“See you on Friday,” Rebecca said, by way of dismissing them.
Spencer watched as Rebecca walked away and headed up the stairs,not looking back. The PA was playing something by Rihanna, the first timeSpencer had paid any attention to the music today. That was unusual, but she’dbeen too busy watching Rebecca. Watching Rebecca barely watching her.
So, we’reback to that, are we?
With a sigh, Spencer sat up. Lucy did the same, then stood andheld out her hand. Spencer took it and Lucy pulled her to her feet. “You okay?”Lucy asked, squinting a bit at her.
Spencer shot her a half grin that took too much effort. “I am.”
“Good. You got really quiet once we started. I was wondering ifyou didn’t feel well.”
With a shake of her head, Spencer said, “I’m fine. Just got somethings on my mind.” Which wasn’t a lie. Together, they hit the locker room.
It bothered Spencer more than she cared to admit, Rebecca’s oddshift in demeanor. She’d enjoyed Monday. She’d enjoyed having some of Rebecca’sattention focused on her. Maybe she shouldn’t have. Maybe this was betterbecause…yeah, Spencer didn’t want to go there.
When she and Lucy were both dressed, Lucy pulled out her phone andgave it a quick glance. Turning to Spencer, she said, “Hey, I’ve got an hour orso before I have to be home to meet Ethan. Want to grab a cup of coffee orsomething?”
Spencer glimpsed the clock on the wall. It was a little afterseven. Marti might be home. She probably wasn’t, but even if she was, thatdidn’t mean Spencer couldn’t go out with a friend for a bit. “Coffee soundsgreat.” She gave Lucy a big smile and packed up her stuff.
Fifteen minutes later, they sat at a little table for two inGrounded, a coffee shop not far from the gym, a latte in front of each of them.They took tandem sips.
“Mmm,” Lucy said. “I love Starbucks, but this place comes prettydarn close.”
“Agreed. Though I’m a fan of Starbucks’s chai latte, and I haven’tcome across another place yet that does it quite as well.”
They sipped again before Lucy said, “You said earlier that youdidn’t know what I did. I realized the same thing. What do you do?”
“Oh, I work for a real estate firm.”
“You’re a Realtor?”
“I’m not, though I only have to take the test to get my license.”
“What do you do there?” Lucy’s big eyes focused on her, and itoccurred to Spencer that she’d forgotten how nice it was to have somebody’sfull attention.
“I’m the admin. I set up appointments, take info on new houses,deal with clients. Sometimes I cover open houses for agents. I do my best tokeep them organized.”
“Are they bad about that?”
“You’d be surprised.” Spencer chuckled. “How long have you taughtkindergarten?”
“Three years.” Lucy’s face changed then, went from its usualpleasant expression to one that was bigger, if that made sense. Excited. Filledwith joy. “I’ve only been teaching for six years now and I started with thirdgrade. Then, three years ago, one of the kindergarten teachers retired and theadministration asked me if I’d be interested in making a switch.” She gazed dreamilyout the window next to their table. “Oh, my goodness, Spence, these kids.” Sheshook her head, the love for her job as obvious as if it had been writtenacross her forehead. “It’s such an amazing age. They’re learning and curiousand they have questions. And they’re so full of love.” Her words trailed offand she refocused her gaze on Spencer. “I never want to do anything else.”
“Wow,” Spencer commented, simultaneously thrilled for Lucy’shappiness and envious that she didn’t feel quite the same way about her ownjob. “That sounds amazing. Those kids are lucky to have you as their teacher.”
“I don’t know about that.” Lucy blushed a pretty pink. “I do knowthat I’m lucky to have a job I love.” She sipped her latte. “Do you loveyours?”
Spencer also sipped, then took a moment to really think about thequestion. “I don’t necessarily love being an admin, but I do love the realestate field. I find it really interesting in that it’s always changing andupdating. I love keeping up with trends, researching what’s hot and what usedto be hot, but isn’t anymore.”
“Do you watchHouseHunters? You probably don’t. I imagine it would drive you crazy.”
“Idowatch and itdoesdrive me crazy!” They both laughed.
“Why don’t any of those people understand that if you don’t likethe color of the walls, there’s this fancy new invention called paint?” Lucyshook her head, her shoulders still shaking with her laughter.
“Right? Also, what the hell do these people do for a living thattheir budget is always half a million dollars or more?”
“And they’re all, like, thirty!” They went back and forth a couplemore times before exhausting the subject. When their merriment died down again,Lucy said, “So, I’m pretty sure when you mentioned your fiancée on the firstday of class, you said she. I assume you’re gay? Or bisexual?” At Spencer’snod, she added, “Tell me about your fiancée.”
