An Old-Fashioned Education by Fiona Wilde

I’m afraid, before your children.”
    “You don’t know–”
    “I do know!” she said hotly. “I can see it with my own eyes! Your kids are hurting.”
    “My kids are tough!”
    “Your kids are no tougher than any other kids!” she said. “Kerry is quiet. She doesn’t talk to you because she’s afraid to. And Aidan is angry and is taking it out on Kerry and me because he’s afraid, too! Walt, there are other men in this community that could take the helm, but you have responsibilities here, with your family! Why not just back off from your leadership duties and take care of matters under your own roof? Didn’t you tell me in the interview that strong families were what Pepper’s Hollow was all about? How can you lead a community when your own family is crumbling?”
    “You’re overstepping!” Walt said
    “You’re in denial!” she retorted.
    “I don’t need this,” he countered. “I don’t need you to come in here sounding like her!”
    “Sounding like who? Melissa?”
    Walt took a step back. Kerry had entered the room and Polly’s heart fell at the sight of the little girl clutching her old stuffed dog under her arm as her eyes moved worriedly from Walt to her teacher and back again.
    “I’m going to go help Aidan bring in the wood.” Walt turned, snatched his jacket off the nearby coatrack and stalked out of the house. His little girl began to cry.
    “Hey, hey, hey...” Polly rushed over and knelt down to hold her.
    “You’re going to run away now, just like Mommy!”
    “Kerry...” Polly wanted to reassure her that she would never leave, that she would always be there. But she could not. It would be a lie; even if she wanted to stay, Walt would not want her to after she’d challenged him. She was detecting a pattern here—Walt Springer had obviously gotten the same message from his wife, but had chosen to ignore her. She’d left, although how she could walk away from her children Polly did not understand. But she vowed not to judge her predecessor. Teaching at Pepper’s Hollow was not a lucrative job, and if she did not have means then she may have felt the kids would be more secure with their father.
    “Hey, honey,” she said. “I don’t want you to worry. I know it’s hard to believe but everything will be all right. You and your papa and your brother have had a very big adjustment with your mommy leaving and all, but I’m sure that things will get better.”
    “They only will if you stay!” Kerry said, and her eyes were desperate. “You can’t leave. You just can’t!” She burst into tears.
    Damn it. Kerry had never felt more helpless in her life. And she’d never been as angry as she was at Walt Springer.
    “Kerry,” she said, standing. “I’m going to make things better. But you have to stay here, okay? I mean it!”
    Kerry nodded emphatically. Polly leaned down and kissed the little girl on the top of her head. “I’ll be back soon.”
    She pulled on her jacket, gloves and boots and walked outside. The air was so cold it stung. Polly felt like she was breathing in little shards of glass. The sky was gray again, too. She wasn’t sure she could handle more snow but pushed all thoughts of weather from her mind.
    She walked around back, to where Aidan and his father were stacking wood.
    “We need to talk,” she said.
    “Not now, Polly,” Walt said. “I’m stacking wood.”
    “No. We need to talk now. Let Aidan go in and have some cocoa. There’s enough wood to make it through the day already.”
    Walt’s response was to split another log. “No,” he said. “We’ll talk later. When I say so.”
    “Fine,” she said. “If you won’t talk to me I’ll start talking to the residents of Pepper’s Hollow.”
    That got his attention. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Only that I’m about to go from door to door telling them all that you lied to them, and telling them how offended I am that you would sacrifice my reputation in a cowardly bid to