Chapter 1 Instantly
Stef was so mad. She had just hung up the phone with Mike and he was obviously drunk. They were supposed to both go to the tour of the charter school, now she would have to go alone. She knew the separation was hard on him, but thought that he'd put his anger aside for the sake of their son. She walked into Anchor Beach ready for her tour and the secretary asked her to wait a moment for the Assistant Vice Principal. Stef said she'd be outside as she still needed to calm down a bit after the conversation with Mike.
Lena was running late. With her assistant out sick, she had to do all the tours to parents of perspective students along with all the paperwork. She rushed outside to the women waiting on the bench "Sorry to keep you waiting, "Hi, I'm Lena Adams, the Assistant Vice Principal".
Hi, "I'm Stef Foster". As Stef stood up, she was struck by the beauty of the person in front of her. As they shook hands, an electric current ran through her body. She didn't want their handshake to end. She was momentarily speechless lost in Lena's eyes.
Lena was having the same thoughts, "So, your son".
Stef could barely say her son's name "Brandon¸ Brandon, right".
Lena asked, "He will be starting kindergarten this fall"?
"Yes, he's 5".
"Great I would be glad to give you a tour, tell you about our school, are we waiting for your husband to join?"
"Uh, no, he's a..He couldn't make it"
Lena was happy it would just be the two of them, "Well, uh, follow me". As Lena turned to go, she wasn't sure why she was smiling. She was almost giddy, she was now glad her assistant was out sick and she got to give this tour to Stef Foster. As she showed Stef around the school and introduced her to some of the Staff, she had to keep reminding herself that Stef was married. Something drew her to this woman and she desperately wanted to get to know her better. When Stef drove away Lena was disappointed their time had ended and hoped that she'd see this woman again soon.
As Stef was driving home, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the rear view mirror and she saw something she hadn't seen in a while: A spark in her eyes and a smile on her face. She was pleased with what she learned about Anchor Beach and was excited that Brandon would have the opportunity to go to this school, but she knew that wasn't what was making her feel so good inside. It was Lena, Lena Adams. Why did she feel so good after less than an hour with this woman. She was confused and not quite sure what to do.
That night, as Lena was looking over the files of all the new students, she was disappointed after she read through Brandon Foster's file. Both his parents were listed as contacts, Mike and Stef Foster, sharing the same address. Lena quickly shut the file and tried to put her thoughts of Stef behind her. Stef was married and straight, how could she be attracted to her.
Over the next two weeks, Stef tried to think of reasons to contact Lena, but she was embarrassed and really had no reason to reach out to her. She knew school would be out for the summer soon and if she didn't make an attempt to contact Lena, she wouldn't know how to until school started again in August. That night as she listened to Brandon play with his toy piano she had an idea. The next day she called Anchor Beach and asked for an appointment with Lena. Her assistant said that she didn't have any appointments available as she was busy with the end of school. Disappointed, Stef left her number hoping Lena would get the message.
Lena looked up from her paperwork as her assistant walked in at the end of the day. She said that she was heading home and reminded Lena of some of the important meetings she had the next day. "By the way, Mrs. Foster called about Brandon, but I told her you didn't have any appointments this week".
"What, Mrs. Foster called?"
"She wanted to talk to you about Brandon, but I assured her everything was set for him to start in the Fall and she didn't have anything to worry about".
"Did she leave a number? I don't mind giving her a call to reassure her".
"Yes, it's right here". She handed Lena the memo with Stef's number. "I'll see you tomorrow".
"Have a good evening". Wow, Lena now had a reason to call Stef. Maybe Stef really did have some concerns about Brandon, but she wanted to see if there was anything more. When she got home, she dialed Stef's number.
"Hi, Mrs. Foster, this is Lena Adams. I'm sorry to call so late, but I understand you had some concerns about Brandon and Anchor Beach".
"Hi, Please, call me Stef. I don't really have concerns, but I was hoping to stop by and talk to you about some things".
"Well, I really don't have any time over the next few days during the school day, but I would be happy to meet you on the weekend if you want".
"I don't want bother you on the weekend".
"It's not a bother. I like to always be available for my parents".
"Ok, there's a coffee shop at the Promenade".
"That's perfect, is Saturday at 11a good".
"Yes, I'll see you on Saturday. Good night".