Page 55 of Heartache & Playdates
Being with me would be real. Too real.
At least that’s what I was telling myself. But even that wasn’t sitting right with me.
I also had to face the probability that she just didn’t have the same feelings as I did. Maybe what I felt from her was just a projection of my own feelings. Maybe, she just wasn’t that into me.
That didn’t sit right with me either, but that could just be my ego talking.
I pulled up to the school and was relieved when I easily found parking on the block. Usually, this would just be a drive by drop-off, but Lizzy had insisted that I meet the new teacher and that Hannah and I pop by the bakery so we didn’t show up empty handed.
Since my childhood had been void of parents, I followed Lizzy’s lead on this. I never had an actual parent, or even a guardian come to parent teacher conferences, much less meet a new teacher. This all felt very strange to me, but what the hell did I know?
We got out and started toward the school.
“Daddy, can you please hold my backpack?” Hannah whined.
“Sure, if you want to hold the box of cupcakes.” I offered her the box and her shoulders dropped.
“Never mind.”
I knew that the backpack was probably heavy for her, and as much as I wanted to take it from her and carry it, I knew that wouldn’t be doing her any favors. No one had carried my backpack for me and sometimes in life you had to do things you didn’t want to do.
Yeah, like playdates, I heard Lizzy’s voice in the back of my head.
I grinned as I held Hannah’s hand and we entered the school grounds. The parents of Miss Kim’s class were all huddled together at the bottom of the steps waiting to meet the new teacher. Some had flowers, a few had cards which I was sure had Starbucks gift cards in them, others had gift bags. I was glad Lizzy wasn’t here to witness her I-told-you-so moment. She’d beenadamantthat I had to meet the new teacher and that I absolutely could not meet them empty handed.
As soon as I joined the group, Heather beelined straight to me. She was in yoga pants, a zip up form fitting hoodie with her hair down and curled and a full face of makeup. Why would someone put on makeup to work out? Or if she wasn’t going to the gym, why was she in workout clothes?
I might be a genius, but there were things about the opposite sex I would just never understand.
Heather smiled up at me as she placed her hand on my forearm and leaned in close, too close for my liking, to me. “Have you met the new teacher yet?”
“Nope.” I reached down and adjusted the strap of Hannah’s backpack on her shoulder to give me an excuse to shift away from Heather.
Her hand dropped from my forearm, but she took a step closer to me, closing the distance I’d just created. “She’s from the East Coast, apparently.”
“Oh.” I stared straight ahead, only half listening as she rambled off the teacher’s credentials, including the prestigious school she’d apparently taught at in New York.
“…Peyton something.”
My brain lit up when it heard a familiar keyword and my head spun in her direction. “What did you say?”
Heather blinked up at me. “I said her name was Peyton something.”
Peyton. East Coast. Teacher.
During our dinner I hadn’t asked Peyton what she was going to do while she was here in San Francisco. But, of course, she was a teacher. So, she would teach.
Like something out of a movie, I turned in slow motion as the front doors of the school opened and Peyton Russo walked out with a huge smile on her face. My heart slammed into my chest. I was sure if my jaw hadn’t been hinged onto my face, it would have hit the floor.
“Oh, there she is!” Heather pointed.
Heather and the rest of the parents all surrounded her like she was Kim Kardashian and they were paparazzi. I kept my distance, watching undetected from a few yards away while she spoke to each parent as they introduced her to their children and gave her the résumé of what their child’s likes, dislikes, learning style, and food allergies were.
I had to give her credit, she patiently listened to all of them, making each and every one feel heard and seen.
Seeing her in a professional setting was so surreal. The last time I’d seen her at a school, we’d been students. Seeing her as part of the faculty, interacting with parents and children was a completely different experience.
“Daddy!” Hannah tapped my arm before reaching out and tugging on the box of cupcakes. “Can I take these to Miss Peyton?”
