“Kevin said you teach elementary school.” Olivia, Kevin’s sister, sat next to her at the dinner table. Olivia was an attractive young woman, but Lauren never would have guessed she and Kevin were sister and brother. While Kevin had dark chestnut hair and brown eyes, his sister was the complete opposite with the blondest hair she had ever seen and a porcelain complexion that probably burned rather than tanned in the summer. The only family characteristic the siblings shared was their height. Olivia stood almost as tall as her six foot brother and father .
Lauren nodded. “Fifth grade. I taught second for a few years, but found I liked working with the older students more.” She’d always thought she wanted to do early childhood education. She even did her student teaching in a first grade classroom. Then after two years as a second grade teacher, the principal moved her up to the fifth grade when they needed to shuffle teachers around due to class size. Initially, she had dreaded the change. Now after nine years, she could not imagine teaching any other age group.
“And you actually like it?”
To someone who had probably never stepped foot in a public school classroom, she guessed it might seem odd that she loved her job so much. “I do. Sometimes it drives me a little crazy, but overall I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Olivia gave her a you-poor-thing smile and then reached for her fork.
Lauren eyed her own plate and what she suspected were snails. In some parts of the world they may be considered a delicacy, but she could not bring herself to try them. So rather than reach for her fork, she kept on talking and hoped no one noticed she wasn’t eating.
“I also teach ballet at a dance school in town.”
“Really? I adore the ballet. My absolute favorite is Swan Lake. I’ve lost count of how many times I have seen it performed.”
“It is wonderful. I saw it performed in Boston last year. But I think my favorite is Coppelia. It was the first ballet I saw performed on stage.”
“My first ballet was Cinderella. My mom took me, and I kept waiting for the Fairy Godmother to turn a pumpkin into a carriage. At the time the Disney movie was my favorite, and I watched it all the time. When no actual pumpkin magically changed, I cried.”
His parents had said tonight’s dinner would be an intimate affair, and for his parents this meant four other couples, not counting themselves. He’d hoped for a few less guests. Lauren always came across as outgoing and confident, but still, he wanted her first encounter with his family to be smooth and comfortable. While Lauren may socialize with the Sherbrookes and Talbots, she really wasn’t a part of that society. For the most part, she existed within the middle class. While there was nothing wrong with that, what was considered acceptable there may or may not be proper with the likes of his parents.
Under the table Kevin rested his hand on Lauren’s thigh and gave a little squeeze. Next to him, she continued her debate with his sister as to which ballet was better, Giselle or Swan Lake, but her hand slipped under the table and rested on his. Her action spoke volumes. Sometimes he found it difficult to gauge Lauren’s feelings and just how invested she was in their relationship. Tonight though, her words and actions told him a lot. Inwardly he smiled, interlaced his fingers with hers, and turned his complete attention to the conversation he’d started with his father and Barry Clarkson. Any remaining reservations he’d entertained since her mother’s retirement party disappeared.
***
“So what else do you know about her?” Clinton Walsh asked.
With dinner over, Kevin and his father had retreated to his father’s office for a private conversation while the rest of the guests socialized over after-dinner drinks. Kevin rested his ankle on his knee and made himself comfortable in the armchair. On the other side of the wide desk, his father sat with a brandy in his hand.
“Her mother just retired, and her father teaches at Adams Hall. Lauren graduated from there.”
“What about the rest of her family? Brothers, sisters? What do you know about them?”
Kevin lifted his own brandy toward his mouth. “Don’t you think I would’ve checked into all this beforehand? There are no black sheep in her family.”
Clinton’s fingers drummed on the desk. “I’m still not convinced. She is only a schoolteacher.”
Don’t let him get to you. Kevin took a minute before answering. “Lauren is a well-educated woman, and I enjoy spending time with her. We share enough of the same interests and values to make a relationship work. I’m confident she’ll agree.” The one thing he knew better than business was women, and he could read Lauren like an open book. She missed her best friend, Callie Talbot. She went to visit Callie and her new world, but she didn’t really belong. He could help with that. While he may not be quite as wealthy as Callie’s husband, his wealth allowed him to travel in many of the same social circles. His wealth would also allow Lauren to pursue her dreams in earnest. She had told him how much she wanted to travel and how she wanted to open her own dance studio rather than simply teach part-time at a school owned by someone else. He could give her all those things and much more.