But there was no slamming of doors tonight. The fire alarm was quiet now that Kylee had backed away from the kitchen appliances. It was a peaceful, nutritiously-questionable, night at the Bauer household. But Kylee still had to parent.
“So, Molly, what exactly got you sent to the principal’s office today?”
“Fairy magic,” Molly said as she pressed the rind of an orange into her mouth and gave her mother a citrus smile.
Her daughter had the wildest imagination. Kylee envied her that. She’d always been a black and white kind of girl. That’s why she did so well with tests and numbers. Meanwhile, Molly spent time making curly cues with the L’s and Y in her name.
“Molls, you have to take learning seriously. It’s how you’ll have a good future.”
“I’m only in fourth grade, Mommy. Don’t I have years before my future starts?”
Sometimes, Kylee worried her daughter was too much like her father. Head-in-the-clouds dreamer with no practical know how. At least Molly had a can-do kinda attitude. Even if her doing typically got her into trouble. Now that Jason was less of an influence in her life, Kylee would change that.
“Besides, Principal Kidd set me straight,” Molly said after taking a gulp of her milk. “We’ve got it all worked out.”
“Do you now?”
It was so strange hearing her old best friend being referred to in such a lofty status. But Ron had always been great with kids. He didn’t really have a choice with the last name he had.
&
nbsp; “Yeah, he’s really funny, don’t ya think?”
Kylee smiled. Ron always had a way of making her take herself less seriously. The two had been an inseparable pair for more than half her life. Seeing him again, that old connection slipped right back into place. In a way, it felt like they’d never been apart at all.
“We should have him over for dinner one night.”
It would be nice to have Ron back in her life on a regular basis. To sit next to him, and talk to him, and get another of those hugs.
Ron’s embrace had been so warm, so inviting. It had felt so good to be held, and by someone, she knew had only her best interest in heart. In fact, her heart was racing at the memory of being in his arms.
Wait? In his arms? That made it almost sound intimate.
It wasn’t intimate. He was Ron. Her buddy. Her friend.
Her buddy who had grown into a fine young man - emphasis on fine. Her friend whose gaze had slipped down to look at her lips. He’d looked at her and talked to her like she was the only person in the world. And when he’d asked her to dinner, her heart had actually skipped a beat.
It was madness. It was insane. He was Ron. Her heart should not be skipping a beat at Ron.
But it had.
But she couldn’t date Ron.
He was the principal at her daughter’s school. And he was her best friend. And it was too soon after her divorce. And he was a man. And she’d sworn off men for the rest of her life.
Plus, she was certain he wasn’t interested in her that way. He’d just been paying attention to her like he always did. He’d looked at her lips before. He’d hugged her before. It meant nothing.
He was a great success. Meanwhile, she was back at her parents’ home. He’d achieved all of his dreams. Meanwhile, she was just getting started, ten years late. But it would be nice to have him as a friend again.
“You thinking about Principal Kidd?”
Kylee glanced over to see her daughter smiling with that mischievous glint in her eyes.
“His eyes totally lit up when he found out you were my mom. Just like Scooby Doo when he sees a Scooby Snack.”
Really? Just like Scooby Doo?
“Now your eyes are going all Scoobied.”