“I’m sure I can convince you to share a meal with me.” He mentioned going to the boardwalk and visiting the beach. “Scotty might enjoy walking on the beach, and we could get takeout from one of the restaurants.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Come on, Monica, I’m sure both you and Scotty will enjoy yourselves.” He released her shoulder and continued walking. “Whenever I get a new student to tutor, I usually spend some time talking to the student and the parent so we all agree that we have the same goals in mind. It’ll be my treat.” He seemed so intent upon them going to eat with him that Monica couldn’t resist accepting his invitation.
She nodded before telling Scotty about John. “Scotty, you’ve met Mr. French. He’ll be your new tutor.”
“I’d prefer it if Scotty called me Mr. John,” he said.
“Okay,” Monica responded. “Scotty, Mr. John will be your new tutor.”
Scotty shook his head. “I don’t need a tutor.”
“You know you need help with your schoolwork. I don’t want you to have to repeat second grade.” Scotty remained silent as she continued telling him the good news. “We’re going to go with Mr. John to get something to eat down at the boardwalk.”
Scotty stood, reaching toward Monica as she grabbed his hand. “I sure am hungry,” Scotty said.
As they walked outside, the bright sunlight gleamed on her skin, and the ocean-scented wind danced around them, beckoning them to the beach for a walk in the warm September air. John pulled his keys from his pocket. “How about I drive us down to the boardwalk? We can always come back afterward to get your car.”
She agreed and was surprised to see his silver Lexus. The vehicle screamed money, and she again wondered why a college professor would end up spending his free time tutoring a blind seven-year-old child. During their short journey, smooth jazz music filled the car, and Scotty bounced on the leather seat.
John pulled into a parking lot.
“Aunt Monica, I want chicken nuggets and fries.”
After walking for a few minutes, they agreed to stop at Harrison’s Harbor Watch Restaurant to get food to go. Monica noticed the unique spicy scent of Old Bay Seasoning and seafood filling the air as they stepped into the restaurant. The restaurant also featured chicken tenders and fries. After they’d gotten their food, they strolled along the boardwalk, searching for an empty place to sit and eat. Tourists strolled around enjoying the warm weather of the last few weeks of summer.
A few people flew kites on the beach, and a multitude of the colorful objects bobbed in the sky. The brisk wind moved the birdlike contraptions so they filled the expanse with a kaleidoscope of color. Monica stopped walking, lifting her head toward the sky. “That’s so beautiful!” She admired the beach as the white-capped waves tumbled onto the sand.
“Why are we stopping?” Scotty squeezed Monica’s hand. “I’m hungry, Aunt Monica!”
She bent toward Scotty, telling him about the kites they had stopped to admire. Scotty’s request spurred them toward an empty bench. John opened his Styrofoam container holding his fried shrimp and oysters. As they started to eat, Scotty said, “Aunt Monica, can we go on the merry-go-round after we eat?”
She glanced at John. “Since we came with John, it depends if he’s willing to go.”
“We can go, sport.”
They enjoyed their food then walked toward the carnival rides on the pier. John tried to talk to Scotty about school. When John mentioned math, Scotty swore under his breath.
Monica’s face grew warm. She pulled Scotty away from John. Holding his cheeks between her thumb and index finger, she placed her face close to his. “Scotty, what did I tell you about that language?” she gently chided. Her heart continued to pound with embarrassment as Scotty sulked.
“Aunt Monica, my mom said stuff like that all the time.”
Sighing, she released him, still exasperated about his using the street language he’d picked up from Gina. “Well, it’s wrong. Your Sunday school teacher told me she spoke to your class about expressing anger. Don’t you remember anything she taught you?”
“She said it’s not nice to cuss,” he mumbled. Folding his small arms in front of his chest, he changed the subject. “Can I go to the merry-go-round now?” A few late summer tourists still congregated around the pier as the fake animals weaved up and down on the carnival ride.
Scotty didn’t sound sorry for his actions, and she was going to make him understand it was wrong to take the Lord’s name in vain. Since he’d come into her care, she’d admonished him about cursing on numerous occasions. However, he still cussed as much as the day he showed up on her doorstep. “No, I’m afraid you can’t, Scotty.” Gently pulling his elbow, she sat him on a bench. “You’re going to sit here and think about what you’ve done. When you decide to stop swearing so much, I’ll let you play.” His bottom lip quivered, but she left him alone on the bench, giving him time to ponder his actions.
Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she left Scotty and returned to John. They sat on a bench close by so she could keep an eye on Scotty. John’s eyes were full of kindness and understanding. Feeling like a fool, she sipped her soda, upset she’d cried twice since she’d met him. “I’m sorry about that.” Shaking her head, she ran her fingers over the beaded condensation on her cup. “I’m trying hard to teach him right from wrong, but it’s just so hard to undo other people’s mistakes.”
Before John could respond, her cell phone rang. She answered it, turning away from him as she spoke with her boss, Clark. She explained where she’d left the manila folder he needed for his meeting the following morning. As she folded her phone shut, she apologized and mentioned she’d had to leave work early to come to the meeting at Scotty’s school that day.
