Читать книгу Twins for the Teacher - Michele Dunaway - Страница 10

Hank had never attended a parent-teacher conference before. As he strode across the parking lot, he received a few odd glances from mothers in cars waiting to pick up their children.

The few male teachers who taught at Nolter probably didn’t dress in business suits. Maybe the mothers thought he was a book salesman or something.

Hank grimaced as he entered the building. He’d thought about changing first, but he’d run out of time as his meeting with the head accountant had run late. Time was one of those things Hank never seemed to have enough of, no matter how well he delegated.

Besides, he was comfortable in his attire. America had gone casual, and a suit still said class and power. That gave him a sense of security in this unfamiliar territory he was entering. He stepped into the office and announced to the secretary he had a meeting with Jolie Tomlinson.

The secretary had him sign in on a form. “She’s expecting you. Just go down to her classroom. Do you remember the way?”

Hank nodded. He found Jolie Tomlinson’s room, knocked on the metal door frame and entered.

“Hi.” She rose to her feet and wiped her hands on her denim jumper before offering him her hand. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Like I said, this is important,” he replied. He took a breath and tried to relax his shoulders.

She nodded. “Of course. I can tell you are a man who cares very deeply for his children.”

Were there parents who simply didn’t care and wouldn’t show up? Hank wondered. The thought was appalling, but he remembered news reports he’d read while living in Chicago and realized that sadly, such parents did exist.

“So what seems to be Ethan’s main problem?” Hank asked, cutting to the chase and steeling himself for the worst. She’d gestured to an adult-size chair placed in front of her desk. He sat. About four feet separated them.

“Ethan is having a few issues accepting authority. He has a very dominant personality. He can’t shout out the answers to every question. He needs to share playground toys. When a teacher asks him to do something, he should do it immediately. Ethan has had to have a few time-outs for failing to meet class expectations.”

Hank understood the concept of time-out, which was when a student was removed from the group. “So are these punishments during class?”

“We like to think of them as consequences and, no, they happen at recess. We operate on a check system. First check is a warning. Second check a student loses five minutes of recess, and the third check ten. Four checks is the whole recess and five checks means the child is sent to the office.”

“How many check marks has Ethan had?”

“I keep track of them on this clipboard.” Jolie passed a clipboard over and Hank saw today’s sheet. At least, aside from Ethan, there were two other children on the list.

“Yesterday he had four check marks. I kept him inside during the entire twenty-minute afternoon recess. Instead of sitting quietly or reading, he kicked the underside of his desk the entire time. He’s also not doing any homework. This morning I found a lot of the workbook pages I assigned wadded up in his backpack.”

“I wondered about that. Alli seems to have at least a half hour of homework every night and Ethan always says he has none.”

“Carrie Hillhouse and I do a lot of team teaching. She’d planned to attend this meeting, but she had an emergency. She teaches my class social studies, for example, and I teach hers science. We do a lot of the same lessons and we’re planning to take both our classes on a field trip to the Shepherd of the Hills fish hatchery just below the Table Rock Dam the second week of May. We’re studying pond and river habitats, and the hatchery is the largest trout-production facility in Missouri. I’d hate for Ethan to not be able to join us.”

Hank knew many hotel guests visited the site, but he hadn’t yet been there himself. He hadn’t done any Branson shows either, and Branson had more theater seats than Broadway in New York City. “I think Ethan would like to see the fish,” Hank said.

Jolie brushed a loose tendril of hair from her face. Her hair was a soft brown that looked almost auburn in the light of her desk lamp. And Hank wondered how silky it would feel. As he had the first time he’d seen her, he couldn’t help noticing that Jolie Tomlinson was extremely attractive. He had the sudden urge to find out…He shook his head. She was his kids’ teacher. What was he thinking?

“Yes, Ethan has told me he wants to go on the trip,” Jolie responded. “And I think we can use the trip as extra incentive for him to improve his behavior. Your son is a very smart boy.

“He loves to read, so that’s not a problem area. I tested him in math, and he’s low. But not too low,” she added quickly. “I think it’s more that his grandmother didn’t teach him a few concepts other kids his age learn, rather than any lack of ability on Ethan’s part. Some after-school tutoring would bring him up to grade level by the end of the year. I’m confident he’ll catch on quickly.”

