Chapter 32

Thirty-Two

Our annual spring music showcase is tonight! Please come even if your child is not performing. Mr. Bell and the choirs have been working particularly hard, and we also welcome our band and dance students. We have an evening filled with fun, surprises, and cookies.

MERRY

My boyfriend was back in sorcerer mode, standing on a table in the cafeteria, directing students into their respective groups, checking costumes, and soothing nerves.

“Places! Five-minute warning!” he called out, sounding calm and upbeat despite or maybe because of the chaos swirling around him. He cast a critical eye on a group of eighth grade boys struggling to pull their costumes on over their existing T-shirts. “Goodness, Liam, that shirt doesn’t fit.”

We were at that part of spring when the eighth graders suddenly looked like baby high schoolers, and everyone seemed to be having epic growth spurts. The twins were running up my grocery budget and exploding out of clothes, not unlike Liam.

“I’ll grab the next size up,” I offered, heading to the table in the back of the room where the various sizes of colorful T-shirts were laid out by class and size.

“Better grab two.” Nolan gestured at Liam’s friend, who also couldn’t make his shirt fit.

“Dad! Dad!” Ryder ran up, followed closely by Legend. “Tell Legend to stop shoving me. He’s messing up my hair.”

Ryder had recently discovered hair products thanks to Nolan, and the two of them had cluttered my small bathroom counter with an assortment of offerings. Ryder was rather proud of his new look, and naturally, brotherly rivalry had ensued.

“No wrestling.” I used a stern tone. It probably wouldn’t work, but it was worth a try.

“Is Nolan coming over after the show?” Legend asked.

“I think so. Is that okay?” Over the last few months, I’d worked hard to juggle one-on-one time with the boys with my growing relationship with Nolan, and I tried to be open to whatever the boys needed on a particular day. For the most part, though, they seemed to love having Nolan around.

“Yeah. Grandma brought pie. He better save me some.” Legend did a decent job mimicking my stern tone. My parents had driven down for tonight’s show, and rather than drive the hour or so back at night, my mom had found a bargain hotel room so we could all go to breakfast in the morning.

“The crowd is huge.” Frowning, Kaitlyn stood near the door to the courtyard, peering out at all the family and friends who had gathered. “I’m gonna be sick.”

Before I could offer reassurance, Nolan hopped down from the table and came to stand next to her.

“You are going to be amazing.” He pitched his voice low, and I moved closer to eavesdrop. “I know it’s scary doing your first big solo, but I’m here to tell you a secret: it won’t be your last.”

“It won’t?” Kaitlyn’s eyes went wide. She’d already earned a spot at the magnet fine arts high school, and I’d seen enough rehearsals to easily agree with Nolan. She had a set of pipes on her, and when she channeled her emotions into a song, it was nothing short of captivating. Further, throughout the difficult spring term, music seemed like the one thing that calmed her, and she’d been far less negative recently. “I’m not sure I want more solos.”

“Well, the solos want you.” Nolan offered a fond laugh. “You’re going places, and I can’t wait to see.”

Kaitlyn made a frustrated noise. “I wish you could come with us to high school.”

“No one wants me back in high school, and I only applied for the Anuenue opening.” The entire eighth grade seemed to share the sentiment of wanting to keep Nolan, but this wasn’t some sitcom, moving the teacher along with the aging-up characters. Besides, Nolan belonged at Anuenue.

Selfishly, I loved seeing him every day. Watching him transform from an unsure substitute in November to an undisputed school leader made my chest swell with a pride I’d never had in another person. We’d spent the last two months trying not to dwell on the status of Nolan’s application for next year. He’d made it through multiple rounds of interviews, and now we waited.

“They better pick you.” Kaitlyn had developed a fierce loyalty to Nolan.

“Thank you. And hush. Now you’re making me nervous.” He crouched so he could look her in the eyes. “I want you to go out there and slay. Don’t worry about the audience or anyone else. Sing from the heart, and the rest will take care of itself.”

“Good advice,” I said to Nolan as Kaitlyn rejoined her friend group.

“Okay, I lied.” Nolan stared out the door at the growing audience. “I’m nervous about more than just the job.”

“The kids are going to do great.” I clapped him on the back. “And so are you.”

“It’s showtime!” Principal Alana called out before heading out to welcome the audience.

