sure...whatever.”
A month before, Krista would have been shocked to hear Toni
accept change of any kind, but hairline cracks had begun to appear in the
woman’s cloistered existence, and aspects of her old friend had begun to slip
through. Now, when Kris came over, they talked. Not long, in-depth
conversations, but conversations nonetheless. The changes were subtle, and no
one except Krista and perhaps Laura had noticed, but something other than
despair had begun to take hold of Toni Vaughn.
Noticing a candy bar on the counter, Kris cocked her head to
the side. “Where’d that come from?”
Toni followed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth turned
up a fraction. “Laura.”
“Laura gave you chocolate? Any particular reason?”
“She ran out of fruit,” Toni said as she headed to her
bedroom.
That day had started out like any other day for Toni. She
woke up at five and shuffled into the kitchen to turn on the coffeemaker.
Returning to her bedroom, she pulled on her trainers, jumped on her treadmill
and jogged for an hour, and after showering and pulling on some clothes, she
poured herself a cup of coffee and nibbled some biscuits while she prepared her
lunch. Filling her thermal mug, she grabbed her lunch and headed out the door,
triple-checking all the locks before she headed to work.
Toward late afternoon, she heard the familiar click of heels
on the tile, and though her facial expression didn’t change, in the deep
recesses of Toni’s brain, a smile was born. Looking up as Laura walked into the
room, their eyes met for the briefest of seconds and Toni voiced a very quiet
hello before returning her eyes to the papers scattered on her desk.
Since the day she had visited Laura’s office to get the
first-aid kit, the anxiety Toni always felt around people other than her
students had eased, at least where Laura MacLeod was concerned. Knowing that
she owed the woman something, and buying her dinner was out of the question,
common courtesy would have to do.
Laura took her seat as Toni handed out test papers, and for
the better part of an hour, the only sound to be heard was that of pencils
scratching on paper. Sitting like she always did, her legs crossed at the
ankles and tucked slightly under her chair, Laura’s head remained bowed as she
filled out reports, while Toni sat at the front of the room, occasionally
stealing glances of the department head.
While Toni cared nothing about the clothing she wore, as she
studied the woman at the back of the class, her lip curled just a hair. Partial
to wearing skirts with jackets to match, today Laura was wearing the most basic
of black...and it was basic. It seemed to fit her small frame perfectly, as if
it had been tailored to her curves, but in Toni’s opinion, it lacked a feminine
softness. It spoke of authority and business, and even though it couldn’t be
considered masculine, without the white silk blouse unbuttoned just enough to
show a hint of cleavage, as far as Toni was concerned, Laura’s ensemble was
downright boring.
The tests were gathered and class was dismissed. As the
students shuffled out, Laura gathered her belongings and walked out of the
room, but when Toni turned and saw no apple on her desk, a fissure opened and
the person she once was made an appearance. “Oi!” she hollered. “Where’s my
bloody apple?”
Almost to the stairs, Laura stopped and then turned to look
down the hallway. Her entire face spread into a smile as she slowly walked
back, and as she entered the classroom, Toni wore an actual grin. It wasn’t
ear-to-ear or toothy or over-the-top, but it was definitely a grin…and it
looked wonderful.
Opening her bag, Laura rummaged around until she found a
candy bar, and placing it on Toni’s desk, she said, “I haven’t had time to
shop. Hope you like chocolate.”
***
Amused that Laura was now giving candy to her reclusive
friend, Krista examined the wrapper for a second before dropping the treat on
the
A month before, Krista would have been shocked to hear Toni
accept change of any kind, but hairline cracks had begun to appear in the
woman’s cloistered existence, and aspects of her old friend had begun to slip
through. Now, when Kris came over, they talked. Not long, in-depth
conversations, but conversations nonetheless. The changes were subtle, and no
one except Krista and perhaps Laura had noticed, but something other than
despair had begun to take hold of Toni Vaughn.
Noticing a candy bar on the counter, Kris cocked her head to
the side. “Where’d that come from?”
Toni followed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth turned
up a fraction. “Laura.”
“Laura gave you chocolate? Any particular reason?”
“She ran out of fruit,” Toni said as she headed to her
bedroom.
That day had started out like any other day for Toni. She
woke up at five and shuffled into the kitchen to turn on the coffeemaker.
Returning to her bedroom, she pulled on her trainers, jumped on her treadmill
and jogged for an hour, and after showering and pulling on some clothes, she
poured herself a cup of coffee and nibbled some biscuits while she prepared her
lunch. Filling her thermal mug, she grabbed her lunch and headed out the door,
triple-checking all the locks before she headed to work.
Toward late afternoon, she heard the familiar click of heels
on the tile, and though her facial expression didn’t change, in the deep
recesses of Toni’s brain, a smile was born. Looking up as Laura walked into the
room, their eyes met for the briefest of seconds and Toni voiced a very quiet
hello before returning her eyes to the papers scattered on her desk.
Since the day she had visited Laura’s office to get the
first-aid kit, the anxiety Toni always felt around people other than her
students had eased, at least where Laura MacLeod was concerned. Knowing that
she owed the woman something, and buying her dinner was out of the question,
common courtesy would have to do.
Laura took her seat as Toni handed out test papers, and for
the better part of an hour, the only sound to be heard was that of pencils
scratching on paper. Sitting like she always did, her legs crossed at the
ankles and tucked slightly under her chair, Laura’s head remained bowed as she
filled out reports, while Toni sat at the front of the room, occasionally
stealing glances of the department head.
While Toni cared nothing about the clothing she wore, as she
studied the woman at the back of the class, her lip curled just a hair. Partial
to wearing skirts with jackets to match, today Laura was wearing the most basic
of black...and it was basic. It seemed to fit her small frame perfectly, as if
it had been tailored to her curves, but in Toni’s opinion, it lacked a feminine
softness. It spoke of authority and business, and even though it couldn’t be
considered masculine, without the white silk blouse unbuttoned just enough to
show a hint of cleavage, as far as Toni was concerned, Laura’s ensemble was
downright boring.
The tests were gathered and class was dismissed. As the
students shuffled out, Laura gathered her belongings and walked out of the
room, but when Toni turned and saw no apple on her desk, a fissure opened and
the person she once was made an appearance. “Oi!” she hollered. “Where’s my
bloody apple?”
Almost to the stairs, Laura stopped and then turned to look
down the hallway. Her entire face spread into a smile as she slowly walked
back, and as she entered the classroom, Toni wore an actual grin. It wasn’t
ear-to-ear or toothy or over-the-top, but it was definitely a grin…and it
looked wonderful.
Opening her bag, Laura rummaged around until she found a
candy bar, and placing it on Toni’s desk, she said, “I haven’t had time to
shop. Hope you like chocolate.”
***
Amused that Laura was now giving candy to her reclusive
friend, Krista examined the wrapper for a second before dropping the treat on
the
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