Him and Her Ch. 01

Tomorrow was orientation night and she could not sleep. "I don't even know where to begin," She thought to herself as she lay lifeless beside her husband. How did her life get to this? She was the one that was supposed to always have it together. Growing up as a child, she was the smartest of six children. Her parents didn't have more than a high school diploma but they always had hopes of her being the one to go to college, get a good degree and make a better living than they had. It's not that they didn't have the same hopes for their other children; it's just that she was the likely one to do it. And that she did. She went to college, just like they wanted. It didn't matter what she majored in, they wanted her to have a college degree and make more money than they did. Well go to college she did, make more money she didn't. She majored in elementary education.

In college is where she met her husband, Darrell. They met at a party of a friend of a friend. You know one of those, it's ok, and everybody is going to be there type things. It was just what she needed to get away from the all of the studying she had been doing. She was always in control of things; she just wanted to unwind for a while. She wasn't there for ten minutes before a guy started hitting on her and Darrell came to her rescue. "Um excuse me but she's taken" is what he said to the guy. He started to challenge him but Darrell hooked his arm around her neck and walked off. "Let's get out of this dump," he said and led her outside. They had started walking to his car before she stopped him, "Um my mother always taught me not to talk to strangers."

"Fair enough" he said "even though I did just save you from a jackass. How about I just walk you to your dorm then?"

"Ok but I would have you to know that I practice Taekwondo."

"You are a horrible liar. I hope you are not majoring in law; you'd be horrible. By the way, I didn't get your name."

"That's because I didn't give it," she said smiling, "but I will if you ask nicely"

He batted his eyes and gave a puppy dog look, "pleeease!"

They laughed again at his childish display of begging. "Astrid"

"Astrid," he repeated "different. I like that."

After that night, they were inseparable. He graduated the year before her and got a job as an accountant at a firm his father worked for. He begged her to stay with him after she graduated. She did and shortly after graduating became Mrs. Astrid Williams. She got a job in a lower income school, something she always wanted to do. She made lots of friends and her life seemed perfect. She had always put on the air of perfection to others so when she did have problems she never told anyone. Like the four times her husband cheated on her, three with women from work and once with a woman she thought was her friend. She stuck with him because she didn't want others to know. And even after all of that, she loved him. He did treat her well, she guessed.

But as she laid there beside her husband, six years into marriage, she wondered was she truly happy, not just with him but with life. She was beginning to think her life had no meaning. She and Darrell had not been intimate in months. She figured it was one of two things, he was cheating again or he was just too tired from his job. She didn't want to believe it was the first but he had a history. She always felt in control of everything but now she felt as if she was spinning out of control. Her job was the one constant in her life at this time. And sometimes that even caused her pain. She desperately wanted children and going to work every day being surrounded by them did not help at all. She knew she would never end her marriage and had always hoped that having a child would somehow bring them closer together. But here she was, stuck forever hoping her marriage would turn around and she would have a child. So she rolled over and counted sheep expecting that would put her to sleep.

****

Caelan was not your average man of wealth. He believed you could have anything you wanted in life but you had to work hard for it. He wasn't a millionaire by any means but he made enough that his family, which now consisted of only him and his five year old daughter Aubrey, could live very comfortable and didn't have to worry for anything. His wife, Violet, had left them some years before, when Aubrey was only two months. She had never wanted children and just could not take pressure of raising one. She had taken birth control pills while pretending she could not get pregnant. She played him really well, scheduling pretend doctor's appointments when he had important business meetings that he could not get out of. He was furious when one day, his client cancelled on him and he went to the doctor's office to surprise her only to find out that she did not have an appointment and had not had one since her last birth control refill six months ago. He found her secret stash and replaced the pills with placebos a friend in pharmacy had given him. He knew if ever found out he could face legal ramifications but he desperately wanted a child. Thankfully she never did. He had made sure his secretary never let her see his appointment schedule. He watched for her monthly routine. He counted the days to see when it should start and end. He wanted to make sure she didn't try to hide it from him and get rid of the baby. Three months later she was scheduled to begin; he noticed there was no debris in the trash. He said to her, "Why don't we schedule a doctor's appointment again. The waiting period they gave you is over. Let's just see if there are fertility drugs you may need to take."

"OK, I'll call and schedule one."

"Why don't you call now? That way I can clear my schedule. I always felt bad that I couldn't make the other appointments. I really want to hear what the doctor has to say."

She made the appointment for the following day and they found out she was pregnant. He was ecstatic. He was finally going to be a father. He made sure she took care of herself to be able to carry and have a healthy baby. He even thought she was coming around and getting used to having a child. He would see her eyeing her body in the mirror, a gesture he mistook for love of their child but instead it was love of her body. Needless to say, she had the baby and two months later left. A year after that, she presented him with divorce papers. She said she wanted nothing from him, no alimony and she would send her a monthly child support check in the amount of fifteen hundred dollars a month. She, having come from money and having a job where she made just as much as he did, knew this was not going to be a burden on her.

He poured his everything into Aubrey. He did not shelter her from the world. He wanted her to know all of the good and bad things that happened. They would watch the nightly news together and discuss the local and world's events. One day, when she was four years old, she saw a story a reporter did about a six year starting a food bank at a school in one of the poorer districts of their county. She wanted to go to that type of school, she told her father. And so, here she was entering kindergarten in that very same elementary school.

