Love Draws Near

by Cynthia Hickey

  “Hey, Dad, there’s Miss Johnson. She’s eating all by herself.” Mark waved. “Miss Johnson, come eat with us.”

  “Four,” David said, his shoulders slumping.

  2

  “Oh, no.” Tina shook her head. “I planned on ordering my meal to go. I wouldn’t want to interfere with your family time.”

  “Come on, Miss Johnson.” Luke, or was it Mark, took her hand. “We want you to, don’t we, Dad?”

  “Yes, Miss Johnson, it would be an honor for you to have dinner with us.” David gave her a thin-lipped smile.

  Was it against school policy for her to have dinner with her students? It would be better than eating alone, again. She took her bottom lip between her teeth. The boys’ father didn’t look as if he wanted to issue the invitation. “If you’re sure—”

  The boys grinned and now both held her hands as they tugged her along behind the hostess. They chattered non-stop about how jealous the other students would be when they found out. How would the Larson boy chosen to switch classes react to the news? They were comfortable with her. After all, they’d lost their mother. She couldn’t separate them now. She glanced over her shoulder.

  David walked, hands in his pockets, and head down, as if he wanted to be anywhere but there. Her heart sank. Clearly, he missed his wife so much he had to fight to find the joy in living. Maybe she could do something to help, something more than an hour and a half a day of keeping the boys occupied.

  The hostess waited in front of a corner booth. Tina slid in first, then the boys, which didn’t leave her sitting next to David, but in front of him. He peered at her over his menu. A shadow passed over his eyes.

  The boys immediately needed to use the restroom and climbed under the table rather than wait for one of the adults to scoot out. Once they were gone, Tina laid her menu down. “This is difficult for you. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m fine.” David kept his menu in place.

  “You came here often with your wife, didn’t you? I’m intruding. I’ll leave now, and you can make my excuses to the boys. Tell them I had tests to plan.” She smiled. “That ought to liven up their weekend.”

  He lowered the menu, his dark-eyed gaze glued to her face.

  “And, I’ve rethought about switching one of them out of my class. They’re comfortable with me. I’m not sure—”

  “You don’t have to leave.”

  “But—”

  “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m being inhospitable. Between work and the boys, my mind is pulled in a hundred directions and I don’t feel as if I’m giving a hundred percent to either one.” He shook his head. “No idea why I’m telling you this.”

  “Because you need a friend, and I’m a good listener.”

  He gave her a genuine smile, one that caused dimples in his cheeks and her heart to flutter. “Are you always this sweet?”

  “Not always.” She thought of the time she had found her ex-boyfriend with another woman and slashed his tires. Not an act she was proud of, and she’d mailed him a check to replace the tires, but still … her temper had been known to get the better of her a time or two. “But that seems to be the consensus most of the time.”

  He laughed. “Modest, too.”

  “What’s so funny?” Luke ducked to climb back under the table.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” David slid from the booth. “Scoot in like a normal person.”

  “But what’s so funny?” The boys took their seats.

  “Miss Johnson was telling me how she’s planning a test for her class on Monday.”

  The boys’ mouths fell open and they slumped in their seat. “What a way to ruin a perfectly good weekend,” Mark said.

  The adults laughed. David winked at Tina. She raised her menu to hide her blush. There was no sense in reacting to the man’s charm. He was still mourning his wife, and Tina wasn’t over her bad breakup. Two hurting people thrown together for the sake of the boys. That was all they were.

  The waitress arrived to take their orders, the boys ordering chicken strips and fries. Tina ordered a Mexican salad and David a steak. If Tina had married her boyfriend last year would they have been on their way to raising a family of their own? In ten years, would they have two children and have been sitting at a restaurant similar to this one?

  Maybe. But Derek hadn’t been the man for her. No, Tina wanted a man committed to his wife; A man like David, who loved his wife even more than a year after her death. Men like him weren’t the type she ran into very often. Maybe they were the rarity rather than the norm or maybe she just needed to get out more.

