But then came the life-changing news: after fourteen years, Renee had taken a position at a school in Ohio, and was moving back there so that she could be closer to her family. And she wanted ME to take her place.
Long story short, after a series of interviews, lunches, training sessions and a screening process that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, I got the job. Renee helped me through the growing pains, which wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds, after which I got her old office.
Stepping back onto the campus of JMMS was sooooo surreal, you guys, I can't even tell you. A few things had changed, but most everything was exactly how I remembered it. And working with Renee, and the kids, was and is the most rewarding thing I've ever done. If every person has their niche, I'd finally found mine.
Every time I pull into the parking lot, though, or stroll through the grounds, or sit on the bleachers, I flash back to those memorable times. There were so many, and they played like a movie inside my head. Bree and April, Jessy and Riley, Joshua and Eve, Penny and Tonya, Renee and Mrs. H, Kirsten and Sophie. And Mark. Poor, unfortunate Mark. The boy who was whisked out of my life as fast as he entered it. The boy with the twinkle in his eye. The boy I fell for, all those years ago. Wherever he ended up, I hope he's happy. God knows he's earned it.
And that's about it, I guess. You are officially caught up on the book that is me. I'm in a job that I love, with people that I love. Having an ordinary life really isn't as bad as it's cracked up to be, so yeah, suck it, Aunt Libby!
(Just kidding, Lib. Love ya.)
Signing off.
Chapter 47
~ TWO MORE YEARS LATER ~
KELSEY
I ran into my office like a crazy person, holding paper bags in both hands and my car keys in my mouth. Dumping it all onto my desk, I let out a deep breath. For the hundredth time, I cursed the person who decided to put JMMS's faculty parking lot so damn far from the administrative building.
I flopped down into my chair, taking in the array of photos displayed on my walls and bookcases. As I did every morning, I silently thanked all of the people who made me the person I was, reliving the fond memories that each picture represented: my high school graduation, my college graduation, Dad's twenty-fifth-anniversary-on-the-force party. That eventful week in Vegas with April, Bree and Penny.
On the back wall, right underneath my framed psychology degree, were photos from the numerous weddings I'd taken part in over the last few years: Joshua and Eve's, Dad and Katherine's, Tom and Joanna's, April and Devon's, and, most recently, Bree and Penny's. They were all so happy, and seeing their faces smile back at me gave me a swell of pride, and a little sadness.
Then my eyes moved to the third wall, which had snapshots of me with many of the kids I'd gotten to know over the last two years. A lot of them also had Renee in them, and I felt another pang of sadness. I missed her. She'd done so much for me.
My gaze returned to my open office door, and I saw Connie standing there with a rather annoyed look on her plump face. “The reason you're thirty minutes late had better be because you were in line waiting to get my latte,” she said.
A look of regret crossed my face. “Oh, darn it, I knew I forgot something …”
I saw her fists clenching and unclenching. “You … suck.”
Then I broke into a broad grin and pulled a hot coffee out of one of the paper bags. “Just kidding, Connie, don't blow a gasket.”
She strode forward and snatched the cup from my hands. “Aargh! You do that to me every time!”
I winked. “And you keep falling for it.”
“Three sugars, two shots of cream?”
“Yeah, your usual.”
She took a long, loving sip and exhaled audibly. “You're a lifesaver, Kelsey.” The tension in her shoulders had melted away as she flopped down in one of the chairs on the other side of my desk.
“Rough morning?” I asked.
She nodded. “I don't know who's worse sometimes, the kids or their parents.”
I reached into another bag and pulled out a blueberry muffin, which I handed to her. “Oh, definitely the parents. It's not even close.”
Finally, a smile broke out onto Connie's rosy-cheeked face. “Now I'm ready to get to work.” She took a healthy chomp from the muffin.
I smiled back. “Who's on my schedule for today?”
She took another sip from her coffee. “You've got Noah Spencer's mother at nine, Lucas Russell's mother at ten, and Zoe Caldwell's parents at eleven.”
