Her Valentine Family

“That’s good,” Chad said, “but I didn’t come here to check up on my students. We really are here for the coffee.”

The girl smiled. “Sorry. Just thought I should let you know.” She withdrew a small pad and a pencil from her pants pocket. “So, what would you like this evening?”

“What do you want?” he asked Jess.

“Just coffee.”

“Regular or decaf?” the waitress asked, but Chad intervened.

“Just coffee?” he asked. “Don’t you want to try something a little more special?”

Jessica laughed. She really hadn’t gotten into all of the fancy coffee drinks, since her grandmother’s farm in Tennessee had been about as rural as you get and much less modern than Claremont or Stockville. Even though they were small towns, the quaint coffee shop proved they’d kept up with the times. And Jessica was still catching up. “What do you suggest?”

Chad scanned the list of specialty drinks scrawled in fluorescent chalk on a neon-trimmed standing blackboard. “How about the white chocolate mocha?”

“Okay, I’m game,” Jessica said to the waitress.

“And for you, Mr. Martin?”

“Just coffee, regular, please.”

The waitress nodded and left to retrieve their order while Jessica gaped.

“I thought you said I should get something more special than regular coffee.”

He smiled. “Because I think you’ll like it. Not me, though. I’m a regular coffee kind of guy.”

“And how do you know I’m not a regular coffee kind of girl?” she asked, as the waitress put two oversize mugs on a tray and headed back to the alcove.

“Because,” he said simply. “You’re special.”

Jessica could feel her cheeks heating and tried to figure out the best response for his flattering statement, but Chad saved her from the task when he continued talking.

“So, I figure we have about fifteen to twenty minutes left if you’re wanting to get back home in time to tuck your little guy in.” He lifted a shoulder. “I’m afraid Lainey goes to bed too early on my late class nights for me to get a chance to tuck her in, so I’ll just have to make tomorrow night’s good night hug extra special.”

“Where does she go when you’re teaching late?” Jess asked and wondered if she was about to learn that his ex-wife was still local.

“My mom comes over on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and takes care of her. It’s a good deal all the way around. Mom wants more time with her, and I have to work late two nights per week.” He paused to accept his coffee from the waitress then waited while Jessica got hers. “What about your son? I’m assuming he’s with your folks while you’re here.”

Jessica sipped the hot drink, which was amazingly rich and sweet, then answered, “Yes, he stays with them. Of course, that’s pretty easy since I’m still living there for the time being.”

“You said his name is Nathan?” Chad asked, and she could tell he was working hard to make this conversation seem normal, instead of what it was, more of a joint interrogation. They both were dying to know everything about what was going on in the other’s world, and there was way too much to catch up on than could be handled in a mere fifteen minutes.

“Yes, it’s Nathan. It means ‘God has given,’” she said, then added, “but I didn’t know that until this past Sunday, when Brother Henry told us at church.”

He sipped his coffee. “I saw Brother Henry there a couple of weeks ago.”

“You did?” Chad had never been a churchgoer growing up, not until he met Jessica and that became one of the ways he could see her more often. She’d hoped the visits to the church had an impact, but she wasn’t certain that he’d kept it up after she left.

He laughed. “Don’t look too shocked. I’m not a regular, but I’ve actually been back a few times since high school, usually around New Years each year. You know, resolutions and all. I made the same one this year, which was why I went back Sunday before last. But this time it’s different. I’m more interested in going back regularly again.”

“Why is it different now?”

He looked thoughtful, his mouth crooking to one side as he formed his answer.

Jessica waited, sipped more coffee. Maybe this wasn’t something he wanted to share with her. Maybe they weren’t as close as she thought or time had destroyed the closeness they once shared. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“It isn’t that. I’m just trying to think of the best way to explain it.” He paused, then said with a shrug, “Things change once you have kids, don’t you think? You start looking at the big picture, at the future and all. And I suppose you hope things will be a little better for your child. You want to do whatever you can to make life a little easier on them, right?”

She nodded, understanding exactly what he meant.

“Because of Lainey, I want to stick to the resolution this time. I want her to grow up going to church. My mom stopped after my dad left, so Becky and I didn’t get the chance to go. Then when I got old enough to drive myself, it didn’t really seem like something I wanted to do.” He took another sip of coffee. “Until I met you.”