Back to You(12)

“Who?”
“The mother.”
“No, there was no information about a mother on her registration forms.”
“So he abandoned the mother of his child? How out of character!” Jenn said in feigned shock, and Lauren sighed.
“We don’t know if that’s what happened.”
“Sure we don’t.”
“Okay,” Lauren said with a shake of her head. “I think I’m gonna go. I’ll see you this weekend. And just so you know, holding grudges gives you premature wrinkles.”
“Yeah, well, in this case, not holding them would make you a wrinkle-less fool,” she retorted.
Lauren frowned, because as much as she didn’t want to admit it, Jenn had a point.

When Lauren got to work the next morning, Erin was already there, and she exhaled a sigh of relief. She didn’t think she could talk to him again. As childish as it was, she had already decided she would hide in the classroom so she wouldn’t have to see him when he dropped Erin off; but now, it was a non-issue. Maybe she would be lucky and he’d drop her off early every day.
They started the day with the morning reading circle; for the first two weeks, they’d be working all together. After that they planned on dividing the class into three comprehension groups: the strongest, the average, and the struggling, so that they could individualize instruction.
As Janet read Let’s Go to the Zoo! Lauren observed the children, their interest and attention levels and their comprehension. Her eyes fell on Erin, and again she felt the twinge in her chest, the same one she had felt the day before when she’d said Michael’s name.
Lauren composed herself and shook it off; there was no way she was going to project her feelings silence filled the space between them7 shoulder about Michael onto his innocent child.
But God, she looked so much like him.
The eyes were exactly the same, eyes that were so dark they were almost black, except hers were large and round with childhood, ringed by a fringe of dark lashes.
She had the same full lips, the same dark hair, only hers fell in silky ringlets that brushed the tops of her shoulders.
She was gorgeous.
But more than that, she was different. Something about the way she carried herself; it was more than just being shy. She gave off this sense of maturity, like she was wise beyond her three-and-a-half years.
And even as Lauren sat assessing the other children, Erin remained in the corner of her mind.
After the morning reading circle, Lauren and Janet set up the arts and crafts table while Delia taught the kids a new song. The entire time, the children were watching Lauren and Janet like racers on the block. As soon as song time was over, the students darted to the end of the long table, battling for crayons, markers, and glitter.
Lauren stepped back with an amused laugh, watching to make sure everyone was being polite. As she circled the area and helped children gather as many crayons as their little hands could carry, she noticed Erin on the far end of the table by herself with one piece of paper and a single blue crayon.
The other kids settled themselves around the opposite end where the supplies were set up and began their pictures, but Erin remained on the far side by herself. She was carefully drawing a blue stick figure with her brow pulled together, deep in concentration.
After a moment of watching her, Lauren leaned over and grabbed a tin of crayons and a blank piece of paper before she pulled up a chair near where the rest of the students were coloring.
“Hey, Erin?” she called, and Erin’s crayon stopped as she looked up at Lauren with big doe eyes.
“I’m trying to draw a rainbow, but I can’t remember how to do it. Will you come and help me?”
Erin looked down at her own picture and bit her lip before she glanced back up at Lauren.
“You can bring your picture,” she said, motioning to an empty seat across from her. “Come on over here with us.”
Erin slowly pushed back from the table, taking her paper and crayon with her as she walked over to where Lauren was sitting.
“Thank you so much for helping me,” Lauren said with a smile. “I used to be really good at making rainbows, but I think I forgot how. You look like you’d be good at it.”
The corner of Erin’s mouth lifted in a smile.
“Are you?” Lauren asked, and Erin’s smile grew more prominent as she nodded.
“Awesome. Do you remember what color goes first?” Lauren asked, sliding the tin of crayons in between them.
Erin bit her lip, leaning over to study the crayons, her tiny fingers sifting delicately through the pile until she pulled out a red one and proudly handed it to Lauren.
“Hmm, I think you’re right,” Lauren said with a nod. “What color is this again?”