Page 10 of The Perfect Distraction

“I like the bookmark,” Joey said.

“You can have it.”

“Really?”

“Um-hmm. I have a whole stack of these in my classroom.” The bookmark had a green worm on it and the word READ in red capital letters.

“Why don’t you try reading the next page using the bookmark this time?”

Joey read the next page using the bookmark as a guide, and other than stumbling on a few big words, his reading was much more fluid. He must have thought so too because, when he finished, he looked up at her with a proud smile on his face.

“It helped!”

Pleased with his reaction, she decided to move on with the lesson. Pointing to one of the words he’d mispronounced, she demonstrated how to sound it out one syllable at a time.

“I already know how to do that,” he said.

“Great. Why don’t you show me by reading the next page?”

He read the next page using the techniques she’d taught him, and she noticed a marked improvement. Joey’s primary issue with reading was that he was in too much of a hurry. Once he’d slowed down and focused, he read just fine.

Knowing his personality, she decided to wrap up the lesson before he got bored. “Hey, how about if we stop and get some lunch?” she suggested.

“Yeah!” Joey replied, looking happier than he had all morning.

“On second thought, maybe I better call your dad first.” She’d already exchanged phone numbers with Colton, and she quickly pulled out her phone.

“Um, Miss Summers?”

“It’s Beth,” she reminded him gently.

“Beth. You probably shouldn’t call him in here.”

She giggled, loving it when kids reminded adults of the rules. “You’re right. Let’s check out a couple of these books, and then I’ll call him.”

Joey produced his library card at the check-out desk, and a few minutes later, they walked outside with his books tucked into a library tote bag along with the bookmark she’d given him.

They sat down on a nearby bench, and she dialed Colton’s number.

After a few rings, he answered sounding slightly out of breath. “Hey. Everything okay?”

“Yes. Everything’s fine. I was just wondering if I could take Joey out to lunch before I bring him back to the shop?”

“Oh. I…uh…”

“If you’d rather I didn’t…”

“No. It’s just that we usually have lunch together,” he said.

“Well, why don’t you join us?” she said. Wait a minute. What are you doing? But it was too late, and Colton was already answering.

“Oh. Okay.”

But he didn’t sound okay, and she wondered why. She realized how little she knew about him, not that his personal life was any of her business. However, if she was going to be tutoring Joey this summer, it would be helpful to know more about his family situation. Oftentimes, stress on the home front affected a child’s academic performance, and maybe the divorce had had that effect on Joey.

“There’s a restaurant on the harbor—Stafford’s—do you know it?” Colton said.

“Yes.”

“Meet you there in ten minutes.”

After they hung up and she’d slipped her phone back in her purse, she looked at Joey and said, “Okay. Let’s go meet your dad for lunch!”