Page 24 of Lemon Cake
Laurena, the brunette and Janette, the blonde, sat on the opposite side of the table, reaching forward to grab characters and scissors of their own.
“So, you’re the new man in Gemma’s life?” Laurena asked.
“Yes.”
“Straight forward. I like that.”
“And you’re letting her use you for arts and crafts, so you must be serious,” Janette added.
“I am.” Rider didn’t miss Gemma’s smile in his periphery.
“Ooh, Gemma found a keeper,” Laurena teased.
The women fell into easy conversation about everything they needed to get done before the new kids started. It seemed that some of Gemma’s old kids would move into Laurena’s class, so they swapped tips on how to handle the children.
Eventually, there were no more characters to cut and the other two returned to their classrooms. Gemma gave Rider the task of glueing the assigned characters to the wardrobe and the kids’ baskets. He busied himself with making the nametags look good and hopefully securing them enoughnot to be peeled off right away. Gemma began putting away the toys. Some went back into the closet and the rest were sorted into baskets on the shelves.
“What should I do with the leftover name tags?”
“Oh, I nearly forgot. Those are for the cribs.”
Confused, he looked around.
“We still have to get them,” Gemma explained. “They’re in storage.”
“What’s next on my list?”
“Stand there and look good so I have something pretty to look at.”
He laughed. “I thought that was your job.”
“We still have to decorate the bulletin boards.”
“That sounds out of my expertise.”
Gemma chuckled. “You can assist me, if you like.”
“That sounds more entry level work. I like it.”
As she added decorations and letters to the boards, he held the borders in place and refilled the staple for her when commanded. He adored seeing how much she loved her job, fussing over the little details and wanting to make it perfect for her kids.
Once they’d gotten the cribs out and everything looked semi-organised, Gemma gave him a satisfied smile. “Perfect. The rest I can do tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m getting hungry anyway.”
“Dinner?” Rider suggested.
“Sounds good to me.”
Rider waited patiently by the door while Gemma grabbed her bag and locked up. “We can drive my truckand I can drop you off here after we’re done.”
Gemma agreed, reaching out to take his hand. As she walked by a few of the classrooms, she waved goodbye and earned herself a few smitten grins from Janette and Laurena.
As always, Rider helped her in before taking his own seat. “Where too?”
“Whataburger is around the corner. Well, unless you need to keep a special diet.”