Her Valentine Family by Renee Andrews Page B

I.

Chapter Seven
    T he last thing Jessica had planned to do on Thursday afternoon was cancel her coffee plans with Chad, but nevertheless that’s exactly what she was about to do, thanks to a bizarre telephone call from Nathan’s teacher.
    She dialed Chad’s number as she crossed the quad toward the English building, and her English Comp class. He didn’t answer, and she really didn’t expect him to, since he was probably preparing to teach his last class for the day, but she didn’t want to break their plans via text message.
    She prayed he’d understand.
    After his voice mail greeting ended, she waited for the tone and then spoke as clearly as she could, given how worried she was about her son—about their son. “Hey, I’m sorry. I can’t do coffee tonight. Nathan’s teacher called, and she thinks there might be something wrong with him,” she said and then swallowed. She had to tell him more than that. “Not physically,” she clarified, “socially.” She shook her head, thinking about how awkward this was to say into a cell phone. She needed toactually talk to him about what Nathan’s teacher said. She needed parental advice. “She asked me not to speak to him until she has a chance to try to figure out what’s wrong. I guess she just wanted my permission to talk to him, and I told her she had it, that I’d wait about asking him anything, but now—now I’m thinking maybe I should talk to him tonight. I’m his mama, so I should probably be the one—”
    The phone beeped and an automated voice informed her that she had exceeded the allotted time to leave a message. She was then informed that she could rerecord or delete her message. Jessica debated an attempt to try leaving the message again so she didn’t sound so much like a paranoid mother, but it was time for her class to start, and she didn’t have the willpower to try and start over. Yeah, she’d botched the message, and yes, she forgot to tell him she’d still like to go out with him tomorrow night. But she knew he would return her call, and maybe she didn’t sound as pathetic as she thought.
    She entered her class in the nick of time, rather than her usual early arrival, dropped into her customary front row seat and concentrated on staying focused throughout the class. Unfortunately, her attempt at concentration failed. The class ended, and she had no clue about what Ms. Smelding discussed. She should have just gone on home after her first class so she could’ve gotten to Nathan quicker. Jessica sighed dismally and began gathering her books.
    â€œHere, honey.” An elderly voice broke through her thoughts, and she looked up to see Ms. Smelding standing in front of her, a batch of stapled papers extended toward Jess.
    Jessica glanced around and realized the rest of the class had already left while she was thinking about Nathan and gathering her things. “What’s that?”
    â€œMy notes from today’s lecture. Normally you don’t miss a word I say. Today, I’d wager you didn’t catch one. Never even saw you pick up your pen. So I figure I’ll give you a freebie this week, since you’re probably the only one in here who’s actually trying to learn something.” She pushed the papers toward Jessica’s nose. “Better grab them quick. My niceness can only last so long, you know. It runs out with age.”
    Jessica took the papers. “Thank you. I’m sorry about being so distracted. My son’s teacher called me after my first class and said she wanted my permission to talk to him tomorrow and that she suspects he may have a problem, socially.” She shrugged and was a little embarrassed when her mouth quivered.
    The older woman stepped closer, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Well, now, that explains everything. Nothing can tear at your heart more than thinking