Back to You(13)

“Red,” she said softly, and her voice was high and tinkling, like wind chimes.
“Ah, that’s right, red,” she said, tapping herself on the forehead with the crayon. “I always forget.”
Erin smiled then, and Lauren winked before she began coloring a red arch on the top of the page.



“Daddy says you’re his friend.”
The crayon came to a halt on the paper as Lauren froze. It wasn’t just the fact that Erin had spoken without having been asked a question, something she hadn’t done at all the day before, but it was more what she had said that had thrown Lauren for a loop.
“Are you?” Erin asked, handing Lauren the orange crayon she had just dug out of the container.
“Am I what?” Lauren asked, trying to refocus her attention on coloring the arch.
“Daddy’s friend?”
She stopped then and looked up to see Erin watching her, her face the epitome of innocence, waiting for a response.
“Your daddy and I were friends a long time ago.”
Her face turned thoughtful. “You mean like when you were babies?”
Lauren couldn’t help but smile as she put the red crayon back and took the orange one Erin had laid out for her. “No, when we were teenagers.”
“What’s a teenager?” Erin asked, her eyes on her paper as she began working on her stick figure again.
“It’s a big boy or girl. Bigger than a baby, but not as big as a daddy or a mommy.” No sooner than the word left her mouth, Lauren felt like kicking herself. She glanced up quickly, waiting to see what kind of effect the mention of a mommy would have on Erin.
She didn’t miss a beat.
“Daddy said you’re nice.”
Lauren’s shoulders dropped. “He did?”
Erin nodded as she colored blue hair on top of her stick figure’s head. “He said that if I got sad or scared, I should talk to you, because you’re nice.”
Lauren felt a lump rise in her throat, and she swallowed hard, forcing a smile. “You can always come talk to me, Erin. That’s what I’m here for.”
“Okay,” she said casually.
“Can I use your crayon?” she heard a little voice ask, and Lauren looked up to see one of the boys from class standing next to Erin.
Erin nodded silently, handing it over.
“I’m Connor. Want to color with me?”
Erin glanced over at Lauren, who nodded reassuringly, and she turned back to the boy. “Okay,” she said, and the boy pulled up a seat next to her.
Lauren smiled as she removed herself from the situation, putting a reassuring hand on Erin’s shoulder before she crossed to the other side of the room to check on the other students.

At three thirty, Lauren said good-bye to Janet and Delia and the children that remained before she gathered her things and headed out to the vestibule.
Just as she placed her bag down on the counter to find her keys, the front door swung open, and Lauren looked up to see Michael walking through the doors.
She dropped her eyes again, sifting through her purse with more urgency.
“Hi.”
She swallowed and gained her composure before she looked back up with a tiny smile. “Hi, how are you?”
Stupid contrived formalities. They felt so foreign on her tongue. Especially with Michael. But she didn’t know how else to handle him.
“I’m okay,” he answered,
And then it came to her. She’d handle him like any other parent. Friendly, but professional. All interactions based solely on the child in question.
“Good,” Lauren said, and this time her smile was genuine as she thought of Erin’s progress today. “She’s coming out of her shell.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and exhaled in what seemed like relief. “That’s good,” he said. “She’s smart, but she’s so shy, and I don’t want people to think she’s not friendly, or that she’s not listening, you know?”
“Oh, we know she’s listening, even if she’s not quick to talk about what she’s learning.”
This was good, Lauren thought. Natural. Safe.
But then Michael smiled, and she felt her poise waver. “God, that’s so good to hear,” he said. “We just moved to the area, so I’m hoping she’ll be able to open up and make some friends here.” He took his hands out of his pockets and leaned on the counter.
His proximity caught her off guard, and her stomach flipped as she instantly straightened, dropping her eyes to where his hands rested in front of her. Immediately he curled them in before gently sliding them out of view.
“Sorry,” he said awkwardly. “I just came from work.”