Page 58 of The Perfect Distraction

They went down the street to the nearest ice cream shop, and each ordered a chocolate cone. Since it was a beautiful summer day, the place was busy, and even though the shop owner seemed to recognize Joey, there was no time for questions. They took their ice cream outside, where they sat on a bench and ate it.

On the drive back to the shop, she thought about how much she’d enjoyed the day so far. Meeting Colton’s dad and brother, the tutoring session, lunch, ice cream. Such simple pleasures, but they’d made her feel good. She was starting to feel like she truly belonged there—like she was more than just a visitor passing through. She was deep in thought when Joey threw out a question that took her by surprise.

“How come you’re not married, Miss Beth?”

It was an innocent question, but it never failed to derail her, now more than ever. She considered how to answer and decided to be truthful without revealing too much.

“I almost got married once, but it didn’t work out.”

Joey seemed to be absorbing her answer, and then he went on. “Do you have any kids?”

“No, but I’d like to someday.”

“I thought so because you’re a teacher and teachers like kids.”

She smiled. “You’re right. I do.”

“And you like my dad too.”

She’d come to a stoplight, and she shifted uncomfortably, wondering where he was going with this. “Um-hmm. Your dad’s a nice man.”

“If you ever married him, you would have a kid—me!”

The light turned green, and the car jerked a little as she accelerated. His line of thought had caught her off guard, and she had no idea how to respond. How could she explain to a nine-year-old that even when people liked each other, it didn’t mean that they’d be together forever? Even boys were subjected to fairy tales, and she hated to spoil the idea of a happy ending for him. But Joey had already seen his parents split up, so he must realize that not all relationships last forever.

She was saved from having to respond because they’d reached Colton’s shop, and he, his dad, and brother were outside loading a piece of furniture into the back of someone’s truck. His attention diverted, Joey dropped the subject, and Beth inwardly sighed with relief.

As soon as she pulled into the parking lot and put the car in park, Joey jumped out and ran over to join the men. Joe and Mason gave her a friendly wave and then went back to the job at hand while Colton said something to them and then jogged over to her car.

“Hey. How’d it go today?”

“Great. He’s making progress.”

“Good. Can we talk more later? I’m kind of in the middle of…”

“Of course. Yeah,” she said, flapping her hand like it was no big deal. Which it wasn’t. None of this was. This was only temporary. A flash in the pan. A blink of an eye.

“I’ll call you.”

“Okay.” She gave him a quick smile, and he turned and walked away, oblivious to the turmoil that was raging inside of her.

As she drove away, she thought, What am I doing? This is not going to end well. I just know it.

But even teachers can be wrong.