Chapter 1 character intro

Abby awoke eagerly immediately knowing what day it was. She adored the first day of school and all it held in store. She'd already memorized all of her students names and couldn't wait to put faces to them. As she got ready for the day, she couldn't help but be thankful that she had survived all of the budget cuts. So many of her friends had received those dreadful pink slips right before summer break. She was also thankful to be working for a charter school that was actually hiring new teachers rather than laying them off. She headed out the door of her Spanish style bungalow and went straight to her favorite coffee spot. No not the one that sold the fancy coffees for four bucks a cup. She preferred her coffee from a more affordable place that allowed her to bring her own travel mug and let her pour half vanilla creamer in with her basic coffee. She was not a fancy girl and didn't like foo foo coffee. Abby got into her VW Jetta and drove the 3 miles to school. Thank goodness she didn't get stopped by the train today. After claiming her spot in the staff parking lot, she walked into the front of the school with anticipation. She headed directly into the teachers lounge where she grabbed a couple of papers from her mailbox. Many of her coworkers hung around talking about their summer but she couldn't wait to get into her classroom. She had decorated a week ago for the coming year. Abby sat down at her desk and started to reflect. Had she really only been teaching for 3 years? It felt like she was born to teach and she loved every minute of it. Noticing what time it was, she grabbed the name tags she'd prepared for the kids to wear this week then headed to the gate to greet her new students and parents. She recognized some of the parents and other family members from the community she fondly grew up in, including her own parent's long time friends, Grace and Robert Westbrook. They both smiled cheerfully at her. She knew of the loss of their one and only daughter and her chest tightened as she looked into the eyes of the sweetest little girl standing beside them. She knew this precious face. She'd seen Grace and Robert's grandchild a couple of times at her parent's home when she'd visited them. They walked around the crowd of tear filled moms and dads who were having a hard time letting their kids start kindergarten. Grace grabbed Abby for a quick embrace and proudly introduced her to the angelic looking child. "Hi Miss Abby, this is our granddaughter, Madison. Looks like she will have the honor of being in your class this year." Abby immediately squatted down so she was at Madison's eye level, took her hand and said "it's very nice to meet you Madison. The honor is mine and I can't wait to learn all about you this year." With that, the little girl handed Abby a flower she brought for her and smiled brightly. "it's nice to meet you too Miss Abby. This is my daddy. He likes to type on his computer, play in the ocean and give butterfly kisses." Abby hadn't noticed anyone else standing with them but looked up just beside Madison and saw him. Oh my goodness. Seriously. How was it possible that the most amazing smile she had ever seen in her life be shining right there in front of her on the first day of school and her not notice. It took her a moment to realize that she was standing ogling this little girl's daddy that liked giving butterfly kisses. Madison let out a silly giggle. "it's very nice to meet you Miss Abby, I'm Caleb". With a chuckle, he extended his hand to shake hers. "oh it's nice to meet you as well." knowing she was completely red she turned to greet other kids and parents while shyly looking back at Caleb every so often. She caught his eye once then turned and saw the tall blonde Zuckerman twins, Blaine and Tiffany. She hadn't seen them in years. Her heart started pounding hard in her chest a she search the crowd for their younger brother and her high school boyfriend, Peter. When she received her class roster, she immediately spotted their last name. She had hoped it was not a child of one of the Zuckerman's she knew all too well but here they were. She didn't see Peter anywhere thank goodness but made eye contact with Blaine. He gave her a half smile and looked down at a little boy beside him. Blaine was as handsome as ever. He was a couple of years older than Abby and the star of their high school's LaCross team. Every girl wanted him and he had a reputation of not being too choosy. She had heard that he made sure to spread his love around. Tiffany, Blaine and their parents had always turned their nose up at Abby. They didn't think she was good enough for their precious Peter. Little did they know what a jerk he actually turned out to be. Abby caught Caleb's eye one more time but he gave her a look of concern which meant that her emotions were showing on her face. She had to shake it off. Life went on and you just had to deal with awkward situations like this with dignity. Taking a deep breath, she offered the families to come in the classroom for a little orientation and Q&A while the kids were supervised on the playground. Abby's co-teacher, Melissa got her attention on the way into the classroom and asked about her interaction with that very handsome dad. Abby blushed again and