Maya scurried inside; I watched until she put her backpack in her cubby before I brought my attention to Jared. “I’m so sorry we’re late. I got a call from work and—” I stopped myself before I could lie more to cover up the fact that thinking about him had kept me up so late that I slept in. “Maya brought the stickers back for you, and I filled out the IEP.”

Jared took the file, placing it on top of the sticker book before he pushed his glasses up his nose. “Th-Thank you,” he stuttered, clearing his throat, “I’ll have a look over them during my lunch break and talk to you about it when you pick her up tonight, alright?” He flashed a smile, his blue eyes bright behind the lenses.

“That sounds great, thanks for worrying about her.” I hesitated, tugging at the sleeve of my suit jacket, a nervous habit my wife had made fun of every time she noticed it. I glanced in the classroom, watching Maya for a moment to build my courage.

After making Jared stay late without warning on the first day of school, I didn’t want to set a pattern and be a burden on him. But he was the first person who’d made Maya smile away from home in months, and I trusted him more than any babysitter I could call from an online profile.

I cleared my throat, trying to keep my gaze up as I forced a nervous smile. “She’s warming up to you pretty quickly, I’m glad you’re the one taking care of her.” Another pause ended with a quick decision; I couldn’t bring myself to bother him again, especially when I was trying to keep my distance. Asking him for a favor after I’d treated him like a stranger before I left the night before seemed wrong, somehow.

I would find a way.

Jared smiled softly as he looked over his shoulder at Maya, checking that the rest of the students were behaving. “I’m glad,” he said, looking back at me with a genuine smile. He looked like he was about to make some kind of excuse to get back to class when he hesitated. His brow furrowed as he looked up at me, concerned. “Hey, is everything okay?” After another moment of silence, a light sparked behind Jared’s eyes. “Are you going to be late picking Maya up, again?”

I wanted to deny it, but the fact that he’d figured it out so easily caught me off guard. “You always were the smart one,” I muttered, a little embarrassed that he could still read me with no effort. “There’s an event I can’t really get out of. People buying a house through me expect to actually see me. Bringing a kid to an open house is a little…”

“Unprofessional?” Jared offered.

Grimacing, I nodded. “I’m sorry, I know I was late yesterday, too. I swear it’s not usually like this. It’s just that I never had to worry about a babysitter before, so I wasn’t really thinking about it until now. I’m still trying to get used to living here again… It’ll be an hour or two after the end of school before I can pick her up, I just didn’t want to bother you again.”

Jared glanced back into the classroom before leading me to take a step back into the hall, closing the door slightly. “You don’t need to worry about bothering me,” Jared said, carefully reaching out a hand to lightly touch my arm in reassurance. “Do you want me to help you find some kind of daycare or sitter?” There was a moment where we looked at each other, the thought dawning on him, “Or...do you want me to watch her?”

“Only if it doesn’t trouble you!” I couldn’t hide the relief that crept into my voice. “Maya… she has a hard time with strangers, but you’re really good with her. Even if I found her a sitter, I’m worried it would only end up scaring her and making things worse. And I— well, I can’t trust a stranger to watch her. She’s all I have left.”

“You know,” Jared cleared his throat, “It’s been...ten years, Simon.”

“I know. I know that… I trust you, Jared. I mean, I know where you work.” I took a breath, realizing how pathetic that sounded. “I would really appreciate your help. There’s always a spare key to the house in Maya’s backpack in case of an emergency, and you can help yourself to anything that’s in the fridge. I can even pay you for your time! Having someone Maya is comfortable with is all I care about, and I—”

Jared cut me off, giving my arm a small squeeze, “Simon,” he laughed lightly, shaking his head, “it’s okay. You don’t have to pay me; I’d be happy to watch her.” There was a loud shout from the classroom, the children beginning to act up in Jared’s absence. He looked slightly panicked, saying quickly, “I have your contact information in Maya’s file. I have to go but don’t worry, she’s in good hands.” His blue eyes shone as he brushed his dark hair from his face. “I’ll talk to you later, okay? I’m glad you still trust me after all this time.”

“Of course, I do… I know you’ll take care of her, thank you. And I hope they haven’t broken anything,” I joked, my nerves banished by the comfortable, familiar air between us. It was like no time had passed, and if it weren’t for the growing noise from the classroom, I might have tried to keep him longer. I took a step back, instead, and let him return to his students.

The classroom quieted down as soon as Jared took control again; he really was good with kids, and I was glad he’d found a job that suited him so well. Seeing him again, Jared might have been the best thing to happen since I’d moved back to my hometown- and that thought wasn’t good for my attempts to keep my distance from him.

My phone rang, distracting me and bringing me back down to the real world. I answered to Abigail’s panicked voice as she questioned where I was; talking to Jared had put me even further behind schedule, my first meeting already started without me, and I was going to have to hurry if there was to be any hope of salvaging my day.