Her Imaginary Husband (Contemporary Romance) (7 page)

“Oh, you know. Here and there. The airports pretty much all look the same.”

Nikki watched him closely, enjoying the game. “C’mon, hon. We’ve got limited time to see the displays before dinner.” She pulled him away to the next booth, waving over her shoulder. “See you Monday, Coach.” Once out of ear shot, she patted Charlie’s arm. “I know how you hate lying, and you didn’t even have to.”

Charlie ran both hands through his hair. “Don’t make me do that again, Nik. Besides, what commercial airline pilot has hair like a rock star?”

“You are a rock star! You’re the best!” She tucked her arm back in his. “Now teach me how to talk to an adult male without sending him the wrong message.”

“You could just try not showering. Don’t brush your teeth.”

Nikki made a goofy face. “It worked for you, right?”

“Okay, listen. It’s all about eye contact…”

David Pembroke was built like a tank with a brown shag carpet for hair, and was just about as mentally agile. On the Friday of the first home game, he and the other teammates—
there were sixteen of them in fourth period!
—all wore their football jerseys, as if to taunt her about Coach’s request.

“Class, I’ve got your first essays graded, and…” How was she going to say this nicely? “I think maybe we are not all defining ‘final draft’ the same way. A
final
draft should be as close to error-free as possible. With some of these…” She winced, looking at the top of the stack. David Pembroke’s essay looked like an alien had sneezed all over it. “Well, what I did was mark errors until I got to the tenth one. At that point I drew a line and stopped reading. I figure if you’re not willing to read your own paper, why should I?”

A few nervous laughs competed with angrier mumbles.

“I’m going to give you the weekend to upgrade your efforts before I actually record the scores. Let me clarify. Most of you had great ideas, but they were just presented incoherently. You don’t want messy writing to ruin the power of your message.”

Nikki waded through the sea of unhappy faces to return their papers. One by one, she heard gasps and groans. One kid yowled, “That’s crazy! I’ve never gotten below a B in my life!”

“Short life. Always room for new experiences.” Her light humor fell flat. She turned to walk back up to her desk and ran right into David. He looked mad. Very mad. His shoulders were back, and he filled the aisle so Nikki could not pass.

“David, sit down.”

“If I don’t get a C average, I can’t play. You can’t do this to me.”

“I’m pretty sure I can, David. Please sit down.” She could feel her temperature rising.
What if he gets violent? If he starts screaming?
Drawing a deep breath, she remembered some of Charlie’s tips for being assertive.

David took a step closer, flaunting his pecs. She held her ground and looked up the three or four inches into his eyes. Planting her hands on her hips, she closed the gap between them and filled herself with air. “Look, David. I’m just as chesty as you are. Sit. Down.”

“Baaaaaa!” Josh roared and leapt out of his seat as if he’d been ejected.
“Burn!”
He laughed and grinned at Nikki. “Good one, Ms. F!” His reaction changed the whole mood of the room. “I can’t believe you said that, Ms. F!” cackled Josh, clapping his hands to his face.

David backed away, red-cheeked but no longer furious. Nikki punched his shoulder lightly. “Like I said, you have the weekend to upgrade your efforts. Go win the game, and then tidy this thing up. Run spell-check. Figure out what the green squiggles on the computer are about. I won’t record any grades until after I collect the new versions on Monday.” She turned to the class with open hands. “Fair? You try harder, and I’ll cut you some slack this first time?”

Given that most of them had gone into mild cardiac arrest when they saw their grades, they all thought this was a terrific plan, even Josh who had gotten a
B+
. The students spent the next half hour in peer editing or consulting with Nikki on her margin notes, and when the bell finally rang, the whole team filed by Nikki’s desk with smiles or nods.

She got up and followed them into the hall. “Hey, win big tonight!”

“Are you coming?” asked David.

“Will you fix that essay?” she countered.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then yes, sir. I’ll be there. I’ll bring my cow bell.”

