Flowers in the Park Ch. 03

This is part three, and it might be helpful to you if you read the first two parts prior to this one. They are all short, so it won't take you long to catch up!

For the first time in over two months, Alex woke up on Monday morning with a smile on her face. She sat up in bed as she reminisced about her afternoon and evening with Wes, including her time with his three-year-old son Wesley, whom his father had used as a wingman to get to know her. Alex chuckled to herself at the way that came about. Wes and his son were a formidable team, and their efforts working together had netted her a nice evening enjoying hamburgers at what turned out to be a favorite place for both.

While the conversation was good with Wes, she suddenly realized that for the first time in a long time, she hadn't thought back to when she discovered her fiancé Anthony was cheating on her, resulting in her calling off their wedding. For two months, that memory had haunted her, and while she was glad she caught him before they had gotten married, it was still painful to think about. But that thought never crossed her mind while she was with Wes yesterday - well, except for the time that he was late, and Alex thought she had been stood up. Wes had made it right, and she believed him when he promised he would never do anything like that again.

Alex and Wes had made plans to get together again for dinner on Thursday, and he had promised he would text her soon with the details of that evening. Alex found herself wishing he would contact her sooner than later, since she knew if he waited until Thursday to reach out to her, she'd start having thoughts of doubt again. As she drove to the school where she taught, she knew she'd be checking her cell phone often, hoping for his message to come earlier than later.

Alex walked into her classroom to get it prepared for the day. She loved teaching second grade, and she had survived the rigors of teaching during the Covid pandemic. She had used her students as the motivation to keep going in the days and weeks after her engagement broke off. She always knew she wanted to have kids of her own someday, and keeping up with twenty-five second graders each day did nothing to sway her desire.

She had Wes and Wesley on her mind as her best friend and teaching partner Lori Graves walked into her classroom. Lori's class of second graders was across the hall, and since they often switched classes to teach specific subjects, they spent most of their planning time together. Lori was also one of the ones that kept Alex going during her bad times, and she knew Alex would do the same for her if the need ever arose.

Alex smiled as she looked up when Lori said, "Good morning, Alex. Ready for another week....wait, what is that? Are you smiling? What happened to you this weekend?!?"

Alex didn't know if she was ready to talk to Lori about her day yesterday or not, but since her poker face couldn't hide the smile that had come over her while thinking about it, she figured she'd better come clean. "Oh, you know...I might have met the nicest guy and his adorable three-year-old son in the park yesterday, and after he took his son back to his mother, I might have had burgers at the Burger Shack with him." She tried to hide the smile on her face, but if anything, it grew as she shared her day with her best friend.

Lori was in shock, hearing this from her friend. She covered her mouth as Alex explained her day, and when she had finished telling her story, Lori discovered she was at a loss for words. It had been a grueling two months for both of them, so to see her friend so happy on a Monday morning was more than she expected.

"Oh my god, I'm so happy for you!" Lori exclaimed. "I must get to my classroom now, but I hope you aren't planning on using our planning period to actually plan anything. You've got more you need to tell me - this is so exciting!"

"I'm not sure it's something to get too excited about just yet, but it was a great evening. Truthfully, there's not a lot I know about him yet. But when we get together again on Thursday evening, I would imagine I'll learn more."

Lori covered her mouth again. "Another date already? Alex, this is awesome! I can hardly wait to meet him! I wish I didn't have to go - do you think my students would be okay by themselves? Okay, probably not - don't go anywhere during planning period!"

Lori twirled and left the room. Alex had five more minutes before her kids started coming into her classroom. She made sure the desks and chairs were straight and that her classroom student activity center was ready. Just before the students started arriving, she put her phone on silent and put it in the back of her middle desk drawer.

The first two hours of her day were spent in core subjects - reading and mathematics. Mornings were the best time for learning, so all the kids had their first two hours in their grade level homerooms. There was a fifteen-minute recess period, followed by a restroom break. After that, the kids had twenty-five minutes of music and twenty-five minutes of physical education back-to-back, giving Alex a fifty-minute planning period to work on lessons and on grading papers. Lori had the same schedule with her students, except for the order of their special classes after recess. That way their planning time always coincided with each other.

Alex knew Lori would be over just as soon as both classrooms were empty, and Lori did not disappoint her. She sat down next to her teaching partner, and Alex began to tell the story of the little three-year-old boy coming to her and handing her a flower, telling her that a beautiful woman deserved a beautiful flower, and then discovering his dad had put him up to it - which elicited a response from Lori, saying, "Oh wow, what a slick move!"

Alex went on to tell her friend about walking back to her car holding hands with both of the Watson men, and how they had decided that after Wesley was dropped off at his mother's house, they would meet up at the Burger Shack. She even shared about Wes not showing up until she had given up on him after twenty minutes and was lucky he had pulled in just as she was about to get into her car. She also told Lori that they both wanted to go easy on their new friendship since neither of them had success in their previous relationships. She made sure to tell Lori that after they had hugged and gone to their own homes, she hadn't thought about Anthony once, and she knew that was a very good sign.

Lori grabbed Alex's hand and squeezed it. "I'm so excited for you, and I love it that he didn't want to follow you home and crawl straight in bed with you - not that you wouldn't have enjoyed it, but I love the fact that this sounds like it might be an old-fashioned romance if the two of you stay with it. But...how is it that he has a three-year-old that doesn't live with him?"

Alex laughed. "Do I need to tell you what can happen when a man and a woman get together for sex? He said it was a one-night stand and when they found out she was pregnant, they had tried being with each other, but it just didn't work out. But he says she's a great mother and they have a very good relationship with each other. Watching them together yesterday afternoon was very charming, and Wesley is quite the precocious little man."

