Chapter Text
“Daddy, can I have some ice cream?”
“Not right now, honey,” Henry answers, hands tightly on the steering wheel and glassy eyes on the road ahead.
You can’t run. You can’t hide. Wherever you go, I will find you.
The haunting words echo inside his head. Henry vividly remembers the words from the first time he attempted to run away. Henry somehow convinced him that he’d stay, and for a while he did. Henry thought things might be different. Maybe he didn’t see the red flags or the signs like he should have, maybe he was too deep in the idea of what love was supposed to be like.
Henry thought he could change him. He thought that he loved him. He was an idiot for believing. He’s not sure how he gathered the courage, maybe from his sister or Percy because they finally saw how bad it was – but one glance at Jane from the rear-view mirror, with her green headphones and holding a fairytale book in her lap, looking back at Henry with her innocent blue eyes, and he knows why. Henry knows she’s the reason he wanted to get out. She’s the reason he did get out.
“But I want ice cream,” Jane whines grumpily, throwing the book away, waving her hands. She grips the seatbelt stubbornly, adjusting herself in the backseat.
“Not right now, love. And please stay in your seat. We still have quite a drive until we’re there.”
“But daddy, you promised,” she whines louder, impatiently tapping on the car’s window. Henry knew the only way to get her to the cab in the middle of a school day was a promise of ice cream. He promised she would get ice cream after the security check, after they would land in the airport.
It’s more than ten hours ago.
He’s not entirely sure what she understands about this whole situation, other than that they’re moving away to a whole another country. She’s only six, and she’s the smartest six year old Henry knows, but he hasn’t seen any signs that she knows the truth about them running away. She’s going to miss her friends at pre-school and Henry hates that his mom or family can’t see her, but they all know why he’s doing this. He’s doing this for his daughter.
Henry planned everything in perfect detail so he could get away from him. So he couldn’t trace back to them, when he’d figure out they were gone. That’s why he is here. Driving in a rented car. In a long and abandoned road, in the Southern States of America. Because he deserves better.
Because his daughter deserves better.
Both of them deserve better: a new, fresh start at life.
And if everything goes according to Henry’s plan, Jane won’t be remembering much of what happened in the past year.
Henry tries to calm her down with the empty promises of ice cream, not knowing how long he can assure her she’s getting it. She was too anxious during the flight, the hectic and crowded airport wasn’t exactly her favorite place, but she had managed to take a nap when they left the airport.
It’s two hours later, they’re still driving, and she’s getting antsy.
As soon as Jane starts groaning and complaining more, there’s an unknown noise coming from the car’s engine. Henry doesn’t think of it as anything, until the car starts slowing down, and sees smoke coming out of the car.
Bloody hell.
“No, no, no...” Henry says in panic, when the car stops in the middle of the empty road. He knows there’s still at least another two hours until they reach Austin.
“Why are we stopping, daddy?”
“It’s alright, Jane,” he convinces, when thicker smoke comes out of the car. “Daddy will check something. Stay inside the car, okay, honey?”
Henry opens his seatbelt and hops out the car. It doesn’t look good: the engine keeps coughing badly, smoke coming out. As Henry opens the hood of the car, a puff of thick black smoke blinds him and makes Henry cough, nearly choking on the smoke.
This doesn’t make any sense. It’s a new rented car and should work perfectly, at least that’s what the car shop worker assured when Henry rented it from the airport.
He quickly investigates around, seeing just a long road ahead, surrounded by tall, dry grass. He pulls out his phone from his pocket to check his location, or possibly call a tow truck, but there aren't any bars showing on his screen.
Not to mention this is a new prepaid phone, and he didn’t even bother to unlock it when he bought it at the airport.
This is exactly what Henry doesn’t need right now. He peeks at Jane, still sitting inside the car, back to reading her book, looking like she has no worry in the world. At least he’s relieved that she isn't a panicked mess like Henry.