A phone started ringing from the next office. “BRB,” said Connie, standing up. Coffee and muffin in hand, she made the short journey back to her desk.
I then noticed something I hadn't when I first rushed into my office. It was a small package, tied up with a bow and a red ribbon, sitting conspicuously on top of one of my filing cabinets.
Rising to my feet, I walked over and picked it up. It didn't weigh much, barely a pound. I turned it over, looking for some kind of writing, but there wasn't any. Okay, this is a little weird …
In the next office, I heard Connie hang up her phone. “Uh … Connie?”
“Yes?”
“Where'd this package come from?”
A few seconds later, she reappeared in my doorway. “Oh, that,” she said coyly. “One of the students dropped it off a few minutes before you got here.”
“Which student?”
“Don't know, hadn't seen her before. She said some guy gave it to her and asked her to bring it to you.”
“ 'Some guy'?” I asked incredulously.
“Uh-huh. Something you want to tell me, Kelsey?”
I stared at her. “How can I tell you anything if I don't know who it's from? There isn't even a card!”
Connie reached behind her back and pulled something out of her back pocket. It was a small, purple envelope. By the looks of things, it had once been sealed shut … but it wasn't now. I angrily snatched it from her hand. “Jeez Louise, Connie! Do I go through your things?”
She lowered her head in apology. “Sorry, Kelse, I was just … curious. Thought maybe it was a new boyfriend or something. I haven't heard you talk about a guy since you dumped what's-his-name.”
I pulled the small card out of the envelope. “Well, believe me, what's-his-name is never getting another minute of my time.” I opened the card up, and a brief message appeared:
Kelsey,
Open the box. If you remember me, come meet me on the spot where we last saw each other.
Eddie
I looked up to see Connie grinning mischievously. “You've never mentioned an Eddie,” she said.
I threw the card onto my desk. “I swear, Connie, I have never dated anyone named Eddie in my life.”
Suddenly, Connie's phone rang again. “Hold that thought,” she said, scooting back to her office.
Sighing, I contemplated the box on my desk. I love a mystery, and this one has me perplexed so far. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make this as interesting as possible, that's for sure.
Using a pair of scissors, I cut off the bow and the tape that held the box closed. There were a few pieces of packing paper on top, which I removed and threw in the trash. Whatever 'Eddie' had left for me was wrapped in a piece of cloth. I removed it from the box and laid it on my desk. Meticulously, I unfolded the cloth until the gift was revealed to me.
It was as if someone had hit the pause button on my entire life. Time screeched to a halt. My heart stopped, my jaw dropped, and for a moment my ability to breathe completely vanished.
Sitting on my desk was a dog-eared, weather-beaten copy of Richard Adams' Watership Down. With the initials “MDC” written in ink across the pages.
My mind and heart racing in unison, I sprinted out the door of my office. At top speed, I practically busted down the door of the main office, rushing down the main sidewalk, heading for the curb outside the cafeteria. Students were arriving for school in droves, and I had to be careful not to collide with them as I raced across th
e campus.
There he was, standing there, leaning on a car. A young man, about my age. I skidded to a halt about ten feet away from him, causing a host of students to look in my direction with a smirk. The man's eyes locked onto my own. Is it him?
He was just over six feet tall, good-looking, with black hair and brown eyes. He wore a striped button-down shirt and tan slacks. My mind processed it all in seconds, but my brain continued to try to figure out if it was really him.
He grinned.
That smile.
Oh my God. It's him. It's really HIM.
Ethan Zimmer. Mark David Campbell. 'Eddie.'
I stood, out of breath, unable to speak. He took a step towards me. “Hello, Kelsey.”
“It's you,” I whispered.
“I see you got my gift.”
I nodded. “It's really you. Ethan.” I shook my head, correcting myself. “Mark?”
He returned the smile. “Actually, it's Eddie now. Eddie Olsen.”