"So how do you feel that this guy has a three-year-old? Have you thought about that yet?"

Alex paused, and then replied, "Honestly, I'm fine with it, because I've already seen that Wes is a good father. Wesley was well-behaved and it seemed like he was accepting of the limits his dad put on him as he played on the equipment at the park. It's still early yet, but they were a great team."

Lori smiled at her friend. She hadn't seen Alex this happy since they had discussed plans for the wedding that was eventually called off. "So, you're going to see him again Thursday? Who has dates on Thursday nights?"

Alex chuckled. "He asked about this weekend, but I'd already made plans to go home and see family, so he asked about Thursday night instead - which reminds me, I haven't checked to see if he's messaged me about it yet!"

She quickly opened her desk drawer and dug out her phone. Waking it up, she waited the seemingly long seconds it took to find the signal. Both she and Lori were delighted to find a new text message.

"Hello, Alex. I had a wonderful time with you last night - sorry again for being late! Have you been to Allen's Smokehouse yet? Their brisket is rumored to be the best in the state! I'd love to pick you up about 6 if you don't mind me knowing where you live."

Alex beamed. She looked at Lori, who smiled back at her. "He's not wrong, Alex. Allen's is very good if you haven't been before. I think you'll have another wonderful time!"

Alex sent back the following message - "I had a great time also, and I'd love to go to Allen's with you. I can be ready at 6. I live in the Stonebridge Apartments on 51 ^st - my apartment is 1204."

She hit 'send,' and the message raced off into cyberspace. She turned back to Lori and the two smiled at each other, which quickly bubbled over to a laugh as they shared a hug. They decided they should do at least a little bit of class planning but were quickly interrupted when Alex's phone buzzed on the desktop. It was from Wes.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? I LIVE AT STONEBRIDGE - 3304!"

Alex dropped the phone on her desk and quickly looked at her friend, and the shock was evident on her face. She stared at Lori, and then exclaimed, "We live in the same apartment complex!"

Lori's response mirrored Alex's shock - "Oh my god! That's crazy! So much for going slow with your new relationship!"

Alex looked back down at her phone. She knew she needed to respond to the text Wes had sent, but she had no idea what to say. She looked back up at Lori and asked, "I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, we can be together nearly anytime we want, but that certainly didn't work out for me with Anthony. But if we continue enjoying each other's company, wouldn't that be a good thing if we lived in the same complex?"

While they pondered that question, Alex typed in a quick response - "I can't believe we haven't noticed each other before. What a small world!"

After sending the message, she looked back at Lori again. Lori said, "I think it could be either good or bad. If he's not a stalker and still wants to take it slowly, you two will work out what that looks like. If he is a stalker and won't leave you alone, it's probably better to find that out early, so you won't get hurt again."

Alex's phone buzzed in her hands, another message from Wes. "Can I call you for a couple of minutes?"

Alex replied back - "Yes."

Her phone quickly rang. Alex looked up at Lori and said, "He wanted to call." She answered after three rings.

"Hello?"

"Alex, this is crazy! I think we need to talk about this, so we both know how to proceed. In the clubhouse at the complex, there's a little sitting room just inside the front door. Can you meet me there tonight at 6 and we can sort through this? I think I'm pretty excited we both live at the same place, but I want to make sure we are both in agreement on how we handle this."

Alex replied, "I think that sounds like a great plan. I'll see you there at six. And Wes? Thanks for getting back with me. I love the date idea on Thursday."

"I'm glad - so I'll see you tonight! Bye, Alex."

"Goodbye, Wes." She disconnected the call.

She looked up at Lori. "Did you hear that conversation?"

She nodded. "I did hear, and I think it's smart that he wants to talk about it. Alex, so far, I'm very impressed with Wes. I think this could be the start of a very special relationship!"

Alex smiled and hugged her friend again. "I hope you're right. I'm ready to be happy all the time instead of sad all the time."

It was time for both teachers to go get their students and get them ready for lunch. Once they had been left in the cafeteria, Alex and Lori headed to the teacher's workroom to eat lunch with their colleagues. There was no more discussion about Alex's new friend and the meeting that was to take place later, since she wasn't ready for the entire staff to know what was going on.

Alex made it through the afternoon classes with her students. When the final bell rang, she dismissed them and set out to do the things she needed to get set up ahead of class tomorrow. After finishing her planning, she headed out to her car, and before she reached it, Lori caught with her.

"Are you excited about your meeting with Wes tonight, or maybe nervous?"

Alex replied, "Maybe a little of both. Still not sure what will be said, but I'm glad we are going to talk about it. It's crazy how things like this can be so unexpected, and yet often they turn out to be great."

Lori patted her friend on the back and said, "Good luck, whatever comes from it. I can hardly wait to find out about it in the morning!"

"You'll be the first to know!"

Alex looked at her watch - it was 4:15 p.m. She had nearly two hours to kill before her meeting with Wes. She was dealing with a case of the nerves, but at the same time, excited for the possibilities. She realized it was a real possibility that their relationship with each other could move a lot faster than anticipated with this news that they lived in the same apartment complex. She focused on that as she waited patiently for the clock to move closer to 6.

Finally, it was time to walk to the clubhouse for her meeting with Wes. She kept her head up as she walked, watching to see if she could spot Wes before he arrived. She made it to the clubhouse door a couple of minutes before 6, immediately finding the sitting room. She looked inside and found that Wes was already there.

He smiled as he saw her, and came over to give her a hug. "Hello, Alex - this is certainly an unexpected development! Shall we sit down?"