Table for five Read Online Free PDF

about the stealing. Let her know it has to stop and try to get her to talk about what’s behind it. We can discuss it again on Monday.”
    “I’m out of town on Monday,” Derek said. “Got a tournament.”
    “I’m coordinating a Special Olympics sponsors’ meeting that afternoon,” Crystal said. “I was going to have Mrs. Foster stay late to watch the girls.”
    And that, Lily knew with bleak resignation, was exactly why Charlie was in trouble.

chapter 3

    Friday
3:45 p.m.

    “T hey want to do the right thing,” Lily told Edna in the teachers’ lounge after the conference. “The trouble is, they’re so wrapped up in other issues that they’re not seeing Charlie.”
    Edna took a sip of herbal tea. While most of the faculty consumed coffee by the gallon, Edna favored homeopathic and herbal concoctions, all designed to bring about inner peace. Lily eschewed coffee, too, and only drank organically-grown herbals, but that didn’t bring her inner peace. A better sleep cycle, maybe.
    She and Edna were the last two left at the school. Laurelhurst had a relatively small faculty. On a stormy Friday like this, everyone was eager to get home to loved ones, or to get ready for the weekend. It was an unspoken fact that Lily and Edna were the only unattached people on the faculty.
    Lily was slightly in awe of Edna, but she also felt a bit sorry for her. Edna’s most marked quality was her willingness toplunge into relationships and to risk her heart. She’d been smashed into the dirt time and time again, but she always dusted herself off and plunged right back into the next doomed relationship. Lily didn’t get it. Why set yourself up for hurt?
    “Well, the fact that they adore her means they’ll work with you,” Edna said. She added a small dab of fireweed honey to her tea.
    “I hope so,” Lily said, idly perusing the faculty bulletin board. “Available for summer house-sitting,” read one notice. “Prefer beach or river house.” This time of year, teachers were all about summer, and Lily was no exception. She had plans. Big, grand plans. This was something she loved about her job—a teacher had an entire summer to recover from the emotions of loving, educating and cultivating a group of children.
    Parents never get that chance, she reflected, thinking of the Holloways. There’s no downtime when you’re a parent.
    “It’s going to be a long haul with Charlie,” she told Edna. “We didn’t even finish discussing the reading institute. They didn’t seem to want to hear about it, except to say it would directly interfere with Mom’s plans for a Disney cruise and horse camp, and Dad’s month in Hawaii.”
    “Now I want to be their kid,” Edna said.
    “I think they already have as many as they can handle,” Lily told her.
    “Maybe the reading institute isn’t the right choice for this family,” Edna said. “They might need more flexibility.” She took a sip of her tea, then regarded Lily thoughtfully. “You could be her tutor.”
    Against her better judgment, Lily felt drawn to the idea. Like everyone else, she adored Charlie and felt that teaching her one-on-one could lead to the breakthrough Charlie needed. Unfortunately, the situation was complicated.
    “I could never do that,” she said. “You know my policy. I need a life separate from school. And I believe in treating all children equally.”
    “They don’t all need you equally,” Edna pointed out.
    “Not possible,” Lily said. “With this family, it would be extremely tricky.”
    “I should think it would be extra easy since you and Charlene’s mother practically grew up together.”
    “Her ex can’t stand me,” Lily said. “He thinks I’m a lousy teacher.”
    Edna shook her head. “Just like he’s a lousy golfer.”
    “Not quite,” Lily said. “A professional golfer loses a game, maybe a bunch of money or even his PGA card. Big deal. When a teacher screws up, it affects a child.”
    “True, but that’s not what I