[Second Chances 02]California Dreams (8 page)

When Monday rolled around, Daniella was clingy and tearful about going to preschool. A fact that alarmed Grace since her daughter had never been shy and had been looking forward to going for weeks.

“Sweetie, you’re going to meet all kinds of new friends at school today. Do you remember what I told you about your teacher? Do you remember his name?”

Daniella was being stubborn and refused to answer. Her bottom lip was pushed out; she had a defiant look in her eye, and was trying valiantly to ignore her mother.

“His name is Mr. Simpson. Do you remember when we went to visit him? His wife was there with the baby kittens?”

“I ‘member you wouldn’t let me have one!” came the reply.

Grace sighed in frustration, “Daniella, I explained that as did Mrs. Simpson. The baby kittens weren’t old enough to go to new homes yet. Besides, a kitten would be very lonely if it had to stay home by itself all day long.”

Daniella relaxed her lip a little and nodded, “But I wanted one of them. They were soft and cuddly…”

“Maybe Mrs. Simpson will bring in more kittens when they’re born.” Teresa Simpson was the wife of the preschool teacher, Brad Simpson. She ran the local animal shelter for cats, and was never in short supply for litters of kittens. She operated a no-kill shelter, and was always trying to find homes for her borders. Bringing the kittens by the school several times a year was very effective.

Brad was the grandson of the school’s founder, Matthew Simpson, and after graduating from school with a doctorate in early learning techniques, he had been given the opportunity to start a preschool as a feeder program for the regular school grades. The program had been extremely successful and some parents went so far as to place their children on the waiting list right after birth.

Grace had been thrilled when she received the call that they had a space for Daniella in the spring semester. She had immediately said “Yes” and started making preparations for her daughter to start Kindergarten at the age of four.

Today was the first day in her daughter’s educational journey, and she was stumped at her lack of enthusiasm for the adventure. “Daniella, it’s only for a few hours and then I’ll be back to pick you up. Could we try it just for today and see how it goes?”

Grace hated bargaining with her daughter, or pleading, but there were only a few minutes left before the class began and she didn’t want her to be late for her first day.

When Mr. Simpson approached her, she sighed in relief that she wouldn’t have to fight this battle alone. “Good morning, Miss Daniella. I’ve been looking forward to having you in my class for several weeks now. Thank you for coming today.”

Brad winked at Grace and waited for Daniella to respond. She looked at him and then at the children filing into the building behind him, seeing several other kids about her age.

Brad could sense her interest and moved in to seal the deal, “Wouldn’t you like to come in and join us today? We have a very special guest coming by later.”

Daniella’s eyes lit up and she asked, “Is your wife bringing more baby kittens?”

Brad leaned down to her level and whispered something in her ear, before rising back up to his full height and saying, “Remember, that’s a secret. No one else can know what I just told you.”

Daniella’s eyes were as wide as saucers and she was suddenly vibrating with energy. Grabbing Grace around the knees, she gave her a brief hug and then darted for the door to the building. Grace was stunned and watched her daughter disappear in a flash.

Turning to the teacher, she asked, “Okay, I
have
to know what you told her. And please, don’t tell me your wife’s bringing in more kittens. I was reminded about how mean I was when we visited and I wouldn’t let her bring one of them home with us.”

Brad laughed and shook his head, “Not to worry. A friend of mine from the zoo is bringing by a few friends.”

“Really? The kind that walk on two legs or four?” Grace questioned.

“Relax, momma. He’s bringing several helpers with him and cages.”

“Cages? Exactly what is he bringing with him?” Grace was curious to know.

“Monkeys. We’re studying primates and he’s bringing in some monkeys.” Brad smiled at her expression. “I promise they’re perfectly safe and the kids won’t be handling them or anything. Just watching them act up.”

Grace smiled already imaging the chatter that was going to consume her evening. “Do me a favor, please?”

Brad nodded, “Sure. Let me guess, make sure Daniella understands that monkeys are not pets and she can’t have one?”

