him.
Tyler shifted from foot to foot, nearly dancing in impatience. “Okay. Have a good day,” he said, giving her a quick hug and taking off with his new friend Jake to meet the class pets.
“That took a long time,” she told his new teacher.
Emily was young and pretty, and she laughed. “Be glad he’s well-adjusted. Some of them don’t let go of their parents for days.”
“I guess. It would have been nice to be a little missed,” Lori said wistfully. She shifted Mikayla and the heavy infant seat. “At least he’ll be glad to see me by the time I get back.”
“I hope so.” Emily giggled again. It was a nice sound, and Lori felt good leaving Tyler here among the friendly people and the bright classrooms, with cutouts of Noah and all the animals marching around his room and the walls painted a sunny yellow. “But today is painting with chocolate pudding, so don’t be surprised if he’s not real anxious to go home.”
“Great. I get to take second place to pudding,” Lori said, trying not to sound dejected. “At least I’ve got this one to keep me company. Come on, Kayla, let’s go to work.”
Work. It was a fascinating concept. By the time she got to the office and stood contemplating the door, someone had gotten there ahead of her. The blinds were up, and when she stepped into the office she could hear coffee perking.
“I’m here. Sorry it took me a few minutes, but it is Tyler’s first day…” She looked around for familiar faces. Nobody was in the front room to greet her. Lori wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting from the offices at Martin Properties. Maybe something grander than she got in the town’s small business district. It was pretty much an office like any other. Gloria used her finesse on things at home. Here, things were pretty standard.
Martin Properties took up the ground floor of a brick building that fronted Elm Street, four buildings down from the place where Elm intersected with Main. There was a large store window in front, plastered with several posters advertising church rummage sales and the high school basketball season, parts of the fabric of life in a small town. It made Lori feel at home to walk into the place.
There were no curtains or drapes on the big front window. A bamboo shade was pulled down when no one was there, and whoever came in first raised it. That kept the office out of plain view when the premises weren’t occupied. Lori imagined that was to hide the fact that there were three or four relativelynew computer terminals in the front office, and not much of an alarm system.
File cabinets took up a large portion of one wall of the office. The cabinets, and the rest of the furniture, were office-standard green metal, with a couple of the desks and chairs being slightly scarred oak. There was a bookshelf over in one corner, where she figured Mike’s desk must be. He didn’t strike her as the kind who wanted his own office. Michael would want to be out in the mainstream where he could see what was going on.
Lori also suspected that being out in the front office got him more company and distraction. Gloria’s office had a door on it, with frosted glass in the panes set in the door. That didn’t surprise her, either. Gloria wasn’t someone who wanted to be disturbed constantly.
The door was cracked open a bit now, and Lori suspected that Mike and his mom were both back there getting ready for the day. She looked around and spotted her corner near the front. There was a portable crib there, the blue canvas and mesh sides a match for the one that Mike’s mom insisted they had to have when the Harpers moved into the little rental house. Trust Gloria to think of the nicer details. Mikayla would be as comfortable here as she was at home.
Lori got Mikayla out of her fluffy snowsuit andsmoothed down her squiff of pale hair. She put her in the crib on her stomach where she could practice her newfound skill of pushing up off the ground with her arms
Tyler shifted from foot to foot, nearly dancing in impatience. “Okay. Have a good day,” he said, giving her a quick hug and taking off with his new friend Jake to meet the class pets.
“That took a long time,” she told his new teacher.
Emily was young and pretty, and she laughed. “Be glad he’s well-adjusted. Some of them don’t let go of their parents for days.”
“I guess. It would have been nice to be a little missed,” Lori said wistfully. She shifted Mikayla and the heavy infant seat. “At least he’ll be glad to see me by the time I get back.”
“I hope so.” Emily giggled again. It was a nice sound, and Lori felt good leaving Tyler here among the friendly people and the bright classrooms, with cutouts of Noah and all the animals marching around his room and the walls painted a sunny yellow. “But today is painting with chocolate pudding, so don’t be surprised if he’s not real anxious to go home.”
“Great. I get to take second place to pudding,” Lori said, trying not to sound dejected. “At least I’ve got this one to keep me company. Come on, Kayla, let’s go to work.”
Work. It was a fascinating concept. By the time she got to the office and stood contemplating the door, someone had gotten there ahead of her. The blinds were up, and when she stepped into the office she could hear coffee perking.
“I’m here. Sorry it took me a few minutes, but it is Tyler’s first day…” She looked around for familiar faces. Nobody was in the front room to greet her. Lori wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting from the offices at Martin Properties. Maybe something grander than she got in the town’s small business district. It was pretty much an office like any other. Gloria used her finesse on things at home. Here, things were pretty standard.
Martin Properties took up the ground floor of a brick building that fronted Elm Street, four buildings down from the place where Elm intersected with Main. There was a large store window in front, plastered with several posters advertising church rummage sales and the high school basketball season, parts of the fabric of life in a small town. It made Lori feel at home to walk into the place.
There were no curtains or drapes on the big front window. A bamboo shade was pulled down when no one was there, and whoever came in first raised it. That kept the office out of plain view when the premises weren’t occupied. Lori imagined that was to hide the fact that there were three or four relativelynew computer terminals in the front office, and not much of an alarm system.
File cabinets took up a large portion of one wall of the office. The cabinets, and the rest of the furniture, were office-standard green metal, with a couple of the desks and chairs being slightly scarred oak. There was a bookshelf over in one corner, where she figured Mike’s desk must be. He didn’t strike her as the kind who wanted his own office. Michael would want to be out in the mainstream where he could see what was going on.
Lori also suspected that being out in the front office got him more company and distraction. Gloria’s office had a door on it, with frosted glass in the panes set in the door. That didn’t surprise her, either. Gloria wasn’t someone who wanted to be disturbed constantly.
The door was cracked open a bit now, and Lori suspected that Mike and his mom were both back there getting ready for the day. She looked around and spotted her corner near the front. There was a portable crib there, the blue canvas and mesh sides a match for the one that Mike’s mom insisted they had to have when the Harpers moved into the little rental house. Trust Gloria to think of the nicer details. Mikayla would be as comfortable here as she was at home.
Lori got Mikayla out of her fluffy snowsuit andsmoothed down her squiff of pale hair. She put her in the crib on her stomach where she could practice her newfound skill of pushing up off the ground with her arms
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