“Will that be available during latchkey?” Hank asked, suddenly overwhelmed by everything. They had yet to discuss the behavior plan.

He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back off his face. Fatherhood didn’t come with an instruction manual, and at the moment Hank really wished it did. Luckily it seemed that Jolie had the answer. She was the professional and he needed her help. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

SHE WAS LOSING him. She’d seen the eyes of many a parent glaze over when discussing their children’s problems.

She knew the symptoms. The parents, or parent in this case, were well-adjusted people. They held good jobs, made decent money. They loved their offspring and weren’t abusive or neglectful. So how could they have children who had issues? They always figured she somehow knew all the answers.

Unfortunately neither of her college degrees came with magic wands. Still, she’d been taught some solutions and developed tenacity. You kept applying various strategies until one clicked. Something about Hank made her desire to help even stronger than usual. Maybe she was simply a sucker for a handsome face.

No, that wasn’t it. She empathized with his plight. She wanted the best for him and his kids, the same thing she wanted for all her students and their parents. She reassured herself her motives were purely professional.

“Mr. Friesen,” she began, careful of the words she used. “Ethan is a ten-year-old boy. He’s not showing any signs of anything but being a normal boy who hasn’t grown up attending regular school. I’m planning on working with him after school to teach him math. I also think this will help with some of the behavior issues, as he’ll be getting extra face time with me. I suspect some of the motivation behind his behavior is that he wants my attention and is willing to do negative things to get it. If he can have my attention in a positive way, such as in a one-on-one tutoring session, that should reduce his outbursts.”

“So that’s math. How will the behavior plan work?” Hank asked.

“I have a copy of the plan I use with another student. I will be tweaking it slightly for Ethan.”

Jolie handed him the sheet of paper. “Basically for every half day Ethan goes without a check mark, he earns one point. At the end of the week he should have ten points. You’ll see the redemption chart at the bottom of the page. The first reward, which is five minutes extra recess time, is achievable after ten points. If he gets a check mark, he doesn’t lose his previous points, but it will take him longer to earn the reward, since he won’t earn any points when he gets a check.”

“Do you think he can go a week?” Hank asked. His gray eyes held her gaze. He had nice eyes…She blinked and glanced away.

“I’m going to allow Ethan to earn the first reward after six points or three days. It’s a teaser, but like a free month of cable or Internet, the reward is designed to hook you into using the program and staying with it.”

Hank nodded. “What about home?”

He hadn’t objected, which was a huge positive. “I would suggest that you reinforce everything I do here. For homework completion he earns one point. For each day with no checks he earns a point. Then place a value on something he really wants and have him earn it.”

Hank frowned as he contemplated the plan. “Should I discipline him if he gets check marks at school?”

“That’s up to you. I’m already giving him consequences here in the classroom. But taking away his video-game system or not letting him watch television until his homework is done or until he behaves the next day would tell him that you want him to act properly no matter where he is. The key is, you must be consistent. You can’t back down. If you do, your plan and mine will fail.”

“Do you have kids?” he asked.

The question caught her off guard and she swallowed hard. “No.”

He waited, then continued speaking when she didn’t say anything more. “I guess we can try this. We’re already in a period of flux, so maybe some set guidelines would help. I know this is an unsettled time for the kids. They were five when their mother died of ovarian cancer. And their grandmother has played a huge role in raising them since then. This is our first real attempt at being just the three of us on our own.”

Jolie nodded her encouragement, appreciating that he was opening up to her. He was a man of strong character, the kind of man she’d always hoped to marry. She smiled. “I understand and please be assured I’m going to do everything I can to help you. Knowing your background helps.”

Hank’s pager beeped. “Sorry.” He removed the pager from his belt and pressed a button, frowning as he read the number. “This isn’t good. Will you excuse me a moment? It’s work.”

“Certainly,” Jolie said. Hank stood and headed to the hallway. Through the open door, she watched him take out his cell phone, make a call and pace as he gave instructions to whoever was on the other end. She could hear snippets of his side of the conversation now and then, something to do with a corporate report and some revenue figures.

Jolie reached forward and looked over the behavior plan she’d handed Hank. In her conversations with Ethan he’d often complained that his dad worked all the time. She frowned. Hank had been interrupted in the middle of a scheduled conference. Surely the hotel could survive without him for an hour.

