Page 75 of Taming I Do
“I’ll text you her number. I know she’s got a big order this week. Some museum in Texarkana flooded and needs their stuffed beaver display remounted. But I’m sure she’d love to talk to you.”
“Good. Now, onto bigger and more exciting things. Is Abby looking forward to me coming to her school today?”
I put my hands back on the wheel. “That’s all she wanted to talk about last night.”
“She’s a great kid.”
“She sure is.”
“I hope I live up to her expectations.”
“I don’t think you’ll have any problem with that. As long as she gets to tell everyone you slept on her trundle bed while your trailer was being de-cricketed, she’ll be in seventh heaven.”
Delilah let out a laugh. “Ah, the naivete of youth.”
The mood in the truck lightened and by the time we arrived at the middle school, Delilah seemed to be in better spirits. I introduced her to the office staff, some of them the same faces I’d seen on a daily basis when I’d attended school there. We were early, so Delilah asked if she could head over to Abby’s science class. The last time I’d been inside the walls of the junior high I’d been a student myself. Somehow the building felt like it had shrunk over the years. The lockers seemed narrower. The ceilings seemed lower. Although, the smell of teenage body odor and ammonia was the same.
I held the door and we slipped into the back of the classroom. The teacher was talking about recessive genes. I vaguely recalled studying the same topic, led by the same teacher, all those years ago.
Abby turned around, spotting us leaning against the back wall. She bounced up and down in her seat, and I could feel her excitement like it was a tangible cloud of bubbles, hanging in the air over her head. Finally, the bell rang, and she sprang from her desk.
Delilah was ready and had a hug waiting for her after she skipped to the back of the room.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Abby bounced on her feet like she couldn’t stand still.
“What are you learning about?” Delilah asked, her gaze flicking to the whiteboard.
“Nothing exciting. Just what kind of eye color two parents might have. Like Mom and Dad both have brown eyes so theodds of their kids having brown eyes, too, is really high. What color eyes do your parents have?”
“Oh. Um, my mom’s eyes are blue and my dad...” Delilah’s forehead furrowed. “I’m pretty sure his were brown. Isn’t that odd? I haven’t thought about it in so long, I’m not sure I remember.”
Abby checked the whiteboard. “He must not have been brown. If your mom’s are blue and his were brown, the chance of you having green eyes would be, like, zero percent.”
Delilah peered at the board. “Maybe they were green. I feel awful I can’t remember. I’m going to have to check when I get back. Otherwise it will drive me crazy.”
“But not now.” Abby grabbed her hand. “I can’t wait for you to meet my friends. Are you ready?”
“Of course. Show me where to go.”
I followed as my sister half led, half tugged Delilah to the auditorium, where the student body had gathered. The principal introduced her, and Delilah took the stage. I stood to the side as she launched into a speech talking about how she’d been bullied as a middle schooler. I’d planned on stepping out to check in with my brothers, but I got sucked into listening to her talk about what it felt like not to belong. I never would have guessed she’d been teased as a kid. The woman was drop-dead gorgeous. But she’d struggled with depression and major anxiety as a teen.
Hell, I wasn’t female, or a middle schooler, and her words still inspired me. When she finished her speech, she opened it up for questions and I took that opportunity to step into the hall. While I’d been spellbound by Delilah, I’d missed three calls from Lacey and one from Delilah’s mom. With a sense of trepidation, I dialed Lacey first. If something was going on, I’d rather hear it from her than have to deal directly with Delilah’s mother.
“There you are. I’ve been trying to reach you.” Lacey didn’t even bother saying hello.
I braced myself for something bad. “What’s going on?”
“We’ve got a problem. I just sent you a text with a screenshot.”
“Hold on a sec.” I pulled my phone away from my ear and opened my texts. An image of Delilah and her mother sitting at a table filled my screen. “I don’t get it.”
“Do you see where they are?” Lacey asked.
“A restaurant?” I zoomed in on the photo. Looked like the inside of that place over in Swynton. My heart dipped. “When was this taken?”
“Last night. And Adeline is having a heyday telling everyone that Ido can’t come up with anything good enough to feed Miss Lovin’ Texas, so she had to go to Swynton for dinner.”
I let out a soft chuckle. “Come on, Lacey. That’s ridiculous.”
