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Lucy couldn’t believe it. Ten weeks. Only seventy-five days. It wasn’t enough. It never seemed like enough. Sleeping in. Couch rotting. Endless hours spent lounging by the pool. Peeing whenever she wanted. The end was near and she couldn’t believe it.
After the fourth of July, it seemed like summer was put into warp speed. Because before she knew it, it was August and she knew that email was coming any day now. The dreaded, yet somehow much anticipated ’Welcome Back’ email from her principal.
The one that meant, the building was done being cleaned for the summer and if one so chooses, they can start preparations in their classrooms for the upcoming school year.
Lucy was pretty good about turning her teacher brain off over the summer. She refused to check emails, refused to prep materials (okay who is she kidding. But there was a really cute bulletin board idea she saw on ClipTok that she wanted to do). But that was it. She wasn’t going to do anymore work until she absolutely had to. But somehow, each year, beginning in August that familiar feeling crept into her chest. Her first few years as a Kindergarten teacher it was nerves. But as she became more set in her ways and grew in her profession, that feeling slowly started to flip. It wasn’t nerves so much anymore. Of course, they never fully went away. There were always those what-ifs. Policy changes? Personnel changes? But she figured, she can’t really control those things so it made no sense to worry about them too much. So slowly her nerves turned into eager anticipation for the approaching school year. She was excited for another year of shaping little minds. She was excited to see her students and see who they’d become in the months between August and May.
This year was no different. However there were two new developments. One made her nervous for a whole new reason, while the other made her smile uncontrollably.
She was moving classrooms this year. It didn’t seem like a huge deal but over the eight years she’s been an educator she's accumulated a lot of stuff. Resources, materials, games, manipulatives. And the thought of transporting everything across the school was daunting. And there was also the simple fact that she wasn’t already ahead of the game with certain decorations being left up in her classroom. No, she had to tear everything down at the end of last school year and now on top of moving everything, had to put everything back up…in a new room.
At least her principal let her see the room beforehand so she could make mental plans on where to put everything and make a list of what needed to be done.
And the second development. The one that has her smiling like an idiot 24/7
Her boyfriend.
Lucy had a lot of failed relationships in the past. She’s been cheated on, lied to, gaslit. It really made her question whether she was loveable. She decided after all of that, to give dating a break. And she really wasn’t looking for anyone. But then she met Tim. The handsome broody cop that she’d met in the middle of last school year who has positively given her the best relationship of her life. They haven’t even been dating for a full year yet, but Lucy knows without a doubt that he is her forever.
She recalls the night they met with quiet fondness, unable to control the smile that spreads across her face. She has to remember to thank her roommate Celina one of these days for dragging her out to the bar that night.
They talked all night and he drove the girls home and it was a whirlwind after that. They talked almost every single day. He took her out on a date and they spent whatever free time they had… together.
They fell into their relationship with ease and being with him made her happier than she’d ever been before.
She was sitting by his pool, sipping on her water, while she waited for him to get home from work. She was trying to soak up as much free time as she could while diligently avoiding her phone.
If she didn’t check it, the email wouldn’t be there. She told herself.
Kojo was snoring happily in the shade on his outdoor doggy bed and only lifted his head for a second when they both heard the back door open.
“Hey baby,” Lucy heard him before she saw him. She was lying on her stomach, dozing in and out. She turned to see him walking toward her and he dropped a kiss to her lips when she flipped over and sat up.
“Hi,” she smiled up at him, reaching for him. She slid forward on the lounge chair so he could slide in behind her. She relaxed into his embrace letting him wrap his arms around her middle and placing hers on top of his. “How was your day?”
“Not as relaxing as yours it would seem,” he joked, placing a kiss on her temple.
“Mmmm,” she leaned back and closed her eyes, reveling in being held like this. “Just trying to get the most out of these last few days of summer vacation.”
She felt Tim chuckle behind her and squeeze her tighter. “You get the email yet?” He hummed.
“I don’t know. I’m ignoring my phone. If I don’t see it, it’s not there,” she giggled and shrugged.
“Ah I see. So that logic is why you missed my call then?” He surmised, pinching her sides.
She squirmed beneath him and grabbed his hands to stop him. “Sorry babe.”
“It’s okay,” he kissed her again and moved to get off the chair. “What do you want to do for dinner?”
“You worked all day. Let me cook,” she suggested simply, gathering her things to follow him into the house. “Just let me shower quick and I’ll get started.”
Tim turned around smirking and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “You can join me if you want, but you know it won’t be quick,” she chuckled.
He shrugged and chased her into the bathroom.
Forty minutes later when they emerged, changed into pajamas, Lucy began pulling the ingredients out for spaghetti.
“Are you staying again tonight,” Tim asked from the couch.
Lucy looked up and saw her boyfriend settling into his couch, trying to find something to watch on TV. “If you don’t mind, then yes.” She went back to preparing the meal, looking at the counter.