Hank was obviously struggling, like many single parents, to make things work for his family. They’d probably all been happy once, before his wife’s illness. Hank was the provider; his wife was probably the stay-at-home nurturer. And then the grandmother had replaced her in that role. Now it was just Hank, all by himself, living in a hotel where the job was twenty-four/seven, trying to help his children settle into a new town and a new life. He relied on staff for roles that should be filled by family. The balance was upset. Hank needed help to keep his little family together.

He finished his call and came back into the room. “I’m sorry about that,” he apologized. “I cleared my afternoon, but emergencies come up. It goes with the territory, I guess.”

She smiled sympathetically. “Are you going to be able to pick up the children after our meeting? Ethan mentioned that you’d said they might get to do something touristy tonight. He’s worried that because of our talk he might not get to go.”

“I’ll sit down with him tomorrow and discuss everything. Tonight we have tickets to the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede. I heard it was good. All finger food and a trick-horseback-riding show.”

“I haven’t seen it, but, yes, it’s supposed to be fantastic. I’d dress in jeans, though.”

Hank’s smile split his face and Jolie felt a slight pang of longing. While many men in their midforties were sporting beer bellies and bald spots, Hank had aged like George Clooney. He was like a fine wine, only getting better with age.

His hair was rich and thick. His gray eyes crinkled at the corners, but those tiny laugh lines only added character to his handsome face. She’d definitely be interested if she’d met him in another place and another time.

It was an unspoken rule that you didn’t date your students’ parents. Not that Hank would be interested in her, anyway. The man had enough baggage and complications in his life. If he did date, he’d probably choose someone more glamorous and worldly. She had no idea what his wife had been like, but if she was half as pretty as her daughter, she’d been beautiful.

“I’ll wear jeans,” Hank responded to her earlier comment. “Ethan and Alli don’t know it yet, but they’re going to be special guests and participate in one of the events.”

“That sounds wonderful. Ethan will really like that. Even more, I think he’ll enjoy spending time with you,” Jolie said. “I’ll be telling him about the behavior plan on Monday. When you talk to him tomorrow, feel free to let him know it’s coming. The more you show your support for what I do here at school, the better.”

“I’m happy to help in any way,” Hank said. He reached for the copy of the plan, folded it in thirds and tucked it into an inside jacket pocket. He stood again, and Jolie noticed the cut of his suit. It certainly hadn’t come off the rack as her brothers’ suits had, and she thought the three Tomlinson boys looked pretty good all decked out. Hank was divine.

“Thank you for coming in,” Jolie said, rising to her feet. She didn’t tower over him, which made a nice change from a lot of the other men she met. Growing up, she’d endured plenty of jokes about the weather up there, and, no, she didn’t play basketball. “If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

She reached into a business-card holder and handed him a card. “This is the direct line into my classroom. If I can’t answer, you’ll get my voice mail.”

“Great.” He handed her one of his cards. “The best way to reach me is to page me. My e-mail address and pager number are at the bottom.”

“Thank you. I’ll e-mail you Monday afternoon and let you know how the day goes.”

“That sounds great.” Hank reached out and shook her hand, and this time Jolie noticed how firm but gentle his grip was. A delicious shiver ran up her arm from the contact. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for Ethan.”

And with that, he was out the door. It was Friday and there were five weeks of school left before summer vacation. She had plenty to do, but for the first time in a long time, she was too distracted to think about work.

Hank had unnerved her. He was the kind of man she’d dreamed about long ago when she’d believed in fairy tales. And he was way out of her league.

“SO HOW’S SCHOOL going? Ready for summer break?”

“Am I ever not?” Jolie answered her mother with a chuckle. Jolie lifted the bowl of potato salad and trekked the short distance to the oversize screened-in porch where all the food would be set out. It was Sunday, two days after her conference with Hank, and the entire Tomlinson clan had gathered to celebrate her sister Jennifer’s twenty-eighth birthday.

Located about twenty minutes north of Branson, the hundred-acre farm where Jolie had grown up had been in the Tomlinson family for three generations. Her older brother, Bill, had recently bought ten acres adjoining her parents’ land and built a house for his wife and kids.

Ten of Jolie’s nieces and nephews were running around. Three were Bill’s, two were Jennifer’s, four were her brother Clay’s and one was her twin brother Lance’s. The only child not moving was Lance and his wife’s newest addition, ten-month-old Natalie, who slept in the battery-operated baby swing, oblivious to the noise around her. There were eleven grandchildren in all, one short of a dozen.

