First Class Hero (First Class Novels) (12 page)

Slightly ruffled, Nic blushed. “Paul has generously offered
to drive the moving truck to New York, that’s all!”

“Sure he did,” smirked Evelyn. “Anyway, here’s your money.
Where are the keys?”

Nic took the envelope filled with cash and handed Evelyn her
car keys and the title to her car.

“Thanks!” Evelyn grinned. “Bye! Have a good life.” And she
left as quickly as she came.

Nic walked to the kitchen and placed her house key on the
counter. She picked up the garbage from breakfast and turned off the light.

“That’s it,” she said. “Let’s go.”

In less than thirty minutes, Paul and Nic were on Highway
Thirteen heading north. Nic stared out of the window at the Atlantic Ocean, the
sun almost blinding her.

“You okay?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, fine,” she smiled at him. “It’s weird you know?”

“What?”

“I’ve lived in Norfolk all of my life. I’ve been to
Florida…once…for the cruise…that was my only airplane ride by the way, and I’ve
been a few places on the east coast. So basically, I’ve been a hermit,” Nic
laughed. “And one would think that I’d be nervous about this massive change but
I’m not. I’m really not.”

“One would, would they?” Paul teased.

Nic grinned at him. “Yes!
One
would!”

“There’s no reason to be nervous. This is obviously meant to
be.”

“Hmmm.”

“Something else in that pretty little head of yours?”

Nic looked at Paul, curious at his choice of words, but
amazed that he was starting to read her. That was a tad unnerving.

“My mom told me my father’s name.”

“Really? Now you can find him.”

Nic didn’t respond.

“That
is
good, isn’t it?” Paul questioned.

“I’m not sure. Do I really want to meet a man that left my
mother without a word? Why would he do that if he knew she was pregnant?”

“Did he know?”

Nic didn’t have an answer for that. She’d spent the last
couple of weeks thinking about it over and over again, wondering how much of
her mother’s version of events were true. Maybe she
should
find him.

“Paul?”

He turned to glance at her briefly before returning his
attention to the road.

“You were pretty high up in the Navy right?”

Paul chuckled. “No. Why?”

“Well,
if
my father was in the Navy, you could find
him right? Or at least know someone who could find him?”

Paul snuck a quick glance at her and pondered her request.
He knew people. He could get the information. And if it helped her come to
terms with her past so she could move forward and think about her future, then
he would help her. He would do anything for her.

“Yeah, I know some people.”

Nic nodded and turned back to the ocean.

*****

To Nic’s amazement, Paul managed to maneuver the moving
truck through the streets of Manhattan and onto Eighty-Ninth Street, her new
home. The brick apartment building was pre-war and full of wonderful detail.
Maureen had sent pictures but it wasn’t nearly the same as seeing it in person.
The lobby had a checkered black and white tile floor and the stairs had their
original bannister. She found her mail box, noting the name was blank. She
would need to fix that. It wasn’t a large building. It appeared to have about
forty apartments. She would need to meet her neighbors. The thought made her
smile.

“Happy?” Paul asked.

“Yes,” she grinned. “I feel positively giddy!”

“Good.”

Paul had texted his brother Tim who arrived to help haul the
contents of the truck into Nic’s new apartment. She pulled the key from her
pocket and after a brief re-introduction to Tim the three of them headed up in
the elevator to the fourth floor and walked the few steps down the hall to
apartment 4-C. After unlocking the door, she stepped through the doorway and
had a quick look around before the two men disappeared back downstairs.

Nic wandered through the living room and dining room, into
the small but perfectly perfect kitchen, and then into the two bedrooms, each
with an attached bathroom. In the closet off the kitchen were a stackable
washer and dryer and off the living room was a tiny balcony that two people, if
they were both really skinny, could stand on. The apartment was much smaller
than the house she’d just left, but she was already in love with it. It had
character. She loved the parquet floor and the tall windows and high ceilings. Once
her furniture was inside it would be home and she would begin her new life; one
with unlimited possibilities.