“What do you do for a living?” asked John.
“I work for a marketing company that provides Internet marketing services for small businesses. Shortly before Scotty came into my care, I was promoted to senior executive assistant to the CEO. I have two admins under me. My staff and I do anything possible to keep Clark’s day running smoothly. We screen phone calls, make travel arrangements, prepare financial reports from the data given to us from the accounting department. I even tally Clark’s expense reports to make sure they balance before we send the information down to accounting.”
She paused for a few seconds before continuing. “Since I got promoted, my workload has increased, but things have been even harder now that I have Scotty.” She glanced at her nephew as he sat on the bench, pouting. “Sometimes I have to leave work early because the school will call me when Scotty misbehaves, and I also have special meetings with his teachers since he has special needs.” She sighed. “I just want to make sure I do well in my new job position; however, with Scotty’s academic and behavioral problems, it makes my work life more stressful since I’m always so worried about him.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
“John, do you have children?”
He threw his empty cup into a nearby trash can. “No, I don’t. Why do you ask?”
“I just think it’s odd you’re a college professor, yet you volunteer your spare time helping elementary-school-aged children.”
He remained silent for several seconds, not commenting on her observation. “How about we set up a tutoring schedule for Scotty?” he suggested.
Monica wondered why John refused to acknowledge his reasons for helping blind children. What secrets could he be hiding?
Two
John changed the subject, not wanting to reveal too much about his life and childless state. He watched her reach into her handbag and remove her electronic planner.
He discreetly stared as she pressed a few buttons on the gadget. Her tall, chocolate brown body reminded him of a cover girl. With her short hair and cute face, she could easily win a beauty contest.
Still holding her planner, she glanced at him with her despondent dark brown eyes. “Which days of the week work best for you?”
“You know I’m a professor at the University of Maryland. I have classes during the day, but I’m free all evenings.”
Her eyes widened. “All evenings?”
“Yes.”
A woman with a baby strolled by. The child shrieked as the mother continued to walk down the boardwalk. John mentally blocked the disturbing sound from his mind, focusing again on Monica. Her red-painted lips enticed him, and the alluring scent of her floral perfume beckoned, competing with the clean scent of the ocean and the spicy scents of the food.
She put her electronic calendar aside. Running her fingers over her cup, she glanced at Scotty, who was still sitting on the nearby bench. “You know, I’m still wondering why you didn’t respond to the observation I made a few minutes ago.”
“You mean about tutoring children?”
She nodded. “You have to admit, it does seem strange that a college professor would tutor children—blind children at that. Ms. Lattimore told me you even know braille. You took the time to learn it just to tutor children?”
Bittersweet memories of his little brother scattered through his mind like the tossing white-capped waves in the nearby Atlantic Ocean. Forcing himself to focus on the moment at hand, he blocked the memories. “Well, it’s a long story about how I decided to get into tutoring.” He leaned back on the bench. “I don’t really feel like getting into that right now.”
“Okay. I don’t mean to be intrusive, but I can’t help but wonder about it.” Her eyes twinkled as she looked at him. “But I am glad you’re helping us.”
“I’m glad I’m helping you, too.” After a few moments of silence, he asked her the question that had been burning in his mind for the last hour. “Do you think we could get together and do something this Saturday?”
She jerked back as she folded her arms in front of her chest. “Mr. French—”
“Call me John.”
She gave him her full attention. “John. . .I don’t think I can go out on Saturday.” Her dark eyes wandered toward Scotty. “I have a child to take care of now. I don’t know if I can find a babysitter. Besides, if you’re asking me out, the answer is no.”
“No? Why?”
She shook her head. “I can’t go out with anyone right now. My life is just too complicated. I just told you how much everything has changed since Scotty’s been in my care.”
“I can imagine it would be hard.”
“Hard doesn’t begin to describe it. Scotty has a lot of problems, and right now I’m focusing on getting his life back on track. I can’t have other things crowding my head right now.”
“I think I have a solution for that problem. How about I come by on Saturday for one of Scotty’s tutoring sessions? Afterward maybe we can go to the beach? I can talk to you about Scotty’s curriculum. Maybe we can go to Phillips Seafood House for dinner afterward. I love their buffet.”
“I love their buffet, too, but I can’t go out afterward.”
His heart skipped a beat, and he hoped there was some way to change her mind. “Why not? I guarantee you’ll have a good time.”
A slight flush tinged her brown cheeks, and he caught a glimpse of her pearly white teeth as she smiled. “I’m not doubting I’d have a good time. But I’ve been having so much trouble with Scotty lately. His behavior has been awful, and I don’t want to grant him the treat of dinner at Phillips when he’s been misbehaving so much.”
He nodded, understanding. “How about I come over anyway? The three of us could go to the beach. We don’t have to go to dinner afterward.”
She glanced at Scotty. “I’m not sure. . .”