said, "I have no idea what you are talking about" she had so many emotions at once but then she chastely smiled to herself and shook her head. What was wrong with her today? ............. The school bell rang letting everyone know that they had come to the end of their first day of school. After making sure all of the kids grabbed their backpacks, sweaters and lunch boxes, Abby walked them out to the gate where happy parents waited to greet their new kindergarteners. She was so thankful that Justin Zuckerman was going to be picked up in the valet line so she didn't have to see his mom or dad. Abby still didn't know if Justin was Tiffany's or Blaine's son. She couldn't help herself but to scan the crowd for Caleb. She was a little disappointed when she saw him and he only had eyes for his little girl. Madison ran out of the gate to his awaiting arms. He gave her a huge smile, kiss and hug as he carried her to his car while asking about her day. After dismissing all of the kids to their parents, she saw her best friend holding a huge bouquet of flowers. "congratulations on another successful first day of school my friend". Leah said. "well thank you my dear, but you don't know that it was a success or not.". "you don't have any stragglers and I didn't hear any parents yell at you so I assume it was a good day." Smiling Abby had to agree that she did indeed have a wonderful day despite seeing her past crash in front of her. "what do you say about going to for dinner tonight to celebrate.". "I say that we go there too often to call it a celebration dinner but yes I would love to." "it's a date then, I'll pick you up at 5:30. I have to get going Love so I can make a few more deliveries." "ok sounds good. I'll see you later. Oh and thanks for this beautiful arrangement. You outdid yourself as usual". Abby was so proud of her best friend and the success of her flower shop. She could remember sitting in their dorm at Berkley where Leah was a business major and would glowingly talk about the flower shop she would someday own. Abby was such an emotional mess at the time that it took her an additional 2 years to figure out what career she wanted. She envied Leah for always knowing what she wanted and going for it. ********** Leah showed up at Abby's house as promised right at 5:30. Abby grabbed her purse and jumped into the waiting mini van. "you know that you aren't going to find a hot date driving around in this mom mobile, right?". Abby teased her. "well until I make enough money to buy a car that matches the hot guy you think I'm going to date, my delivery van will have to do" she smiled. They pulled up to a few minutes later and headed inside. This place was a very familiar setting to them since they ate there a couple of times a week. Abby scanned the room while the hostess sat them in their usual section. After placing their drink orders, she noticed a couple she used to be well acquainted with. "Of all the crappy luck, look who else is eating diner here tonight." She motioned over to the older pair sitting towards the back of the restaurant. "Your beef isn't with them my friend." Leah pointed out. "I know but its still uncomfortable. Their grandson is in my class this year. I saw both of Peter's siblings today at drop off. It was awful. I don't think Peter ever told his family why we broke up. One moment we were inseparable, even eating dinner at each others houses every night and then we were no longer together" she sighed. Right on cue as though they knew she was talking about them, Mrs. Zuckerman looked over and gave her a knowing look and sympathetic smile. "or maybe he did" corrected her best friend. Abby was so frustrated by this. "I just don't understand how relationships work.  How can you go from being with someone every day for over a year..being intimate with them and then not speaking at all.  He literally turned his back on me when I needed him the most.".   "But he has tried to make amends with you.  You are just too stubborn to listen".   "yeah he is only trying to do that so he doesn't feel guilty anymore.  But the guilt of what happened will never leave me.  I can never forget what I've done.". "you didn't do anything.  You LOST the baby Abby.  You didn't get an abortion." "I am guilty." "oh Sweetie, you had no control over it as much as you try to take credit for it.  You have to figure out how to get passed this or you will never find happiness.  It kills me to see you so hurt". "why do you put up with me?" "because I love you and you make the most amazing lasagna I've ever had." "ok can we talk about something else? This is suppose to be a celebratory diner isn't it?" Just then the server showed up and placed their "usual" order. They put all thoughts of her high school sweetheart Peter, his family and the past aside while they enjoyed each others company and shared each others dishes once they arrived. Abby was completely exhausted by the time she opened her front door and got ready for bed. She couldn't help but think about Mr. And Mrs. Zuckerman. She probably should have gone over to their table and greeted them. After all it wasn't their fault that their son was a total jerk. Oh well, that time has passed and now it was time to get some sleep so she'd be up to whatever challenges tomorrow had in store for her.