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“You’ll do great. I bet you’ll have a bunch of friends on your first day.”
Unlike Cain,I could hear her saying. I wasn’t much for friends. Or people.
“Is the food at school good?” he asked. That was always the first thing on his mind.
“It’s ... okay. You might have better luck asking this one”—she jerked a thumb at me— “to make you lunch.”
Eric’s eyes slid over to me.
“The letter from the school said they wanted you to try school lunch once. But we’ll talk about it after.”
“Fine,” he said before turning back to Tammy. “Can I have pancakes?”
“Of course. Your usual, Cain?”
“Yes,” I said. “Thanks.”
She nodded slowly before going to put the order in. I let out a breath. I tried to put on a brave face for Eric, but this was like pulling teeth for me. All the people here saw me as the kid I used to be, not the man I was.
Tammy didn’t waste time. We got our food the second it was done, and we ate quickly before leaving to go to the school.
Other parents were waiting in the courtyard. I parked the truck and walked hand in hand with Eric up to the front, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart. My teeth clenched, and I knew if I saw any tears gathering in Eric’s eyes, I’d pack him up and take him home.
“Cain Smith, there you are!” a voice called out. I didn’t think it was possible for me to tense any more.
But the impossible happened every damn day.
Kerry Winsor wanted to talk to me.
She spent her free time watching every corner of Strawberry Springs. She was in her late forties, but had a kid Eric’s age from her second marriage. She loved talking to all of the teachers and parents.
And she loved talking aboutme.
I’d made local headlines many times since coming here, and she’d enjoyed discussing it each time it had happened.
“I bet Donny’s rolling over in his freshly dug grave right now,”she’d said.“It’s a shame that he sold that house.”
I’d heard it in the store of all places, and I’d left before I could hear any more about how much they hated me. I knew I was an outsider to everyone here but Bennie and Jackie. And though I’d accepted it, the reminders still hurt.
Kerry was nice to my face, which made what I heard worse. But the people of Strawberry Springs showed their colors when I wasn’t around, and I knew better.
I would have avoided her like the plague, but of course, Ihadto be here.
“Kerry,” I said.
“And little Eric! You look so handsome. Has anyone gotten a photo of you two?”
Absolutely not.
“Can we get one?” Eric asked.
Dammit.
“Sure,” I said, and I handed her my phone, opened to the camera app. I knew she would snoop otherwise. I positioned Eric in front of me and let her snap a photo. When she handed me my phone back, her son, Tommy, was by her side.
“What teacher do you have?” she asked. “We have Ms. Rudder. Hard to believe she’s old enough to be a teacher. I rememberherfirst day of kindergarten!”
“We have the same,” I replied.