It was a good thing Ella hadn't been planning on going back to Joe's, because Ava decided to crash with her for the night. From the moment, Ella stepped off stage, Ava acted strange. She repeatedly asked her how Ella was and at one point she even asked if there had been any surprises.
Ella assured her it was a great performance with a large, responsive audience. "Not as if it matters. I can never see past the first row. I always know where you are, but often can't even see your faces."
Her answers were mostly true, because the few times she tried to look toward Joe she couldn't see him. She didn't see when he left. Still, she felt like she sang better than ever knowing he was in the audience. She relished the jolt she felt every time she remembered their morning together. Every day, she thought less about the past and more about their future.
The future meant she would eventually have to tell her family and the way Ava had reacting she wasn't in a hurry to do so. Ava wanted to protect her, and Ella had been emotional the first time she saw Joe. She winced thinking about when she slapped him.
When they woke Ella hoped Ava would be done questioning her, but over coffee, she asked, "Do you still hear from Owen and Natalie?"
She answered truthfully. "No. I switched schools to avoid him, remember?"
Although Joe talked to his friend, they had not made an effort to get together with the other couple. Ella wasn't ready to revert all the way back to how things used to be. She accumulated a lot of resentment towards Owen and needed to let it go.
Ava's excitement over moving back to Maine superseded her Joe sighting and Ella listened, as she discussed her plans which included giving two-weeks-notice on her current position. Ava was the center of attention with the entire family, when they gathered.
Ella found herself sitting next to Granny. "You're content. Did you think about our talk on forgiveness?"
She smiled. "I did. Thank you, Granny. I do feel a lot better."
She was careful not to lie to her grandmother, although she omitted the fact she had actually forgiven him. Uncle Nick sat down beside her and pulled her in for a hug.
"Do you still like the new school Ellakins?"
She loved her uncle. When she and Ava were little he spent a lot of time with them. He was the fun one who came and played and took them out on adventures. Even as they grew up their bond hadn't broken. He would be fine with Joe once he determined she wouldn't be hurt again.
When her phone vibrated in her pocket she stood up and walked away to check her text. It wasn't Joe, and she felt disappointment wash over her. It was from Christa, who was going out with Dylan again. She walked over to Tony, who was in a spirited debate about video games with their cousin, Andrew.
"I'll be hearing a lot about Dylan tomorrow. They're going out again."
Tony said, "Good. She's nice. Just a little intense."
"She deserves to find someone."
"You do, too El." Tony whispered.
"I know." She wanted to ask about his mystery girlfriend but refrained since she didn't want him prying into her love life.
Ella left not long after Ava, who was driving back to Boston. She admitted to herself it didn't take a lot of persuasion from Joe, as she pressed the buzzer for his apartment. Once again Caleb greeted her.
"Great, my teacher is sleeping over again!"
"If it bothers you..." Ella began.
"Ignore him. He's just trying to cause a reaction. He likes having you around."
"Yeah, because then he's not a tyrant!"
Joe reacted. "I am not a..."
Ella started laughing. "What was that about causing a reaction?"
Caleb walked away muttering, "If you're gonna kiss, I don't wanna see it."
Joe asked, "Do you wanna kiss?"
Ella gave him a quick kiss and pulled away. He looked disappointed, but she had things on her mind.
"She definitely saw you!"
"What did she say?"
"She was very concerned about me and even asked if there were any surprises."
"Surprises?"
"I think she wanted to make sure I didn't see you. She's protecting me. Unfortunately, she had no idea I handled seeing you the first time."
"You did? I didn't." Joe rubbed his cheek.
"Your poor cheek."
She leaned in and tenderly kissed his cheek.
"I think you got my lips too." He pouted.
"I did not! So Christa saw Dylan again today. She's going to be on cloud nine tomorrow."
Joe laughed. "Unlike Caleb, he's been moody all day. His exchange with you was the most pleasant he'd been. He was also home before curfew last night."
"Do you think he and Gaby broke up?"
"Were they even going out?"
"I don't know. They were definitely hanging out. I'll keep my eye on him. I do anyway, but I'll watch the two of them."
"Thank you."
"For what?" She didn't need his gratitude for looking out for Caleb.
"For caring about him..."
"I know I haven't known him for long, but I love the kid. One reason is because you do, but he's funny despite the crap he had to deal with in his life."
Ella could get used to waking with Joe and driving two minutes to work, but she refused to get in the habit of staying every night. Two or three nights a week, she told Joe.