  “What type of work do you do, David?” Tina straightened as the waitress set her salad in front of her.

  “I was the head editor of a magazine that deals with high-end cars. It’s a small publication to a select group of people, but I love it.” He cut into his steak. “Have you always wanted to be a teacher?”

  “Since the first grade. I used to set up my stuffed animals and teach them. My mother was a teacher. She said things aren’t the same as when she worked. More demands of the teachers with less pay, but I can’t imagine doing anything else.” Except write a book. She’d always wanted to try her hand at writing.

  “You want to write?” His hand stilled.

  She’d said that out loud. She nodded. “Children’s books or those geared toward the tween age. I’ve just never found the time.”

  “You have to make the time, if it’s your dream.”

  *

  David hadn’t felt that comfortable around a woman in a long time. Between her funny stories about her students and the twins’s antidotes, he couldn’t remember having such a nice dinner out in months. Not since his wife’s death, anyway. Maybe it was time to live again. He had the boys to look out for. While he wasn’t ready for a relationship, he could definitely use a friend. “How about some frozen yogurt after dinner?”

  The boys cheered. Tina nodded. “There’s a nice place within walking distance of here, isn’t there?”

  “Yes. The boys and I go there often.” David smiled. Walking would prolong the time he had before Tina went home and he had to return to a quiet evening after the boys went to bed. He missed the late-night talks with Mandy where they discussed everything from the boys to what they would do after an empty nest.

  He waved the waitress over and asked for the check. Ten minutes later, a boy clutching each of his hands, and Tina holding the last hand on the end, the four swung their arms all the way to the yogurt place. They looked so much like a family that it ached deep in his gut.

  Would it be so bad if he chose to marry again? The twins were right in the fact they needed a mother. David’s mother did what she could, but she had a life of her own, had already raised her children. If David were to date again, it would be someone like Tina Johnson.

  Oh, no. He opened the door to Cooperville Yogurt and froze. His mother and her club sat around a table. A lot of red-hatted heads, and one with a pink hat, turned as the bell over the door jingled.

  Mom leaped to her feet. “David! Boys!” She rushed toward them, kissed each of them on the cheek, then held out her hand to Tina. “I’m Betty Larson, David’s mother.”

  “Tina Johnson, Mark and Luke’s teacher.” Tina returned her shake, her smile never fading. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “I’d offer for y’all to sit with us,” Mom said, her eyes twinkling, “But I’m afraid there’s no room. Also, Michael Green called his mother and said you needed our help in finding ways to keep the boys occupied after school.”

  Tina glanced at him. “I thought we came to a solution.”

  “We did, but Mr. Green thought it might give you a break if I found someone to babysit one or two nights a week. I’m sure there will be times when it’s inconvenient to have the boys there. What about early release days?”

  She nodded, the hurt leaving her face. “That’s a good point.” She turned to Mom. “I’ll be happy to come to some sort of arrangement with your group.” />
  “Wonderful.” Mom clapped her hands. “Come to our next meeting, tomorrow night, seven o’clock at the library. See you there.”

  “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” David said after Mom returned to her friends. “That is the nosiest group in town.”

  Tina laughed. “If I can handle twenty-seven ten-year-olds, I can handle a group of adults.”

  He shrugged. Maybe she was right, but he wanted her to go to the meeting with her eyes open. “They’ll butt into your personal life, give you advice you didn’t ask for—”

  She put a hand on his arm. “I’m glad to make some new friends. It will be fine.”

  The boys were already piling their cardboard bowls high with everything sugary on the menu by the time David and Tina perused the selections. Tina chose a mixture of sorbet flavors while David went for the more exotic chocolate mint delight. Looking at the boys’ selections, he might have to take a second mortgage on the house to pay the bill, especially since the place charged by weight.

  “We’re sitting with Grandma,” Luke said as he and Mark pulled up chairs and crowded in with the group, leaving no more chairs inside.