Finally, my brain started working again. “ 'Eddie Olsen?' God, that sounds so fake!” I said, suddenly laughing.
He blushed. “I know. I didn't get to choose the name.”
“Does … does this mean you're out of Witness Protection?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Jacob Lynch died in prison, and his organization is long gone, so the government decided that we weren't in danger anymore. We've been out for about eighteen months now.”
I was still in a state of shock. Thirteen years since we'd last seen each other. And yet, here he was, right in front of me. On the exact spot where we said goodbye. “Eighteen months, and you're just coming to see me now?” I must have looked a little hurt.
“Believe me, I wanted to get on a plane and come back here the very next day, but … I had a lot of things to take care of first.” He looked embarrassed, staring into space for a few moments. “You see, my life was a mess for a long time. I had to get my head on straight before I came back.”
He took a few more paces forward, stopping when he was right in front of me. He looked at me longingly. “I told you I'd find you someday.”
I looked up at him, a grapefruit-sized lump forming in my throat. “And you did.”
I couldn't stand it anymore. I wrapped my arms around his waist, giving him the biggest hug I could possibly manage, pressing my head against his chest. I felt his strong arms tighten around me, and I lost myself. He was real. I could still smell my childhood on him.
“I can't believe you're here,” I said, tears fighting their way to my eyes.
He faced me again. “And I can't believe you're … here,” he said, indicating the school and the crowd of kids walking disinterestedly past us. “Of all places. I was sure you'd be at the local precinct.”
I released him, closing my eyes briefly. “Yeah, I decided police work wasn't for me after our … adventure, so I became a counselor. This is my third year here. I love it.” I looked again at his adorable face, racking my brain for something to say. “So … how's your family?”
“They're great,” he said, smiling. “Pop's a consultant in D.C., and Nathan's a graphic designer in Atlanta. He's getting married next summer.”
“Wow,” I said, picturing his brother as a spiky-haired ten-year-old. “And how about you?”
“Got my Master's degree six months ago.”
“In what?”
“Forensics.”
My eyebrows raised. “That's … an interesting career choice.”
“I thought you might think so,” he said with a wry smirk.
Our recess-period discussions of Sherlock Holmes and TV crime procedurals cascaded through my brain. “Did … I have something to do with that decision?” I asked, my face flushing.
He cocked his eyebrow and held his hand out, showing me an inch of space between his forefinger and thumb. “Maybe just a teensy bit,” he said, his smile widening.
I nodded and smiled as well, my chest swelling with pride. “So … what are you going to do now?”
“Well … I actually had a job interview yesterday. I start first thing Monday.”
I was amazed. “Really? Where?”
“The local precinct. The father of a really good friend of mine got me in as a junior lab tech.”
Oh, Daddy. I grinned. “My dad got you a job as a CSI?”
He held his hands up. “I swear, I didn't go there asking for a job. I actually went there earlier this week to find you. Your dad recognized me instantly. We talked for about an hour, and, well, you know the rest.”
“Wait a sec … you talked to my father?” I said in disbelief. “He never told me …”
“I … kind of asked him not to,” he said with a sheepish grin. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you did,” I said. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.” A serious look crossed my face. “Did you really come back for …” I trailed off, my mind a whirlwind of childish hopes and unfulfilled teenage fantasies. We were connected once, in the most amazing way possible. But now … can it …?
He stared at me, his piercing gaze boring into my own. The twinkle that I saw in his eyes thirteen years ago, a twinkle that I'd never seen in anyone else's eyes, was still there. After a few moments, he said, “Yes, Kelsey. I came back for you.”
My breath caught in my throat. I was barely able to croak out a soft, “Really?”
He nodded. “I … I know it's been a long time. But …” he trailed off.
“But what?”
His expression became haunted, pleading. “I never forgot about you, Kelsey. Never. As ridiculous as it sounds, I thought about you all the time. No matter where I lived, or what my name was, I never once stopped thinking about you. Wondering about you. Wanting to … be with you.”
