one of the teachers at Bedford’s newest school, that elementary school that was just opened last fall, Bedford Elementary, went into early labor yesterday—really early,” he emphasized. “From what I heard, she wasn’t due for another month.”
“She went into labor four weeks early?” Maizie questioned, genuinely concerned. Her connection hadn’t mentioned this part to her—undoubtedly because they knew she would be concerned. “I hope the baby’s all right.”
Eddie nodded, pleased to be the bearer of good news not just for himself, but all around. “I asked,” he told her. “Mother and baby are both doing fine.”
Hearing this, Maizie blinked, admittedly somewhat surprised.
“You know the mother?” she inquired. This was another piece of information she hadn’t gotten previously. It really was a small world.
“What? Oh, no, I don’t,” Eddie said, quickly setting the record straight. “I just asked the administrator about the teacher when they called me about the sudden vacancy.”
Maizie looked at him, once again very pleased with her choice for Mei-Li’s daughter. “You’re an unusual young man, Eddie. Most men your age wouldn’t have inquired about the mother’s condition.” Or asked any other questions of a personal nature that didn’t directly include them, she added silently.
“I grew up with two older sisters and a mother. If I hadn’t thought to ask, they would have skinned me,” he told her simply, taking no credit for the fact that he really was a thoughtful, sensitive young man.
As it happened, Maizie had sold the principal of this new elementary school her house when Ada Walters had first moved to the area, and as was her habit, Maizie had remained on friendly terms with her client long after the ink had dried on the mortgage papers.
Once Theresa had supplied her the information about their newest client-in-search-of-a-match, she had called the principal to find out if Ada knew of any upcoming openings in either her school or any of others nearby. As luck would have it, there was one in the offing in the near future.
And then the future became the immediate present.
When she’d heard about the sudden opening, Maizie had immediately brought up Eddie’s name and his qualifications. And just like that, the pieces fell into place, as her instincts had told her they would.
But Maizie never left anything to chance and never allowed herself to grow too confident, no matter how foolproof a situation might look. So when Eddie had walked into her office just now, looking a tad uncomfortable, Maizie had braced herself—just in case—and then was relieved to discover that it had been a false alarm.
So far, it was all going according to plan, and she couldn’t be more pleased.
“You’ve come to tell me that you’re going to have to turn down that last job I sent your way,” she guessed. That wasn’t a disaster; it just put off the inevitable. The two were still going to meet at the school, where Tiffany taught fifth grade, now that Eddie was taking over Chelsea Jamison’s third-grade class.
“Oh no, I’m still going to do that.” He was quick to set her straight. “It’s just that I’m going to have to get started on the remodel early tomorrow morning, and do my best to finish up by late Sunday night.”
“And if you can’t?” Maizie asked, always wanting to remain one step ahead of any surprises.
“Then I’ll have to come back next weekend so I can get the job done,” he told her. “Do you think that’ll be a problem?”
The young man was one in a million, Maizie couldn’t help thinking.
“The kind of work you do, Eddie,” she told him, “I’m sure that the home owner will be more than happy to accommodate you.”
He glanced at his watch, a gift from his mother when he had graduated from college. He never took it off. Pressed for time, he realized he had to be getting back.
“I’m just finishing up this other job, so I won’t be able to give the home owner a proper estimate until I get there tomorrow morning and look the job over.” He didn’t believe in quoting one price and then upping it as the work got under way. He took pride in keeping his costs, and thus his prices, low.
“That’s no problem at all,” Maizie assured him. “The owner’s mother is paying for it. She referred to it as an early birthday present. She told me to tell you that as long as you don’t wind up charging anything exorbitant, she’ll be all right with your fee.” Maizie smiled at the young man, delighted with the way this was going. “I told her you were very reasonable. She was happy you were taking the job.”
Eddie laughed. “I guess that means I’ll just have to put that Hawaiian vacation I was planning on hold,” he quipped.
“Of course you will,” Maizie deadpanned. “Don’t forget, you have children to educate now.” Unable to maintain a serious expression any longer, she allowed herself to smile, radiating genuine warmth. The kind of warmth that had clients, and people in general, trusting her instantly. “I’m very happy for you, Eddie. I know that you feel that teaching is your calling. I really hate to lose you, but if I have to, I’m glad it’s for this reason.”
“Well, you’re not exactly ‘losing’ me, Ms. Sommers,” Eddie told her almost shyly, exposing a side to her that most people didn’t see. “I still do have those student loans to pay back so I’ll need to pick up those extra jobs on weekends—as long as your clients won’t mind having me around then, working. I’ll do my best not to get underfoot,” he promised earnestly.
Maizie laughed. It was obvious that the young man before her didn’t realize just how rare a competent worker was. “Eddie, considering the prices you charge and the work you do, I’m fairly certain they would be willing to put up with all sorts of crazy hours on your part.”
She sat back, thoughtfully regarding him for a moment. “So, just to be sure, I can tell Ms. Lee that you’ll be at her house tomorrow morning?”
His grin lit up the office. Maizie saw that her assistant looked utterly entranced as she glanced in their direction. “Absolutely,” Eddie said.
Maizie clapped her hands together and declared, “Wonderful!”
* * *
Eddie looked at the address on the piece of paper again. Specifically, at the name that appeared right over the address and beneath the phone number he’d been given in case he needed to cancel the appointment or to change the time he’d be arriving.
With everything that had been happening these last couple days, the name, when he’d heard it, hadn’t fully registered. It did now.
Tiffany Lee.
Could it actually be her?
No, Eddie told himself, he was letting his imagination get carried away. Neither Tiffany nor Lee was an uncommon name, and he was fairly certain that even if he Googled them together, or searched through Facebook, he would find more than a handful of “Tiffany Lees.” And none would be the Tiffany Lee he remembered from college who was, hands down, the most argumentative woman on the face of the earth.
Or more importantly, the same Tiffany Lee he had had a crush on—when
