by Martin Maenza
Morning at Garfield High:
Lynn Stewart stepped into the teacher’s lounge, where she encountered her ex-husband pouring some coffee. “Hey, you look like you pulled an all-nighter,” she said, putting her hands on his shoulders to try to ease some tension.
Jefferson Pierce winced. “Ow. Any other time I’d be happy for one of your shoulder rubs, but not today.”
“Oh,” she said. “Hurt yourself?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he replied. “I was out watching Reggie when I noticed a trespasser at Peter’s. Turned out to be some trouble from out of town.”
“But you took care of it, right?”
“Oh, yeah, definitely,” Jefferson said. “Any problems with the heat around here will be natural ones.”
“What about Reggie?” Lynn asked. “Any luck there?”
“Not yet,” Jefferson said. “But I’m not going to give up on him just yet. He’s got a while until he turns sixteen. Maybe I can still find a way to reach him.”
Lynn smiled. That was one thing she always loved about Jefferson Pierce. He was a dedicated man. Once he set his mind to doing something, he was committed to seeing it through.
The End