The fear swims into Henry, because this is a new city, a new country: he has no idea where he is or how to call help. Henry does his best to collect himself, and considers his options. There could be a town or city nearby. He would have to take Jane with him, but he’s not sure how far the next town is. He doesn’t want to take her and end up walking the wrong way, getting lost or worse.
Henry takes a deep breath, closing his eyes, leaning against the car. He’s not praying, at least that’s what he tells himself. Henry isn’t the prayer type, even if he’s prayed during these couple of months more than in his entire life. It’s just that this isn't an ideal situation, especially when he’s on a run with his daughter all alone in an unknown country.
Henry doesn’t admit that praying works, even if he managed to run away from his ex, even if he hears a slow noise of a car.
It has to be pure coincidence that far down in the distance, a truck of a car appears. He widely waves at the car, although Henry’s sure the driver saw the black smoke coming out. He keeps gesturing at it until the red pickup truck drives closer.
The pickup truck slows down, stopping next to Henry’s rented car. The windows are rolled down, and a long, brown arm waves at him, belonging to a man with black curly hair and deep brown eyes.
It looks like a scene from a romantic novel. Henry’s handsome saviour couldn’t have been more like a character from all the romance books he reads about. He swallows nervously while staring at the sight, and no, handsome doesn’t begin to cover it.
“You all right there, buddy?”
“I need, uh, help,” Henry stutters, pointing at his car.
“Obviously,” he rolls his eyes with unexpectedly long lashes. He turns the truck’s engine off, leaping out of the truck. “I saw your smoke signal miles away.”
“Um. Right. I’m not sure what happened. It just suddenly started smoking.”
“Let’s take a look,” he says, stepping confidently in front of the car. Henry’s eyes glide at the man, taking in the image in front of him. Dark wavy curls, dimples to die for, exposed arms and chest. He understands it's the end of summer, but there is no reason for him to wear such a skin-tight white tank top, showing off his flexed muscles and biceps, with obscenely short shorts. Henry totally does not stare when he leans in to take a look inside the car.
“This is your problem,” he states assuredly, sounding like he knows what he’s talking about. “Your engine overheated. Quite common in this model, actually.”
“Can you fix it?”
His head peeks out, a spot of grease smeared on his forehead, causing Henry to have an urge to swipe with his finger. “No, this engine is pretty much done for. Besides, it’s not like I carry the extra parts with me.”
“Oh. I see,” Henry replies, staring at his lips: pinkish, a little chapped, without any idea what he just said. They stare at each other for a few seconds, it's enough time for Henry to identify at least one shade of brown in his eyes: warm honey. A galaxy of what-if’s exists in those eyes. The man measures Henry up with a curious glare that makes his cheeks gain a little color.
“Where are you headed?”
“Austin, Texas. Chestnut Creek,” Henry answers, remembering the name, because it was the first thing that caught his attention.
A wide grin appears on the man’s face, showing his irresistible dimples, that does not do good for Henry’s already pounding heart. “What a coincidence. I’m going there too.”
“You are?”
“I live in Chestnut Creek, actually. I was just doing some errands for the school,” he explains with one of those genuine, well-meaning smiles that’s so charming that Henry can’t feel but a little starstruck. His hand gestures to his truck, pointing to the back, with at least three tall cardboard boxes.
“Oh,” Henry nods. The man tips his head, a stray of black curl falling to his forehead, long lashes casting a look to Henry from head to toe. It’s the heat of the smoke coming from the car that makes Henry’s cheek warm up, not his gaze.
“Hold on,” he says as he closes the hood, his eyes catching Henry’s. Beyond his long dark lashes, is a dim spark. “You wouldn’t happen to be that new teacher? Harry something?”
“It’s Henry, actually,” Henry corrects, reflexively. He leans his head to the window of the car, and in that moment Henry sees Jane stare at them through the car window.
“And who’s this, then?”
“My daughter, Jane,” Henry explains. He looks back at Henry, checking the resemblance. Henry knows it was by pure coincidence that she also has blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
“Right. Well, since your car’s pretty much busted, I can offer to give you and your daughter a ride to town,” he smiles brightly, crossing his hands and Henry stares at his veiny arms until Jane taps on the window.