  David guided Tina to a small bistro-style table on the patio. “I hope this is okay.”

  “Perfect. It’s a beautiful night.” She sat and dipped a plastic spoon into her treat. “Do you get the feeling the boys are trying to play matchmakers?”

  “I do.” David scooped a pile of yogurt into his mouth. The creamy sweetness chilled his tongue. “I’ve chosen to ignore their efforts.” Which would be easier said than done. Those two were relentless when they thought something worth their while to pursue. A year wasn’t a long time, but maybe to two boys starving for a mother’s love, it seemed like an eternity.

  Tina licked her spoon, closing her eyes, and sent David’s pulse into overdrive. Did women have any idea what such an innocent gesture did to a man? He yanked his attention away from her mouth and focused on the bowl in front of him. She was definitely an attractive woman, even without the seductive way she had of eating ice cream and softly moaning at the first taste.

  He missed Mandy with every fiber of his being, but the earth wouldn’t stop spinning if he allowed himself to get to know Tina better. Maybe God had chosen her as his sons’ teacher for a reason. And quite possibly, David was as hungry for female companionship as the boys and dreamed of a relationship that could never happen. Only time would tell. He met her gaze with a smile. He could enjoy finding out where things would lead.

  3

  Tina entered the library and froze at the sight of at least twelve red hats and two pink ones. She’d done some research on red hat clubs and, not owning anything purple, had chosen a light blue blouse with black slacks. She would stick out like a weed among flowers.

  Mrs. Larson jumped up from her chair and rushed toward Tina, gathering her in a perfumed hug. “Welcome. I’ve saved you a seat next to me. And, call me Betty. We’re all on a first name basis here.”

  “Okay. Thank you.” She allowed herself to be dragged toward a long table that faced a simple wooden podium.

  “Now that we are all here,” a thin woman behind the podium narrowed her eyes at Tina, “we will begin. I am Winnie Barton, wife of Mayor Barton, and the current president of the club. Welcome to our visitor.” A round of applause sounded as everyone turned to greet Tina with smiles.

  Tina could stand up in front of several hundred children, but being the center of attention within a group of adults sent her nerves twanging. She returned the smiles with a shaky one of her own and set her purse under her chair.

  “Glad to see another young face.” A pretty blond woman to Tina’s right, grinned. “I’m Iris, owner of Blossoms and More. If you’re single, you won’t be for long if these women have anything to say about it. They make it their mission to matchmake.”

  Tina’s mouth dried like cotton. Was the reason Betty invited her was as a potential spouse to her son? She needed to rethink her plan of asking for help with the twins.

  “First things first,” Winnie said, ruffling a sheet of paper. “The homeless shelter is asking for donations of toiletries. It’s time to clean out your linen closets, ladies. Also, the pregnancy center is looking for baby blankets and clothes. I know most of you can crochet or knit, so get those needles ready.”

  Oh, it was a group that did good works for the community. Tina straightened. She could do these things. She was always looking for a need to help with. Maybe she belonged here after all.

  “My son is a great carpenter,” Betty offered. “I’m sure he could make a crib or two.”

  “That would be wonderful.” Winnie grinned. “Now, to the next order of business. Our guest, Tina Johnson, a school teacher at the local elementary school, has gone above and beyond her job to help David Larson care for his twin boys. Betty has asked that we all sign a sheet volunteering to help babysit on the days that Tina is unable to. Tina, please make us a list with the times you have open. We’ll get those rascals supervised before you know it.”

  “Thank you. I’ve signed them up for several after school programs, but on the days when school releases early or I have meetings, it would be a tremendous help. Oh, and holidays when school is not in session.” She spoke all in one breath, and sat back, trying not to gasp when she’d finished. She wiped her sweaty palms on the thighs of her slacks.

  An older woman, several seats down, stood up. “My sister and I would like to remind you that in order for us to help Tina, we would like her to consider joining our club as a pink hat.”

