Editon chuckled. “They are pretty darn great, aren’t they?” He took another bite, chewed, and swallowed before speaking again. “At the bar last night you said that you needed a job?”
“I finished my college degree to be a teacher, and I did my student teaching in California. I had checked before we moved back here if there were openings at Vine Grove Elementary, but there are no positions open right now. I’m not sure now what I am going to do. Start over from scratch once again probably. I’m living with my mom and dad. I doubt they will kick us out.”
“Are you planning on staying in Vine Grove? Why don’t you move somewhere where there are openings for teachers?” he asked.
“We can’t right now. Noah and I literally have what I fit in the U-Haul when we left a few days ago.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened in California? Why didn’t you stay?”
“I don’t want rumors to spread.” Kady looked nervously around the restaurant. “Noah needs a fresh start, that’s one of the reasons we came back…well that, and we had to.” She bit her lip. Her gaze met his, and there were questions in her eyes. He could see that she wanted to have faith in him. “Promise you won’t spread this around town. Noah needs to get settled.”
“You can trust me. I’m not one of the gossips from the Grange Hall.” Editon took Kady’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You can trust me,” he repeated.
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Kady took a shaky breath and looked as though she was going to cry. He squeezed her hand again.
“What happened?”
“Noah’s a really good kid. Smart. He’s in advanced classes in middle school. He loves math and wants to go into the field. In California, the only place we could afford to live was a mobile home park outside of Hayward. I was gone, finishing up my classes, and he was bored. Noah started hanging out with some kids from the park. They wanted him to start committing crimes. Petty stuff. Stealing purses out of unlocked cars, taking kids bicycles and reselling them.”
“Did he get arrested?” Editon asked.
“He was never arrested but did go along as the lookout a few times. He thought they were fun to hang around with at first, but when they started to get deeper into crime and wanted to steal cars and rob people in the park, he said no.”
“I take it his answer didn’t go over well.”
Kady’s laugh was stiff. “That is an understatement. One night a bullet shattered his bedroom window. The bullet hit the wall a foot above his head. That was when I knew that we had to move.”
“Are you sure it was these kids?”
“Yes. Noah saw them drive away. That was when Noah told me about what was happening.”
“This made up your mind?”
“I called around to find a new place to live and we were going to move in a few days. A few nights later, I had a final at school when the same boys from the park launched fireworks into the side of the mobile home. It’s dry. It’s California. The grass along one side ignited. The whole mobile home went up in flames in a matter of minutes. Noah was inside.” A shudder passed through her.
“Was he hurt?” Editon watched the fear in Kady’s eyes as she relived the memories.
“His hands received minor burns. He stayed inside and tried to collect up as many things as he could and threw them out the door. Noah saved things you wouldn’t think a thirteen-year-old would save, like our photo album. The fire department arrived quickly, but most everything went up in the fire. I was so scared when I got the call, a girlfriend had to drive me home. Noah just should have gotten out…he could have died.”
“But he didn’t. He’s fine.”
“He felt…” she paused and then added, “He feels so guilty for what happened. He’s a good kid.”
“I can only imagine how difficult it is to move back here to your mom and dad’s house. But things will get better.”
“That’s what I told Noah last night. I hope I can believe it.”
“No fire insurance?”
“Nothing to cover as much damage as we received. I had the minimal coverage that I could afford which I found out was next to nothing.”
Editon leaned back and pushed his plate off to the side. “There are a few advantages to being in a small town. You hear things good and bad. I happen to know that a shop in town, Que Syrah Syrah, is looking for help.”
“I’m not familiar with it.”
“It only opened in the past year. It’s a cute little wine shop. About six months ago, the owner, Tegan, married August who runs a vineyard. I had dinner with them last week, and she told me that she wants to take more time off, but hasn’t had any luck finding anyone she trusts with the shop.”
“Thanks for thinking of me. It sounds like a good opportunity.”
“I know it’s not perfect, but, you told me that there are no teacher openings right now. Tegan’s super sweet and I think she would be easy to work for. If you are interested, I can pass on your number.”