Dream Keeper (Dream Team 4)

The kid bit his lip.

Auggie gave him a second for any follow-up if he needed it, but when the kid stayed quiet, Auggie continued.

“Enlisting in the marines was the best decision I’ve made in my life so far. Before that, I could mess around and when you do that, you mess up. I had no direction and had no idea what I wanted from my life. In the marines, I learned discipline. And I’m not gonna lie. Shooting a gun is fun. Shooting a rifle is more fun. But you shouldn’t ever do either unless you know what you’re doing and you’re in a safe space to do it. The marines taught me that too. Basic training isn’t easy, but it’s good for the body. It’s good for the mind. It also teaches you not only how to rely on yourself, but how to be on a team. Really be on a team. There are good things to learn when you play a sport, and your teammates depend on you to shoot a basket or make a touchdown. There are better things to learn when the team you’re on depends on you to stay alive.”

Now, for better or worse (and with one glance at Ms. Linn, it was clear, albeit surprising, she thought it was for the better, alternately, she could be mesmerized by Auggie’s lips moving, which happened), having their rapt attention, Auggie kept talking, and when he was done, he took questions for a lot longer than I did.

When it was time for us to go, Ms. Linn broke in and ended it. She thanked us. She told the class to thank us. And she allowed Juno to walk us out the door.

Whereupon Auggie got another hug and a “You’re the best, Auggie! That was great!” from my daughter.

Auggie gave her a one-armed, but still warm, hug then let her go.

She popped back, gaze aimed up at him, and announced, “And I signed you up to help build the sets for the Thanksgiving show.”

I felt my insides seize.

One of Auggie’s wickedly awesome eyebrows went up.

“They said they needed people who could build things and you helped Auntie Ryn with her house, so I figured you’d be great!” she finished.

“Uh…” I didn’t quite begin.

Because she turned to me, I got a hug and a “See you tonight, Mom!”

And then my daughter—who had pulled two big, whopping fast ones—shot me a dazzling smile like nothing was amiss, and bopped back into the classroom, her long dark hair swinging down her back.

I watched her go and then took another step into the hall as, with a thankful good-bye smile (that lingered on Auggie, unsurprisingly), Ms. Linn closed the door on Auggie and me.

Stiffly, still reeling about all that had gone down over the last hour, including my girl’s final bombshell, I turned to Auggie only to see him striding resolutely down the hall.

Okay.

Hang on a second.

A lot just happened.

But not lost in that was the fact that my daughter had been around this man over the last year at parties and get-togethers, celebrations and just hanging out. She did not hide she liked him, he in turn was great with her.

I didn’t allow myself to process this in any proper way considering the fact, to me, they were just my kid and an adult that was a part of my posse. The end.

He didn’t come over to my house for wine nights or to watch TV or in some capacity where he’d eventually be tucking her into bed. He was just around. He wasn’t (I told myself) important, to me or Juno.

But I was wrong about that.

For me.

And, it would seem, Juno.

I had fucked him, then kicked him out.

And somewhere along the line that I’d missed, Juno had claimed him.

Shit.

This needed to be discussed.

A lot needed to be discussed, including how Auggie and I could move on from what we’d done in my entryway.

We shared friends. We shared time. We shared space.

We’d been friends.

And my kid obviously liked him a lot.

We had to sort our shit.

Now.

I hurried after him in my heels, calling, not loudly (seeing as I was in the hall of an elementary school), “Auggie.”

He didn’t break stride.

Now, he wasn’t too tall, like Mag and Mo tall (Mag was six four, Mo seemed even taller, but it could just be that Mo seemed bigger all around because Mo was a pretty intense-looking guy).

But Auggie was tall. Taller than me and I wasn’t short by a long shot, being five eight.

So he had long legs.

Long legs that took him away from me quickly.

I hastened my step.

“Auggie!”

Nope.

He was out the front door.

Dammit.

I dashed after him, giving a quick wave to the ladies at the front desk who did not see me wave since their eyes were glued to the door Auggie just walked through.