“The usual, honey?” Betty asked.
“Please. Thanks, Betty.”
Jack looked at her with a big grin. “What?” Rachel asked, wondering if she had something on her face.
“You still order the same breakfast.” His voice held affection and amusement.
Rachel laughed. “Only when I come here, but that's been a while.”
Betty lifted an already highly arched brow. “Jack, you’re no different. I always know what you want. The Big Joe breakfast, with bacon, fried potatoes, pancakes, and scrambled eggs.”
Rachel pressed her lips together to keep from laughing aloud at the pretend-affronted expression on Jack’s face. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he shook his head.
“Betty, you know the way to a man’s heart.”
Betty laughed and dipped her chin before turning to head to the back.
Jack’s gaze swiftly returned to Rachel, and she remembered the question he’d asked.
“So... Baytown High School. It's a little weird, but not as bad as you might think. Almost all the teachers we knew are retired, but a couple are still there. I think they were new teachers then, and now they’re the department chairs. And it was strange when I was first assigned my room. It was Mrs. Gallahan’s room. Remember her?”
“Yes! She was probably the oldest teacher in the building, dyed her hair pitch-black, and wore bright red lipstick every day!”
Rachel laughed. “Well, that’s my room.” She was quiet for a moment, then added, “Honestly, when I'm working, I'm focused on the students.”
Rachel looked at him, seeing his eyes staring into hers. A soft smile curved her lips as nostalgia rushed over her. “But yeah, there are times I'll pass by my old locker or walk down a hall and remember being fifteen and terrified of everything.”
“I can see you and me, just as though I were back in time. You were the prettiest girl I'd ever seen, standing by the guidance office, your notebooks clutched in your hands like a shield.”
The memory washed over Rachel with such clarity that it took her breath away. That first day. Lost and overwhelmed. And then Jack, with his kind eyes and easy smile, offered to help.
“You were wonderful. Cindy got me to the office, but then had to hurry away. I'd never been inside a school that big, or noisy, or crazy with crowds of people.” Rachel shook her head and laughed. “Who would ever believe that I'm now working in that chaos?”
Their time was occasionally broken by someone who stopped by the booth to welcome Jack home or to say hello to Rachel. One was a student who spoke to Rachel, gushing about an assignment and thanking her for her help. When the student left, he smiled at Rachel.
“You're really good with them,” he observed. “You must be an extraordinary teacher, but then I can’t think of you not being extraordinary at everything.”
“I love what I do,” Rachel said simply. “These kids, they need someone who sees them. Who listens. I remember what it felt like to be invisible or worse, to be too visible for all the wrong reasons.”
Jack held her gaze, and she felt as though his attention never wavered. It was a rare trait, and the feeling wrapped around Rachel like a warm blanket.
Their food came, and for a while they just ate, the companionable conversation flowing easily between them. He spoke fondly of his stepsiblings, Carson and Beth. Jack shook his head with a grin. “I can't believe Carson is in ninth grade now.”
“Yes, I know.” Rachel laughed. “He's in my class, actually. Freshman English.”
“Holy shit! You’re kidding!”
“Nope. He’s now the same age as we were when we met.”
“Does he give you trouble?” Jack asked. “I can set him straight, if I need to.”
“Not at all. He's a good kid. Sweet. Quiet. Smart.” Rachel took a sip of her coffee. “Sometimes I catch him looking at me like he's trying to figure out if he can get away with something, but mostly, he just does his work and stays out of trouble.”
“Damn, time flies,” Jack muttered. “What about your cousins, Alex and Rebecca? I probably wouldn’t recognize them now.”
“Yeah.” Rachel smiled. “They're growing like weeds. Both are in elementary school now. They're good kids.”
Jack's expression turned thoughtful. “I'd like to see them. And Shiloh and Joseph, of course. It's been too long.”