I realize that I have had little news about Jonathan to offer since his last encounter with Lauren. I am happy to report, however, that I now have a positive update.
Standish being a very small town, the leadership does a great deal to invite the people of the town to participate in municipal affairs. For example, this afternoon there was a meeting of the school board for the purpose of making plans for the coming school year, and the public was welcome. Lauren, as a teacher at the school, was in attendance, and so, to her surprise, was Jonathan.
Jonathan does not often involve himself in town affairs, but the school is an exception. The president of the school board is a close friend of his mother’s, and the high school principal was a friend of Jonathan’s in college. Partly to see them, and partly out of an interest in the schools, he attended the meeting tonight.
Lauren noticed him right away, of course; she is quite observant and very alert in any situation. His presence puzzled her, for she hadn’t seen him in weeks and had assumed, when she thought of him at all, that he rarely left his shop. Jonathan, meanwhile, did not realize Lauren was there until midway through the meeting when she asked a question of the board. He only smiled to himself, which was a reaction I could not quite interpret but choose to be pleased by.
After the meeting was over, several people lingered to chat with one another. Lauren had one further question for her principal, but she found herself following him to where Jonathan was seated and waiting while he greeted Jonathan cheerfully.
“Here to make sure I’m not ruining everything, Jonathan?”
“Someone has to do it,” Jonathan replied, shaking the principal’s hand with one of his rare, easy smiles. “How was your summer, Ken?”
“Busy as always. Took a couple of courses, reworked some class schedules, and never-ending building maintenance. You?”
“Same old. I haven’t seen you in the shop lately.”
The principal laughed. “When have I got time?”
At this point Jonathan noticed Lauren waiting and politely turned his body to include her in the conversation.
“Miss Isaacs, what can I do for you?” the principal asked. There was a bit of reserve in his voice, as if he did not look forward to this conversation.
“Well, sir, I just wanted to ask about the budget cuts to the music program. Will there be a more detailed description of the cuts available to us soon?”
“How did I know that was what you were going to ask?” the principal sighed, looking at Jonathan with a long-suffering look. “Every teacher thinks their subject is the most important, but this one is like a dog with a bone.”
Lauren stiffened, offended, but Jonathan spoke mildly before she could. “Maybe don’t talk about her like she isn’t here, Ken. Or compare her to a dog. You may not know this, not having had a date in years, but most women don’t like that.”
While her superior coughed and muttered an apology, Lauren looked at Jonathan with startled gratitude.
“He used to be much worse than he is,” Jonathan explained. “I’m still working on him.”
She laughed, but then turned her attention back to Ken, who had put on a more professional expression, ignoring his friend. “To answer your question, yes, there will be a spreadsheet on the school website in a few days. I’m afraid the changes are already decided on, Lauren.”
“Sir, Mrs. McKinney and I have already made some plans for the musical this fall, and we were hoping—”
“If the budget doesn’t allow for it, Miss Isaacs, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do,” Ken interrupted her, his brow lowering.
Jonathan observed the tension between the two of them and surmised that here were two personalities that commonly clashed. Peace-loving as always, he made a suggestion. “There’s always fundraising.”
Both Lauren and Ken looked at him in surprise. Jonathan shrugged. “I know a lot of people who love the musical and would probably be willing to help out. Maybe with the help of some of the local business owners…”
Ken grinned. “You know a few of those, don’t you, Jonathan?”
“Well, at least one,” Jonathan said.
Nodding thoughtfully, Ken pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Why don’t we set up a meeting to discuss this, Miss Isaacs? How does Monday work for you? Should give you some time to look over the spreadsheet.”
“That’s great,” Lauren said. “Thank you, sir.”
“You should probably come along too, Jonathan,” Ken added, but Jonathan had been distracted by the approach of the school board president. Both Ken and Lauren had to wait until Jonathan had had his hand enthusiastically pumped and had answered a few questions about himself and his parents.
“Do you know everyone?” Lauren asked when the man had gone. She was now amused, and her interest in Jonathan was growing. I was doing what I could to feed it, with more success than I was having with Jonathan.
“Everyone important,” Jonathan replied. “And Ken, of course.”
“Ha, ha,” Ken said, rolling his eyes. “Can you join us on Monday or not?”
“Monday is fine.”
“Well, then. Can I walk you to your car, Miss Isaacs?”
Lauren, who had been studying Jonathan, blinked and looked at Ken. “Oh, no, thank you—I had a quick question for Mr. Harris.”
“I’ll see her there,” Jonathan said in tactful dismissal.
Ken raised his brows, but—with a nudge from me—restrained the wry comment he had been thinking of making, and bid them both good night.
“I’m perfectly capable of getting to my own car,” Lauren said.
“I never thought you weren’t,” Jonathan answered. “But Ken’s old-fashioned, and he’s used to looking after kids, so he’s kind of a stickler about safety.”
Lauren conceded this point. She put her hands in her pockets, feeling a bit awkward. “Will you really help support the musical?”
Jonathan shrugged. “I like music.”
The simple reply made her laugh. “You are a strange bird, Jonathan Harris.”
He met her eyes, and it was in that moment that I pressed him harder than I had, trying to make Lauren’s interest clear to him. The result was a small smile, with a quizzical lift of one brow. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Well, it’s not a bad thing,” she answered.
One more straggler stopped to speak to Jonathan, asking whether he would have a certain item available on the following day. Jonathan answered the question quickly, his attention never fully turning away from Lauren, which I found very encouraging.
When this exchange was done, Jonathan turned back to Lauren. “I’m sorry, you had a question for me,” he said.
Lauren hadn’t, really—she had just wanted to talk to Jonathan without her boss nearby. As she scrambled to come up with one, I made a suggestion, and I was glad when she accepted it.
“Would you like to get a drink with me?” she asked.
Both of Jonathan’s eyebrows went up, and Lauren, taking this as disinterest, hurried to shield herself from embarrassment. “Not tonight, of course, and it doesn’t have to be drinks. I’d just—I’d like to talk about the musical, a little bit maybe before we meet Mr. Holsen.”
Jonathan, now deeply amused, folded his arms and smiled down at Lauren. “Just about that, hmm?”
Believing he was laughing at her, Lauren stiffened. “Well, if I thought there was anything else worth talking about with you, I would.”
“Easy, easy,” Jonathan laughed, holding up his hands. “It so happens that I would like to get drinks with you, Lauren. And we can talk about whatever you’d like to talk about.”
Her anger disarmed, Lauren said only, “Oh.” Then she took a step back from him, frowning. “You are always surprising me.”
His smile shifted into that warm, easy smile that he reserves for special occasions. “I find it useful to be surprising. Where and when would you like to meet?”
They arranged a time and a place for Saturday night, and Jonathan did end up walking Lauren to her car, which in the end she did not mind so very much. What I find most encouraging about the evening was the fact that Jonathan went to bed with a smile on his face, something he has not done in all the weeks I have been watching him.