Elizabeth Boland was many things and punctual was always one of them. She stood pressed against the back wall of her daughter's classroom. She folded her arms over her chest as she watched the teacher organising the students who were supposed to be ready just under ten minutes ago. She could wait. She didn't have anywhere else to be. Her eyes scanned the room and landed on Emma who was sitting up attentively as she listened to every word her teacher was saying. Beth let out a content sigh because if there was one thing she didn't have to worry about, it was that she had raised her children right.
Her attention was taken away from admiring her daughter when her name was repeated. She turned her head toward the voice and forced a smile as she walked through the sea of children. "Boys and girls, we are so lucky to have such a special guest here with us today." The older lady spoke just as Beth turned on her heel, so she was facing the back of the classroom. She waved at the students before the floor was all hers.
"Good morning everyone." She greeted the children warmly. "My name is Ms Boland, some of you know me as Emma's mommy." She said, looking over at her youngest child. "Does anyone know what special day is coming up very soon?" She asked, this time addressing the entire classroom with her gaze. Her eyes moved past a little boy she vaguely recognised, before settling on him again. Rio's boy looked up at her, his eyes met with hers and she recognised the look on his face because it was a reflection of exactly how she felt. She watched as his eyes flickered upon realising, he had seen her before. In the park, recently.
A few hands started to raise. Some were more enthusiastic than others, waving around excitedly trying to grab her attention. Beth was forced to relax and flash a warm smile across the room. "Wow, so many of you know the answer." She laughed, looking between familiar faces to try and pick who to call upon. "How about you, sweetie." She pointed toward a little girl whose pigtails were falling down after only 45 minutes since being dropped off.
"Christmas?" She guessed, looking unsure of herself.
Beth smiled. "Yes sweetie, Christmas is coming but we'll have to wait a little longer for that one. Anyone else want to have a guess?"
This time Beth called upon a little boy with thick framed classes who she had just seen picking his nose not ten minutes earlier. "Mother's Day!" He answered excitedly because he knew he had the correct answer.
"That's right. It is Mother's Day." Beth smiled. "Today I am going to help you make an extra special gift for all of the special mommies out there." She explained, moving to the tub of craft materials she had brought from home.
She allocated one boy and one girl to pass around all of the craft supplies to each table. Beth supervised as the two children made sure every kid had exactly what was required to follow along with her exact instructions.
After explaining every detail in the most kid friendly manner she could manage, she encouraged the children to raise their hands If they had any questions or needed assistance. She expected to have a dozen hands shoot up straight away, but only one hand shot up in front of her eyes. "Yes, sweetie?" She asked, pointing over at Marcus who was waving his fingers to grab her attention.
"What if you don't have a mommy?" He asked her in a tone that caused a lump to catch in Beth's throat. She didn't know what to say at first because her mind was spinning with dozens of scenarios of which could have resulted in Rio raising a motherless child.
"Oh! That's okay." She said, pushing out a sunny tone, and a wide smile. "Some people In this room have two mommies, or two daddies, some only have a daddy, or only a mommy. You can make this card for whoever you want. I'm sure your daddy would love something special made just for him." She said with a wink as she kneeled down next to the child sized table.
"Okay." Marcus nodded, glancing down at his arrangement of assorted coloured cardboard. "I think he likes this colour." He said as he picked up a blue marker and flicked the cap off in one swift motion. Beth let out a breathy chuckle because he was just like his father, if Rio had any innocence left in him.
"I'm sure he would love that colour." She nodded encouragingly.
"He told me all the pretty ladies have blue eyes." He said to her matter of a factly.
Beth didn't know what to say. She just nodded her head. "Well you're all settled. I should go and see if anyone else needs any help." She told the little boy as she moved to stand up again. She watched him for a moment longer, before returning her attention to the rest of the class.
It was later that evening when Beth tossed and turned during the night. She couldn't stop thinking about that little boy and his lack of a mother. She had the bed to herself, thankfully, so she had no bad feelings about switching on her bedside lamp and reaching across to pick up her phone from the nightstand. She contemplated it for a few minutes before deciding against messaging Rio. They didn't have that kind of relationship and she didn't want to start it now. She let out a long sigh as she stared up at the ceiling, mind racing with thoughts she couldn't turn off.
The following morning drop off went as smoothly as it always did. She dropped off each child without a hitch, double checking they all had their packed lunches, and everything else they needed. She walked Emma into her classroom and made sure her lunch was in the fridge with all the other children's. She gave her youngest a kiss goodbye and headed back to where she had parked her minivan.
She didn't know why it kept surprising her to see Rio appear out of nowhere, but as per tradition she dropped her keys upon seeing him leaning against her vehicle. He stood out like a sore thumb, black against silver. She reached over to pick up her car keys, and wondered if it would have killed the man to be chivalrous enough to lean down and help her for once.
"I hear you're responsible for this?" Rio said as he produced the handmade card from behind his back.
Beth took a few steps toward him, tucking her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear as she nodded her head. "I am." She confirmed, finding no reason to deny it.
Rio nodded as a hint of a smirk formed in the corner of his mouth. She noticed it. Of course, she did. It was so familiar to her now.
"What's a matter, you don't like arts and crafts?" She asked him mockingly.
Rio snickered for half a second. "No." He said, but it wasn't an answer to her question. He watched as she moved to the side of her van and unlocked the driver's side door to get in.
"I bet you'll go all out. Brunch. Gifts. Spa day." He said as he watched her open the door. "Oh my bad, your last spa day didn't go so well now did it, mami?" He asked, reaching out to untuck the hair from behind her ear.
Beth let out a shaky breath as she watched him. Her skin tingled as his fingers moved from her hair to delicately trace the outline of her face. "We're having a picnic, actually. Annie is bringing Sadie. My mom can't make it this year, but she's getting older I don't expect much of her these days. Dean is spending the day with his own mother. We'll be at the park. 10am sharp." She said to him. It wasn't an invitation, but she knew that he understood why she was mentioning it. Running into him again wouldn't be something she would hate.
He dropped his hand from her face and stood there silently for a moment before he started stepping backward. Her eyes didn't leave his until he turned around and walked away. Coincidentally that was the same time she finally remembered to breathe.