First Love, A Second Time Around

Moving On

Ally

It took Ally and Andrew almost 4 days to close their classrooms for the summer. Each had a good-sized box full of leftover shoes, hats, gloves, and more from kiddos who left things behind that were not marked. They found them in the weirdest places, in toy bins, behind curtains. Lost and found this time of year was always overflowing, so they took their boxes to the gym as the other teachers did with the boxes marked from the classroom they came from. Families are welcome to find any long-lost items, and anything not claimed was either donated or disposed of.

Next came taking down the bulletin boards, taking down name cards, classroom decorations, and everything went into their designated totes for easy finds next year. Ally had all of her classroom items well organized so all she needed to do was pull a tote out when it was time to decorate for a season, or a lesson and it made clean up so much easier. By default, Andrew's classroom was set up very similarly, and thanks to Ally, it was just as organized.

Finally, the classroom books were checked, and any missing pages, damaged beyond repair books, were recycled. Ally made note of how many needed to be replaced, so when she shopped over the summer, she knew what to buy. She packed up the classroom toys to take home and wash and be ready for next year. Finally, Ally packed up her desk, including her "Miss Stevens" name plate her parents gifted her when she graduated college.

All of her totes that she was taking home were stacked on a dolly, Andrew did the same. This year, it only took 3 days to tear the classrooms down and pack up. All of the totes were going to Ally's home as Andrew lived in a small apartment, and Ally had a finished basement to store them in. Andrew loaded the totes into his truck and followed Ally to her house.

Together, they got all of the totes safely in the basement. After stacking everything in the spot reserved for the classroom storage, they made their way upstairs. Andrew went to the fridge, grabbed two beers, and motioned for Ally to come sit on her patio.

They sip their beers in silence for a few minutes before Ally asks, "What are you and Olivia doing this weekend?" Andrew looks at her strangely and says,"Saturday night we wanted to go dancing at that bar we like a couple towns over. We were going to invite Gemma and Jack to come. And you, of course, but I didn't think you would accept. "

Ally looks down at her hands for a few minutes and then says, "I think I would like to go." Andrew's eyes widen slightly, but he tips his bottle to her, letting her know to continue.

"I started thinking the other night that maybe it was time for me to put effort into moving on. Not pretending and sitting in a bar or whatever and sulking, but trying to have a good time. Maybe meet someone? All I know is that I am tired of this in between I've been living in."

Andrew smiles and grabs her hand. "It is ok to move on, Ally. It's healthy. You can't pine for love lost forever, and you shouldn't.

You're young. You're beautiful. You have the best heart of anyone I know, and you deserve to be happy."

Ally squeezes his hand back and says, "So where are we all going Saturday night?"

"A bar called 'Willie's ' It's a country bar, and they have live music on Saturday nights. 'The Bowman Brothers' and 'Katie Laine' are both playing, and they are really good." Andrew says.

Ally clinks her bottle to his and smiles. "I guess I better pull my boots out then!"

"Gemma, I have nothing to wear on Saturday!" Ally says as she goes through her closet.

"I'm not surprised, Ally. You have work clothes, work out clothes, and pj's. You need a new wardrobe. One that doesn't have a dog or young child drool on it."

"Funny Gem. Are you going to help me or am I going shopping for the first time in years alone?"

"Ohhh no no no no, you are so not going alone! You may have had amazing taste once upon a time, but you have been out of the game for too long! I will be heading this expedition, and there will be no arguments!"

Two hours, 4 shops and a large dent in her credit card later, and Ally had what Gemma stated was a "wardrobe fit for man-hunting." Ally was uncomfortable with that term and liked "having a good time and meeting new people." If she met someone, great. The goal was to move on. Not necessarily by having a new relationship but by meeting new people, finding her joy, and being as fun as she once was.

Saturday came, and Ally started getting ready about 5:30 p.m., knowing the group wanted to get to the bar by 7. She took a long shower. After drying off, she wound the towel around her head and started digging way in the back of her closet for her straightener and hair dryer. The hair dryer got some use occasionally, but the straightener not for quite some time.

With a towel around her body, she flipped through the new clothes she and Gemma picked out. She settled on a white tank top and dark blue shorts. She debated wearing her new cowgirl boots, but being brand new, they would probably cause blisters until she broke them in. She settled for a pair of sandals instead.

She got to work on drying her hair and then using the straightener to make beachy waves that she spritzed with hair spray. Next, she applied her makeup. Ally was never one to wear a lot of make up, she liked to keep her face fresh and natural. Tonight, she opted for a light sparkly shadow on her lids, some light bronzer, and a nude lipstick. Lastly, she got dressed and waited for Andrew and Olivia to pick her up.