“Thank you. Much appreciated.”
“No problem-o. Need a hand with the bags?”
“Uh, sure,” Henry says, scratching his neck. A stranger helping him, though handsome, but he’s seen the signs before.
Henry watches him open the car’s trunk, carrying two bags to the truck. He moves the boxes to make space for them, and Henry goes to open the door for Jane. She takes the book, placing it against her chest, looking confused.
“Daddy, what’s going on?”
“Our car isn’t working, and this kind stranger is offering us a ride to Chestnut Creek. Our new home, remember?”
Henry helps her from her seat, Jane’s squinting eyes going to the man loading the truck with their bags. “Alex,” he says with a smile, leaning to offer his hand to Jane. She’s too shy to say anything, and backs up to Henry’s legs. “Not a stranger. I’m Alex.”
“She’s a bit shy around new people,” Henry explains, when Jane wraps an arm around his leg, hiding further away. “But it’s nice to meet you, Alex.”
“Pleasure’s all mine,” he winks and Henry gulps. This man will be a lot of trouble for him, he knows it already.
“Let's get going, honey.”
Alex opens the truck’s door, Henry helping Jane to her seat. He clicks her seatbelt, quickly grabs his own shoulder bag from the rental car’s front seat, takes the keys and unlocks the car. He decides to go sit next to Jane, because this man was still a stranger to him. He can see Jane is nervous about this whole deal, so the best bet is to sit next to her in the backseat.
“You guys travel a long way?” Alex asks, glancing over them, once they start driving down the road.
“Yeah.”
“I remember Amy telling me about a new teacher moving in with his daughter. It’s all she talked about, since nothing ever happens at Chestnut Creek. Nobody ever moves here.” Alex taps on the car’s wheel, his other hand turning the buttons for the radio. “Never thought I’d end up finding you guys in the middle of the road. Good thing I was getting those school supplies from Sunset Valley today of all days, huh?”
“You mean Mrs. Gupta?” Henry recalls, remembering someone with her name who video called showing the house.
“Yeah, that’s Amy. She’ll be pleased to know she didn’t lose her first deal in months because your car broke down,” Alex goes on, neck turning to give him a brief look, before he looks back at the road. “She got back to being a retail agent after the birth of her and her wife’s daughter, and it’s difficult to get back to work after having a child.” Another curious glance. “I guess you know a thing or two about that, huh?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“What’s got a British guy doing this far in the South anyway?” Alex asks, frankly. This guy doesn’t stop talking, or he doesn’t have anything stopping before he opens his mouth. Henry looks over Jane, headphones in and back to reading again.
“I got offered a good job opportunity, and needed a change of scenery,” Henry answers, Alex nodding.
“You mind if we put the radio on?”
“Um, why not.”
”You into country music?” Alex asks. Henry shakes his head.
“No, but I think I better get used to it,” he replies. Alex’s restless fingers go to the radio, finding a station. He hopes that putting on the radio stops him asking all these questions, the questions he doesn’t want to answer to a stranger.
Although, there’s a warm and cosy feeling in his pickup truck. You would think Henry was scared, because after all – getting a ride from a complete stranger is how all horror stories start.
For all he knows, Alex could be a guy hired by his ex to kidnap him and Jane, bringing them back to London. Henry hates that his mind overthinks this situation, but it’s better for him to think of all possible scenarios. He checks the car doors: they’re not locked. He could open them, take Jane and run as fast as he could. He has an escape plan, which makes him less stressed.
But when Alex turns the volume and starts quietly singing along to a country song, he knows this guy isn’t any harm for him or his daughter.
Austin isn’t that far away, nor is Chestnut Creek. It ends up being only an hour drive away, and Henry starts recognizing the scenery from the googled photos.