The boys blended into the crowd, slapping each other’s backs. “Dude, she’s got a cow bell!” and “She called herself chesty!”

Through the crowd, Officer Ross sauntered up, saluting the boys and wishing them well in the game. He stopped in front of Nikki, clicking his heels and bowing slightly. It always amused Nikki when he did that. “Did I hear right that you’re going to the game tonight?” he asked.

“I guess I have to now.”

“Do you really have a cow bell?”

“No. Do you think they’ll be terribly disappointed?”

He laughed and stepped out of the way to let the next wave of students enter the classroom. “The home games are pretty fun.”

“So, you’ll be there?” Her voice cracked traitorously.

“I’ll probably see you around,” he said. With a little wave, he headed further down the hall, smiling at all the students like a happy teddy bear—one that would probably take a bullet for them.



That night, sitting in the front row of the bleachers, Nikki could see the Riverview Wildcats lined up to play. The energy in the stadium was electric, and she could tell this town took the game more seriously than anything she’d seen in Rakefield, or even back in the tri-city area when she used to watch Charlie play.

Janna had agreed to come with her for the sole purpose of seeing the famous Coach Carlin with her own eyes. Once she saw him, she was smitten. “Dang. He doesn’t even need the shoulder pads.
Look
at him!”

“I’m trying not to,” said Nikki. “Janna, he has groupies, for crying out loud. Seven of them are hanging on the fence.” There behind the coaching bench, a gaggle of young women all flipped their hair for the Coach’s benefit. To his credit, he remained focused on the game.

Out on the field, the whistle blew and the first kick snapped. First down Wildcats. Nikki scanned the flyer with the players’ names and numbers and pointed out which ones were in her classes to Janna. When David Pembroke hurdled over the defenders and booked down by the sidelines right in front of them, all of Nikki’s little-sister-of-the-QB training kicked in. She screamed and cheered, jumping up and down and waving her arms as if to hurry David down the field. He eventually rolled out of bounds at the twelve-yard line, and then stood to face the crowd, victorious.

Nikki screamed even louder, jumping up onto her seat in her enthusiasm.

David pumped his fists in her direction.

“He saw me!” Nikki cried. She beamed with satisfaction and pride. “Now he’ll know I kept my end of the bargain.”

Janna tugged Nikki’s elbow until she dropped back down to the floor. “He’s not the only one who saw you,” she shouted. Nikki followed her pointing finger to where Will Carlin stood gazing up at them. He raised both thumbs and grinned widely before turning back to his assistant coach.

“Nikki, you’re crazy. He’s blowing off the other bimbos and totally noticing you. Why don’t you give him a chance? How do you
know
he’s a bad guy except some old lady said so?”

Could she be right about that?
Is he really showing a preference?
“Janna, you know I haven’t dated much. If he got me alone, I’d make a complete fool of myself. I don’t even know if I’m a good kisser.”

Janna dropped her face into her palms. “You are so hopeless.”

“It’s true. My last real date was that church New Year’s dance two years ago.”

“So let him teach you. Coach you,” said Janna, nudging Nikki. “I bet he could get you up to speed.”

“I don’t want to be on the fast track, Janna. I want…” Nikki shrugged. “I don’t know. Someone who doesn’t make me lose control.”

“Since when did you become a control freak?”

The crowd stilled in anticipation as the players lined up for the next down.

“That’s not what I mean,” said Nikki more quietly. “I mean, someone who’s solid, and not in a hurry—”

The stadium exploded with sound. “Touchdown Riverview High!” boomed the announcer over the loudspeakers. The band blasted a raucous version of “Tequila”, and Nikki hopped over the railing to land on the track that surrounded the field. She cheered wildly, clapping for the boys. They were
her
boys, if only for American Lit every afternoon.

Janna joined her a moment later, walking more carefully in her stylish short boots. Her eyes sparkled with obvious amusement. “This is fun to see you like this. You should come to all the games.”

“I don’t know if it’ll be good for my throat,” Nikki said, feeling the rasp set in from all the screaming. “How will I teach on Monday with no voice?”