Andrew and Olivia were at Ally's at 6:45 sharp. For someone who was very laid back and easygoing, Andrew had a weird thing about being punctual. Willie's was about 15 minutes away, which would put them there at 7:00.

Ally climbed in the back seat of Andrew's truck and said hello. She and Olivia chatted on the way, making plans to have a girls' day the following weekend. While Ally was chatty and happy on the outside, on the inside, her stomach was in knots. Her nerves were getting to her, but she vowed not to let that happen. She made a promise to herself that she was moving on in whatever way that meant. She intended to follow through.

When they arrived at Willie's, it was already busy. The bar was full, and so was the dance floor. The music was great. The energy was happy. Everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Gemma and Jack were at a table in the back, and Ally saw her wave as soon as they came in. They weaved their way through the crowd and sat at the table. Gemma and Jack already had drinks. Andrew flagged down the waitress and ordered three beers for them, and started a tab.

"Gemma, you look great!" Ally said . She wore a short sleeved blue flowered dress, brown boots, and a Stetson hat. Olivia looked just as great in a lacy cropped top and jean shorts.

They all drank their beers, the men talking about the upcoming rodeo in two weeks. Jack was a bull rider, which worried the hell out of Gemma. He also owned a small ranch that was passed down to him when his grandfather passed away. Jack wanted to become a horse breeder, but it takes time and money to build champion bloodlines.

An upbeat song came on, and the crowd cheered because it was a favorite. Gemma and Olivia wanted to dance, and they grabbed Ally and led her to the dance floor.

The girls joined hands, threw their heads back, and danced to the beat. Ally couldn't remember a time when she felt so happy and free. They danced for three more songs before a ballad came on and the guys stole Gemma and Olivia away.

Ally went back to their table to catch her breath. She watched her friends dancing and felt nothing but happiness for them. She was worried that when the time came for her friends to slow dance, she would fall back into old habits of feeling down, but she didn't. She felt alive, finally.

A moment later, the waitress came over with another beer that she originally ordered.

"I didn't order this," Ally said, confused. Maybe she delivered it to the wrong table.

"It is compliments of the guy at the bar," the waitress said, pointing to a very handsome man who smiled and tipped his hat to her.

Ally smiled at him and tipped her bottle to him. He took that as an ok to come to the table.

"Ma'am," he said, tipping his hat once more. He held out his hand, and Ally took it, shaking it once and then dropping it.

"Thank you for the refill. I worked up a thirst dancing with my girlfriends!" Ally said, taking a long pull from the bottle.

"I saw that. You have quite a smile."

Ally blushed at the compliment.

"My name's Jason," he said. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"I'm Ally," she said.

"Is it short for anything or just Ally?" Jason asked.

"It's just Ally," she said, smiling.

"Well,'Just Ally', would you like to dance?"

"Absolutely, " she said.

Jason took her hand and led her to the dance floor. He was a great dancer and twirled her around the dance floor. Ally caught Gemma and Olivia staring and giving her the thumbs up, which made her blush. Jason was definitely good-looking. He had beautiful caramel skin and light brown eyes. He was tall, which Ally loved and well built. He was wearing a black t-shirt that clung to his muscles, dark blue jeans and of course his worn black Stetson hat.

They continued to dance for who knows how many songs and talked. Ally learned he worked for fishing and wildlife. He told her that he knew just by looking at her that she was a teacher and smiled when he learned she taught kindergarten.

Soon, it was last call, and Ally was surprised that she talked the night away with someone she found attractive without clinging to her friends for support.

"I would love to see you again," Jason said.

"Me too," Ally said, "Give me your phone."

Feeling bolder than she had in a while, Ally added herself as a contact with "Just Ally" as her name. Jason added his name to her phone as well.

Ally made introductions to her friends, and Jason insisted on walking her to the car.

"Ma'am," he said, tipping his hat to her once again. "I will give you a call tomorrow. "

"Sounds great," Ally said.

Jason closed the door, and with another wave, he walked to his Silverado. Because of course he drove a big truck!

"Omg, Ally!" Olivia said."It looked like you had a great night!"

Ally blushed and smiled, "Yes, I definitely did!"

"Hell yeah! We found "fun Ally"! I knew she was in there somewhere!" Andrew laughed.

Ally smiled. She really liked being "Fun Ally" again. This "moving on" felt really good.