Dana took the flowers from Rux, their fingers lightly touching between the stems. She was feeling a carnival of emotions as she stood there, electric lust, embarrassment, and a little confusion.
He could have just sent the flowers to me instead of coming to my place of work himself. Is he trying to show off the way many rich men do?
Then again, the look on his face said he mostly just wanted to lay eyes on her again. And she felt very much the same way.
Oh, boy, did I ever want to lay eyes on this delicious-looking morsel … OMG, I am ridiculous right now.
Dana felt Ms. Anderson watching them with her arms crossed, clearly incredibly entertained by how thrown off she was. She squeezed the bouquet, unsure what to do or say next. Her mouth suddenly had gone as dry as a cave in the Sahara desert.
Ms. Anderson touched Rux’s bicep and spoke for her.
“She would love to,” Ms. Anderson said.
They all started laughing, which made Dana’s anxiety loosen a bit. She nodded when their eyes connected, and he placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I’ll pick you up around seven?” he said. “I’ll call you for your address beforehand.”
Dana could only nod and eventually shook a few words out of her mouth.
“Of course, that sounds great, Rux.”
She gave Ms. Anderson a nod, then bowed his head slightly at Dana. She smiled, and he left the lunchroom without another word.
“Sweet baby Jesus,” Ms. Anderson whispered.
Dana turned to her with wide eyes, having never heard the woman utter a curse word in her life.
“What?” Dana asked, beginning to feel her bones again.
“If you don’t climb that tree, I will,” Ms. Anderson said with a smile that almost touched the tip of her ear lobes.
The women both burst into a fit of laughter, with Dana having to bend over and clutch at her stomach. She had worked with Ms. Anderson for a few years, but she was always cool and collected, never very vulgar.
Dana and Ms. Anderson wiped tears from their eyes to the sound of a shrill bell, signaling the return to teaching their classes.
Dana was feeling lighter about her date with Rux as she went back to her classroom. She found a vase in the staff room to put her roses in for the time being, and as she was placing them down, one of her students came running toward her.
“Ms. Wilson!” the child called out.
Dana turned to find Hannah, an eleven-year-old with an affinity for strings, who had a terrified look on her face. Dana forced herself off cloud nine and put on her professional hat.
“What’s up, Hannah?” she asked.
“Jennifer has been in the bathroom all recess,” Hannah said frantically. “She won’t come out. Will you help her?”
Jennifer was a twelve-year-old music prodigy who lived with her esteemed oceanographer father and her aunt. She spent a lot of time with her aunt due to her father’s busy schedule, which often made her depressed and less motivated in the classroom.
Dana nodded and then gave the class quick instructions to work on a song while she was gone. She entered the women’s bathroom and heard quiet weeping. She looked down and saw little feet cowering in one of the stalls.
Dana approached the stall and then softly knocked on the door. The young girl continued to cry.
“Jennifer,” Dana said gently. “Are you okay, honey? Do you want to talk about it with me?”
Dana continued to hear the girl crying, then leaned her head against the stall. She had a way with young kids because she thought of them as herself. Despite her liberal upbringing, Dana had always felt like an outcast. Music had helped her find herself from an early age.
“What’s going on, hun?” Dana said in her sweetest voice.
“It’s my dad,” Jennifer said through the stall.