“Yes! Yes! We promise, Miss Katie!” they cried.
Katie laid her hand on the top of Alejandro’s head and then looked at the faces of the children before her.
“We all have people who come and go through our lives, but there will always be family and best friends. Now, it’s almost time for the last bell to ring, and I know Miss Abby has things for you to do before you go. So I’m going to tell you goodbye, and maybe one day we’ll see each other again. Now come give me a hug and go back to your desks.”
They got up slowly, almost reverently, and filed past her, hugging her goodbye as they returned to their seats. Alejandro was the last in line, and when he hugged her, he whispered in her ear.
“I will be good. I love you.”
“Oh, honey…you are such a good boy. I love you, too.”
Katie got up before she burst into tears.
“Thank you, Miss Abby,” she said as she picked up her purse and the award, then paused at the doorway before turning around. Everyone was watching her. She waved, and then she was out the door, swallowing back tears.
The hallway was empty, but she could hear clamor behind every door she passed as teachers were winding up another day on the job.
Her footsteps echoed, making her think there was someone behind her, and she kept looking over her shoulder, just to make sure she was still alone.
Her legs were shaking now. Her heart was hammering so fast it was hard to breathe, and it was all she could do not to run. The office was just up ahead, and after that the front exit, and then she’d be clear.
“Oh God…help me, God…just a little bit further,” she kept muttering, and then she turned the corner in the hall and saw the office in front of her, and then the front door to her left, and began counting off the steps to freedom.
One, two, three, four, five…ten, eleven, twelve…twenty-one…twenty-two steps! Take a left, Katie.
And she was out the door.
The afternoon heat was sweltering, and she was shaking as if she were freezing.
Shock.
Jesus wept. I am done.
Katie made it to her car, started it up, and drove away as if the devil was on her heels. The farther away she got, the more she began to relax, and the heat of the day began to seep into her bones.
She turned on the air conditioner and put the fan on blast as she moved into the traffic of the city.
It had been her day of reckoning, and she would never come this way again.
Chapter Three
The moment Lila Reece got home from school, she called Katie, but it went to voicemail, so she left a message.
“Hey, Katie, it’s me. Call me back when you feel like it. I’m home for the evening.”
Then she hung up and went to change before settling in with a stack of papers to grade.
***
Katie was on the sofa in the living room, wrapped up in a blanket against the blast of her air conditioner and watching a movie, when the phone rang.
When she saw it was Lila, she let it go to voicemail. She just wasn’t in the mood to rehash anything right now. Being back in that school building had taken everything out of her that she’d fought to regain. She didn’t know what she was going to do with the rest of her life, but it wouldn’t be happening in that building.
Once her movie ended, she called in a DoorDash order at Saggio’s Pizza and then, while she was waiting for it to arrive, returned Lila’s call.
The phone rang a couple of times, and then Lila picked up.
“Hey, girl,” Lila said.
Katie grinned. “Hey, yourself. This is me returning your call. Do you have exciting news for me…like maybe that cute guy who lives down the hall finally asked you out?”
Lila groaned. “Unfortunately that is not the case. But I was hoping I could talk you into going to lunch with me tomorrow. We haven’t had a girls’ day out since you came home from the hospital, and I think it’s time we did.”
Katie surprised herself by agreeing. “That sounds like fun. I’d love that. Where and when?”
“Oh yay!” Lila said. “Let’s do lunch a little early, say eleven thirty?”
“Works for me,” Katie said. “Where are we going?”
“I was thinking Pappadeaux. I’m craving their seafood Cobb salad with shrimp,” Lila said.
“Yes! We can get our Cajun on there, for sure! Okay, I’ll see you there tomorrow.”
Lila hesitated, then had to ask. “One other thing… Are you—”
Katie interrupted. “Yes, I’m fine…now. Yes, it was hard. No. ‘Hard’ is the wrong word. If I’m honest, it was awful going back. But I needed to see my kids. We all needed closure. They needed to see me alive and walking and talking, and I needed to tell them all goodbye.”
“I guessed,” Lila said. “So. We’ll talk more tomorrow over good food and be grateful for the opportunity.”
“Thanks,” Katie said.
“For what?” Lila asked.
“For being the best friend I’ve ever had…for understanding…and for the invitation. See you tomorrow,” Katie said.
“Yes, tomorrow,” Lila said, and they both disconnected.
Lila was in tears. She felt her best friend pulling away.
But Katie was at peace. She’d faced a hurdle today, and while she might not have cleared it, it had become painfully obvious to her that she had to reconsider her options.
***
When Katie woke up the next morning, she stayed motionless a few moments, remembering today she was going somewhere fun with her best friend. She could be honest with Lila about her fears for the future, and maybe get a few good pointers along the way.
Finally, she got up and went to make coffee, then headed for the shower. She had a couple of hours before she was supposed to meet Lila, so she didn’t have to rush. She stripped off her pajamas, wound up her hair and clipped it on the top of her head, then turned sideways in front of the full-length mirror to look at the healing wounds on her back.
One was on her shoulder, the other lower down on the other side of her back. Red, slightly puckered, still fragile skin was healing over the gunshots. Neither had an exit wound, which had been the blessing, or the boys might have been shot if the bullets had passed through her to them. But the extent of the surgery to get them out without damaging vital organs had slowed down her recovery.
She grimaced. Thinking about what-ifs was self-defeating, so she grabbed a washcloth and stepped into the shower. The jets of water hitting her body were warm and welcome, and by the time she got out, she was planning what she was going to wear. The predicted high today was in the 70s—sandals, summer blouse, and slacks weather.