Pretty sure Paul has taken a shine to me, and I'm not about to rebuff him for that. Hey, I'm teetering on a half century of living and have grown accustomed to words like "ma'am," "lady," and, when I space off at a stop sign, "idiot." So I'll take a few minutes of adoration when it comes my way.
Besides, Paul is as cute as a button and his eyes sparkle when he breaks into a smile. Which is, like, every five or ten seconds.
Ours is a second-semester-lunch-schedule-change relationship, although we've known each other for a year and a half. I first met Paul last school year when he joined the Special Ed Book Club I lead monthly. He and I shared plenty of laughs last year as the book-club members scoured the school, interviewing people and taking their photos for a special project we'd created.
While Paul is a bit more comfortable snapping photos than interviewing strangers--and who could blame him, really?--he managed to get to the bottom of more than a few human mysteries, nudging folks to reveal the best way to survive high school or school lunches, for example.
But enough about Book Club. This story is about Paul and me right now, and our 15-minute meetings in the library each school day.
These days, I make sure to freshen up a bit after lunch, knowing that the remains of a garlicky pasta leftover could get in the way of Paul and me. I pop in some fresh peppermint gum before heading to my lunch-time duty in the library. And I give myself a quick glance in the ladies' room, mostly to make sure that my buttons are lined up correctly and that I don't have any food in my teeth.
And then, I wait. Come 1 p.m., I look up from the checkout desk and see Paul wending his way through the lunchtime crowds, a smile plastered on his face. We high five each other, and begin reviewing our lunch-time selections.
"So, what'd you have today?"
"...uh, a chicken patty."
"Aren't they brown? How do you know it's chicken?"
"They're round!" Paul is not picky. I figure he must be a favorite among the lunch ladies.
And then, we talk about our day so far, highlights and low points. There is an ease to our relationship that is comfy, like an old, leather glove.
Yesterday, though, I put him to work. I had had enough of this fluffy banter! (Hey, all relationships have complications, even ours!) He walked behind the desk and pulled up the stool next to me, ready to learn from the check-out master. (My story, my terms.) One girl sidled up to the desk, a stack of books in her hands. I looked up her name and Paul did the rest.
"Click it and stick in a ticket."
"These are due February 11, lady!"
We repeated this easy routine for the rest of the lunch hour, Paul pretty much mastering it in a matter of moments.
As the bell rang, ending our lunch-time date, Paul and I high-fived each other again, while I shouted my daily reminder to the roomful of kids:
"MESS UP, CLEAN UP! I'M NOT YOUR MOMMA, THANKYOUGOD!"
And that's when Paul--my dear, dear Paul--put the candied cherry on my sundae.
"YOU HEARD THE LADY!"
Yeah, it's possible I've taken a shine to Paul....
Paul is hard to resist. He and I go back to his kindergarten year. He remembers me and brought a picture in one day of the two of us. I was horrified to realize I still owned and wore the shirt I had on in the picture. Anyway...he is a great crush to have!
ReplyDeleteYour school-related blogs always make me cry. I'm going to have to save them to re-read when I really need a good one!
ReplyDeleteThis is good, Jane...we--parents and kids--are lucky to have teachers such as you! These simple stories and experiences are what keep teachers going--"you heard the lady!"
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