Sam read out the names from his attendance sheet. When the students shouted, he'd look up. He wanted to know every face that he would be teaching. Seven minutes into his final period, he felt like he was on a roll. "Whitney-" He stopped, noticing the door open.

Everyone in the class pointed. "THERE!" A few snickered as the girl scowled at them.

He had heard a lot about her; she was a girl that was filled with so much talent that it overflowed to her long curly hair, but she had a steady history of being tardy. He was warned that she was going to be one to keep him on his toes. "Welcome."

She kept her head held high as she marched to her seat. She acted and dressed like a superstar, and she wasn't going to let anyone tell her she wasn't one. She waved her hand for him to continue.

Sam finished attendance then introduced himself. "I'm Mr. Evans, and I'm your new teacher." He took in the bored and tired faces. Because there were only weeks left in the school year, he wasn't going to get much attention, substitute or full time teacher. He pushed on. "Let's get started."


For the first time ever, Whitney rushed towards the front office. She dodged through the crowd of high schoolers. "Mom," she called, falling into the room. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to argue your case." Mercedes crossed her arms and looked at her daughter for answers. "13 tarties in this quarter alone."

Whitney shrugged.

"Whit, I need you to do better. If you put as much energy into studying as you do your looks and music, you would be on the honor roll. You're going to be a junior next year, and I want you to do more than just pass your classes."

"I'll try."

Mercedes looked into her daughter's eyes, wanting to believe her. "I don't want you to miss the bus." She ignored the grouching; Whitney had a long list of reasons to hate the bus. "And help your brothers with their homework." She sent the teen off and signed in for her meeting.


When students left, most teachers were right behind them, but not Sam Evans. He strolled the halls and took his time to get to the office. He smiled at the school receptionist, Mrs. Nelson. "The copy machine in the teachers' lounge is down."

The woman gave a hoarse laugh and welcomed him to the school. "That's a weekly occurrence." She offered to print them on the machine behind her.

"Just one copy of these three pages," he announced, flipping the pages of the workbook. He began to look around, but before he could take anything in, he noticed the conference room; the table was surrounded by teachers and the principal. "Was there a meeting that I forgot?"

She shook her head. "It's a parent conference for Whitney."

No more needed to be said. Like the late legend, Whitney could be recognized by just her first name. That school had four students by that name, but she out shined the others.

"She's one of your students, right? Was she late to your class today?"

He didn't want to add gas to the fire. "Guess I wasn't invited… it being my first day and all."

The meeting concluded, and Mercedes was released to let the teachers talk. She exited the room with her head hung. After a heavy breath, she mumbled, "That girl."

Sam stared at the familiar face from across the room. "Mercedes," he called. After years apart, he still couldn't fight a smile from forming whenever he saw her.

She shined at the sight. "Hi." She slowly approached. "How are you?"

"You look great- I mean, I'm great… and you look great too," he stammered out. For a moment, everything that wasn't Mercedes Jones had vanished, but Sam was dragged back to earth when he heard goodbye. He hated to watch her walk away. He turned to find Mrs. Nelson watching with raised eyebrows.

She labeled herself as someone with an inquiring mind, rebuking anyone that called her nosy. She knew more teenage gossip than any other faculty member. "How do you know Ms. Jones?" She had enough years on her to know that what she had witnessed was deep.

Sam did as Mrs. Nelson expected and down played. "We went to high school together." He took the papers and thanked her for the help. He hurried out of not just the office but the school building.

Sam and Mercedes first dated towards the end of her junior year. Their relationship was quiet and ended that summer. Later, they had a second try and then a third. Small differences separated them. God gave them chances to work it out, and Sam tried to take advantage of every one.

He stopped Mercedes before she could get into her car. He wanted to spend time with her. "I just moved to LA. If you're free one day, maybe you could show me around." He didn't see a ring on her finger, and he didn't want to assume she was single (but he hoped).

She didn't want to seem too eager, but she wanted the same. "I'm free now."


They chose a beachfront restaurant. The two had spent hours talking and laughing. They had years to catch up on. They happily shared the smaller details of their life, but there were some things that they couldn't hide forever.

Mercedes smiled as Sam took her hand and led her out of the building; they had a long walk on the pier to shore. When Sam complemented her taste in restaurants, she admitted. "I have a lot of stock in this place. Dad always went on about growing my money. I have a house and kids I want to send to college."

"How many kids do you have?"

She sighed, wishing she could have avoided that question a little longer. She tried to throw the question back at Sam, but to no avail. "I like seeing you, and if we continue, you're going to find out eventually." She watched Sam's face for his reaction. "I have four children."

Although some people would consider that a lot, Mercedes loved all four of them. Whitney, her only daughter, was the leader of the band at sixteen years old. Her boys, Braxton, Jackson and Prince, knew how to stand out too. Creativity filled her family as if it was in their blood.

"It's not so crazy." Sam tightened his grip on Mercedes. He wasn't going to run away, and he was sure she wasn't going to either. "I have four."

Sam's oldest son, Logan, was fourteen. He was called the easiest, and as more kids arrived, his parents had to learn to be quicker on their feet. When hearing names like Peter and Reed, you'd think they had aspirations of all their kids being future lawyers and doctors, but the youngest, Thor, would give you a glance into the adults' heads.

"By that point, we were too tired to cover up what we were doing. My kids are superheroes, and they're great," he smiled. Since his wife passed away two years prior, he thanked God that he only had boys. "I can do laundry and grocery shop, but I'm not a mother. It's kind of hard doing it alone."

"You don't have to." Mercedes refused to let a seed of doubt be planted in her mind. "Marry me."

Sam abruptly stopped and turned to Mercedes, almost blinded by the sunset behind her. "Really?" He waited for a sign of regret or for her to play it off as a prank.

"I want you to marry me right now." She never felt crazier, but she never felt more sure. "One dinner, and you've made me happier than I've been in years. I shouldn't have let you go."

"You had your dreams, and I didn't fit into them." He frowned as Mercedes lowered her head; that sounded like a no. "Do you remember what I said at the river in New York?"

She raised her eyebrows as she thought. After a moment, she shrugged. "I don't."

"I wished that you would realize that we are perfect for each other," he reminded her. He freed her hand and rested his fingers on her cheek. "I don't think they had an expiration date." Happiness radiated through him when he leaned in and gave her a passionate and timeless kiss. He was finally getting to live his dream.


Thank you for reading. I wanted to write something a little more innocent while I try to get back into the swing of writing. I'm so exited for this story, and I'd appreciate all comments and readers.