Angels Everywhere - Debbie Macomber [202]
More important, Brynn wanted her students to reason through this material and willingly share their feelings with her. A number of the test questions had no right or wrong answers. All she wanted was for each of her students to reflect on this time period in American and European history and then express their thoughts.
When Brynn strolled past Suzie’s desk, she was surprised to discover that the girl’s paper was blank.
Unwilling to break the concentration of any of the others, Brynn resisted the urge to ask Suzie if something was wrong. She noticed that the girl wore a maternity top and wondered if anyone else recognized Suzie was pregnant.
Pen in hand, Suzie briefly acknowledged Brynn, then bent forward and started to write.
As Brynn walked past Emilio’s empty desk, she couldn’t help wondering what had kept him from class. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t known about this test or realized its significance. Brynn had been talking about it for several days, reviewing the material so it would be fresh in their minds. Now and again she’d purposely screw up the dates and would take pride when someone, often a student she wouldn’t expect to know the difference, would correct her.
After class had been dismissed, Brynn quickly reviewed the test results and was pleased with what she read. Because she was anxious to talk to Emilio, she left school as soon as she could without checking for messages. She rarely received anything more than the dittoed sheets the school printed for all staff members. With the advent of Christmas, and most all the classes winding down, she didn’t expect anything of real importance.
Eager to see Roberto, Brynn walked to his garage first. The sky was dark with thick gray clouds the color of tempered steel, and the wind added an extra chill to the late afternoon. Nevertheless, Brynn was happy. She’d had her first real date with Roberto, and even though their evening had ended abruptly, their time together had proved what she’d long suspected. Roberto cared about her the same way she did about him.
Brynn’s parents were anxious for her to come home for Christmas, but she’d already decided against making the trip. She hadn’t told her mother, and wouldn’t, but she preferred to stay right here in New York with Roberto. She’d mentioned him in passing several times, and in the last telephone conversation, she’d confessed she was strongly attracted to him.
The bell chimed over the doorway when she entered his garage. She rubbed her hands together to chase away the chill. No one greeted her.
“Is anyone here?” she called out, thinking it odd that Roberto hadn’t locked up the garage.
A minute later Roberto appeared, dressed in greasy overalls. He wiped his hands clean on a rag, his face devoid of emotion. He nodded once and greeted her without revealing any pleasure in seeing her. “Hello, Brynn.”
None of the warmth or welcome she’d felt on their dinner date was apparent. Puzzled by his attitude, Brynn felt like walking out the door and coming back to try this all over again.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
He shook his head. “You tell me.”
“Well . . .” Baffled, she wasn’t sure what had happened. “Emilio wasn’t in class this afternoon.”
“Yes, I know.”
“There was an important test.”
He shrugged as though to say that was of no importance to him.
“Is Emilio ill?”
“No.”
“Then where was he?”
“Running errands for me,” Roberto informed her briskly.
“You mean to say you knew he was purposely skipping classes and you let him?” Anger swelled inside her, but she did a good job of maintaining her composure.
“Yes. Emilio announced this morning that he didn’t feel like going to school, and I told him the choice was his.”
This was a discussion they’d had in the past, and they’d always ended up arguing about the importance of education. Nothing she said would change Roberto’s opinion, and certainly nothing he said would alter her feelings.
“I want to talk to Emilio,” she said, unwilling to be drawn into a verbal