“That’s what movies are for,” shrugged Janna. They watched the successful field goal and clapped some more before Janna said, “I’m going to hit the concession stand for a hot dog. You coming?”

“Nah, I’ll go try to reclaim our spot.”

Back in her seat, Nikki sat down on the edge of the bench, bouncing her heels and waiting for the next play. She scanned the cheerleader faces to see if she could find anyone she recognized. Suddenly everyone was on their feet. One of her sixth period boys had intercepted the ball and gained some ground! An air horn went off behind her, and she looked back with her hands over her ears.

“Whoah! How long have you been sitting there?”

Officer Ross, in civvies, sat with a Cheshire cat grin on his face and an air horn beside him. “I thought you were bringing the cow bell,” he winked.

Nikki grinned. “I left it at home.” For a moment, her eyes were distracted by the shape of his lips. Refocusing, she asked, “You’re not on duty?”

“Only 40 hours a week.”

“The rest of the time you’re a troublemaker, huh?” she said, flicking the air horn with her finger.

“That’s right.” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. “When’s your friend coming back?” he asked.

Nikki wondered if he thought she was cute. “She went for a hot dog.”

“That’s very brave of her,” he said. Then his eye caught movement on the field, and he was on his feet shouting with the crowd.

She swung around to face the game and joined in stomping along with “We Will Rock You”.

Janna returned with a hot dog smothered in chili. She shook her head, smiling. “You totally need to date the Coach. You’re loving this.”

“Honey, you sound terrible. Do I need to come down there and take care of you?”

“Ma, it’s just a hoarse throat. I was yelling at a football game last night, and it is seven o’clock in the morning.”

“You should be up by now.”

“It’s my day off.”

“You used to get up this early.”

“I used to wash dishes and fry jo-jos in gallons of grease, Ma. Work like that starts early.”

“Don’t sass your mother.”

Nikki tried to swallow, but her saliva glands had stopped working as soon as the warning ring tone had sounded. “Hang on, Ma. I need to get a drink of something.”

“Don’t drink! What kind of a solution is that? Who raised you to drink?”

“Ma!” Nikki barked.
It’s a miracle I
don’t
drink!
“A drink of water! Give me a second. I just woke up.” She threw the phone down on her pillow and trudged into the bathroom. She took her time, knowing that her mother would never hang up without having given the last word.
I bet she’s cleaning the fridge while she talks or something.
She glanced in the mirror. Rumpled hair and puffy eyes met her, but in a flash a memory replaced the vision. Two, actually: Will Carlin smiling at her from the sidelines, and Officer Ross cheering with his air horn.
Mmmmm. Nice and cute and—

“Nikki Louise Fallon, how long does it take you to drink a glass of water?” Her mother’s voice pierced her reverie, and she downed a handful of water from the tap.

“Right here, Ma. I heard everything you said.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Nikki crawled back under the covers and grabbed Meriwether from the nightstand. “You told me about your neighbor’s yard being in total disarray, and then you asked about the husband potentials at work.”
Experience tells me this will be a lucky guess…?

Ma mumbled. “Well?”

“Well, so far there are two single men in my general age range that I’ve been able to locate. Both attractive.”
What the heck. Maybe it’ll shut her up.

Nikki could feel enthusiasm oozing from her mother. “Tell me all about them and I’ll help you decide which one is right for you.”

“You don’t think I should wait for a few more selections, Ma? Two is not a lot of options.”

“They’re single, aren’t they? Gainfully employed and good-looking.”

“Y-yes.”

“Well, stop being so picky. You can fix anything else they aren’t later.”

Nikki face palmed herself back onto the pillow, startling the cat into a yowl.

“Don’t sass your mother.”

“I didn’t say anything, Ma. That was the ca—”

“Give me the rundown on each. Pros and cons.”

Nikki yawned and decided to play along. If she gave just enough information, Ma might talk for several minutes without expecting a response. Nikki could get some more shut-eye. “One is the football coach. He’s recently divorced and apparently dates a lot. He’s kind of a flirt, but he is beautiful.”

