Pawsitively Improvised

Fate's a Knocking

Chapter 6

The next day at work, she couldn’t help being distracted by the bag of clothing in her locker. Freshly washed, of course. She found her eyes wondering where she had put them anytime, she wasn’t busy. It was driving her crazy. She should have taken them to the gym and hung them on the office door. If there wasn’t a need to go over when they could start lessons, it would have been preferable.

She had sat down and made a list of her day-to-day responsibilities. It was the only way that she could make sure that all her tasks were accounted for to be done. Crystal and Anna watched from over her shoulder while critiquing what she wrote. Not everyone understood making lists, but she felt it kept her time organized. There was also a sense of accomplishment with every item that was checked off. It also kept her on task. There was never a question of what needed to be done or what to do next.

While she worked on it, Jude’s clothes were running through the wash. Anna had kept bringing him up every chance she could find. She had jumped on the topic change trying to persuade Anna to return his things for her. A plan that was thwarted when both women had adamantly denied her request. By the time she went to bed, the bag of clothing loomed in her thoughts. Unfortunately, it caused her to have a fitful night altogether. Even Renaldo became annoyed by her tossing. He left her bedroom an hour after lying down. He had never avoided her before. Now, it was distracting her from her day.

The only benefit it had was that if anyone was still glaring at her she didn’t notice. Besides the unwanted item in her locker, the day was going smoother than the day before. The activity of the day was done at the daycare. There were no outings. That was a load off her mind. It had been a worry that they would be going to the rec center again. It was explained that things like the pool were only done as special surprises for the kids. She wanted to laugh manically but managed to keep it under wraps.

The day flew by without incident. While it was a much needed reprieve from yesterday, she was under no delusions that the quiet was the norm. She had spent enough time with Crystal’s kids to know children usually make life interesting at best. They also wreak havoc at worst. She may not know her group of children well yet, but she could already tell they would bring about several challenges.

They appeared to be on their best behavior for the time being. However, when she met with the other caretakers on her first day, they made sure to give her a brief run down on each one. Madeline was incredibly girly and sweet but not to be fooled by her looks. The little girl was quite outspoken and often voiced her opinions about everything. Kyle was very quiet and tended to like to be on his own. He lived with his grandparents, which meant he tended to dress a bit old-fashioned. He was a bit of a surprise though, as he loved art and was fairly talented at it. Zoe was a firecracker of a little girl. She often got bored and had an abundance of energy. That one was going to make her days very interesting. Nathaniel is the class helper. He liked to follow the employees around and often offered to do little things like pick up after the others. It explained why he was the first to point Kevin out the day before. He had been trying to assist by watching what the others were doing.

Then there was Grace. She was the mother hen of the group. She was the first to step up and take care of the other kids. Fletcher was their class clown. He would go out of his way to get laughs any way he could. Even if it meant breaking the rules. He was different from Kevin, who was spoiled and used to getting his way. She didn’t look forward to having to deal with his legendary tantrums. The last to round out her group were Emery and Dawson. They were albino twins. She had thought the pair intriguing as she had never met anyone with the condition before. Because of the twins and their sensitivity to sunlight, their group tried to do things that accommodated them. It had been clarified that the center didn’t want the pair to feel excluded from activities. Since they were now in her care, she scheduled time to research their condition on her own time. It would help her be better prepared for meeting their unique needs.

She was looking forward to getting to know each one of them. Maybe she could even bring Renaldo in to play. The thought of her dog had her remembering his proclivities. She cringed as she imagined what he could do to the kids if they met. Perhaps she might forgo that circus for now. She would rather not have one of the children repeating to the guardians Renaldo’s actions. She could just imagine the reprimand she would get from that. She might be able to talk Crystal into allowing Gizmo to visit instead.

When the end of her day rolled around, she felt anything but relief. Her next task was causing panic to rise. Dragging her feet, she looked for anything to prolong her time at work. Picking up toys, wiping down tables, she tried to find any little thing.

“You’re still here?” The question made her jump, and she turned her face to her boss.

“I just wanted to make sure everything was done.”

“Is that so?” If her tone of voice wasn’t a giveaway, the knowing look would have been.

“Yep.” Was she convincing? Absolutely not, but it didn’t stop the response.

“It has nothing to do with a certain man waiting on you at all.” She was sure if she looked in a mirror, she would see all the color gone from her face. As it was, her stomach bottomed out.

“He’s out there again?” Her words were barely above a whisper, but it made the other woman laugh.

“No, he’s not. After all the gossip from yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice him waiting for you. That and his request for our schedule definitely had me wondering.” Kira groaned, slumping down into one of the tiny chairs. Deciding to stop any more gossip in its tracks, she rehashed the incident from the pool. Why had he been looking for her and she also admitted to their deal.

“I’m not going to lie. I agree with him. It would be helpful if you learned.”

“You’re serious.”

“I am. It’s not a requirement for your job, but I’m not blind to how the other workers drool over Jude. I would feel better knowing at least one of you isn’t”. Sighing, she could see there was no use fighting her about it. She had already spent the night before having to acknowledge she had been wrong to decline his offer.

“I was about to head over to the rec center to discuss times that worked for both of us.” Her boss nodded, agreeing with her plan of action. She patted Kira lightly on the shoulder before heading for the door.

“You know it’s too bad though that you aren’t a little bit interested in him. I would have enjoyed seeing him with a nice girl.”

“I have absolutely no desire to be in a relationship with anyone.” The woman hummed while smiling at her. The look on her face made Kira uneasy.

“The chase should be entertaining.” Laughing, her boss left the room as she sat there stunned, speechless.