Lessons in Love

Chapter 3

Lucas scooped Lily up and hugged her tight.

Aria was speechless. Not only was Lucas a teacher at her school, he was the parent of one of her students? There was no escaping him.

Lucas stroked Lily's brown curls. "Hey Butterbean, how was your day?"

She pulled back and looked at him. "It was good. I like my teacher. She's nice and she lets us use glitter. We didn't get to do that last year." Lily pointed at Aria, who had managed to close her mouth just in time. "Her name is Ms. Spencer."

Lucas smiled at Aria. "I know. We met before school started. How was your first day, Ms. Spencer?"

Aria crossed her arms. She felt like a complete fool. Why hadn't Lucas told her his daughter was in her class? Was this his idea of a joke? She felt herself go on a slow simmer.

She forced herself to be polite. "It was a great day, and I really enjoy having Lily in my class. She's obviously very bright and creative. She's going to contribute a lot to the class." Aria offered Lily an authentic smile. She liked the girl very much and wouldn't fault her for her father's duplicity.

"Daddy, I want to go home with you today. Please?"

Lucas's face tightened. "I would love that, but it's your mother's week. She'd be disappointed if you didn't go home with her."

"I want to go with you. Please, please, please." Lily held on tightly to Lucas's neck with one arm.

"I'm sorry, honey, but this is what your mother and I worked out. This way we both get to spend time with you."

"I don't care. I want to be with you," Lily said. She was working up to tears now. Aria felt powerless in the situation. Her heart was breaking for Lily, and she felt completely out of place witnessing this private family scene.

Lucas gently put Lily down on the floor and squatted so he could look her right in the eyes. "Lil, you know there is nothing I would rather do than bring you home with me, but we have to follow the plan."

"But..."

"Remember how you said you wanted to go to the zoo and see the baby giraffe?"

Lily nodded and sniffled.

"Let's make that the first thing we do next week, okay? I know that feels like a long time from now, but it would help me wait until then if you could draw some pictures of baby giraffes for me to have while I wait. Do you think you could do that for me?"

"I guess so...do you want me to use markers or crayons?"

"Markers, definitely." Lucas took Lily by the hand and said, "I'll walk you out to your mom and you can tell me what colors you think you'll use."

Lily turned and waved at Aria, whose heart turned over. Luke smiled at Aria before he guided his daughter out the door.

Whew! That was intense, Aria thought, sitting down on her chair. She usually tried to avoid emotional drama; it was a skill she had developed while living with her mother, and at this point in her life, it served her well.

But she couldn't help being drawn in to Lily's distress, feeling her sorrow and frustration. And seeing Lucas handle it so well, with so much compassion, was a revelation. She had seen him as being sort of a lightweight, a man focused on himself and having a good laugh. But clearly there was a lot more to him than that. In spite of herself, she couldn't help wanting to know more, but from a distance. He had a lot to answer for in not telling her about Lily.

Later that week, Aria received an email from Ms. Rollins, the principal of Lakewood, asking her to a meeting after school. She noticed that the email had also been sent to Lucas. Aria had not had a chance to speak with him alone since the scene with Lily the first day of school, and part of her wanted to avoid him, while part of her wanted to have it out with him. Whatever happened, she would remain cool, detached, and professional. In control.