Tim turned around and saw her biting the inside of her cheek. He got up and walked up behind her, pulling her back to his chest. “Of course I don’t mind,” he said softly, before skimming the shell of her ear with his lips. “I told you, you should just move in. Half of your stuff is here already anyway.” He moved slightly so she could turn around in his arms.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed up at him lovingly. Living with Tim permanently sounded great. She spent most of her time here anyway. But she couldn’t leave Celina high and dry with the rent costs in LA.
“Babe, we’ve talked about this—,” she murmured before placing a chaste kiss to his lips. “Celina can’t afford rent on her own.
Tim watched her for a moment before giving her a sly smile. She caught the look immediately, furrowing her brows in confusion.
“What if I told you I had a solution for that problem?”
Lucy quirked both brows this time, letting him know she was listening.
“My new rookie, Miles. He moved here from Texas and has been living out of his car. He needs a place to stay that is decently priced. And he and Juarez get along. She’s the closest friend he has at the station.”
He watched her absorb his words and when realization set in that this could actually work, a bright smile took over her face.
“I think that’s a great idea!” She squealed.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah! We should have them over for dinner one night this week and talk to them about it.”
“Sounds good baby.” He kissed her temple and let her go, so she could continue cooking.
“Now go sit and relax. I will bring you a plate when it’s ready.
While the pasta was cooking and the garlic bread was in the oven, Lucy reluctantly reached for her phone. She had a few text messages. She’d reply later. She kept scrolling through her missed notifications and that’s when she saw it. The email she was eagerly awaiting, yet hoping to avoid for as long as possible.
She let out a small groan and when Tim turned to see her with her phone in her hand, it didn’t take a genius to guess what she was looking at.
“Guess my summer has officially come to an end,” she huffed. “Time to get back into teacher mode.”
Tim could see the wheels turning in her head. He remembered her mentioning at the end of the year that she was going to be moving classrooms. He asked if she needed any help but she declined, telling him that it was an August problem. Well, now that August was here, he still wanted to help her.
“Sorry sweetie. But my offer still stands. If you need help with anything, just let me know.”
“Thanks. Umm– when’s your next day off?” She asked him hesitantly.
“Tuesday,” he said confidently.
“Any chance you’d want to spend it helping me move stuff?” She bit the inside of her cheek, clearly nervous to ask for his help.
“I’m all yours baby,” he smiled and she relaxed, putting her phone down.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tuesday came far quicker than she wanted it to. She wanted to get an early start so she and Tim were in his truck at 8am on the way to her school.
They made a quick detour to Starbucks, Tim protesting when Lucy whipped her card out.
“You’re doing me a huge favor today babe. The least I can do is provide you with refreshments,” she shrugged, putting her card back in her wallet.
Tim wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple.
When they arrived at the school, Lucy greeted the office staff, introducing Tim to anyone they saw. He wasn’t exactly the social type but he was polite. She did have to drag him off when she caught a couple of the newer, younger teachers leering a little too long for her liking.
Tim clocked her jealously immediately and slipped a possessive arm around her waist as they made their way to her classroom.
He waited until they were alone before saying what he said next. “Now baby, correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t one of the key pillars of Kindergarten—sharing?” He smirked when she turned around and gave him a look of confusion.
When she finally understood she swatted his arm and he grabbed her pulling her to him. “Just don’t tell my students, I don’t always practice what I preach.”
Tim let out a hardy laugh and leaned in to kiss her. “You’re secret is safe with me,” he whispered against her lips before placing one more chaste kiss on her lips.
They broke apart and that’s when they both really took stock of the job that awaited them. There were boxes and tubs and various storage containers stacked onto shelves and shoved in corners and Lucy swears there wasn’t this much in May.
“Remind me again why you didn’t want to do this in May?” Tim asked, looking at her.
“Have you ever been in a Kindergarten classroom, the last few weeks before summer vacation?” She challenged.
He smirked, not wanting to touch that with a ten foot pole. “Alright. Well what first?”
“Let me go find the carts and then we can start bringing everything to my new room. My principal said it’s cleared out and ready for me to move in.”
Tim nodded and waited patiently for her to come back with a two tiered rolling cart and a flatbed cart.
They started stacking all of her stuff and miraculously it only took three trips between the two of them to get everything from point A to point B.
“Okay, the muscle is here to help, tell me what you want me to do,” he offered, stepping into the room with the last of her stuff. She stood in the middle, just staring at everything that needed to be done.
Lucy blew out a breath and clapped her hands together. Tim to get serious. She walked him over to a couple boxes that she knew were her classroom decorations and opened them, pulling a few things out.
“You brought your tools right?” She asked.
“They’re in the truck.”
“Okay well these need to be secured to each side of the cubbies under the window,” she showed him the small white brackets. “I need to be able to put these curtains on them so you can use this as a guide.” She held up the tiny dowel rods that adorned boho tassel curtains. She pulled something else out of the box as Tim started surveying the space and assessing which tools he would need. “And these need to go up for the curtains that go above the windows.” She held up more brackets. Bigger this time.
“You got it baby. I’ll run to my truck and get my tool box.”
Lucy smiled and her heart clenched in the best way. She’d never had help setting up her classroom before. She’d always bribed the janitors with goodies to help with the big stuff. But having Tim by her side today was everything.
“I’ll take the carts back down with you. You won’t be able to get back in without me.”
