12. Cora

12

CORA

C ora stood in her classroom later that week, watching proudly as Jimmy Allen, who she now thought of as "little Jimmy" held a debate with Jenny Tuttle over the themes of morality and wealth in The Great Gatsby and in The Grapes of Wrath , two books the class had read first semester.

It was clear from the points Jimmy made that he had read the novels carefully and that he fully understood not just the stories, but also the underlying lessons of the books. The student she had been so worried about didn't just look well-rested, he looked like he was having fun sharing what he had learned.

He couldn't have done this without Jared's help, she thought to herself.

And while Jared himself would have shrugged his shoulders and simply said that the community came together in situations like Jimmy Allen's, the truth was that he had gone above and beyond.

She could envision casserole dishes left on the front step, maybe even the offer of a hand for a few hours from the next-door neighbor. But the full-scale running of the farm that Jared and his friends were doing for Big Jim and his boy… well, it was stepping up like family might do.

And she felt just a shiver of amazement that it had all come from her mentioning one night that she was worried about Jimmy.

I'm part of it too, she thought in amazement.

But it was true. She and Sylvester had spent the rest of the weekend at Big Jim's place. Sylvester had played checkers and chess with Big Jim, who seemed to have endless patience and enthusiasm for amusing her boy while she tutored his.

And on Sunday, Jared had come over with his brother Derek and Arnold Jones from the pet grooming place in town. The three of them took over all the farm chores, so that Jimmy could spend the whole day with Cora, going over the rest of the schoolwork he had missed.

She was delighted to find that he had continued the reading material during the week and a half he'd been absent more often than not. The boy really did love to learn. It was easy enough to catch him up on assignments and classwork over the weekend.

And now he was back like he'd never missed a day.

When the debate was done, the class burst into applause, Jenny Tuttle included. Cora realized in an instant that the feelings of community extended all the way to the classroom. These kids had also noticed that their classmate was missing for many days and too tired to keep his head up in class when he did come in. Seeing him back like before had them cheering him on.

Cora had never really been part of anything like that before. It was all she could do to hide her tears.

Fortunately, the bell rang, and the kids trooped out, laughing and chattering about their next classes and their weekend plans.

"Thank you, Mrs. Davies," Jimmy murmured as he passed, meeting her eyes.

"Thank you ," she told him. "That was wonderful work today."

She had her planning period next, so she slipped out to the teachers' lounge to fix a cup of tea.

"Cora," Sabrina said from her spot on the threadbare sofa the teachers used.

"Hey, we heard what you did for the Allen boy," Viola told her with a smile.

"That's just what neighbors do," Cora heard herself quote Jared.

Sabrina and Viola exchanged a look.

"What?" Cora asked lightly, heading over to the counter and grabbing a mug.

"Well, it's only that you sound just like him," Viola pointed out.

"Who?" Cora asked, though she knew exactly who they had to be talking about.

Her cheeks burned and she prayed her friends couldn't see it as she continued to prepare her tea with her back to them. What was happening to her? She felt as transparent as one of her innocent students with a silly crush .

"Jared Webb, of course," Sabrina said.

Cora could hear the smile in her friend's voice. Now she definitely wasn't going to turn around, for fear that she would wind up with a big goofy smile on her own face that would give her away.

"So, are you two official now?" Viola asked.

"No, no," Cora said lightly, dropping a tea bag into her mug. "We're just friends."

And it was true, at least for now.

"Give it some time," Sabrina advised.

"Not much time, I don't think," Viola said. "If they're already saving the world together, the next step will be to save each other, naturally."

"We didn't save the world," Cora laughed, pouring hot water from the kettle into her mug and finally turning back to them as she dunked the tea bag a few times.

"I'll bet little Jimmy feels like you saved his world," Viola said seriously.

"Well, it's not just the two of us," Cora said. "Half the farmers in town are pitching in, and even the man who runs the pet grooming place in the village was there."

"Arnold Jones grew up on a dairy farm," Sabrina said, nodding. "Nice guy."

"Everyone really does know everyone here," Cora said, shaking her head in wonder.

"So, you're not an item now," Viola said. "But would you say no if he asked you out?"

"I've got a child," Cora said automatically.

"I'm pretty sure he knows that," Sabrina giggled.

"Plenty of single parents date and find new love," Viola said carefully .

Cora found herself sitting with the idea for a moment, trying it on for size. What would it be like to date Jared Webb, go out on the town with him?

She felt a flash of pride at the idea of being out on his arm. But if she were honest with herself, she had a ton of grading and planning to do most evenings, and she usually just preferred to be home with Sylvester anyway.

Jared did seem to like hanging around her house though. She had been feeling sad lately that he was surely going to run out of tasks before much longer, and then Sylvester would miss him so much.

I would miss him too…

But then she thought about Arthur, and the promise she had made to love him forever. The idea of ever loving another man hurt her heart. Even dating might feel like a betrayal.

Who would want to date a woman who was torn about whether or not it was even right?

"We'll see," she said after a moment, taking a sip of her tea to avoid having to answer any more questions.

The other two launched into a rundown of their weekend plans, which mostly involved helping out with family holiday preparations.

Cora half-listened, but she couldn't keep her mind from wandering back to Jared Webb.

Is this wrong to think about, Arthur? she asked her husband inwardly, as she often did these days.

But of course he couldn't answer, so she pictured his sweet face in front of her instead, cheered by his warm smile, even if it was only a gift from her imagination .

And she couldn't help but think of the way Jared sometimes smiled at her with that same genuine warmth.