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Roland pouted in the kitchen as Robin rushed to cook an adequate breakfast before heading off to work. The morning had been chaotic as Robin tried to rush him through brushing his teeth and getting his clothes on while he whined. Ms. Lucas, the local widow with a sweet nature and gentle heart, would be babysitting him for the first time and his son wasn't thrilled about it. They'd argued all morning.
It had taken most of his patience to hear Roland's whining and seeing him pout through the beautiful morning. If it wasn't for the damper of the mood, he'd enjoy the green light slanting through the blinds. The birds chirping at the entrance to the windows. The trees that shadowed the backyard and the smell of life springing from their roots gave Robin the feeling of comfort and home. He needed comfort.
Alas, the mood overtook his need to be outdoors and take in the fresh scents. He'd tried all he could to establish a new routine, but roadblocks had been placed since Marian left. In the last few weeks, he'd struggled to explain to Roland his mother's absence. If Robin didn't resent Marian before she left, he sure did now. More so as time went by without the phone calls she'd promised to make.
Leaving her son behind and giving him the responsibility of explanation had harbored enough resentment to be angry with her. Marian had made one phone call since her departure and it had lasted all of five minutes explaining that she left a notebook behind and begging him to send it to her. The look of disappointment and despair on Roland's face when she'd hung up before speaking to him had put a hole in his heart. Trying to hold on to his love for his wife started to become difficult.
Robin fried eggs heated up sausages and turned over a hash brown patty in the skillet on a high flame. Sliding the steaming food on plates, he placed one on the counter. "Eat up, son. We have less than half an hour before we leave."
Roland picked up a fork and began to eat slowly never meeting his father's eyes. "Do you have to go to work, papa?"
"We talked about this. Ms. Lucas is gonna keep you company while I'm at work. She'll bring you for lunch, so we can eat together. It's a compromise and the best I can do. If you're nice, she'll let you call her Granny and she'll give you candy."
With a mouth full, Roland nodded, "Okay."
Robin scarfed down his food and hurried out of the room and up the stairs to pull on his work shirt. A crisp forest green shirt tucked into his black slacks was the best he could do. His boots were a little scuffed but sturdy and nice enough for teaching a group of kids.
He slung on a belt and grabbed his briefcase and rushed down the stairs, he placed them by the door. "Ready?"
Roland sat on the floor by the door to slip on his shoes. He took the coat his father offered him and stuck his arms in. Robin helped him zip and button-up. Lastly, he shoved his beanie on his head as the door opened. Roland kicked the paper on the floor as Robin locked up. Absently, he picked up the paper and threw it on the wicker couch by the door before locking the metal gates and easing out onto the sidewalk balancing his coffee mug in one hand.
The sky was blue and cloudy with small beads of water falling from the sky in soft hews. The slow and soft raindrops hit his cheeks as Robin hurried Roland into his car seat. Roland was almost five and wanted desperately to go to school with his father. For now, he'd have to meet Ms. Lucas and stay with her. He prayed she'd break through this depressive smog before long.
Robin skirted the hood and got into the car. Turning the engine, he drove down Main Street toward Lucas' Bed and Breakfast. He had to stop at a light and pause to let Mr. Clark back out of his driveway. They exchanged a wave as he pulled up outside of the Bed and Breakfast.
The house was a large and old-world structured painted white. The pillars and windows reminded Robin of movies set in the 1800s. The paint faded but the flowers in the window beds were fresh and bright. A tree swing weighed down by the water droplets swung in the wind. The pillars were wrapped in green growth and bright colorful flowers blooming.
Roland said, "Wow, this is her house? It's like a castle."
Robin smiled, "Yup, she runs a Bed and Breakfast. People stay here like a hotel and eat at her diner. You see that little house over there?"
"The blue one?" Roland asked as the engine shut off.
"Yes, that's her house. You'll get to help her get the rooms ready for guests. You think you can handle that?" He took off his seat belt and opened the back to help Roland out of his seat.
"Uh-huh. I want to swing on the tree. Can I, papa?" His face brightened, and his eyes twinkled with childhood mischief.