“Oh, you’re good. That’s it exactly. I’m already the bad guy about the kittens. I don’t know if she’d ever forgive me if I had to be the bad guy over something as exciting as a monkey.”

“I’ll make sure it’s well covered.” Hearing the last bell ring, he turned to head inside, “Have a nice day,” he threw out as he departed.

*****

Grace’s day was wonderful! She arrived at the arts center to find a message waiting for her from the Simpsons. They had invited her to join them for lunch and she quickly called and accepted. She agreed to meet them at one of her favorite restaurants on the outskirts of the city, glad that she wouldn’t have to fight the downtown traffic.

As she arrived at the restaurant, she was pleased to see David Simpson helping his wife from their vehicle as well. “Hello!” Deirdre called across the parking lot.

“Good afternoon,” Grace told her as she drew nearer. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“It certainly is.” David escorted both women into the restaurant and waited until they were seated before he took his own seat. After several minutes of small talk and placing their orders, the reason for their invitation was made clear to her.

“I’m so glad you could meet with us. I wanted to give this to you in person. Sending it in the mail just didn’t seem right somehow.”

Grace gave him a puzzled look and reached across the table, taking the envelope he extended to her. “What is this?” she asked, seeing the mysterious smile upon both he and his wife’s face.

“Open it and find out,” was the only reply they would give her.

Giving them a brief smile, she slid her finger beneath the flap, opening the envelope to what lie beneath. Pulling a sheet of paper free, she unfolded it to reveal a check lying inside it. A check with a lot of zeroes on it, all following the number five.

“Five hundred thousand dollars?!” Grace whispered in awe.

David beamed at her, “Yes! I know Derek said you only required around one hundred thousand to pay for the entire season and beyond, but we want to see your program flourish. Maybe even offer some additional types of programs and such. We didn’t want you to feel like you had to hold back your creative genius or talents because of something as simple as money.”

Grace shook her head, “Are you sure? I mean, you haven’t even seen me in action yet.”

Deirdre smiled at her, “We can fix that. How about we attend your first rehearsal, next week isn’t’ it?”

Grace smiled warmly, “Yes. Oh please, come and meet the kids and their parents. They are going to blow you away with their talent and their smiles.”

Their meal arrived and the talk turned to normal things as they ate. After finishing, David encouraged her to spend some time thinking about other programs she might wish to try. It seems the Simpson’s had done very well for themselves on top of inheriting considerable wealth from both of their parents.

They didn’t believe in hoarding their wealth or hiding it away, and had been looking for worthy causes to invest in for the last several years. Grace was so overwhelmed by their generosity, she forgot to take the opportunity to mention the Mercer-Brownell Treatment Center her sister was currently involved with.

She decided that she would ask Sara for some information about the center and present it to the Simpsons next time she saw them.

She left their lunch walking on cloud nine, a very large donation check in her purse and drove back to the center in a daze. When she handed the check to Derek, he got the same look upon his face and they spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between laughter, and disbelief.

She heard Derek call his wife and give her the good news as she headed back to her own office, wishing for the first time in a long while that she had someone other than her sister to share this type of news with.
Where did that thought come from?

Grace had been content to be a single mother, her entire world revolving around Daniella since her husband had been killed. She’d had no interest in members of the opposite sex, not wishing to go through that kind of heartache again or subject Daniella to a string of boyfriends.

Grace hadn’t missed having a man around the house, too caught up in her daughter and her career to think about dating or relationships. The fact that she now was wishing she had someone to share things with was a revelation.
Is this because Daniella’s started school? Is this like a mini-empty nest precursor? I don’t have time for a relationship!

She told herself that the rest of the afternoon, pleased when the thought didn’t surface again. She’d call Sara and tell her the good news later this evening and life would move forward.

Samuel picked Jane up for lunch and drove her into the city to a fairly new restaurant. He had already arranged reservations for them, and Jane was relieved that they didn’t have to wait in the long line outside just to have lunch.

“What is this place? I can’t believe how many people are standing in line for lunch!”

“This is one of the newest restaurants in the city and
the
place to be seen. I actually called the day after we got back from Montana and made reservations for today.”