“How old?”

“Thirty-something?”

Ma grunted ambiguously. “And the other one?”

“He’s the campus cop. Maybe a couple of years older than I am. Very much a gentleman. I don’t think he has a significant other.”

“Cops don’t get paid much.”

“Neither do teachers, but I’m doing fine.”

“You’re not supporting a family. Besides, cops get shot.”

“Not at Riverview High, Ma. Maybe someone will drown him in designer cologne, but—” Nikki held the phone away from her ear and mouthed the words in unison:
Don’t sass your mother.

“Go for the coach.”

“Even if he’s divorced and chasing women all the time?”

“You chase him and he’ll stop all that.”

Nikki drew a deep breath, closed her eyes, and braced herself. “There’s one little problem with the coach. He thinks I’m married.”

“How did he get that impression? You don’t look married!”

There’s a look?
“I sort of told him I was.” She held the phone away from her ear again while her mother shrieked. “I’ll fix it, Ma.”

“I honestly don’t know what to do with you.” Ma hung up, and Nikki rolled over onto her side.

Feeling’s mutual, Ma. And I don’t know what to do with Coach, either.



By the time Nikki had coughed her way through the first half of the day, she was so miserable she could hardly keep her eyes open.

“Why are you here?” asked Gayle at lunch.

“What do you mean? I have to work.”

“You’re sicker than a dog. Go home.”

“Who’ll teach my classes?” asked Nikki, shuffling in her purse for some tissue.

“We’ll cover for you,” said Kristin. “Go home.”

“But I can’t use up my sick days now. It’s still September.”

“Honey, everyone uses up half their sick days in September,” said Gayle. “That’s when we all get sick because we haven’t been around the germs all summer.” She handed Nikki a box of Kleenex from a shelf.

Dusty nodded. “And then we all claim to be sick the last month of school because we can’t wait for it to be summer.”

Nikki blew her nose and laughed at the same time. “Things they don’t teach you in the Education department at Trench.”

“That’s why you need us,” said Gayle. “Go home, Nikki. I’ve got my prep period after lunch. I’ll get you covered.”

“Really?”

“Really. Are your lesson plans legible?” asked Gayle.

Nikki considered. “I’m introducing Emerson and—”

“I’ve taught that unit a million times. Trust me. I’ll take care of your kids. Go check out in the office and tell Katie I’m working on your subs in-house. Heck, take the next two days off, too.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s SAT test time for the juniors.”

“But… Emerson.”

“Will have to be abbreviated.” Gayle gave a resigned shrug. “Go home. Use the time to rearrange your lesson plans. You know… Just delete Steinbeck or something.” She winked.

Relenting, Nikki stood to go. “Tell my football players I’m super proud of them.”

“I will.”

“Oh!” Nikki’s eyes widened. “And be sure to collect their essay do-overs. I’m expecting a good one from David Pembroke.”

Nikki returned to her room long enough to gather her personal items and make sure everything was easy for Gayle to find. Then, she went to the chalkboard and wrote,
Be nice to the sub. She’s my friend. ~Miss. F

She debated whether or not to blow her nose before leaving since she knew she had no tissue in the car. Her nose had been malicious in the timing of its mucous releases—always when she stood furthest from the Kleenex. She blew, and then she grabbed about twenty more tissues from the box on her desk to take with her in the car. Stuffing these into the pocket of her cardigan, she slung her purse over her shoulder and headed to the office to check out.

Katie smiled sympathetically and promised she’d help Gayle find in-house subs to cover. “You go home and get better. The first cold of the first year is always the worst.”

“Ah, good to know,” said Nikki, her
n
sounding more like a
d
.

Katie shook her head. Reaching behind the counter, she pulled out a pink box of tissues that had not yet been opened. “Here. You’d better take this.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Nikki waved good-bye, grabbed the stack of memos from her mail box, and headed down the hall to the back door just as the bell rang to start class.