He frowned. "I know we need to go slow. Plus, you still have your date night."
"You love to pretend you're jealous."
Joe wanted to say that he was absolutely not jealous of Tony, because he had seen him with the mystery girlfriend. As hard as it was he couldn't tell Ella. One reason was Ava would know he told Ella and it would reveal their own secret. It was a tangled situation, and he hoped when it unraveled there wouldn't be hurt feelings.
Joe rounded a corner on his way to make copies, and he stopped short when he saw Caleb and Gaby. Based on their body language, they were definitely having words. He observed for a minute, but his brotherly instinct took over and he approached the unhappy pair.
"Are you alright, Cay?"
"Fuck off, Joe!" Caleb hissed. "I mean Mr. Walch... mind your own business."
Joe looked around, but thankfully there were no other adults and the kids were too busy moving to their next class.
"Fine. Then move along to class, both of you," he said, in his authoritative voice.
Caleb looked at him, and Joe knew he wanted to tell him off again, but restrained himself. He anticipated he would hear whatever Caleb had hoped to say at home. Hopefully, Ella would prove to be a good buffer.
Not that Caleb and Gaby's relationship hadn't caused him to worry, but at least it had alleviated his guilt for moving Caleb his senior year. If it was over, Caleb would need to make new friends. Based on his foul mood it was definitely over. He continued to mope and Ella said they didn't talk before class anymore.
The afternoon Joe had interrupted them in the hall, Caleb had yelled at him. "Stay out of my life!" Then he hid in his room and didn't come out until dinner only to go right back.
One day at lunch he popped in on Karen. Seeing she had others with her, he said, "Sorry. I wanted to make sure everything was okay with Caleb."
"He's doing fine. Joe, get your lunch and join us."
He got his sandwich and sat down at one of the student desks.
Greg Bryant, who was another English teacher mentioned his boyfriend. Joe exclaimed, "That explains it! Oh sorry, that came out wrong, but I was wondering why the art teacher bypassed you for me."
The room filled with laughter. Greg said, "She tried. I heard she's seeing someone."
"Yeah, the chorus teacher fixed her up with a guy."
Karen spoke up. "The one who was surprised to see you?"
Joe didn't respond, because Greg asked, "Where were you teaching before?"
"Last year, I was in Massachusetts, but I was at Sebago for almost four years."
"What brought you back."
"My divorce."
"Oh sorry."
"Yeah, I'm divorced with a seventeen-year-old... my brother."
Karen said, "Join the club... I'm divorced with two teenagers."
Joe said, "It was the worst mistake of my life."
"So you want the wife back. Reminds me of a friend of mine a few years ago."
"Oh God, no! My marriage was worse than a soap opera complete with deathbed promises and paternity tests."
Karen smiled. "Where does our little music teacher fit into all this drama?"
Joe smiled. "Thankfully with an enormous capability to forgive. It's Caleb who's my concern. He was caught up in the drama."
"Caleb?" Greg asked.
"My brother. Right, you have him for creative writing."
"He has quite the villainess in his story, but he recently added a good fairy. His writing is extremely creative just unpolished."
"He's not about to ask me to edit his creative work, like he does for Karen's assignments." Joe added a laugh. Caleb's imagination intrigued him.
Greg added, "He's been drawing. The kid has talent."
Joe wished he could go home and give Caleb a compliment, but the kid would overreact. He wondered if Ella was the fairy.
"So villain and fairy, if there's an ogre it would be me." Joe informed him.
"These kids use writing to express themselves. It's normal and quite healthy." Greg assured him.
"Caleb has a lot to express and it's usually directed at me."
"Don't worry. I'll keep my eye on him," Greg said.
"Thanks, man."
Joe liked him. In fact, he liked all the staff he had met. He wasn't sure how they had interpreted his comment about Ella forgiving him. By the end of the day, Karen cornered him.
"So what did you mean about the little soprano's ability to forgive?"
"She no longer wants to physically hurt me," he said, with a wink.
"How serious were you two?"
"Very."
"And neither of you knew you were hired by the same school?"
"Nope."
She smiled wide. "This is great! I remember the look on her face. She was shocked."
"Yeah well, I had seen her a few days before and her face had the look of anger, so the shock was a huge improvement."
Joe much preferred the look of love she had now. Since she was planning to come to his apartment, Joe said, "I'd love to talk more about my life's mistakes, but Caleb will be looking for a ride home. Have a great weekend."
A/N The teachers in this chapter are mentioned in other stories. Does anyone remember?