Sadness flashed across his face. I saw every single day we lost reflected in his eyes. “I know we only knew each other for a short time, and the whole situation was so bizarre, and I was pretending to be someone I wasn't. The only thing I had that felt … real … was you.”
I lifted my hand to his cheek, caressing it gently. “It was real to me, too. You were real to me. And I never forgot you, either.”
He grasped my hand. “I've … never met anyone like you, Kelsey. Not before, and not since. How I felt when I was with you … I've never felt that with anyone else. I've tried so many times to move on. But … I can't.”
I saw his face, so full of regret, and a tear silently rolled down my cheek.
He leaned forward. “Maybe it's just a childish fantasy I've been holding onto for all these years. Maybe we'll never get back what we once had. Maybe we don't have a chance in hell of making it work, but … I want to try.”
I felt the blood start to pound inside my head. My hands started to quiver.
His gaze bored into mine. “What do you say, Kelsey? Can we … start over again?”
My God. This is really happening. After all these years, the boy I fell for in middle school is standing right here, in front of me. And he's gorgeous and sensitive and sweet and amazing. He never stopped thinking about me. I never stopped thinking about him. Can we really do this?
Come on, Kelsey! Get real! It was half a lifetime ago! We were kids back then! The last time you saw him, you were still wearing the first bra you ever bought! We can't go back to being thirteen again …
… can we?
Now my whole body was trembling, my breath coming in shallow gasps. I leaned forward and hugged him again. He silently returned the embrace, and I buried myself in his arms, just like I did on that street corner, so many years ago.
I thought about all the people I'd ever loved. Eve and Joshua. April, Bree and Penny. My amazing dad, and my brother Tom. They all found their special someones, and they're all living happy lives right now. But I'm happy where I am. I am. Truly. It's all about the kids. That's why I'm here. I don't need … I don't need …
Another tear rolled down my cheek.
Yes. I do.
Looking up at him, I softly whispered, “
Eddie … I'm sorry, but I don't want to start over.”
The pained look on his face was heartbreaking, but he nodded resignedly. “I understand.”
Smiling, I continued, “I'd rather just pick up where we left off.”
I placed both hands on the back of his neck, pulling his lips onto mine. I kissed him harder and longer than I'd ever kissed anyone before. He eased into the kiss, holding me tightly.
A chorus of “Woooooooh!” erupted from the crowd around us, and as we broke the kiss, I turned to see about thirty kids grinning and clapping for us. My face turned bright red in embarrassment. I'd gotten so caught up in the moment, I'd completely forgotten where I was.
I slid my arms around Eddie's waist, and he put his around my shoulder. Up the sidewalk, Connie came strolling up. “Okay, kids, show's over, get your butts to class!” With a groan, the crowd started to disperse.
After a few moments, Connie walked up to us. “So, I'm guessing this is Eddie,” she said with a smug smirk. “Do you remember him now, Kelsey?”
I looked at Eddie, then back at her. “Yeah, I do. It's been … a long time since we've seen each other. A very long time.”
“Well, I just came out here to tell you that Mrs. Spencer is waiting in your office.”
I sighed heavily. “Crap.”
She held her hands up. “It's okay, take your time. I'll get her some coffee.”
I ran up and gave her a hug. “You're the best, Connie.”
“And don't you forget it,” she said, returning the hug. “You owe me a long, juicy story … and another latte.”
“You got it,” I said, and she turned and walked back to the office.
I turned to face my childhood friend. My first crush. I feel thirteen all over again. He's so beautiful. And this time, there's nothing keeping us apart. Nothing at all.
“You know, Kelsey, I was thinking …” he said, trailing off.
“Yes?” I said coyly, leaning in.
He coughed slightly. “I was thinking that I'd love to take you to dinner tonight. I've been craving an Anzio's pepperoni and sausage for thirteen years, and I thought …”
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