They greeted him with a smile.
He picked up his son and lightly tapped his belly. “Finally finish your lunch?”
“Yep.” Noah grinned. “And chocolate milk, too.”
“Wow. You must’ve behaved.”
“Yep.”
“So now he gets to help me with the…what?” Emily frowned at his son, pretending not to know.
“The pigs!” Noah shouted, squirming to get down. “Can we go, now, Emiwy?”
“Absolutely,” Emily replied. “Do you remember where they are?”
Noah blinked and then pointed to a barn that was beyond the dog kennels. “On da udder side of dat.”
Emily nodded. “Yep. Come on, I’ll race you.”
And without even a backward glance, his son was running down the driveway as fast as his little legs could carry him.
Amanda’s chuckle brought his attention to her smiling face. “He’s pretty quick. Must keep you on your toes.”
A smile tugged his lips. “You have no idea.”
She cocked her head. “Maybe a little. I do have a classroom full of three-year-olds.”
“True.” Dante scratched his temple as he thought about it. “Man, you must really have your hands full. I couldn’t do it.”
He didn’t think he’d have enough patience.
“With luck, maybe not for much longer.”
His chest tightened. Was she going back to England? “Why do you say that?”
“I have an interview—well, a video type interview—Thursday afternoon,” she replied. “There are a few teaching positions opening in the fall. I’ve gotten past the application and resume stage. If I do well on Thursday, then it’s on to a test run in a real classroom. After that is an actual interview.”
“Man.” He shook his head. “Never realized teachers had to jump through so many hoops to get hired.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, but if I were a parent, I’d appreciate it. I wouldn’t want my child subjected to a bad-tempered teacher, especially in those first few formative years. It’s important for achild to want to go to school and learn, not dread it because the teacher is rude.”
“Absolutely.” That wouldn’t sit well with him at all.
“This process hopefully eliminates them, although we all know nothing is foolproof.”
“Well, even if Noah doesn’t get to have you as his teacher in the fall, I’m glad you might substitute in his class once in a while right now.”
She smiled a thousand-watt smile that he felt to his soul. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” he replied. “He’s already missing out on so much in life, I’m glad he’ll have had a kind, caring teacher, if only for a little while.”
Dante tried to be both mother and father, but there were times when he knew he fell short. He constantly worried if he was enough for his son.
Amanda stepped closer and caught his gaze. “You know, Dante, you’re doing a phenomenal job raising Noah,” she said, shocking him silent.
Had she read his mind?
“He’s a wonderful little boy who shares his toys, doesn’t talk back, sits quietly when his teacher is speaking,” she said. “I’ve only helped in his class once this week, but I could tell he is a good kid.”
