Kat woke up with a strange feeling Friday morning. Brie's tiny hand rested lazily on her cheek and that was the only comfort she had, looking down at her beautiful angel she smiled.
She got up slowly, trying her best not to wake her daughter up and walked slowly towards the kitchen. Her feet hurt with the cold temperature of the hardwood floor, but she needed to turn on her coffeemaker right away or she would have a hell of a day. Midterms were consuming her. She taught two classes of middle school social studies. Her talent as a teacher had been meanly questioned by other schools and some prissy parents but she held her grip and was faithful she could do this. She had to do it.
She drank her coffee while she packed Brie's lunch bag. She had not much more than thirty minutes to get her ready to go to daycare. What would her life be like without that little princess? She sighed at the thought. She missed Jonathan, Brie's dad, even though she was never truly in love with him. But he loved Bree with all his heart, but his work came first. Before leaving he begged Kat to marry a wonderful man who could be a good father to Brie. Brie had never understood totally what happened. She was only two years old, and Kat always told her that her dad loved her but would never be back. Now she was four, full of life and questions.
Her thoughts drew her back to high school. Good times. Matt, Nick, Kenny… Kenny. Where had he been? They had lost contact. At first, they used to write to each other. Then the letters stopped. She never knew his email address. She guessed it wouldn't make a difference since she couldn't think of what to say to him…
She once found him on Facebook, but his pictures were locked. She could see that he was engaged, though. But she could see no pictures of his bride to be. He was beautiful in the picture. Long Carmel and blonde hair and His blue eyes. He was stronger now. She looked up his name on google and found that he wrestled all over the states and Japan. Wow. That was his dream. She remembered when he first told her about it, after they had spent their first night together down by the lake
Her thoughts were interrupted by Brie's sweet voice.
'Mommy. I'm awake.'
'I can see you're awake, princess!' Kat said, picking her up. 'Are you ready to go to the daycare?'
Brie didn't answer.
'Come on, honey. It's not so bad. You can play with Miss Britt and the other girls. You had fun last time you were there!'
'I wanna to go to work with you.'
'Baby, you know you can't. Mommy is too busy and can't take care of you there.'
'I'm big. I can take care of myself.' Kat smiled.
'Sure, you can! That's why you're going to the daycare and show me how you can have a good time and help Miss Britt with the toddlers. What do you say about that?'
'Okay…'
Kat hugged her tight and got her ready to go. House was a mess, she thought, but being a single mom was hard work.
Brie got dropped off and Kat rushed to the school. A couple of students were there and had decorated her board with penis drawings.
My day couldn't start any better than this. She thought.
She felt the air coming back to her on lunch time. What craziness possessed her to want to teach. But that was her dream, she couldn't complain now.
She rushed out of the school to grab some lunch. The receptionist tried to catch her before she left.
'Miss Rivers, what about the Marlin girls'
'I'll deal with that when I come back, Anna. I'll call their mom, I promise.'
'But…'
'Please,' her eyes were begging. 'Just let me get out of here for a quick lunch.'
Kat opened the door to freedom and wanted to rush out of the studio. She could still hear Anna's protest inside, but she tried not to hear. This is HER time. As she closed the door, she turned to walk and bumped into a guy on the sidewalk. The bump was so strong that her petite body flipped, and she felt she was losing control of her balance. Till he picked her up.
'I'm so sorry.' He said, apologetically.
'That's okay… I…'
Kat was quick to answer, but her eyes got stuck into that figure holding her up. His eyes met hers and she removed her sunglasses.
'Kenny…' She said, breath finally coming out of her lungs.
He gasped, emotion and surprise all over his face.
'Kat…' He said with a sweet and happy smile.'
'What are you doing here? 'She asked still shocked.
'I'm wrestling downtown. You?'
She noticed he was still holding her up and little by little she went back to reality, letting his grip out of her.
'I moved back here. And I work here.' She smiled, pointing at the school.
'You're a teacher?'
'Yes.' She said, blushing with his eyes on her.
'Wow. Congratulations.'
she blushed.
Kenny looked deeply into her eyes.
'Were you heading somewhere?'
'Quick lunch break. We're getting ready for state tests.'
'I'll eat with you. The arena is down the street, so I was looking for a place.'
'Sounds great.' She could tell that her cheeks were red, but she didn't care.
As they walked to a small café two blocks away, Kenny talked to her, eyes pleading for an honest answer to his question.
'Kat. Can I ask you something?'
'Sure.' She answered, putting a strand of hair behind her ear. He loved that so much…
'If you knew how to contact me, why haven't you?'
Kat eyed him precisely and looked down.
'I didn't know what you'd say, Kenny. I… hurt your feelings before…'
'Kat' he, smiling genuinely, 'that was normal. We were young and you couldn't know when be back to town. How could I expect you to wait for me?' He paused and looked down, as they walked slowly. 'I wanted you to be my friend. You gave up on me.' He said in a teasing tone, making her laugh.
'It's not like that, Kenny.' She touched her hair again, nervously. 'I missed you a lot.'
He stopped walking and stared into her eyes. God damn it, she was even more beautiful than he remembered! Long crimson hair, same petite body, but there was something about her that was new. Maturity. Was she married? Kids? He had to wait for the right moment to ask her.
'You don't have to miss me anymore, then. We won't lose contact! In fact, what a coincidence to come across each other again back home. What are the odds?' He smiled beautifully, as her heart beat faster.
'You're right. Guess we're lucky enough to win the lottery now.'
He smiled gracefully at her as they walked inside the café. Her mind was spinning. She couldn't believe what was happening. She had thought about him a lot lately, but she never imagined seeing him face to face again. Ever. Did law of attraction really exist? They sat by the window and for a couple of minutes they couldn't say a word, realization of what was happening crushing their minds. He looks so beautiful, she thought. Mature. Responsible. A man. She had loved him as a boy, a young l man with a lot of potential on his hands. Now he was there sitting with her.