***

Melody, another kindergarten teacher, walked in Astrid's room. Astrid let out a big sigh. She still had a lot of work to do with only two hours left for orientation. Melody was a talker, "Hey girl! I have so much work to do and we only have two hours before orientation."

"Ok, and you're in here because?"

"Because I'm tired and don't feel like working anymore. I'm going to just finish the rest of my things tomorrow. I'll put their name tags on their desk later."

"Well I have a lot to do so I really can't talk right now," Astrid replied.

"I just saw the guy who played Thor in the office," She continued ignoring what Astrid said, "I mean he looks pretty much like him, reddish blonde hair, five o'clock shadow, blue eyes, muscles popping out of that shirt, not too big though but just enough, tall..."

"Melody, I really don't have time."

"Ok, OK just listen as I tell you about Greg."

Astrid continued putting the tags on the children's desk as Melody told her about her current boyfriend. She loved Melody to death, in fact she considered her one of her few real friends but the girl had the gift of gab. She wanted to get her stuff completed tonight and take the next day off to rest. Every year it got harder and harder to teach because she wanted a child herself. She never got checked to see if she was capable of having children; she just assumed she could not have them. She and Darrell never used protection. She wanted to go to the doctor to see why but he assured her "if it was God's will then they would have a child". So month after month, she just told herself that it was not God's will. And since they were no longer having sex, she knew it would not happen. Maybe, just maybe we could, she pushed the thought from her mind and concentrated on getting the room finished before orientation started. She had lost track of where Melody was in her story, so hopefully she would just continue to talk and not ask any questions. Finally, she stopped talking and went back to her room, no questions asked.

It was an hour before orientation but Caelan was there. He wanted to be there before everyone else so he could have some alone time with Audrey's teacher. He would ask lots of questions and hard ones to ensure the teacher was competent enough to challenge his daughter's intellect. This was a lower income public school and sometimes teachers were not here by choice but by ease. He had found that some did not have a desire to make a child see their own potential when it came to learning.

He stood at the door a second watching Mrs. Williams. She was bending over one of the desk writing something. Her bottom was plump, just the right size, not too big and not too little. She wore a black pencil skirt that went just past her knees. She had on a white button down top with the sleeves rolled to her elbows. She did not wear any shoes neither did she have on stockings. What he would give to be behind her...Whooaa! Where did that thought come from. He could feel the strain beginning in his pants; that's where the thought came from. Down boy; I know it's been a while. He cleared his throat to get her attention. She straightened and turned around. His breath was taken away. She was beautiful. He has never seen skin so smooth and flawless. It seemed to glow. It was almost the color of mahogany. She had her pulled back straight into a ponytail. She wore little makeup but even that was not needed to enhance her beauty. Her face was oval shaped and held two small dreamily slanted brown eyes. Her nose sat in perfect symmetry on her face and led to two lips with just the right thickness to wrap around his... it jump in his pants again. She smiled showing a set of white teeth. But that just made her even more perfect. She looked up at him, then at the clock and then down at her feet. Her face turned to one of shock.

"Please don't" he said "I'm early. Besides, I know you are more comfortable this way. I'm Caelan Armstrong."

She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Eye candy did not even begin to describe this Adonis standing before her. He towered over her already tall height. She stood at 5'8" so he had to be at least 6'5. His hair was tapered at his neck. He wore a blue polo shirt that made the blue in his eyes shine brighter. She extended her hand that was easily swallowed by his, "Mrs. Williams, nice to meet you."

"I hope you don't mind my coming early. I wanted to get you alone." She cocked an eyebrow at that statement. Dang, that didn't come out right but my how he would like to get her alone. "I'm sorry. I wanted to be able to talk to you before others came to steal your attention away."

She smiled again, "That's quite alright. What is your child's name and I will show you where the desk is."

"Aubrey Armstrong. I did not bring her tonight. I wanted the chance to ask you some questions to make sure this was the right fit for us. I set really high educational standards for Aubrey. It was her choice to come to this school and I expect her to be challenged as if she was at a ."

She cut him off before he could finish, "I assure you Mr. Armstrong that your daughter is in very good hands and you have nothing to worry about. I challenge all of my students. Their economic background does not determine their level of intelligence." She was taken back by his comment. He spoke as if this school was not good enough for his daughter. What a pig!

The scowl on her face did not go unnoticed. It somehow made her even more beautiful when she was defensive. He liked that too. That meant she loved what she did no matter the economic background of her children. "Great. We already have something in common."

She walked him to Audrey's desk and had him to sign the necessary paperwork. When he finished, they sat at a table and he began to ask her a long list of questions ranging from differentiated instruction to what kind of field trips they were taking this school year. After getting over the earlier comment, she was able to answer his questions thoroughly. They talked easily with each other, laughing at times and gazing into each other's eyes as if they were newly in love. Before they knew it the hour was up and the first parents were coming through the door. He stood and shook her hand again before leaving. "I'm looking forward to working with you Mrs. Williams."

"Likewise."

"Oh, one more thing, is it ok if I bring her by tomorrow to meet you?"

"I will not be here tomorrow. But you could come about a half hour early on the first day."

"Ok, will do. Thanks again for answering all of my questions and have a great night."

She just nodded her head. This is going to be a tough year, they both thought simultaneously.