“You going to be tired and cranky tomorrow too?” giggled Lori as she began to get undressed.
“Maybe but I’m not too tired to make love to my wife,” commented Jake quietly. “Come here, li’l lady,”
“Jake, what about the kids?”
“Sh,” he said, stepping forward to wrap his arms around her. “We’ll be quiet. Plus, they are sound asleep. A freight train could pull through here and they’d sleep through it.”
Gazing up into his hazel eyes, Lori smiled, “Well if we’re extra quiet….”
The rest of the sentence was lost as Jake lowered his lips to hers and began to kiss her hungrily.
Taking Melody by the hand, Jake and Lori led her across the parking lot and into the elementary school that they had chosen for her. Uncharacteristically, their daughter was quiet. With her big blue eyes wide, she gazed round at the low circular building they were approaching.
“You ok, Miss M?” asked Jake as they reached the front door of the school.
The little girl shook her head.
“You’ll be fine, honey,” promised Lori, squeezing her hand. “Once you meet your teacher and the kids in the class, it’ll be fun. You’ll make lots of friends.”
“Anna and Linzi and Hayden and Wren are my friends, Mommy,” stated Melody quietly. “And Becky.”
“And Wren and Hayden go to school here too,” explained Jake with a smile.
“But they are in the second grade!”
“I’m sure you’ll see them at recess or lunch,” said Lori warmly. “Wren said she’d come and find you.”
“Look,” interrupted Jake. “Here’s your class.”
They entered the large bright classroom and were greeted by the kindergarten teacher, who introduced herself as Miss Wade. She escorted Melody across the room to a table where there were already two little girls and a boy sitting with their parents.
“Melody, this will be your group. This is Kelsey, Anni and Joe,” introduced Miss Wade. “Mr and Mrs Power, I’ll leave you to introduce yourselves to the other parents. Please don’t be offended when I ask all parents to leave in ten minutes. If you want to take photographs, now is your chance.”
“Thank you,” said Lori, warming to the young teacher instantly. “She’s a little nervous about being here.”
“Don’t worry, they all are.”
While Lori helped Melody settle at the table and take her pencil box out of her backpack, Jake introduced himself to the other parents around the table.
“You the guy from that band Silver Lake?” asked Joe’s dad awkwardly.
“Guilty as charged,” laughed Jake.
“My oldest son was at your show in Baltimore last weekend,” commented Kelsey’s mom.
“Hope he enjoyed it.”
“Oh, he did!”
“So did I,” said Melody shyly.
“YOU were at rock show?” quizzed Kelsey, who was sitting to Melody’s right. “Wow! That’s SO cool.”
With the ice broken, the two little girls began to chat. Briefly, Jake interrupted their conversation to take a few photos of Melody to commemorate her first day of school.
“Good morning, everyone,” called out Miss Wade after a few minutes. “Delighted to see you all here. Now, class, I’m going to ask the mommies and daddies to leave so say goodbye and you’ll see them at lunchtime when we finish for the day.”
The teacher paused as a ripple of panic ran through the room. With a reassuring smile, she continued, “Mommies and Daddies, can you please return at twelve. I’ll bring the class out to the blue zone in the yard. It’s to the right of the building if you are standing facing the front door. That will be your drop off and pick up point from tomorrow.” She paused to allow the parents to say goodbye then indicated that they should leave the room.
Hand in hand, Jake and Lori walked out of the school towards Lori’s SUV.
“I can’t believe our baby girl has started school,” commented Jake as he climbed into the passenger seat.
“She looks so tiny sitting at that desk,” said Lori, sounding as if she was about to cry.
“She’ll be fine. Looked like she’d already made a friend.”
“Yeah but I’m not fine,” confessed Lori, a tear gliding down her cheek. “She’s too little to be in school.”
“No, she’s not,” countered Jake calmly. “She’s the perfect age to start kindie. That’s why she’s there.”
“I guess,” sighed Lori, starting the engine.
“What are you going to do with the morning?” asked Jake in an attempt to change the subject onto safe territory.
“After I drop you off at JJL, I’m going to meet Maddy at the outlets. We’re going shopping.”
“Ah, retail therapy,” laughed Jake.
“Well, I’d never be able to concentrate on work,” confessed Lori as she reversed out of the parking spot.
“Any excuse, li’l lady,” he said warmly. “Can you pick me up some black jeans?”
“I suppose I could.”
“Thanks. Right, step on it. I need to get to the studio and I’m late.”
“No change there,” giggled Lori. “Hope you’ve got twenty bucks in your wallet.”
An icy blast from the air conditioning hit Jake as he entered JJL carrying two of his guitars plus his book bag. Voices echoed down from the lounge amid the familiar aroma of freshly brewed coffee. As he’d suspected, he was the last to arrive.
“Ah, the late Mr Power,” greeted Dr Marrs brightly.
Grey raised his hand expectantly and, without complaint, Jake passed him a twenty-dollar bill.
“Did you get Melody settled into kindie?” checked Paul as he helped himself to a donut hole from the box on the table.
“Just about,” replied Jake, going over to pour himself a coffee.
“She’ll be fine,” reassured Paul. “We’re really pleased with that school and, trust me, Maddison checked them all out before we enrolled the
