The Measure of a Man
Kate Middleton smoothed her hands over her slim hips and wriggled. Life was good.
Sure, she had a lot to mourn over, but she had much to be happy about as well. And she firmly believed that a positive attitude made any battle easier. It had taken her a long time to accept that, but she finally did.
At fifty, she was happier than she’d been at forty, but not quite as giddy as she’d been at thirty.
Today was her day. Three days a week, she worked at a law office, and one day a week she caught up on chores and errands. But Fridays? Friday was the day she went to the gym and then followed the wind wherever it blew her.
Car keys and gym bag in hand, she headed for her door.
The ringing of the phone pulled her up short. Should she, or shouldn’t she? She sighed. She should. After all, once a mother, always a mother.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mom. I’m glad I caught you. I need you to do me a favour. Can you pick up Melissa at school?”
“Hi, Honey. Sure. The usual time?”
Her daughter’s sigh brushed her ear drum. “No. I need you to go now. There’s a crisis at the school, and they’re sending the kids home. I’m tied up and wouldn’t be able to get there for at least an hour.”
Kate pressed a hand to her heart. “What happened? Is she okay?”
“Everyone’s fine, but there’s a gas leak a few blocks from the school. The gas company has servicemen at the site, and the danger is minimal, but the school is erring on the side of caution.”
“Okay. I’ll go get her now. I just need to change into street clothes.”
Trina laughed. “Bree, I’m sure you don’t need to change.”
Kate huffed at her daughter. “Stop calling me that. I do not look like one of the Desperate Housewives.”
“Sure you do, Mom. I know you’re dressed in your gym suit right now, and I know you still look like a million bucks. You do not need to change into ‘street clothes’ as you call them.”
She resisted the urge to grind her teeth. They’d had this discussion too many times. “Fine. I’ll get Missy now.”
“Thanks, Mom. I should be able to get away soon, so I’ll pick her up there.”
“No, it’s okay. You stay at work, and Missy and I will spend the day together.”
“Okay, thanks. See you when I see you, then.”
Kate hung up the phone and walked over to the mirrored doors of the coat closet. She didn’t watch Desperate Housewives, but she’d tuned in once after Trina started calling her Bree. So, okay. Maybe there was a slight resemblance, and her velour jogging suit did look like the one Gabrielle wore, but still, she was just Kate. Content with her life and in no way desperate.
She grinned at her reflection, flipped her red hair over her shoulder, and then headed for the door. Trina was right. She didn’t need to change. Besides, the only people she’d run into were a group of six-year-olds and their teacher.
Or not.
Sitting on a curb outside the school, with Missy, a classmate named Jacob and the class rabbit-thankfully caged, and not going home with them-Kate watched the man walk toward them. Missy had refused to leave her friend alone, so Kate had promised they’d wait until Jacob’s ride arrived.
Was this Jacob’s father?
“Uncle Eric!”
Okay, not his father. And for some reason Kate found herself strangely relieved. Eric, likely in his late thirties, or early forties, wasn’t her type, yet a trickle of awareness passed over her.
“Hey, J man. I’m off work this week, so your mom called and asked me to come get you. Is this your teacher?”
Hazel eyes rested on Kate, and she felt her pulse spike. Wow, what was it about this guy? She liked her men clean cut and dressed in designer suits, not scruffy looking and wearing jeans that had seen better days and a black t-shirt that had clearly been washed too many times. Having some weird chemical reaction to a guy-and not that she measured a man by his age, but a younger guy!-she know nothing about, wasn’t her style. And yet…
Jacob’s giggle broke the trance she seemed to have fallen into. “That’s not our teacher, Uncle Eric! That’s Melissa’s grandma!”
No matter how proud Kate was of her “grandma” status, her tummy tightened, and she winced. Those eyes that apparently didn’t miss much sparkled beneath raised brows and slowly gave her the once over.
“Really. Melissa’s grandma, eh?”
“Yeah. She’s nice. We gotta subs’tute teacher today, and she’s mean!”
Suddenly, his teasing-boyish-appearance was replaced with razor sharp intensity. In front of her stood a-warrior-as he zeroed his attention in on his nephew.
“She’s mean? How?”
Before Kate had time to decipher her reaction to the change in him, mayhem broke loose. Missy, whose silence should have made her suspicious, let loose a screech, the rabbit escaped from its cage and took off across the parking lot, and the teacher came charging out of the front door.
“Who let that rabbit loose? You little bra…”
Her hand lifted threateningly, and Eric planted himself right in her face.
“I’m Detective Eric Smithson, ma’am. Jacob’s uncle. That’s a very slippery slope you’re teetering on right now, and I suggest you back away from it.”
Kate grabbed a hand of each child, and started to chase after the rabbit. It seemed Detective Smithson had things in hand here.
“Come on, kids. We’ve got a rabbit to catch. And Missy, you’ll have some explaining to do later.”
Ten minutes later, thanks to a coordinated take down headed up by Detective Smithson, the four of them had the rabbit back in the cage.
As they lay panting on the grass of the parkette that bordered the school, Eric grinned at Kate as his glance slid across her.
“So, since I refuse to call you grandma, how about you tell me your name?”
Smoothing her palms down her sleeves, and the goose bumps that had sprung beneath, she answered. “I’m Kate. Kate Middleton.”
He sprung up with an impressive display of agile muscles. Reaching a hand down to her, he said, “Well, Kate Middleton, it is certainly a pleasure to meet you. How do you feel about taking these kids to get an ice cream, and then seeing where things go from there?”
What was it she’d thought earlier? That Friday was her day to follow the wind wherever it blew her?
“I think that sounds like a great idea.”
The fingers that still held hers as she stood gave hers a final tight squeeze and let her go. Then he lowered his voice and moved in closer to her. “Excellent. I’ll take the rabbit, since Jacob has rabbit sitting duty this weekend, and while I’m in the car, I’ll make a phone call to the school board about her.” He jutted his chin toward the school. ”Their substitute teacher. I’m not letting that go.”
“Oh, good idea. Thank you. That was just wrong.”
“Yeah. But some things about today seem to be just right.”
Kate gulped, feeling a little scorched by his intensity. Oh, yeah. Life was good.
The End
Aspiring author Sherrie Kingston doesn’t have a website, but she’s willing to share her love of short romantic stories with us.