“I don’t want to pressure you. But I just want to point out that I usually want to spend a little time with my students and get to know them better. It’s easier for me to tutor them if I can observe them outside of the lessons. I could offer to spend some time with Scotty alone, but I didn’t think you’d want me to do that since Scotty doesn’t know me and you don’t know me very well either.”
She finally nodded. “Well, since you put it that way, there’s no harm I guess.”
He released the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
“But I can’t stay up too late. Since I’ve had Scotty, I’ve been so tired. It’s hard having a kid dropped into your life.” Her shoulders slumped as she toyed with her straw.
“Why are you raising your nephew so suddenly?”
She paused, staring at her cup. “My sister left Scotty with me because she felt she couldn’t take care of him.” Her mouth hardened into a frown, and when no other details were forthcoming, he decided to let the subject drop and ask her about it again later.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded as her silence continued, so he took up the conversation about Scotty’s tutoring again. The urge to help her with her recent predicament grew, and he knew he could make things better for both Monica and Scotty. “How about I come to your house on Tuesdays and Thursdays to tutor him? Would that work for you?”
“That would be fine. I do have a proposition for you, though.”
“Really? What’s that?”
She picked up her planner and entered the dates for Scotty’s tutoring sessions. She put the gadget away before responding to his question. “Well, I understand that you do not accept payment for your tutoring services.”
He nodded, wondering why this bothered her. Thoughts of his deceased brother again filled his mind, reminding him why he’d made a promise to himself to make the lives of visually impaired people better.
“Since you won’t accept payment, I don’t want to make it seem as if Scotty and I are taking advantage of you.”
“But I want to help him. I enjoy helping others.”
She nodded. “I know.” Her dark eyes met his. “I can see that you’re committed to helping others, and that’s commendable of you. But when you come by on Saturday, I’d like to make lunch for us to take on the beach. As a matter of fact, I’d like you to join us for dinner each night you tutor Scotty.” Giving a small shrug, she continued, “It’s the least I can do since you’re helping me and you’re helping him.”
Thoughts of tutoring the young boy in reading and math escaped his mind like a brisk wind while thoughts of seeing Monica filled his soul with joy.
She chuckled. “But I have to warn you: Sometimes we might be eating food you’re not used to.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Scotty’s diet consists of a lot of Tater Tots and chicken nuggets. I have to fight with him to eat his vegetables. I’m coaxing him into trying some other foods. I think my sister let him eat whatever he wanted.”
She stood, and he touched her arm before she could go and fetch Scotty. “So, I’ll see you on Saturday around noon?” She told him her address, and he suggested a few things Scotty could do to prepare for his tutoring session.
She nodded, and as he drove them back to the school so she could get her car, his heart skipped a beat as he anticipated their next appointment.
❧
When Monica arrived home, she read the note Scotty’s teacher had sent home with him, giving her the appropriate information on his assignment for class the following day. She then made Scotty do his homework.
He did as she asked without swearing, and relief washed over her. He seemed to be in a good mood the entire evening, even humming as he enjoyed his nighttime television show. She hoped that having a positive male role model in his life would help her nephew with his negative attitude.
When Scotty showed signs of fatigue, she sent him upstairs to get ready for bed. When he was finally settled in for the night, she pulled out her foot massage bath machine, despe
rately in need of some pampering. Thoughts of relaxation entered her mind as she filled the machine with water and plugged it in. She watched the water bubble and swish in the enclosure before she retrieved a towel from the linen closet.
She plopped into her favorite living room chair with her Bible and study guide beside her and placed her feet into the water. The gushing bubbles soothed her feet, and she laid her head back on the chair, basking with relief and wiggling her toes in the soothing liquid. She touched her Bible and study guide. Thoughts of preparing for teaching next week’s lesson in her women’s study group filtered through her mind; however, she found she didn’t have the energy to crack her Bible open at the moment.
A contented groan filtered through her lips as she enjoyed her pampering session. She thought about all that had happened to her that day. She couldn’t believe her nephew had such a gorgeous male tutor. Thoughts of John French continued to dance in her mind until a knock at the door interrupted her.
Reluctantly, she took her feet out of the tub and quickly wiped them with the towel before going to the door. Glancing through the peephole, she was rewarded with a view of her best friends. She beamed, opening the door.
“You sure do look beat!” Her friend Anna pulled her into a hug as Karen followed behind her, her petite frame dwarfed next to Anna’s. Monica placed her arms around Anna’s wide body while Karen thoughtfully rubbed Monica’s shoulder.
Anna released her, holding up a bakery box. “I made these éclairs in the bakery today. I had a few left over so I thought you’d like them.”
Karen led the way into the kitchen and placed her hand on Anna’s arm. “Don’t you think you should cut back on your sweets? Your doctor said you’re in danger of becoming a victim of diabetes or high blood pressure if you don’t lose the extra weight.” They placed their purses on an empty chair.
Anna plopped the box onto the table, then sat down. “I’ll start cutting back tomorrow,” she groaned, waving Karen’s comment away.
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