A Perfect Pair

“You’re finished with work awfully early today, aren’t you?” Josey asked.

“I was feeling pretty lousy, so I went in early and knocked off early.”

“Oh. Were you not feeling well yesterday, either? I called you a couple of times but I thought you were out.”

“No,” Nate answered, stretching one long leg out in front of him and inspecting his pants leg. For lint, probably, Josey thought. “I just didn’t feel like talking to anyone.”

That was unlike him, but before she could start in about it, a small scuffling noise drew her attention to the door, where a little girl with a blond ponytail stood, hesitant to enter, glancing uncomfortably at Nate. She brushed a pink sneaker back and forth on the floor.

“Sara! What are you doing here so late?”

“I was playing on the swings with Joan and Courtney, and I remembered I forgot my spelling book.”

“Well, then, you’re lucky I’m still here. Run and get it.”

Sara didn’t make a move. She just stared at Nate.

“That’s a friend of mine. Mr. Bennington.” Josey waited for Nate to introduce himself or say something to put her student at ease, but for some strange reason—he looked as nervous as the child did. They just watched each other in a wary game of size-up.

It was Sara who broke the silence. “That’s my desk,” she said, her words turning forceful. “You’re sitting in my seat.”

Nate jumped up with a guilty look on his face, muttering, “I’m sorry.” He put his hands behind his back. His masculine frame towered over all the desks and chairs, making it seem like he had just stumbled into a dollhouse. Sara walked past him to her desk, knelt down and pushed her arm into it, fumbling. She slid her spelling book out of the mess, bending the soft cover back as she did so. She smoothed it out with a flat palm and then, as an afterthought, pulled out a thick round pen. She held it toward Nate. “Look at my pen.”