Sweet Caroline

#17 Get your glitter on

Now that Thanksgiving is over and Nathan and is history, I decide that I am going to go all out for Christmas. Most teachers are still tapped out from Thanksgiving, so Tiffany and I volunteer to organize a Christmas celebration for all the kids and their parents. We're planning on hosting a dance, since the kids are really excited about dressing up. I love Christmas and Tiffany is more than happy to help me, so I am actually excited about this.

Christmas is my favorite holiday. It always has been. When I was growing up, I used to love putting up decorations with my dad and he'd let me pick out something new each year to add to the already insane décor. When I turned 18, finish high school and left for college, my mom was elated to stop putting up all those twinkling lights and dancing snowmen. Luckily, dad kept all of it and I picked up all the boxes over the weekend, excited to surprise the kids with it.

"What's that?" Tommy Thompson asks the moment he spots the boxes behind my desk on Monday morning.

"It's a surprise," I tell him with a smile.

His brother and dad come in behind him and his dad pulls me aside while Tommy and Manny peak into the boxes.

"The weekend was rough," Mr. Thompson tells me in a low voice. "Mallory – their mother – she is..."

Oh no. This big, broad man is about to cry in my classroom. I grab his arm and pull him to the corner, making sure his back is to the class. Luckily, it's still early and the few kids that are here run straight to the boxes and start pulling out sparkling stars and garlands.

"Mallory is leaving me," Mr. Thompson says, trying to swallow his tears down.

"Oh no..." I rub his arms. I need to find the right balance between professional and compassionate. Honestly, Mallory Thompson is a horrible woman, judging on the interactions I had with her, and I quite like her husband, so... good riddance.

"The boys don't know yet, but we've been fighting for days, so they might... act out. They feel safe here, they like you, so unfortunately..." He grimaces. "They might take their worries out on you."

"I'm a big girl," I say with a smile. "And I get paid to tell them off. I'll be fine. You just worry about their home life. I can handle them at school."

"Call me if they act out too much."

I gently steer the misty-eyed man to the hallway and assure him again that it'll all be fine. As I turn back to the door of my classroom, I see a familiar figure move my way.

"Mr. Storm," I greet Nathan with a frown. "Didn't expect to see you today." It's Elise Hail's week with Rose, after all.

His gaze meets mine and he holds up a plastic bag. "Pants. Shirts. I figured Rose might need them now that Elise is dressing her again."

"Thanks." I want to say more, so much more, but I swallow all the words bubbling up in me and try to ignore the goosebumps that erupt all over my body the moment I start thinking about all the things I'd like him to do to me.

Rose storms into the school, distracting both of us. Elise must have just dropped her off on the playground. She jumps him and he picks her up with a fond smile. It's the first time I see Nathan and Rose together. The sight should make me feel better about our decision to call off our booty calls, yet it does the opposite. The way his face lights up the moment she starts talking to him... I can't look at them without swooning, so I turn back the kids that are already inside my classroom.

The Thompson brothers are covered in silvery tinsel and they look at me with wide eyes, worried I am going to yell at them. Instead, I laugh and pull some tinsel out of their hair to put into my own.