Dinner at her parents was tolerable, and itkept Elizabeth busy, which was good. The kids always tended to geta little wound up around 6 p.m., and Agnes kept them in line. Shegot home and had to run the kids through the shower. Luckily, Teddywas pretty much independent in showering, so it was just Sydney whoneeded help these days. Elizabeth finished folding some laundry andmoved one last batch from the washer to the dryer. Those clotheswould probably sit in the dryer all week. After reading with thekids, watching a little TV with them, and then tucking them bothinto bed (multiple times, of course), Elizabeth had to headdownstairs to finish cleaning the kitchen. She put the sticks inthe popsicles, and took a moment to admire how they were setting up(and that they actually looked like the picture onPinterest).
Finally, Elizabeth trudged back up to her room.She put on her pajamas. Real pajamas this time, not just Peter'st-shirt. She pondered that decision last night. Perhaps she justwished that Peter could be wrapped around her, instead of beingalone in bed. This train of thought, despite all her best effortsnot to, led Elizabeth to start thinking about her interactions withJack the previous evening.
Obviously, seeing him unnerved her. He knew herdeepest darkest secrets. She had confessed so much to him thatweekend. She had bared everything to him. He had reacted withkindness and comfort. He was just as entertaining and charismaticas he had been twenty years ago. The years had been kind to hisappearance, as well. Always charming looking, he was now downrighthandsome. Elizabeth sighed. She knew this line of thinking wasgoing to get her in more trouble. She would love to stay in touchwith him and keep him in her life. He made her feel good. He madeher smile and laugh even. But she knew it was more than that. Sheknew she was attracted to him.
Oh, no, that was not good. She tried pushingthoughts of him out of her mind, and tried to fill her head withthoughts of Peter. But the memory of Jack's gaze kept creeping in.And not just his gaze, but how he gazed at Elizabeth. He drank herin. He was appreciative of her appearance. He had told her she wasbeautiful. He liked her hair long. Elizabeth wasn't sure that Peternoticed that her hair was now long. He certainly never commented onit. Not like Jack.
No, no, no. Stop. She had to stop. Elizabethrolled over and buried her face into Peter's pillow, searching forhis scent. Hopefully, he would be home by Tuesday. When he gothome, she would make the overture. She would make him make love toher. To reclaim her body, if not her mind.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: June 18,2012
Monday morning arrived, and Elizabeth was nomore excited to greet the day than she had been the previousmorning. It was going to be a busy week. If she could just getthrough this week, then she would be able to relax slightly. Shesighed. She felt like she was wishing her life away, yet again.Just trying to "get through" until things were manageable again.For as far as she had come since running into Jack the first time,she was now seeming to backslide. She was right back, feeling asrun-down and desperate. No, not quite as desperate. She would neverbe that desperate again. She would never let the depression anddespair hold her down like that again. She could not letherself.
She looked at the clock. It was 5:59 a.m., andElizabeth was wide-awake. The bright June sun was blaring throughthe awning windows above her bed and hit the dresser mirror acrossthe room at just the right angle to reflect the sun onto her faceso that she felt like she was under the glare of a burningspotlight. The sun made it impossible for her to sleep anymore,messing terribly with her internal clock. She really needed toremember that the sun would wake her up this early, and go to bedearlier at night. She hadn't needed to stay up watching that moviethat she's seen countless times before. But it was an escape forher, providing a refuge where she didn't have to think, and atleast she wasn't thinking about Jack.
Elizabeth mentally reviewed the day ahead ofher. She obviously had to get up and get ready for work. She wasdriving the kids into school today so she could drop off thepopsicles that she had spent the entire day yesterday on.Subconsciously, she rubbed the blister on her middle finger,thinking of how much work they had been. Tomorrow was her preschoolclass' graduation, so she had to finish making her children's giftsand diplomas. Luckily, they had made their graduation caps lastweek, and had been practicing their songs. Still, graduation daywas always a busy one. She had to coordinate refreshments for theparents and students. It was a good thing that Peter was cominghome tonight, as she would need to be at work early tomorrowmorning to set up. She should probably stay after today anddecorate, just to take the stress off of her for themorning.
The benefit of having so much to do was thatthe school day flew by for Elizabeth. She briefly wondered how thepopsicles had gone over but didn’t have much time to think aboutit. The kids had one last rehearsal, one last practice walking intothe classroom and singing their songs. After the last child waspicked up, Elizabeth and her co-teacher, Michele, set about movingtables, cleaning the room, and decorating for graduation. This timeof year was always bittersweet for Elizabeth. Five out of her eightstudents were graduating, moving onto kindergarten. She haddeveloped a rapport with those families, and she would miss boththe students and the parents. She always worried about these kidsgoing on to kindergarten, especially those who were stillstruggling.
She glanced down at her watch. If she left now,she could get over to school and pick Teddy and Sydney up. Theyliked that, and she tried to pick them up at least once a week.Apparently, the school bus was just as traumatic for them as it hadbeen for her. Some things never changed. She gave herself a quickmental pat on