In the stillness, her heels clicked noisily on the tile, but the faster she went, the louder she breathed.
Good grief, I’m like Darth Vader in stilettos
. She reached for the door, but it swung open before she could touch it.

Officer Ross looked at her with surprise. “Is the prisoner escaping?”

“Yep. I’m headed to solitary.”

He took a step back. “Oooh, you don’t sound so good. Going home sick?”

“Uh-huh.”

“With office supplies from the school? I’m afraid I can’t allow that,” he said sternly.

Nikki looked down at the pink box in her hand and blushed. “Oh. Sorry. Katie said I—”

“And what’s that suspicious lump in your pocket?”

“Uh?”

Ross chuckled. “I’m just kidding. You can always replace the stock if you feel guilty about it.”

“Yes, sir.” She started down the steps and then paused. “Check on my kids, huh? Since you’re always patrolling my hall.”

“You bet. Get some rest,” he said. “Tell that husband of yours to make you some soup.”

Yes, that would be nice.
“Mike’s awesome that way. I’m sure I’ll feel like I’m in a day spa with how well he’ll take care of me.”
Why am I lying to this man? He’s almost as easy to talk to as Charlie.

“Good,” he said. “Every wife deserves that. Wives and mothers do so much for everyone else, so it’s only right he take care of you when you need it. I’ll see you when you come back, but don’t come back until you’re well.”

Nikki’s eyes softened at his thoughtful words, and she whispered, “Yes, sir.”
If I tell him I’m not married, he’ll never trust me again.



Nikki walked into Main Street Market holding her nose to keep it from running. “Hi, Brian!”

“Nikki! How are you?”

“Can’t breathe, and you?”

“Good, good!” Brian, Front End Manager Extraordinaire, continued chatting up the chunky blonde for whom he was checking.

Twenty feet more into the store, Nikki yelled, “Brian, where’d you put the cold supplies end cap?”

Brian smiled nervously at his customer and called, “Aisle 4, other end.”

“That’s stupid!” she groused. As she wheezed her way down the candy and chips displays, she realized this was corporate trying to lure customers into impulse buys.
Fat chance. My taste buds died two hours ago.
She snatched up two boxes of lotion-enhanced tissues and a bottle of Nyquil.

“Well, look who it is!”

Nikki turned to see Flip-Flop Man hugging a Family Size pack of cheese puffs.
They match his sandals. How…disturbing.
She cracked open one of the packs of tissue even as she stared at him. “Hey there. Long time no see.”

He looked at her quizzically. “Are you allowed to do that?”

“I pity the fool who tries to stop me.” She set all her items on the floor and blew her nose heartily.

Flip-Flop Man backed up a step and hugged his cheese puffs a little tighter.

Grinning inwardly, Nikki decided to take brother’s advice and be confident and friendly. “So how about that game last night? Did you catch it? You like ball, don’t you?”

He coughed uncomfortably. “Uh, yeah. You, too?”

“Big fan!” She blew her nose again in a fresh tissue and then looked around for some place to stuff her wadded up waste. Cramming it all into her left hand, she held out her right hand as if to shake. “Good seeing you again!”

“Right,” he croaked, not shaking her hand. He gave a half-hearted wave and waddled off in the opposite direction.

Nikki laughed, coughed, laughed some more, and gathered up her items. At checkout, she plopped everything on the belt and reached over to drop the used tissue in Brian’s waste basket.

He glared at her, but said nothing. Scanning her items, he said, “You know we hate it when people open packages before they pay. It messes up the bar code.”

“Would you prefer it if I left snot all over the magazine rack?”

“You’ve changed, Nikki.” He bagged her last item. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I’m the customer now, Brian.” She winked and swiped her card. “I’m always right.”

He paused before handing her the receipt. “Touché. So what are you doing nowadays?”

Picking up her bag with a flourish, she said, “Today, I am off to watch
Gilligan’s Island
until the Nyquil kicks in. I imagine that will be about forty-seven minutes from now. Have a nice day!”