Robin felt instantly calmer and better about this situation. "When it stops raining you can ask Ms. Lucas. Let's go inside so you can meet her." He grabbed Roland's bag and slung it over his small shoulders.
When they walked up to the entrance of Lucas' Bed & Breakfast, Roland stared with big eyes and his mouth open wide. The outside held blue and white shutters with hanging pots of magenta teardrop flowers and fuchsias in bright purples, reds, and pinks. Roland didn't know anything about flowers but they sure were pretty. The green of the plants hanging below the flowers peeked up with green life.
Inside, it was warm. The desk was oak preserved to keep the originality. An open guest book with a pen holder sat on the left with a nearly empty list of names. The back wall held wooden boxes painted black labeled with rooms and keys in the shape of forest animals. The rooms had unique names carved into them. Cottontail Trail Suite, Alice in Wonderland, Queen of Enchantment, King of the Jungle, and Three Bears. Each key number was bent in the shape of the animal it belonged to.
Pots of flowers filled the window that welcomed natural light. Ms. Lucas stood behind the counter with her hair pinned up in silver curls and her fresh face holding a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. She wore little makeup and an apron over a flower dress and grey sweater. "Well, hi there. This must be Roland. Hi, kiddo."
Roland smiled shyly clutching to his father's hand, "Wow, you have a really big house. My papa said you have guests who sleep over sometimes."
Ms. Lucas nodded, "Yea, that I do. I'll need a strapping boy to help me replace towels and bedsheets. My late husband used to help. Now, It's just me and my granddaughter, Ruby."
Roland asked innocently, "What's he late for?"
Robin couldn't suppress a chuckle and his dimples poked through his cheeks, his laugh echoing in the space. "I'm sorry," he said to her. "No, Roland. It means that he passed away. Like your Grandpop."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you get sad? I cried when Grandpop died. We took him flowers and put a nameplate in the dirt. My mama said it was to remember him."
Robin saw the gleam of tears shimmer in her eyes. "Well, I miss him, and I get sad sometimes. Though, he's been gone a long time. If you look behind you, there's a picture of him over the mantle of the fireplace."
Roland turned to see the picture of the man in sandy white hair, wise eyes, and a smile that brightened the room. He wore a striped shirt and a red bow tie, matching suspenders resting on his shoulders. "He looks like he was smart. Did he give you smiles and flowers? My papa gives flowers to mama when they go out to dinner and smiles every day."
She laughed, "He sure did. Now, your Papa needs to get to work. Why don't I show you around?"
"Okay," he took her hand and glanced back to see his father take a step toward him.
Robin crouched down to his level and brought him in for a hug. "I'll see you at lunch. You behave and do what Ms. Lucas says. Keep your head up and if you feel sad, you try to think of happy thoughts."
Roland turned and was distracted by the book on the shelf and the dishes in the hutch. He smiled when she turned and winked before walking through a door. He turned and let out a breath knowing this wasn't a bad idea, it might've been the best one yet.
"This is our hallway, this is where we have our supplies," Mary Margaret Blanchard reached in and turned on a light. Butcher paper stacked on a device was rolled in different colors along the wall. A desk held a paper cutter, printer paper, a printer, and a used computer. Built-in cabinets lined the wall with random memos, and cups with pens and office notepads were scattered.
"You can come in here to make copies or this closet," she opened to reveal random supplies, "Is in here. We all share responsibility in ordering and keeping it full." Mary Margaret closed it and moved to another metal cabinet. "Here is where we keep other shared materials. There's a list posted here and the person who is responsible for replacing it. We take turns when we can."
Regina Mills kept up as much as she could and listened to the tour. If she had a question, she filed it away in her mind to ask later.
Mary Margaret led her down to the next room. "Here are the faculty bathrooms, we keep them locked. You'll have a key in the classroom. If you need toilet paper or anything, there's a cabinet in the lounge which we'll get to in a minute." They walked down past the bathrooms, another closet with supplies, and a small office where the principle and secretary were housed.