He nodded and they headed back in the direction of the office.
An hour and a half later, Tim had secured all the brackets in place and even helped hang the curtains, asking Lucy to step away from setting up her tables to make sure everything was even.
“It looks great Tim. Thank you so much!”
“Of course sweetie,” he murmured into her hair before placing a kiss there. “What else do you need help with?”
Lucy pursed her lips together and bit the inside of her cheek. She looked around the room, trying to decide where she needed help next. She saw all of the supplies sitting in bins on her counter and flinched.
“Do you want a tedious job?” She asked sheepishly.
“Whatever you need me to do Luce,” he answered sincerely.
She grabbed his hand and pulled over to the counter. “Alright. All these supplies… need to go into those bins.” She turned and pointed to a set of colorfully labeled three drawer storage. “And then all the drawers need to go onto that shelf.” She pointed to the shelf next to the kids' cubbies that was low enough that five and six year olds could reach it.
“You got it.” he nodded and began to get to work.
Lucy watched as Tim opened each pack of supplies and dumped them into the correctly labeled drawer. But her heart swelled because he didn’t just dump and leave it. He made sure each one was organized nicely before putting the full drawers onto the shelf.
If she wasn’t already sure she was going to marry this man, her type A, teacher personality was now screaming that she had to.
It was slowly approaching one o’clock and Tim was now sitting behind Lucy’s small group table, cutting out laminated name tags, lunch count markers and various other incidentals that were time consuming but still just important. Lucy had moved on from setting up the tables and supply caddies and was now organizing copies to put on each desk for back to school night.
Her and Tim were chatting about everything and nothing while she stuffed folders and he continued cutting when there was a small knock on the door.
“Delivery,” said the voice and they both looked up. It was Lucy’s teacher bestie Jackson with the food she’d ordered them for lunch.
“Hey,” Lucy drawled, standing up to go hug the man. “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you darling,” he chuckled. Jackson taught fourth grade. They had gone to college together and became quick friends. Then they got assigned to student teaching placements at the same school before being hired on together.
Lucy gave him a flat, unimpressed look. “I just meant I thought you were still up north with your family. You never responded when I told you we’d be here today.”
“Thought I’d surprise you,” he shrugged. “No, we just got back Sunday and I’ve been trying to catch up on chores and everything else that’s going to take a back seat once the year starts.”
Lucy nodded and turned to Tim who was still diligently cutting. “Tim, you remember Jackson right? I think you met him at that one fundraiser back in April.”
“Oh yeah,” he agreed, coming to stand next to Lucy and shake the younger man’s hand. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too,” Jackson sang, sizing Tim up and then giving Lucy a sideways look. He was fighting a smile when he caught the lovestruck gaze his friend was giving the man standing next to her and the way he wore the same look, staring down at her.
He chose not to say anything about it right now, but he would definitely tease her about it when they were alone.
“Well I’ll let you guys get back to it. I was in the office when DoorDash dropped this off. Figured it was a good excuse to come see my favorite Kindergarten teacher,” he laughed.
“Thank you,” Lucy said and then leveled him with a teasing glare. “And you know you don’t need an excuse. My room is always open.”
Jackson smiled and nodded, turning to head back to his room.
“Let us know if you need help with anything,” Lucy yelled after him, poking her head out of the door.
She walked back in to find Tim still standing there, watching her with unmistakable heart eyes. A smile tugged at her lips as she crossed the room to stand in front of him. He leaned in, pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, and pulled back just as fast—making her giggle at the sweet gesture.
“Lunch, Luce? You already covered breakfast. I could have taken care of this.” He said with a thoughtful smile.
“I know babe,” Lucy said, setting everything down and deliberately not meeting his eyes. “But I feel bad that you’re spending your one day off here helping me get things ready. It means a lot to me and I’m just trying to make sure you know how much I appreciate it,” she turned and gave him a weak smile.
He stepped slowly to where she was standing and took the drink from her hand and put it on the table before turning her to face him.
“Baby…” he gently put a finger under her chin to bring her face so she was looking at him. “I don’t mind spending my day off with you here. Really. I offered.”
“I know but—” she tried to cut him off but he put a finger to her lips.
“But nothing,” he continued, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen out of her bun, behind her ear. “I love you and any time spent with you, no matter where it is… is not time wasted.”
When she smiled up at him this time, it was a true and genuine smile. One that she couldn’t have hidden even if she tried. “You’re the best, you know that?” She cooed, running her hands down his chest.
This time it was him who smiled down at her. “I know,” he whispered teasingly before placing a kiss to her lips.
After lunch, they finished with the few tasks that still needed to be done and when three o’clock rolled around, Lucy was both happy with the progress they had made and appreciative to Tim for all his help.
They locked her room and headed out to his truck, hand in hand.
“You know, I might have one more way to show my appreciation for today,” Lucy declared, squeezing his hand.
“Lucy, I told you—” he began, not looking over at her. But the moment he did and caught the suggestive look on her face, the rest of his sentence died on his lips.
Without another word, he lifted her up into the truck and practically sprinted to the driver’s side, determined to get them home in record time.