Plan by Linda; Lyle Page B

table, he pushed the notepad across the table to her.
    â€œThis part is all yours.”
    She looked at the blank page and thought of the Center and her students. If Randy was going to leave, the only thing she had left was the Center. It was a place she could do something that meant more than just earn a paycheck. She thought of all her students and all the kids that played there in the afternoons.
    â€œWell, first, I would want to restart the conversational English classes, and the after school program for children.” She wrote that down on the paper.
    â€œWhat else?” he prodded. “Isn’t there something you would like to see them do that they’re not doing now?”
    â€œYeah. GED and adult education classes.” She added it to the list. One idea sparked another until there was a page full of ideas. When she put her pen down, he added the renovation lists to her sheet and handed them to her.
    â€œYou type better than I do.” He smiled and patted her hand. “You did a good job, now you can relax.” He looked at the clock and frowned. “It’s late. Maybe I should follow you home.”
    â€œNo. I’m fine,” Rachel protested. “It’s not that late.” Gathering up the papers, she moved toward the front door. “I’ll do these first thing in the morning and leave a copy in your office for you to proof.”
    â€œSure. That’ll be great.”
    â€œBye.” She fled. He called a soft good-bye from the porch, but she was intent on escape. She backed the car out of the driveway and headed for home without looking back. The tears were already beginning to fall, and she didn’t want him to see her cry. Pity was the last thing she needed.

seventeen
    Rachel rushed to the university computer lab and found the first PC in sight. She only had ten minutes to type up the proposal before class. She had cut the alarm off in her sleep the night before and had awakened to sun streaming through the window, which was not good. Looking down at her jeans and oversized sweater, she frowned. Everything in her closet had been wrinkled or was dirty. Her hair had not cooperated, so it was pulled back into a bow at the base of her neck. She typed with a fury, groaning at every mistake. She finished and sent it to the printer, but there were two students ahead of her who were finishing up their term papers, just in time for class. She tapped her foot until her ankle started to ache. Finally, the printer spit it out. She glanced over it, saved the file to a disk, and headed for Randy’s office. She was going to be a few minutes late, but the students would get over it. Half of them never showed up on time anyway. Randy’s office was locked so she slid the proposal under his door with a sigh and went to class.
    She fumbled through her classes, anxious to get back with Randy. It wasn’t because of the proposal, she admitted to herself, but because she wanted to see him again. She wanted to see if he really meant what he said last night about leaving, or if he was only trying to protect himself. More than anything, she wanted to see that look in his eyes again. The one that said he wanted her. She stopped by his office between every class, but missed him every time. Deep inside, she knew he was hiding from her. She finally saw him at the lunch break.
    â€œRandy,” she called. Rachel jogged down the hall to where he stood with one hand on the door. “I’ve been trying to catch you all morning.” She paused for a breath. “Did you read over the proposal?”
    â€œIt looks fine.” He didn’t say anything more, and Rachel knew he was sticking to his plan. He wouldn’t even look her in the eye. “Look, I’ve got to go now. I’m meeting someone for lunch.”
    â€œOh, sure. I understand.” She felt a pain in her chest, a tightness, like someone was trying to squeeze the life out of her. “You