“Welcome to Chestnut Creek,” Alex announces as he drives past the town sign. The streets aren’t crowded which Henry loves from his hectic London city days. There’s old-looking stores and shops around, but with bright colors and autumn has painted the trees with shades of beautiful brown. The people walking the tidy streets actually look kind, happy children playing and running in the park next to the main street. Henry could see himself and his daughter living here.
“I need to do some errands, you wouldn’t mind if I dropped you at Amy’s office?” Alex says, curving around the street.
“No, that’s more than fine. I’m already thankful that you drove us here.”
“’Kay. She’s probably already expecting you,” Alex says, as he stops in the street corner, pointing out the car window to a bright yellow office building. “That’s her office, on the first floor. Just ring the doorbell. I’m sure she knows you’re coming.”
Henry opens Jane’s seatbelt, and she opens the door. “Thank you for the ride,” Henry thanks, as he walks out the car, and the trunk opens. Alex hops off, lifting up their bags.
“I can have your car towed back to town, no problem,” Alex says, leaning against the back of the truck.
“Oh, that’s very kind of you, thank you.”
Alex stares at him, and Henry is sure if he stayed there any minute longer, he would get lost in those brown, soulful eyes of his. Jane restlessly pulls his sleeve.
“Right, um,” Henry clears his dry throat.
There’s a troublesome grin on Alex’s face, when he shuts the tailgate. “So I guess I’ll see you around?”
“I suppose we will.”
“It’s a small town, Henry. Of course we’re bound to meet each other again,” he says, Henry detecting a hint of flirt in his voice. Or is he the type of person who always flirts with everyone?
He ignores the slight warmth on his cheeks. “Thank you for the ride, again.”
“No problem. Gotta run now. See ya!” Alex waves widely like a child, the dimples creasing on his cheeks before hops back to his truck and drives away.
“Come on, Jane,” Henry says, pulling the bags with him and taking her hand. He rings on the door that has ‘Realtor Gupta’ name written on it, so he assumes they’re in the right place. After a couple of minutes, the tall woman he recognizes from their video calls as Amy, opens the door.
“Oh hello! You must be Henry, and you must be.. Jane,” Amy kindly smiles, leaning down towards her. Jane nods and Amy straightens her back.
“So sorry we’re late, Mrs. Gupta. We had a little car trouble.”
“That’s alright. You okay?”
“Yes, thank you, we’re fine.”
“And do call me Amy,” she chuckles warmly, the generosity radiating from her smile. “So. Are we ready to see your new home?”
“Are you ready, Jane?” Henry taps her shoulder, and she smiles cheerfully, head bouncing so her headphones fall over her head.
“Okay, then. Let me just grab the papers and your keys and we’re all ready to go.”
They travel with Amy’s car along the suburban streets, Jane curiously looking out the car window. Amy talks nonstop about the long and colorful history of Chestnut Creek and then how the house is newly renovated, but Henry can’t concentrate on any of her words.
All Henry can think about is if it's far enough. He knows he loves this town already, it feels so peaceful and people are very welcoming, but there’s a tiny fear in the back of his head that it isn’t far enough. It isn’t safe enough.
He isn’t sure if that feeling will ever fully fade away.
Jane claps her hands excitedly, and momentarily, the worries disappear. Amy parks the car in their grey driveway. He knows a thing or two about America's row of houses, and this is the perfect image of it. The white picket fences, unusually bright green grass, driveways, the porch with a welcome mat. The house has it all.
It’s a two floored house, walls painted with warm orange and white, a perfect copy of all the other houses in the suburb street. Amy helps them carry their luggage as she opens the front door.
Jane eagerly runs past them to the living room when Amy puts the pin-code to a small box next to the front door.
“Jane! No running with your shoes on!” Henry calls after her, but the words go in one ear and out the other. He hears her faint giggles from the other room.
“She seems like a wonderful kid,” Amy chuckles as she spreads the paperwork on the kitchen island.
“Yeah, she is,” Henry agrees, taking out his ballpoint pen. As soon as she places the papers in front of him, he signs the papers.