Jolie’s nieces and nephews ranged in age from Natalie to Chris, who was turning twelve next weekend. That meant another party to attend, this time at Bill’s house.

Through the screen, Jolie took a second to watch the kids run through the yard. She was the only one without children and a husband. Her parents hadn’t liked her ex-husband much. He was a teacher, and her father, a retired superintendent of a nearby school district, had told Jolie after her divorce that, had Reggie applied to his district, he would never have hired him. Jolie still saw Reggie on occasion because he taught science at Nolter High School and coached the football team. He’d remarried and his wife stayed at home with their two young kids.

“So how’s Chad?” Jennifer asked, entering the screen porch carrying a green-bean casserole.

“Over,” Jolie said. “Sent him an e-mail last night, got one back this morning. Mutual dissolution via the Internet. No blood. No tears. I spent last night with the latest Nora Roberts novel.”

“Probably better in the long run. He didn’t really seem to fit in here. He was far too stodgy. But now who are you going to take to Alison’s wedding?”

“I hadn’t thought about it,” Jolie said. Their cousin Alison was marrying some big-shot banker in early June. Word was that dinner was sixty dollars a plate and at least 250 people would attend. “I’ll probably just RSVP for one.”

“You can’t go alone to these things. Aunt Melanie told Mom they were doing seating charts and everything,” Jen chided. “It’s at the Nolter in the grand ballroom, so you know it’ll be a very formal event.”

“I can bring Carrie,” Jolie suggested.

Jen shook her head. “You took Carrie to cousin Brian’s wedding. You cannot keep dragging your female friends to these things. The reception is going to be hoity-toity. You know how Mom’s sister always tries to outdo her. For Mom’s sake you’ve got to bring someone who’s male and hopefully attractive. Don’t you have anyone who can be a mercy date?”

Hank Friesen’s image popped into Jolie’s head. As if. “Everyone I know is married now,” Jolie said with a shrug. Such was her life. Most guys she’d dated in the past few years had ended up being best buddies, not long-term love interests. Maybe that came from having a twin brother, or more likely from a serious lack of chemistry.

“Well, you have to find someone. You have a little over a month. That should be plenty of time.”

“Okay, I’ll RSVP for two,” Jolie conceded.

“Good.” Jennifer’s gaze caught something in the yard and she immediately began shouting at her seven-year-old daughter, Suzy. “Hey! Knock that off! Put that down!”

Suzy had gotten out the garden hose and was spraying some of the younger children, soaking them through. But they were laughing and running into the spray, and looked as if they were having a great time. “I guess it’s a good thing the day’s warm. Clay, come get your kids and make sure mine behaves. Mom, we’re going to need some beach towels,” Jennifer called as she went back inside.

Clay hadn’t yet appeared to retrieve his kids, and Suzy seemed in no hurry to put down the hose or stop spraying her cousins, so Jolie stepped outside onto the back lawn to keep an eye on them. Suzy sprayed her cousins again.

“Suzy, your mom told you to put that away,” Jolie said.

“Do I have to?” Suzy asked, turning to face Jolie, the hose and all its streaming water moving in sync with her.

Jolie jumped back as water splattered her white T-shirt and khaki shorts. “Suzy!”

“Oops!” Suzy’s face scrunched up as she realized what she’d done.

“It’s fine. Don’t cry. Just put the hose down,” Jolie said patiently.

Suzy dropped the offending green rubber object as all the other wet cousins gathered around her. “You soaked Aunt Jolie. You’re gonna get in trouble,” they all seemed to chorus.

The situation didn’t improve when Clay arrived and assessed the scene. He worked to hold in his laughter at finding his sister soaked. “Cute bra, sis.” He turned off the water at the spigot.

“You can be such a jerk.” His wife, Lynn, had appeared, and she tossed Jolie one of the towels she’d brought.

“Thanks,” Jolie said, praying her face stopped flaming. She wore basic beige, for goodness’ sake.

“You’re welcome.” Lynn looked at her husband of ten years. “Get inside and go find some of the spare clothes your mother keeps. The food’s all ready.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Clay winked at Jolie as he escaped.

“Are you mad at me?” a small voice asked. Wrapped in a towel, Suzy approached her aunt.