*****

Within two hours, Paul and Tim had the truck unloaded and
had left to return it to a rental center. Nic had sincerely thanked Tim for his
help and the two men headed off. Paul had just texted Nic to say he’d be back
in an hour or so and he’d bring dinner with him. She smiled as she read the
text. He had been an enormous help. She doubted she could have done any of it
without him.

Having wandered around, and through, the maze of boxes, Nic
decided to start in the bedroom. She had been conscientious about labeling each
box with its contents and Paul and Tim had done a fabulous job of delivering
the correct boxes to the right rooms. They’d even put her bed together before
they’d left, so the first thing she did was unpack all the bedding and make the
bed and then she unpacked all her toiletries and put them in their new homes in
the bathroom and hung all of her clothes in the walk-in closet. If she could
shower and wear clean clothes and sleep in her own bed, all would be well with
the rest of the mess until she got completely unpacked and settled. The buzzer
went off just as she was putting the last of her shoes in the bottom of the
closet.

It was Paul. She buzzed him in. She suddenly felt like a New
Yorker…and she liked it!

*****

Nic had moved to Manhattan three days before she would start
at St Luke’s Prep School, and then she would have four days to prepare her
classroom before twenty-five kindergarteners became her charge for the next
nine months.

For two days she worked all day and into the night getting
her new home in order. It would be a different lifestyle now. Her kitchen was
so small she did not have space to keep a week’s worth of groceries in it, but
just a couple of blocks away was a small grocery store that appeared to stock
almost everything she would need. And it was on the way home from school, so
she could stop and pick up bits and pieces whenever she needed to.  On Monday
evening, she sat on the sofa and looked around. She’d hung pictures and
arranged her furniture and she was content. She downed a bottle of water and
sighed. She’d been busy and she was tired, but she was happy with it.

Her ringing phone interrupted her thoughts. It was Paul.

“Hi,” she smiled into the phone.

“Hey. How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m unpacked and sorted and feeling really good.”

“Glad to hear that. I wondered if you’d like an escort in
the morning. I’d be happy to walk with you.”

“That’s sweet,” she replied. “But I’m good. Thanks.”

“Okay,” Paul said, a little disappointed she hadn’t taken
him up on his offer. “Call me when you get home so you can tell me all about
your day.”

“I will. Bye.”

Nic hung up the phone and decided she should get a good
night’s sleep. She wanted to be her best in the morning. So she locked all the
locks on the front door, turned off the lights and crawled into bed.

Paul sat at the dining room table in his parents’ home and
talked to Ed on the phone.

“His name is Greg Wilkins, and from what Nic has told me he
would have been about nineteen years old in the early eighties. Like around
1982.”

“Based in Virginia?” Ed asked.

“Yeah. She doesn’t know much…just what her mother has told
her and I don’t think we can assume any of that is accurate. But if he
was
in the Navy, you’ll be able to find him for me.”

“Well, I’ll get Frank on it right now and I’ll call you back
as soon as I know anything.”

“Thanks, Ed. I appreciate it.”

Paul ended the call and put the phone on the table. His
mother came and stood beside him.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he smiled. “Just having Ed find out some info for
me.”

“Well come and have some lunch. I’ve made a giant spinach
salad and your father is grumbling because he wanted a cheeseburger. Come help
me convince him that salad is good for him.”

Paul chuckled and followed Maureen.

****

Nic loved her new classroom. The store room was filled with
supplies that she had used to turn her room into a wonderland. Even Father Todd
had been impressed with the magical transformation.

“The more we can spark their imaginations, the more we can encourage
them to learn without them knowing it,” Nic had told him.

All she needed were some big floor pillows and her room
would be complete. She sat on the ‘magic carpet’ in the back corner of her room
and searched on her phone for a place to purchase them.

“Is anyone in here?” a voice came from the doorway.

“Back here,” she replied while getting to her feet.

“There you are,” smiled Maureen.

“Hello,” beamed Nic.

“Oh my! I feel like I’ve just stepped inside a Disney
movie,” Maureen gushed as she took in the amount of work Nic had done. “This is
fabulous!”

“Thank you!” Nic grinned. “I hope the kids like it.”