Amy gives him a thoughtful look, behind a friendly smile. “You need a copy of these?”
“Thank you.”
“When’s the rest of your moving boxes coming? I could ask around for helping hands.”
“That’s okay, Mrs. Gupta, but we don’t have a lot of stuff coming,” Henry answers, with a friendly smile. “So I think we’ll handle it just fine.”
“Okay, great.”
“Oh, and the security system?”
“Had ‘em already set it up, so it’s all ready to go,” Amy points at the small black box near the front door with a blinking red light. She takes a pile of papers from her bag. “Here’s the instructions and guide, but basically if the code isn’t put in the first thirty seconds, it sends an alert to the connected security company. If you don’t answer within minutes to their call, they send out a security guard to check up on the situation. There’s already a password set up, but if you want to change it, here’s the instructions for that. I don’t get offended if you want to change it, considering I know the code.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Gupta.” Amy has an understanding look on her face, smiling warmly at him. She probably suspects or has her own ideas why Henry moved here with his daughter, all alone, and asked for a security system set up for the house.
“If you need help with anything, I mean anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact me. My house is just at the end of this street. OK?”
“Thank you, Mrs. –”
“Amy. Just call me Amy.”
“Thank you... Amy. I really appreciate that. Oh, one thing,” he says, digging up crumbled paper from his front pocket. It’s the email that he got from accepting the job as a first grade teacher for the school. “I’m having my first day at Chestnut Creek Elementary school tomorrow. You mind telling me the best directions from here to the school?”
“It's no more than a ten minute drive from here, just straight ahead,” she says, pointing out the kitchen window with sun-flower curtains. “But if you don’t have your car back here yet, I can give you a drive there tomorrow.”
“No, that’s all right, I don’t want to trouble you –”
“It’s no trouble at all, Henry. Here’s my number,” Amy picks up a business card out of her handbag. “Message me or give me a call. Okay? Or if there’s anything wrong with the house.”
“Thank you, Mrs. – I mean, Amy.”
“Now, I should let you two settle in. As mentioned, I live only at the end of this street, if you need anything. The house with the pink flowers on the door.”
“I think we’ll be alright, won’t we, Jane?” Henry asks when Jane runs back from the living room with red cheeks, headphones hanging around her neck. She slightly nods. “Yes, we’ll be just alright. Thank you, Amy, for everything.”
“Okay then, I guess I’ll see you around. And welcome to Chestnut Creek, Henry,” Amy gives him a sweet smile. “I think you’ll be very happy here.”
Henry spends the rest of the evening unpacking their bags, but rather quickly he realizes that they are in great need of a lot of things. Luckily the house was furnished, that’s one of the reasons Henry bought it, but Jane isn’t all too pleased having to leave nearly all her toys behind.
An hour later Henry orders them dinner, and as a long awaited reward, Jane gets her ice cream. Jane seems happy, and that’s all that matters.
It doesn’t stop Henry from taking a few rounds around the house, just to check there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Part of Henry tells he could have security cameras set up, but since he basically spent all his money on this house, so that he’s knee deep with debt and hell of a mortgage – he moves that idea for the future.
Elementary school’s salary in such a small town isn’t anything shiny, either. Just enough that he can keep a roof over his and Jane’s head, just that he can have her safe and sound.
That’s all that matters, after all.
Surprisingly, Jane is exhausted. Under any other circumstance, she wouldn’t be able to sleep in a strange bed. She only has her cherished teddy bear with her, Henry knowing she wouldn’t leave without it. She squeezes it tightly, when Henry reads her Alice in Wonderland, one of her favorite stories. She falls asleep within ten minutes into the story, and Henry tucks her in.
Henry knows he can’t possibly fall asleep, not tonight. He’s still on the edge, finding himself scared by the tiniest sounds of the house. The freezer whirs, and he flinches. A branch scratches the window, and he flinches again.
