cell phone number and e-mail address,” she said. “Call me.”
“I will,” he promised. “Every day.”
“Be careful going home, Cameron.” Then she just stood there, like she was waiting for something.
His heart drumrolled in his chest. The palms of his hands felt sweaty. Kiss her, he told himself. Do it. Just do it. But the moment passed and she was already turning away, and he’d missed his chance. Dweeb, he called himself. What kind of dweeb was he that he couldn’t even kiss a girl goodbye?
Lily couldn’t stop thinking about Cameron’s proposal. It seemed like a huge mistake to plan the whole summer around Sean and his golf career. The focus needed to stay on the children, though according to Cameron, they would all benefit. She worried the problem in her mind as she went through the usual end-of-school rituals. Ordinarily it was a special, bittersweet time for Lily, a time to step back and look at what she’d done, to sever the ties with the children she’d taught all year.
The last day for the children had been a day-long party, a time for ripping the covers off textbooks and carefully shelving them, for cleaning out tote trays, taking down artwork and going through the lost-and-found. As she doled out hugs and report cards and told each child she was proud of him, there was a sense of accomplishment, and one of sadness, as well. She couldn’t help but wonder where life would take these children.
“Goodbye, Miss Robinson!” The farewell went up like a cheer in the wake of the final bell.
Lily didn’t even try to keep order in the mad scramble to the door. The children looked at her, clearly expecting her to order them to form a straight line. This once, she didn’t. Why try to suppress all that exuberance? Russell Clark, the cheekiest boy in the class, naturally took the lead as they surged in a pack to the buses. Before heading to his bus, he offered her a smile of unexpected sweetness. “Have a nice summer, Miss Robinson.”
“I will,” she said. And she had no idea if she was lying.
“Where you going?” he asked her.
“On a big adventure,” she said with a grin, not knowing if that was the truth or not.
“Cool.” He led the class on a race to the bus circle.
Charlie brought up the rear. She caught hold of Lily’s hand and beamed at her. “No more Miss Robinson,” she said. “After today, I can call you Lily, right?”
“Absolutely right. So how are you celebrating the last day of school?”
Charlie made a face. “Uncle Sean’s working. He told Mrs. Foster we could stay up late and watch videos, though. Bye, Lily. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
Lily promised and held her smile in place, though she felt a special agony for Charlie. All around the parking lot, children were running into their mothers’ arms while Charlie walked briskly to her bus.
In her classroom, Lily lingered over the clearing off of her desk. There was the snow globe Charlie had taken from her desk, precipitating that last disastrous conference with Crystal and Derek. Lily gave the globe a shake and held it up to the light, watching the swirling flecks of glitter dancing and spinning around the tiny figure of the angel. I’m so sorry, she thought, aching with regrets, wishing things could be different.
She shoved the snow globe into a drawer and got up, giving the room a cursory glance as she prepared to leave. She had to make a decision. She had to figure out what was right for this family. The hell of it was, she couldn’t figure this out on her own. Though the idea was galling, she had to consult with Sean Maguire.
There was no reason in the world that such a prospect should make her heart race, but it did. She tried not to think about it as she locked up her classroom for the last time and headed to the teachers’ lounge to say goodbye to her colleagues. She didn’t stay long, though. Everyone was talking about their plans, asking about hers. And for the first time in her adult life, she had no answer. She didn’t have every moment preplanned and mapped out. As soon as she was able, she ducked out and drove home. There, she fretted some more and came to an inevitable conclusion. She had to go see Sean.
Her mind made up, she showered, washing off the chalk dust, fussing uncharacteristically over her hair and then