to follow.
“Look, I don’t mean to pry. I was just worried about Luke and trying to understand what was going on. I noticed when we returned after Christmas break a few weeks ago that Luke seemed particularly upset. I thought perhaps something happened at Christmas.”
Joe suspected that Luke asked Santa to bring his mother home for Christmas, and Santa hadn’t. Not that Joe was going to share that particular tidbit with Miss Reynolds.
“Luke is rather quick-tempered lately,” she tried. “And irritable.”
She could have easily been describing Joe, but again, he didn’t say anything about that. Still, she looked like she expected a response.
“It’s been a difficult adjustment,” he said, which had to be the understatement of the year.
“Well…I’ll try to be understanding with Luke in class. And if anything happens, anything you think I should know, please feel free to call me. I’ll do anything I can to help Luke.”
She smiled and let her hand rest on his knee for a moment. When did women get so forward? Joe wondered. He and Elena had been together for eight years, and he didn’t remember women coming on to men this way before. Maybe there was just something about a man alone trying to raise two little kids that brought out that protective streak in some women. They just didn’t understand. The last thing Joe wanted was to give another woman a chance to trample all over his heart and his kids’ hearts. He rose to go, the movement freeing him from her touch.
“One more thing,” Miss Reynolds said, getting to her feet, as well. “Luke seems…obsessed—that’s the best word I can think of to describe it—with teeth. All kids this age are excited by the idea, but Luke…”
“I know. I’m not sure why. He won’t tell me.”
“You’re going to have to talk to him,” Miss Reynolds said. “We really can’t have him trying to pull the other children’s teeth here at school.”
“Of course.” Joe gritted his teeth and promised to have the talk.
“I did have an idea about that. We have a wonderful new children’s dentist in town. She came and spoke to the class about taking proper care of their teeth when we did our unit on dental hygiene, and the kids just loved it. Luke was especially attentive that day. He was quite taken with her costume.”
“Costume?”
“Yes. She dressed up as the tooth fairy. The kids talked about her visit for weeks.”
“A grown woman actually dressed up as the tooth fairy to come talk to schoolkids?”
“Yes. We had a terrific time that day. They’re convinced she is the tooth fairy.”
“Luke talked about her at home, too. I thought he was making it up.” Joe hadn’t seen his son so animated since his mother had walked out on them.
“I thought you might take him to see her. Maybe she could explain what’s proper and what’s not when it comes to teeth, and Luke would listen to her.”
Miss Reynolds held out a slip of paper. Joe took it and fled from the classroom, clutching the tooth fairy’s phone number in his hand.
He wasn’t going to call her. He was convinced he could handle this himself without the aid of a woman who dressed up like a fairy. But the next day he got another call from school. Something about an incident in the cafeteria, Luke’s hand in someone else’s mouth, and a flashlight and more kids who weren’t talking. Joe was at a loss. A grown woman in a fairy costume didn’t sound so bad anymore.
He got Luke from school and tried not to think about what it would be like to tell his strange tale to the lady dentist. He just hoped she could help.
When Joe pushed open the front door of the dentist’s office, music flowed out. It was some silly jingle that Dani loved, one the purple dinosaur sang.
“Is this place for babies?” Luke asked, insulted to the core.
“No, it’s for big kids, too,” Joe replied, smiling at the notion that at seven, Luke was big. To Luke, a person was either big or little. There was no in between. Dani, at four, was little. Luke was convinced he was big.
A few moments later the receptionist led them down a hallway colored with a rainbow, one shade dropping out as it made its way into each brightly colored treatment room. Luke drew the blue room, which featured a blue ceiling complete with stars. Luke and Joe stared up at those thousands of glittering stars. Was it a trick of the light or were they truly glittering?
Special paint, he decided. Manufacturers were doing amazing things with paint these days. He’d have to inquire about exactly what brand it was. Some of his clients might be interested.
“Dad!” Luke was tugging on his pant legs. “Look! It glitters! Isn’t it cool? And it’s a sign. I know it is. This place is magic!”
Joe scoffed. Magic was for seven-year-olds.
Then, just as he turned away, he caught a rush of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning back, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. It was crazy, but he could have sworn he’d just seen a star streak across the ceiling. A shooting star.
Joe blinked to clear his vision. It was the middle of the afternoon, he reminded himself, and he was inside staring at a ceiling painted blue and sprayed with fake stars. Nothing moved in the would-be sky, but the stars still glittered. He almost reached up to touch them, to see if it truly was glitter and would rub off on his fingertips.
He was still trying to figure it out when he heard footsteps behind him, then a rich full voice that said, “Hello, you must be Luke.”
Joe’s son seemed struck dumb, and a moment later Joe supposed they must look like a real pair.
This had to be the fairy.
He took his time looking her over from the bottom up. She had dainty feet, encased in fancy sandals with tiny straps in a sparkling silver color. Smooth trim calves—very nice. Cute little knees, too, peeking out from under a pale skirt that stopped an obliging two inches above her knees. A long loose jacket covered almost all of the rest of her; he could have done without that.
All he could see outside of the jacket was a pair of delicate hands—no rings, he noted—and the enticing curve of her throat and neck. She had pale peach-colored lips, eyes as blue as that fake sky. Her hair was honey-colored and pulled back from her face into an intricate braid Dani would have loved and seriously envied, and it hung to a point halfway down her back. She had dainty moon-shaped earrings, and an absolutely dazzling smile that was directed, full force, at his son, who was positively glowing.
Joe told himself he was being rude, staring at her this way. He simply couldn’t help it.
“Dad!” Luke was tugging furiously on Joe’s jeans. Bending down, Joe let Luke whisper in his ear, “It’s her!”
“Who?” Joe was still staring at her and thinking that he hadn’t been so blown away by the sight of a woman in years. He thought he was over that—that having his and his children’s hearts ripped out by a woman who had pledged to love them forever would have cured him.
“The tooth fairy!” Luke whispered loudly enough for the mischievous-looking woman to hear. He looked as if he was ready to explode with excitement. “She came to my school, ’cept she was all dressed up then in the blue dress with the stars. She even had her magic wand with her. I know it’s her. And she’s real. She’s the tooth fairy.”
“Luke, there’s no such thing as—”
“Uh-hmm.” The woman cleared her throat loudly.
Joe stopped just in time. “Sorry.”
She gave him a conspiratorial wink, then turned to Luke and stuck out her hand. “I’m Dr. Carter. And you are Luke, aren’t you? Please tell me I’m in the right room.”
Luke