Couple hours later he climbs to the king size bed, feeling out of place. The sheets feel too new and rustle when he moves. The clock on the wall ticks in an uneasy rhythm. There’s a mosquito buzzing near his ear, and he spends the next hour trying to catch it. When he catches it and releases it out the window, his eyes try to settle into the dark landscape of the street.
He stares at the calm suburb street until he feels safe enough to climb back to the bed. No matter how he tries, he tosses and turns, not sleeping an eyeful during the night. His body is tired from the chase, travelling, moving across continents – but his brain doesn't let him relax.
Henry only hopes this uneasy feeling will eventually fade away. He hopes that one day he can feel at ease here, even if it will take years.
The following morning, Amy gives him a ride to Chestnut Creek’s Elementary school, riding in the front seat with a thermostat of tea in his hands.
He takes a look at Jane who’s at the backseat, coloring a book. She’s wearing a T-shirt with a horse, since she refuses to wear anything else but horse printed clothes, and flower embroidered leggings, her blonde hair in two ponytails.
The drive takes no longer than ten minutes, and the entire way Amy keeps talking about her newborn baby, how she didn’t get much sleep either. Amy catches the darkened circles around Henry’s eyes, but doesn’t say anything.
Henry takes Jane’s hand once at the school entrance, seeing a woman waving at him. Just like Amy, Principal Holleran is more than welcome and kind, happily showing him and Jane a tour of the elementary school building: the old and worn-out hallways, the small teacher’s lounge, the gymnasium and playground.
“And here’s your classroom,” she says when they walk back to the building, opening the last door on the hallway. It’s just like he imagined a first grade classroom to look like: dozen wooden desks, walls filled with children’s drawings and paintings, student’s artwork and books overflowing the cupboards, and to top it all: a class hamster in a cage at the back of the room.
“Jane, why don’t you go see the hamster?” Henry suggests, Jane letting out a happy squeal as she tiptoes to the end of the classroom. Henry turns to the principal with a concerned look. “Can I ask you something, Principal Holleran?”
“I said it’s Nora. And of course.”
“I told Mrs. Gupta about Jane, and her condition –”
“Don’t worry, Henry. She’ll be fine here. There are many special kids with different conditions here. I’m sure she’ll fit in just fine.”
“Good. Thank you,” Henry smiles. It was one of the reasons he asked that she’d be in his class, so he could look after her, and her special needs. But since the school only had one opening for the first grade teacher, he knew Jane would be in his class.
“Here are the lesson plans and schedules,” Nora says, placing a file of papers on top of the teacher’s desk. It’s completely bare except for a laptop, pencil case and plaque that says ‘Mr. Fox’ in golden letters. “You’re very lucky to get the job just before the start of the school year,” she adds, straightening the school desks. “Though you probably wished you had more time to plan your classes.”
“I’m sure I’ll manage,” Henry answers. They arrived three days before the start of the school year, so it gave him only two days to prepare his class.
It was a short time, and he had tons of material to read about, not sure if he could memorize the study material and students in a matter of days, but Henry had been a teacher for over eight years now. It’s nothing that he can’t handle.
After getting the tour in the school, he walks back home with Jane. They still have a lot of things to do around the house, but Jane was more than happy since they stopped at a coffee shop for some snacks. Henry knows he’s spoiling her, and this situation needs some serious spoiling, but he swears he’ll stop it one day.
Henry watches her read her book as he tries to gather as much information about his new students. Over the next two days, while unpacking and settling into his new house, he reads all the teacher material cover to cover. He barely leaves the house, telling himself it’s because he can focus on the material. He keeps telling himself that the more time he spends in the house, the more relaxed he will be.
Be that as it may, over the course of the next days, it doesn’t make him easier to fall asleep.
The first day of school, and Henry’s already a nervous wreck. His stomach swoops, knot of anxiousness tugging in, and a blob of sweat dribbles from his hairline to his cheek.
He’s not usually this nervous, maybe because of his sleepless nights, maybe because last night Jane had a nightmare, and it meant Henry sleeping in the same bed with her until she calmed down.