  “Do I have to be a member in order to get help?” Tina leaned close to Betty.

  “Are you against the good works we do?” Betty frowned.

  “No, I’m just not sure my schedule will allow me full participation.”

  Betty patted her hand. “We all do what we can. You’ll be a perfect addition.” She stood. “She agrees to join us.”

  “See what I mean?” Iris said. “They take control.”

  “I see that.” Tina shook her head. While keeping her business to herself often resulted in many lonely days and nights, she valued her privacy and wasn’t sure how to handle these women’s obvious attempts to run things.

  “Wonderful,” Winnie said. “There are refreshments on the back table. Let’s all make sure to greet our newest pink hat.” She stepped from behind the podium and headed for a table loaded with cookies.

  “Come meet the ladies.” Betty grabbed her hand and dragged her from her seat.

  “You know Winnie, the president. These two,” she marched to two older women. “ Are Viola and Lucy Peters, sisters. You’ve met Iris. The flaming red head is Nina Spencer. Don’t get used to her hair color. It changes monthly. Mrs Green is the wife of your principal and a dear soul. We’re always helping out the parent/teacher association over there. If you need supplies for your class, all you need to do is ask. We’re here to help.”

  In more ways than Tina wanted, if she wasn’t mistaken.

  *

  David finally got the boys to bed and had settled in front of the television with a slice of pizza and an ice cold bottle of beer when the front door opened. It couldn’t be anyone other than his mother since she was the only other person with a key.

  “Good evening, darling.” She glanced around the room. “I missed the boys?”

  “In bed, hopefully sleeping.” He stood and planted a kiss on her perfumed cheek. “What brings you by so late?”

  She frowned at the beer on the coffee table. “Obviously, I’m here to make sure you don’t drink yourself into an early grave.”

  “I have one beer a night, Mom. Relax.” He motioned toward the sofa. “Sit and tell me why you’re really here.”

  She sighed and sat. “Our meeting has just finished and I volunteered you for a project.”

  “Again? You know how stretched my time is.” He closed his eyes and slammed his head back onto the headrest of his favorite easy chair.

  “If you h
ave time to watch television, you have time to make a couple of baby cribs for the pregnancy center.”

  “Two?” How did she expect him to find the time between work and the boys? “You’re trying to work me into an early grave.”

  She lifted her chin. “It’s too late for you to back out now.” She gave him a thin-lipped smile. “Your teacher friend joined our club tonight. She’s going to crochet some blankets. If she can find the time. She’s no busier than you.”

  “Actually, she isn’t, considering she doesn’t have children.”

  “She’s helping to watch yours.”

  Touche. There was no arguing that point. “Fine. I’ll start on them this weekend. Maybe the boys can help sand the wood.” That might keep them out of trouble for a while. He drained his beer and stood. “I’ll walk you out.”

  “Let me just peek in on the boys, okay? You know I love looking at their little faces.”

  “Please don’t wake them.” He sighed and waited for the excited cries of Grandma. He didn’t have to wait long. Now, it would take at least half an hour to get them settled down again.

  After their grandmother covered them with kisses, snuck them a chocolate-chip cookie from her monster of a purse, the boys wanted water and the bathroom. “Hurry up,” David told them. “Mom, it’s time for you to go.”

  “Don’t be mad, darling.” She kissed his cheek. “I’ll be by to watch them when they get home from their art class tomorrow.” She blew the boys kisses and sailed out the door, leaving David to clean up after Storm Betty.

  It was ten o’clock before the boys settled down again and David was able to crash into bed. While he appreciated every minute his mother was able to help, there were times, such as bedtime, that he wished she would stay at her apartment. She could have called to tell him about the cribs.

  He pounded his pillow into shape. He’d meant to ask her how Tina liked the meeting. It must have been a good fit for her if she joined. He gave the pillow one final whack before lying back. How much of the decision had been hers and how much the ladies ganging up on her? He doubted the shy, sweet Tina would have joined readily after only one meeting.