“Oh, they’ll love it!” Maureen encouraged her. “I’m sure of
it. Here.” Maureen handed Nic a big bowl of apples.

“Oh how kind of you. Thank you.”

“Maureen?” asked a male voice.

Nic’s eyes moved to the doorway as an elderly gentleman
appeared.

“Come in Peter.” Maureen turned back to Nic. “This is my
husband Peter and this is our beautiful granddaughter Ella.”

Nic smiled at Peter and said hello, then dropped to her
knees as Ella walked towards her, clinging to her grandfathers’ hand.

“Hello Ella. Those are the most beautiful sandals I have
ever seen. Can I try them on?”

“No, siwee,” Ella laughed. “You’re too big.”

“Oh that’s too bad. I wish I had some like that.”

“My momma got them for me at the big store. You can get some
in
your
size.”

“That’s a very good idea. You are
so
smart Ella.”

Ella let go of Peter’s hand and closed the distance between
her and Nic. She stood right in front of her and touched her hair.

“I wike your hair,” she smiled.

“Thank you. I like your hair too. You have brown hair and I
have brown hair.”

“My daddy has brown hair just wike me.”

“And blue eyes?”

“Uh-huh,” Ella grinned. “Momma says I am just wike him.”

“I bet you are.” Nic looked up at Maureen who was just
beaming like any proud grandmother should.

“She does look just like my son,” Maureen nodded in agreement.
“He’s the one who owns your apartment building.”

“Oh Maureen. How can I ever thank you for helping me find
that? I love it and I’ve been told I got it at an unbelievable price. I don’t
want to…”

“Oh never mind that!” Maureen snorted. “My son owns half of
Manhattan! He doesn’t need,
or want
your money.”

“But…”

“No more discussion!” Maureen demanded. “I’m just thrilled
you’re here…with us…at St. Luke’s. You’ll have Ella in your class in just two
short years you know.”

“I would
love
that,” Nic smiled.

“Come on Ella, let’s go.”

“NO!” she frowned. “Wet me stay here, pease?”

Maureen chuckled and looked at Nic. “You’ve made a friend.”

“I’m honored,” Nic grinned. “Ella? I have a special book I’m
sure you’d like to read. Maybe you can take it home and read it with your daddy
and then when you don’t want it anymore, you can bring it back to me. Would you
like that?”

“Oh yes,” Ella clapped. “I wuv books.”

Nic pulled a book from the shelf and handed it to Ella. “Now
promise me you’ll take care of it. It’s a very special book.”

“Thank you. I pwomise,” she beamed. Then she took her
grandfather’s hand and the two of them turned and left the room.

“She’s a very good judge of character, you know,” Maureen
said. “I knew you were the right one.” Maureen turned and followed her husband
and granddaughter out of the room.

*****

On Saturday afternoon, Nic had asked Paul to take her Sears.
That’s where she’d always bought her bedding so she figured they’d have the
pillows she’d need for her classroom.

“We’re going to Brooklyn for pillows?” Paul chuckled.

“Yes! We are,” she laughed.

“Well okay then.”

Paul hailed a taxi and off they went. It wasn’t a
very
long ride and soon Nic was wandering through the Home Department of the store
she had come to rely on for everything.

She was looking at sheets as Paul put his hands on his hips
and said, “I thought we were here for pillows?”

“We are,” she said sheepishly.

“Those don’t look like pillows to me. Now I know I’ve been
out of civilian life for the past few years, but I think I still can tell a
pillow when I see it. And that’s not a pillow.”

“But these are on clearance!”

“Do you
need
new sheets?”

“Well, no,” Nic mumbled. “But they’re on clearance.”

“They’re ugly,” Paul frowned.

“You don’t like them?”

“No. They have weird stripy things on them in
purple
!”

“Not
manly
enough for you?” Nic teased.

“No…I could never sleep on sheets like that,” he laughed.

Nic froze.
What does he mean? Is he saying that? No!
Don’t go there!
she thought.

Paul stepped closer and moved a stray hair from her eye. His
touch was so gentle and Nic’s eyes got bigger as she looked up into his face
and she subconsciously licked her top lip.