to go it alone any longer. And she had to go on. Grace was counting on her to provide a stable life.
For Grace’s sake she would walk a road she felt unworthy to set her foot upon.
Chapter Six
K ip pulled his car into a spot next to the playground at the school end of the church property and parked. He had his first basketball practice of the season scheduled for after school. As he got out of his car, the final bell rang and he looked across the lot. Doors in the high school wing opened moments later and the kids came pouring out. Sarah Bates, her chestnut hair blowing in the stiff breeze, pushed open a double set of doors and led a group of small children to the line of school buses waiting to take them home.
It was the first time he’d seen her since she left to talk to Jim after Sunday services the week before. He’d been out of town on a long charter last Sunday so he hadn’t seen her at church either. Early last week his friend and pastor had let slip that, when he’d told her the job was hers, she’d begun to cry from sheer relief. Jim had also mentioned that the job might be a permanent one as long as all her references checked out.
Sarah looked at home there among children on that first full day she’d been teaching. He wondered how she’d done. And how little Grace was faring at CHOP.
Kip glanced at his watch. He had a good fifteen minutes before the team was supposed to meet in the gym. He sauntered toward her and arrived as the last child in her charge boarded the bus.
Sarah turned, and a wide smile brightened her face, making her look younger and less burdened. He felt good about that. She deserved any happiness she found after all she’d been through.
“So how was the first day?” he called out to her.
“Wonderful,” she said when he reached her side. “I came in for the morning yesterday so I could visit all the classes and meet all of the students. And I observed Joanne in some classes. In the afternoon after I left, she had the classes make welcome cards for me. I’m going to hang them up. I have several from your nieces and nephews. Do you want to see them?”
“Sure,” he said and fell into step next to her. “I can even help you for a few minutes. It feels good to be back teaching, then?” he asked her as he pulled open the door to the school and held it for her.
“It feels wonderful to be back teaching. I’d forgotten how much I like it. And since I’ll be working K through twelve I’m going to be wonderfully busy.”
“Then you don’t resent having to work instead of being with Grace?”
She tilted her head in thought and stopped just outside her classroom. “Resent it? No. Scott thought I should stay home when we had children, but I hadn’t been sure about that. I really love working with talented kids in the upper grades and trying to uncover talent in the younger ones. Getting them to express their emotions on paper with whatever medium they choose is one of the greatest rewards. Now, I don’t have to make a choice between home and school. This is just the way it is.”
“That’s good then. I thought because you always spent so much time with Grace that you’d be missing her a lot.”
“I do miss her but we’ll have plenty of time together in the afternoons and the evenings. It’s more of a relief than you can imagine having her at Children’s Hospital. I can finally trust the people taking care of her. I’m even sleeping better,” she admitted.
“Then you think you’ll stay in the area?”
“Definitely. Now I just have to figure out how to move some of my things here.”
“How much do you have?”
“A small dining room set my parents ordered for us as a wedding gift, some keepsakes, my clothes, and a few things I’d bought for Grace that she won’t wear for months and months. There are a bunch of household items that I’d rather not have to replace too. One of the teachers I worked with asked if I wanted to sublet my apartment to her and
For Grace’s sake she would walk a road she felt unworthy to set her foot upon.
Chapter Six
K ip pulled his car into a spot next to the playground at the school end of the church property and parked. He had his first basketball practice of the season scheduled for after school. As he got out of his car, the final bell rang and he looked across the lot. Doors in the high school wing opened moments later and the kids came pouring out. Sarah Bates, her chestnut hair blowing in the stiff breeze, pushed open a double set of doors and led a group of small children to the line of school buses waiting to take them home.
It was the first time he’d seen her since she left to talk to Jim after Sunday services the week before. He’d been out of town on a long charter last Sunday so he hadn’t seen her at church either. Early last week his friend and pastor had let slip that, when he’d told her the job was hers, she’d begun to cry from sheer relief. Jim had also mentioned that the job might be a permanent one as long as all her references checked out.
Sarah looked at home there among children on that first full day she’d been teaching. He wondered how she’d done. And how little Grace was faring at CHOP.
Kip glanced at his watch. He had a good fifteen minutes before the team was supposed to meet in the gym. He sauntered toward her and arrived as the last child in her charge boarded the bus.
Sarah turned, and a wide smile brightened her face, making her look younger and less burdened. He felt good about that. She deserved any happiness she found after all she’d been through.
“So how was the first day?” he called out to her.
“Wonderful,” she said when he reached her side. “I came in for the morning yesterday so I could visit all the classes and meet all of the students. And I observed Joanne in some classes. In the afternoon after I left, she had the classes make welcome cards for me. I’m going to hang them up. I have several from your nieces and nephews. Do you want to see them?”
“Sure,” he said and fell into step next to her. “I can even help you for a few minutes. It feels good to be back teaching, then?” he asked her as he pulled open the door to the school and held it for her.
“It feels wonderful to be back teaching. I’d forgotten how much I like it. And since I’ll be working K through twelve I’m going to be wonderfully busy.”
“Then you don’t resent having to work instead of being with Grace?”
She tilted her head in thought and stopped just outside her classroom. “Resent it? No. Scott thought I should stay home when we had children, but I hadn’t been sure about that. I really love working with talented kids in the upper grades and trying to uncover talent in the younger ones. Getting them to express their emotions on paper with whatever medium they choose is one of the greatest rewards. Now, I don’t have to make a choice between home and school. This is just the way it is.”
“That’s good then. I thought because you always spent so much time with Grace that you’d be missing her a lot.”
“I do miss her but we’ll have plenty of time together in the afternoons and the evenings. It’s more of a relief than you can imagine having her at Children’s Hospital. I can finally trust the people taking care of her. I’m even sleeping better,” she admitted.
“Then you think you’ll stay in the area?”
“Definitely. Now I just have to figure out how to move some of my things here.”
“How much do you have?”
“A small dining room set my parents ordered for us as a wedding gift, some keepsakes, my clothes, and a few things I’d bought for Grace that she won’t wear for months and months. There are a bunch of household items that I’d rather not have to replace too. One of the teachers I worked with asked if I wanted to sublet my apartment to her and
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