As always, watching Nolan in director mode was almost as much fun as watching the performances. The sixth graders did a medley of danceable rock hits, while the seventh graders showed they’d paid attention to the Broadway unit with upbeat selections from a couple of musicals. They were the perfect lead-in for the eighth graders who stole the show with their angsty, angry, deeply emotional numbers from a Tony-winning coming-of-age musical.

All the soloists killed it, but Kaitlyn made a chill race up my arms as she bellowed, promising the audience that they, too, would be found. Nolan mouthed the lyrics along with the choir, cueing the chorus as the courtyard itself seemed to swell with the final verse.

“And a star is born.” Nolan’s eyes filled with tears as he made his way to me after the students took a bow, and I didn’t blame him. Three months of hard work had built to this performance, and each number had hit me square in the feels. Pride, certainly, but I also vibed with the music on a deeper level.

“She couldn’t have done it without you.” My voice came out all rough. Nolan had found me, made me defy gravity, and shown me the other side of being loved. My chest squeezed as my throat tightened to near-painful levels.

“I’m just glad I got to be here to see her—all of them—bloom.”

“I’m glad you stayed, Nolan.” I squeezed his hand, tugging him closer. “I?—”

Principal Alana cut me off as she took the microphone. “We have one more performance.”

My pulse sped up. Yes. Yes.

Next to me, though, Nolan was the picture of confusion. “What?”

“Mr. Bell, can you come here?” Principal Alana summoned him, and I gave him a friendly push forward. Principal Alana had him sit on a folding chair as a mixed group of students sang new lyrics to a classic Disney song.

“Be our teacher?” Kaitlyn took the final line, and adrenaline surged through me as she handed the microphone back to Principal Alana.

“The hiring committee made it official earlier today, but I know I speak for so many of us that we’d been hoping for this outcome. Congrats, Mr. Bell, the job next year is yours.”

“I’m… I’m at a loss for words.” Nolan’s voice was shaky as he accepted the microphone. “Which, if you know me, doesn’t happen very often.”

That caused a surge of laughter from the audience before applause swept through the courtyard. Anyone who’d worked with Nolan over the past few months knew how much this meant to him, our school, and our community. Craig and Cara stood up and whistled, along with several other parents.

“Did you know about that?” Nolan stalked over to me as soon as the show ended.

“Maybe.” I offered a sly smile. “Like Principal Alana said, many of us were hoping we’d hear in time to use the song. And I had to let the kids rehearse in my classroom, so I knew the song was a possibility. Learning it was official was a big surprise for me too.”

“I’m still in shock.” Nolan waved a hand in front of his face like he might swoon, so I wrapped a protective arm around his shoulders.

“But happy?” I prompted.

“Relieved.” He exhaled hard. “I was going to stay regardless, but I didn’t want an argument while job hunting.”

“I’m relieved too, but I’d already decided to ask you to stay even if the hiring committee went in a different direction,” I admitted. Watching the kids rehearse, I’d had the realization that it didn’t matter whether Nolan got the job or not. I was keeping him. “And I’m kinda bummed that Principal Alana couldn’t wait twenty seconds because I was going to say I love you, and now, you’re going to think it’s because of the job.”

Nolan gave an adorable squawk. “You were? You do?”

“I love you, Nolan. Honestly, I’d probably be in love with you even if you had gone back to New York. But you stayed, and all winter and now spring, my feelings have only grown.” I swallowed hard. I could have said the words weeks earlier, but brains were weird. I hadn’t been ready on Valentine’s Day, and the longer I’d gone without saying it, the more pressure I’d felt to find the perfect moment to tell him.

“I love you too. But you probably knew that.” He gave me a meaningful look. He was so much freer with his affection, something I’d been profoundly grateful for as I’d worked through my own complicated feelings.

“I like hearing it.” Despite the audience still swirling around us in the courtyard, he leaned in for a fast kiss. “And I’m sorry I kept you waiting. Again.”

“I’m always going to wait for you.” He locked gazes with me as he nodded. “Always. Take your time. I’ll be here.”

“Thank you.” I kissed him back, not nearly as fast. “I love you.”

And I wouldn’t keep him waiting forever for a more permanent commitment. I’d simply have to find—or make—the perfect moment because Nolan Bell wasn’t going anywhere.