Substitute Me by Lori L. Tharps

Author:Lori L. Tharps
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ATRIA Paperback
Published: 2010-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

Zora

SPRING

BY the time Zora and Angel exited the side door of the old Presbyterian church on Lafayette Avenue where the sign language classes were held, they had already decided that they would take Oliver and Skye to the playground for a few minutes before they caught the bus. The tantalizing hint of spring was too glorious to ignore after months of hiding from the cold. Even in the waning afternoon hours, the sunshine still felt warm and comforting, and Zora swore she could smell the green shooting out of the earth. Waiting outside the church, however, stood Brad Carter, dressed in sweatpants, sneakers, and a navy blue fleece jacket. He had his camera around his neck.

“Hey, Zora,” he said when he saw her. He leaned down and kissed his son on the nose.

“Hi, Mr. Carter—I mean Brad,” Zora said, puzzled. She wondered if she was in trouble. Was she being fired? Did she leave the oven on?

The three of them stood there for a moment without saying anything. Even Oliver and Skye seemed to have better things to do than make noise.

Finally, Angel broke the silence. “Hi, there, I’m Angel,” she said. “I take care of Skye, here.”

“Brad Carter,” Brad said, extending his hand to Angel. She shook it and smiled.

“Oh, sorry,” Zora said. Finding her voice, she introduced Angel as her friend and Brad Carter as her employer.

Brad explained that his meeting had finished early and he’d decided to come by to see if the class was still in session. When he mentioned his meeting, Zora assumed it was more of the secret situation.

“We were on our way to the park,” Angel said, turning Skye’s stroller. “Would you like to join us, Mr. Carter, or do you have to go back to work?”

Zora shot Angel an “Are you crazy?” look. Why would her boss want to be hanging around with them at the park? And an even better question: Why would she want to be around her boss while she was working? Clearly, Brad Carter wasn’t having the same thoughts, because he readily accepted Angel’s invitation.

The three of them strolled down Lafayette Avenue together, Angel leading the way and the conversation. She managed to talk a lot about herself and her plans and how this beautiful spring weather made her long for Florence more than ever. Brad asked about her paintings, and she launched into a happy explanation of her process as an artist. Zora was relieved not to have to participate in the conversation because she was still trying to figure out what Brad was doing here. She’d heard about people spying on their nannies when they suspected them of abusing their children or stealing their credit card numbers, but Zora couldn’t think of anything she’d done to warrant being checked up on. Kate mentioned that Brad had been nervous at first about Zora’s taking Ollie to Fort Greene, but she’d been coming to these classes for weeks. Why start worrying now? It didn’t make sense.

“Earth to Zora,” Angel interrupted her thoughts.

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