“Oh, sweetie, it was an accident.” Jolie squatted down to Suzy’s level. “I’m sure your grandma has clothes for me, too. I can wear one of her T-shirts.”

Suzy’s face lost some of its wariness. “She has big T-shirts.”

Jolie pulled Suzy toward her and gave her a hug. “She does. The biggest.”

“Okay. Inside.” Jennifer had returned to retrieve her daughter. “But first…” she prompted.

“I’m sorry,” Suzy said automatically.

Jolie gave her niece one final hug. “And I forgive you.”

“She’s going to wear one of Grandma’s T-shirts,” Suzy told her mom as they moved off.

With the towel wrapped around her midsection, Jolie followed everyone as her siblings gathered up their kids and moved onto the screened porch. When her father had added the structure, he’d made it supersize, and weather permitting, every family gathering was held there. She made her way to her parents’ bedroom where she snagged a gray Reed Springs School District shirt from the walk-in closet.

She paused for a moment after she put it on. She wondered if Ethan and Alli had ever squirted each other with a hose or attended huge family events. She’d been unable to get the twins out of her mind. As a twin herself, she couldn’t help feeling a special connection to them. It must be a little lonely with just the two of them. She and Lance had shared a womb, but once they’d been born they’d been kid two and three respectively in what would turn out to be a total sibling set of five, only a year to eighteen months between each of them.

As a child, when Jolie had first discovered the truth about how human babies were made—being on a farm she’d always understood the animal process—she’d found it a bit gross that her mom had popped out her kids in such quick succession. Now that Jolie was older, she appreciated having a large family, especially one so tightly knit and close in age. Family gatherings occurred frequently, and Lance and Jennifer were two of her best friends and her greatest support system.

Ethan and Alli had been around each other so much they probably hadn’t come to appreciate the special bond they shared as siblings and as twins. As Jolie stepped back onto the screened porch, she saw at least four kids right around Ethan and Alli’s age. Perhaps she could introduce her nieces and nephews to Ethan and Alli, give them someone to play with.

Jolie shook her head. She was tutoring Hank’s children after school on her own time. That was already going above and beyond her teaching contract. Taking the Friesen twins under her wing by introducing them to some new friends was not necessary.

But what could it hurt? a little voice inside her head asked. You could help them.

Jolie frowned. She hated that little voice. It often pestered her to death until it got its way. So what if she identified with the twins, understood their love-hate relationship with each other? They’d learn through experience, just as she and Lance had.

Her conscience couldn’t be silenced. It’s only until the end of the year. Then they go to fifth grade. You’ll be just a face in the hall, a former teacher, one remembered fondly. Think of all those nights your dad was gone on school-district business. You understand.

“Jolie, you better get in line or you won’t get any green beans,” Clay called.

“There’s more in the oven,” their mother admonished him, and as Jolie went to get her plate, she tried to ignore her conscience.

“DADDY! WATCH ME!”

Hank set down the report he was reading and watched his daughter slide down the curvy slide into the hotel pool. The Nolter had opened its outdoor pool this weekend, which was perfect, since the weekend was unusually warm.

He clapped for Alli, then checked on Ethan’s location. Under the watchful eye of the lifeguard, his son was diving off the diving board. Hank turned his attention back to his report, but finding his concentration shot, set it aside. So far his children had adjusted to life in Branson. Both had made friends. Their grades were coming along and Ethan’s behavior had improved. They seemed to like school, and Hank attributed that to one person, Jolie Tomlinson.

He knew she’d gone well beyond the call of duty. Ethan and Alli raved about Jolie every day. Hank actually found himself looking forward to hearing the stories his twins told. In each, he tried to learn more about their pretty teacher.

Hank reached for the iced tea on the table next to him and took a long drink. He’d dated a few times after Amanda’s death, but no one had captured his attention quite like Jolie, a woman completely off-limits.

“Dad? You ever going to come in?” Alli’s head appeared at the edge of the pool, her gaze expectant. She hopped out and walked to him.

Hank set the glass down. He’d learned long ago that there were some things, like cancer, that you couldn’t control. Making time for his children was something he did have a say in. Alli shouldn’t have to ask. He rose to his feet and gave his daughter a sideways glance. She seemed to anticipate his words for she giggled and started for the pool as he yelled, “Last one in’s a rotten egg.”