Henry knows it’s normal, she has suffered from nightmares before, but he’s worried. He wanted this to be a fresh start for the both of them. Over breakfast, Jane said that she was nervous about starting a new school and Henry thinks, maybe her nightmares are about the first day in the new school.
Not about running away from an abusive partner.
Henry is self-aware that he’s always been dressing like a teacher, and he’s always found comfort in his teaching clothes. His wardrobe mostly consists of different pale shades of cardigans, polo shirts and blouses. So it’s no surprise when he puts on his light blue cardigan, and light Chino trousers. He replaces the neck keychain he got from the principal Holleran with his old one, that has the colors of rainbow.
Henry walks together with Jane to the school, Jane dressed in bright yellow dress and a light beige coat, her hair braided – he found it somehow therapeutic to learn and watch different Youtube tutorials on how to braid her hair.
The school building looks different than it was two days ago: the yard is filled with laughing children and one worn-out yellow school bus, unloading the last group of children.
“Why don’t you go meet your new classmates?” Henry suggests, pushing reluctant Jane towards them. Henry knows she’s always been a shy girl, but she looks absolutely terrified.
She shakes her head, hands crossed on her chest.
“Honey, I have to go inside with the teachers. I’ll see you at the gymnasium in five minutes. You can survive five minutes without your father, can't you?”
She shakes her head more, lips pursed in disagreement, tucking Henry’s hand. “No, daddy.”
“It’s going to be okay, it’s just five minutes. You’re a brave girl, aren’t you?” Henry says softly, kneeling in front of her. He adjusts her dress, and the yellow bow on her head. “You look so pretty in this dress, love.” A shy smile appears on her face. “Can you be brave for me, honey?”
She casts a look behind him. Henry hugs her while kissing on the top of her head, watching as she jogs towards the school children. Henry observes as she shyly walks to them, the children starting to talk with her.
After a couple minutes of observing his daughter, he walks from the teacher’s backdoor to the building. He somehow remembers the building, it’s not really a big school: it only has ten classes, a small gymnasium, cafeteria and half dozen teachers. He expects to meet the rest of the teachers today, since he only met Principal Holleran the other day.
Henry glimpses at his wrist watch to realise he’s running late, so he quickly throws his bag in his locker before the ceremony starts at the gymnasium.
He manages to finds another teacher, who guides him to the gymnasium. She guides him to sit on the row of seats in front of the students, Henry trying to get a glimpse of Jane.
But his eyes catch on something else than his daughter. His eyes catch a teacher sitting at the far end, next to an empty seat.
He raises his head, thick eyebrows up, and a warm grin spreads on his face. Henry takes wobbly steps towards him, since it’s the only free seat. It’s the same curly haired man with deep, brown eyes.
Alex.
Except this time he’s wearing a slim navy colored tracksuit and a whistle around his neck. Alex slowly blinks his lashes, like he’s trying to hide his surprise.
“We meet again,” he whispers, with a coy smile. The attention Alex gives him makes Henry shrink in his chair a bit, causing his heart to palpitate. Henry opens his mouth to reply, but it’s when Principal Holleran taps the microphone in the stand, static coming from the speakers.
“Welcome back, dear students of Chestnut Elementary School,” Principal Holleran starts. She starts talking about the beginning of the school year, their goals for the year but all Henry can focus on is the knee that’s nearly touching his.
There’s an odd tension in the air, a queasy feeling in his stomach, his heart racing. He keeps telling himself it’s being in front of the entire school, because this is his and Jane’s first day in the school.
It’s definitely not about the man sitting next to him, who’s shoulder seems to lean into him, who keeps eyeing Henry for the entire speech. Alex gives Henry a flashing smile when he’s introduced as the new first grade teacher, and the queasiness in his stomach disappears upon seeing his reassuring smile.
He looks back at Alex, a happy smile still beaming on his face. There's a new, fuzzy warm feeling entering into Henry from his smile.
Maybe his first day at the school isn't so bad, after all.