His Temptation, Her Secret

After crossing the gorgeous campus, up a wide walkway lined with maple trees, she climbed the stairs to the admissions building. Through the glass doors, it was bustling with activity, lineups and conversations, with signs and monitors providing direction.

She found the enrollment office on a building map and set off down a hallway. The office was large, bright and seemingly well ordered. She joined a lineup being served by at least a dozen officers behind a long counter. Although most of the people in the lineup looked to be in their late teens, she was happy to see a number of twenty and thirtysomethings as well. She hadn’t been sure how she’d fit in with the student population.

The lineup moved smoothly, and soon she was standing in front of an older woman in a navy blazer, a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose.

“Do you have your signed eight-twenty-four form?” the woman asked.

Sage quickly flipped through the papers in her hand, finding the right form. “Yes.” She handed it over.

The woman scanned the form, then typed something into her computer.

“Did you select your courses online?”

“I was wait-listed for a couple,” Sage answered. “But I wasn’t planning to take a full course load, so if I don’t get into everything this semester, it’s fine.”

“Hmm.” The woman looked worried.

“Is that a problem?” Sage had read through the website. Invo North Pacific definitely offered part-time programs.

“No.” She smiled at Sage. “Can you wait just a moment? I’ll be right back.”

“Why—”

The woman was gone before Sage could finish her sentence. Feeling uneasy, she glanced both ways along the counter. Everyone else seemed productively engaged in the enrollment process. She hoped the length of time she’d been away from high school wasn’t going to trip her up. She had checked the mature student box.

Another woman, this one younger, maybe in her forties, slimmer and very professionally groomed, arrived. “Mrs. Bauer?”

The name took Sage by surprise. “It’s Costas. Sage Costas.”

“I’m sorry. Ms. Costas. Of course. I’m Bernadette Thorburn, college president.” She reached across the counter, offering Sage her hand.

Surprised again, Sage shook the woman’s hand.

“Do you have a few minutes to talk?” Bernadette asked.

“I suppose.” She looked to the admissions officer who was standing to one side. “Are we finished? Is there anything else you need?” Sage had been prepared with an original copy of her high school transcripts and her credit card.

“Bernadette will be able to help you,” the officer said.

Sage suddenly understood what was going on. TJ was a contributor to the college. They must feel his wife shouldn’t need to stand in line.

“I’m fine enrolling this way,” she hastily told them. She didn’t want them to think she expected special privileges.

“There’s another matter I’d like to discuss,” Bernadette said. She was smiling, and her eyes were friendly. Whatever she wanted to discuss didn’t look like it was going to be a problem. She pointed. “I can meet you at the end of the counter.”

“Okay.” Sage gathered up her paperwork.

She supposed whatever got the job done. Maybe they were going to let her into the wait-listed classes. That would be a bonus. Although she still wouldn’t want to take all of them at once. The statistics class would be her first choice.

At the end of the counter, Bernadette held open a half door and showed Sage into an office overlooking the quad. The two sat down at a round table.

“Welcome to Invo North Pacific,” Bernadette said.

“Thank you. I’m happy to be here. I’m looking forward to attending.”

“I hope your son is doing well.”

Sage wasn’t sure how to react. “You know about Eli?”

“Whiskey Bay is a small community. The college draws from a much larger area, of course, from all across the country and internationally too. But we like to keep the local culture alive as much as we can. It provides a more unique experience for students. There’s a lot to be said for the Pacific Northwest.”

“I agree,” Sage said. “I grew up in Seattle.”

“And I understand you were valedictorian.”

“That was almost a decade ago.”

“And you’ve had life experience since.”

Sage nodded.

“Community involvement and influence, and I heard you whipped the Seaside Festival into shape. Donations were up. Attendance was up. But expenses were down.”

That characterization seemed blown out of proportion. “I didn’t contribute much. Just logic and reason where it came to the budget, and I probably had more time than people have had in the past to pore over the books.”