned his back on his friends and moved to Carolyn’s side. “We’re busy here. Couldn’t you go to the coffee shop?”
Jake ignored Mitchell’s question. He crossed his arms over his chest and craned his neck in an attempt to see over Mitchell’s shoulder into the kitchen. “What are you making?”
Mitchell turned his back on his friends and grabbed her hand. “It’s a surprise,” he grumbled. “Come on, Carolyn, let’s finish up.”
Unfortunately, Mitchell’s friends trailed behind. They stood beside the table and gaped at the rows of hors d’oeuvres neatly set into the storage containers Carolyn had brought. Jake picked up a finished cheese ball and popped it into his mouth.
Roland stepped forward. “If you can have one, so can I.” He followed Jake’s example and snitched a cheese ball. Gordie took only a second to follow suit.
“Wow,” Gordie mumbled. “Forget the wedding. All the good food’s going to be at the rehearsal party.”
Jake swept his hand in the air over the tray of goodies. “Did you really do this by yourself? Carolyn did it, and you’ve been watching, right?”
Mitchell raised one finger in the air and opened his mouth, but Jake interrupted him. “No, forget I asked. I can tell by the look of you that you’ve been doing more than watching. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. And there isn’t a wiener in any of this.”
Carolyn bit her lip. She had done some of the more difficult steps for him, but Mitchell really had worked hard, both in class and now, and he really had put what he learned into practice.
Jake pointed at the pastry shapes Mitchell had been in the middle of shaping when his friends had arrived. “What are those things?”
“Those things,” Mitchell said as he crossed his arms and tapped one foot, “are going to be the pastry shells for the crab snaps.”
“Well, what do ya know.”
Roland pointed to the counter. “What are you doing with that bag of mushrooms? Making little teeny-weeny pizzas? Where’s the pepperoni?”
“I’m making stuffed mushroom caps.”
The three of them stood in one spot, staring at the bag of mushrooms as if it were some object from outer space.
Gordie shook his head. “Stuffed mushrooms? You? You’ve gotta be kidding.”
“That does it,” Mitchell muttered. “Get lost.” Following his words, Mitchell practically shoved them out of the kitchen. “I wish kitchens had doors you could lock,” he mumbled.
Carolyn grinned. “I think you should take it as a compliment.”
He uttered somet
hing unintelligible in return.
The sounds of Jake and Gordie and Roland making themselves comfortable drifted from the living room. Killer returned to her bed in the corner of the kitchen and fell back to sleep, and she and Mitchell continued with their cooking. Jake reappeared in the kitchen to help himself to the coffee they’d made earlier then returned for a second cup, and not long after that he came back to make another pot. Considering the time it took him with every return trip, it gave Carolyn a sneaking suspicion that he was doing more than tending to the coffee. Jake was doing some serious looting.
After Jake’s fourth trip into the kitchen, it finally dawned on Mitchell that his friend was pilfering the food. Carolyn struggled to stifle her laughter as Mitchell almost physically threw his best friend out of the kitchen, threatening Jake’s life if he dared to return.
When they were done, Mitchell washed his hands in the kitchen sink with the dish detergent, and they carefully snapped the covers onto the containers.
Carolyn counted everything. “We did really well today. We only have a few things left to do tomorrow.”
“Don’t speak too soon. Since Jake seems to like these so much, I think it would all be safer if you took it home. Do you have room in your fridge until Friday? I know it’s a lot to ask, but even the Bible says to remove temptation. I really don’t think Ellen would be very pleased with me if her future husband showed up with a black eye on their wedding day.”
“No problem. I can take most of this home.” She picked up the remaining recipe sheets. “You don’t even need to get off early tomorrow since there’s only a few things left to do.”
His triumphant smile would have made a winning toothpaste commercial. “Yeah. We did great.”
“Since your mom still has the cast on her arm, who is going to put everything out and stuff and bake the crab snaps on Friday?”
“I am.”
“Do you have any idea how long that’s going to take?”
He shook his head. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“You’ve proved my point. You’ve prepared the food, but you’re the best man. You should be with the rest of the wedding party, not spending all your time in the kitchen. If you want, while everyone is at the church, I could get the food ready if your parents wouldn’t mind me being in their house when they’re not home.”
Time to Laugh Romance Collection Page 58