“Really? You had to make reservations over a week ahead of time? I didn’t even know restaurants did such things.”
This is so not Montana!

“Well, believe it. Besides, this restaurant is special for another reason.” Samuel waited for her to take the bait and ask for an explanation. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Okay, what’s the other reason?” Jane asked, still taking in the ultra-modern décor and the open kitchen she could see and hear.

“This is a teaching kitchen.”

“What’s that?” Jane asked, again wondering why Samuel was being so stingy with his explanations.

“The chefs back in the kitchen are all students of the premier culinary academy in the city. They attend classes in the evenings, and they only do a lunch service Monday thru Friday. Saturday they only do a dinner service. Sunday they aren’t open. “

“So, they work here for free, or…”

Samuel shook his head, “No. They are paid just like real chefs, but they also attend night classes to better their skills, decide upon the next day’s menu, and listen to critiques from other well-known visiting chefs.”

“You said visiting chefs. So, they don’t have regular instructors here?”

Samuel could see the wheels turning in her head and hid his smile. “No. They have two chefs that oversee the day-to-day operations, but all of the instruction comes from world-renown chefs who rotate through each week.”

“World-renown chefs?” Jane asked, curiosity having her glancing around to see if she recognized anyone.

“Yes. Think
Iron Chef
and you’d probably name at least half a dozen chefs who have shared their talents with those men and women working to prepare our lunch today.”

Jane was quiet. Too quiet. Samuel grew nervous and finally just blurted out the reason for bringing her to such a place for lunch. “You have an interview with the head chefs in an hour.”

“What?! What?!”

“You already said that,” he commented, cringing at the glare she threw his way.

“Samuel, what have you done?” she cried, trying to keep her voice down and not create a scene.

“Jane, look me in the eyes and tell me that becoming a chef isn’t your dream job.”

“You know I can’t. I love to cook, but I’m not even on the same league as these people. I’ve never had any formal training…”

“…and I told them that when I arranged your interview. They don’t care. They want to meet with you and then if everything goes well, they want you to come back Sunday and cook whatever you want for them. Jane, this is a chance to finally get what you want.”

Jane was quiet as she looked at the man sitting across from her. He had done this to make her happy. She was scared of failing, but she had to admit that cooking was her passion. But as she looked at Samuel, she realized that achieving her dream of becoming a chef would feel hollow without someone to share the success with. Someone like Samuel.

Taking a deep breath, she decided the time was never going to be better to say what she was feeling, “What if cooking isn’t all I want?”

Samuel held his breath, not even daring to hope that she might be ready to voice her feelings for him. When she didn’t immediately continue, he prompted her to finish, “What else do you want?”

Jane looked into his eyes, finding strength in the support of his gaze and quietly informed him, “You. What if I also want you?”

Samuel breathed a sigh of relief, “That would fit perfectly since I also want you.”

“You do?” Jane asked, doubt coloring her voice.

“How can you doubt it? I look forward to seeing you every day. I want to see where a relationship between us might go.” Reaching across the table for her hands, he gently grasped her fingers before saying, “I know you’ve been afraid of getting hurt again, but I promise I won’t ever intentionally leave you. I won’t ever intentionally hurt you. Take a chance with me.”

Jane felt tears sting her eyes, “Samuel, I’m ready to take that chance. For so many years I’ve hidden away so that I’d never have to go through the pain of losing someone again. But, now it feels like I might miss out on something incredible if I don’t come out of my shell and try to live again. I want to try.”

Samuel leaned across the table and placed a tender kiss upon her lips, “Good. Now, I know we have lots of things we could discuss, but I think we should probably eat before your interview, don’t you?”

Jane nodded and then directed her attention to the menu. Samuel had arranged for another of her dreams possibly to come to fruition and she was determined to make a good impression and mark yet another dream off her bucket list. If she got accepted, she would have to consider staying in California indefinitely and found the thought was a happy one. She was ready to take up residence in California; that’s where her dreams were coming true and where her future began.