"These are the classrooms as I said. I'm down here with Ashley Boyd, and across from us you have Belle Gold with second grade and Albert Spencer, our fourth-grade teacher. The other two rooms further down are yours and Robin Locksley's and there are two empty classes that we'll be using for testing."
Mary Margaret walked down the hall between the classrooms toward the lounge. "That's pretty much all there is. Do you have any questions?"
"I have a few," she admitted. They walked down the hall and Mary Margaret tried to answer them the best she could.
Robin rushed into the teacher's lounge to fill his mug with coffee. The sugar container was empty to his dismay. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the Splenda he didn't prefer and dumped two packets in the bottom. With a dollop of cream, he grabbed the pot and poured it. He had under twenty minutes to get in his class and ready his lesson plans to start his day.
With his mug full, he leaned on the counter and closed his eyes. The scent of the coffee filled his senses replacing the staleness of the room. Four walls of white with a large circular table in the center holding eight chairs comprised the teacher lounge. The white-topped counters over turquoise cabinets held flyers and memos in disarray.
The counters were topped with a microwave, sink, coffee pot, and assorted dishes that had been donated. None of them matched and the sizes and colors didn't have any cohesive theme. The refrigerator in the corner hid a stain on the wall that had been put there a year before by a student prank. A tradition of teachers was to bring in magnets to fill the blank spaces on the freezer. They ranged from states, national parks, funny limericks, quotes, cartoon characters, and sports teams.
A snack machine that had long been empty was dying in the corner of the room. It had been this way for a while. Robin and others had advocated getting the machine filled but funding for the teachers didn't extend to the lounge. So, it sat unused with the plug wrapped around the leg with the wires poking up in a makeshift fountain.
Taking a deep breath, he drank the hot beverage and felt his belly warm. The ache behind his eyes started to fade slowly. The stress of the morning still plagued his shoulder muscles. He could only hope the week would mellow. Hearing voices down the hall, he opened his eyes to see Mrs. Blanchard walk in with a woman he didn't recognize.
"Oh, morning Mr. Locksley," she smiled sweetly. Her pixie cut black hair and black winged eyeliner over laser green eyes gave her the look of a fairy or a princess. She was an attractive woman and he adored her. They'd been friends for years, so the mention of his last name brought a smirk to his face and confusion to his mind.
"Mrs. Blanchard," he smirked at her. "Who do we have here?"
Her wink told him she was trying to be professional. "This is Regina Mills, she'll be filling in for Mrs. Locksley while she's on sabbatical. I'd like you to meet Mr. Locksley. He's been with the Camden School District for ten years now. He started in high school and has been gracious enough to help with our elementary education. We're lucky to have him this year."
"Well, they're in need of help and I couldn't resist. I find molding young minds has been my calling. I can only hope my son will benefit from my teaching once he starts in the fall," he shook her hand.
Regina with her dark mysterious eyes smiled, "You have a son? How old?" He glanced down her very business attire and sensible heels.
"He'll be five in August. Just in time for Kindergarten. He's all but ready to join our ranks. Do you have any kids?"
She smiled, and his heart fluttered involuntarily. He shook it off as she spoke and averted his eyes.
"I do. Henry is ten," she said proudly.
Mrs. Blanchard added, "Henry is in my class. I look forward to getting to know him. So, I have to run and get ready for the kids to come in. I'll see you at lunch?" she asked him.
Robin nodded, "Roland and Widow Lucas will be joining me."
"Regina…I mean, Ms. Mills, it was wonderful to meet you. Good luck and don't hesitate to reach out to any of us if you need anything."
"Thank you," she said to her back and glanced back at Robin awkwardly.
Robin watched Mary Margaret hurry out of the room and he turned to the brunette with the dark eyes. "I should go too. The kids like to trickle in and catch up on their art projects. I wouldn't want a mess. If you need anything, let me know. I'll be across the hall. It was nice to meet you."
He held out a hand again and she shook it. Looking over his shoulder, he watched her turn and pick up the coffee pot. There was something alluring about her eyes, but for guilt for looking closer set into his gut. His eyes slid down the back of her and he swallowed before turning and leaving the room.
What the hell are you doing? Shaking his head again, he walked down the hall to his classroom.