The Green Lace Corset, стр. 50
“What are you doing?” Her heart beat wildly in her chest.
“It’s too cold for me to sleep in the barn anymore,” he said.
“But you’ve slept in the barn all this time. What’s different now?”
He peered at the door. “I’ve got my reasons.”
“What are they?”
He eyed her, then looked down and unbuttoned his shirt. “I wanna make sure you’re safe. That incident this morning really scared me. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
She didn’t know whether it was because of what he’d said or the sight of his bare, muscular chest, but she felt her face blush hot.
Except for his long john bottoms, he removed the rest of his clothes and folded them neatly on the floor beside the cot. “Nighty-night.” He tossed two blankets, one at a time, over his body and closed his eyes.
After pulling off her own boots, Sally Sue scooped up Socks and got under the covers, fully dressed. She held the cat in her arms and petted her. Sally Sue had always been curious to see what a man’s body looked like without clothes. It wasn’t as bad as her mother had said.
With Cliff nearby, she felt protected from whatever might come flying through the door. It should have been easy to fall asleep, but the thought of him so close made her lower belly tingle in a strange way, and she shamefully imagined what it might feel like to have him lying next to her in the big bed, in the smooth sheets, touching her body.
34
Anne could do it. She’d show Priscilla and even Karl that she was capable of establishing a space in which all the little artists felt safe and could express themselves creatively. She read her affirmation card and returned it to her backpack. Then she taped the rules-and-consequences chart on the materials shelf.
Usually before the kids arrived, Anne set out everything on the tables, but today she had other plans. The students ran into the room and milled around. One of the twins pushed Penny. She yelped and ran to Anne.
“Teddy, stop.” Anne kept her voice calm and was proud of herself for being able to finally tell the boys apart.
She put her arms around Penny and whispered in her ear, “I’m hoping this will stop, but I’ll need your help. They’re trying to get your attention. Ignore them as much as you can. Can you do that?”
Penny sniffed and found her seat next to Cindy.
“Where’s all the art stuff?” Tommy asked.
“You’ll see.”
“Where’s the music?”
“Later, Tommy.” Anne clapped her hands, waiting for all to echo her rhythm and be seated.
She pointed at the chart and sang, “Dat-da-da-daaaa. We now have rules.”
“What!” Tommy yelled.
Anne ignored him, put her hand on rule number one, and read, “Follow the rules. Everyone, repeat after me.” She read it again: “Follow the rules.”
Most of the students followed her cue.
“Let’s practice. Fold your hands.”
The students folded their hands.
“Stomp your feet.” She allowed some noise to happen, then raised her hand and put the other on her lips.
They raised their hands and quieted down.
“Stand,” she ordered.
The students stood.
“Sit.”
The students all sat.
Anne pointed to the chart again. “Number two: Raise your hand before speaking or leaving your seat.” She planned to loosen up on this one later, but for now she’d remain consistent.
Tommy’s hand shot up.
“Yes?” Anne asked.
“May I get a drink?”
“Yes, you may.”
On his way back from the drinking fountain, he crossed behind her and gave Penny a noogie. She closed her eyes tightly, folded her hands, and didn’t react to him. Anne didn’t say a word, either, but wrote his name on the whiteboard, which made Tommy smile.
She stared at him. “Rule number three: Keep your hands to yourself. And number four: Respect your classmates and your teacher. What are some examples of how you might do that?”
Penny raised her hand. “Say something nice to them.”
“Yes, good. Look at your tablemate and give them a compliment.”
After two minutes of chaotic noise, Anne raised her hand until all the students raised theirs, even the twins.
“Good. Here are the consequences: every time you don’t follow a rule, I’ll put your name on the board; each time you break a rule after that, you’ll get a check mark by your name.”
Across the table, the twins frowned.
“Here are the consequences.” She put her hand on the chart and read, “First time is a warning. Second time is the sit-out zone.” She pulled a chair to the back of the room and sat in it. “And I’ll set the timer for five minutes.”
She walked back to the tables. “Third time, I’ll e-mail your parents.”
“Our mom won’t like that very much,” Teddy said.
“That’s the point. Did you raise your hand to speak?” Anne walked nonchalantly to the whiteboard and wrote his name under his brother’s.
“Who’s ready to follow the rules and do some art?” she asked with a smile.
They all raised their hands. She handed out paper and markers.
“Copy the chart neatly, and decorate it creatively. You’ll take it home to share with your parents and bring it back, signed, next Saturday. If not, I’ll e-mail them the plan.”
Wide-eyed, the twins looked at each other and got started along with the group.
She took a jar from her backpack and held it up. “You’re all following the rules so well right now, I’m putting a gem in this jar.” She dropped in a green floral piece. “When it’s full, we’ll have a pizza party.”
The students applauded, and she added another gem.
At the end of class, the students walked out nicely, carrying the rules.
Exhausted but smiling, she sat in the sit-out chair. She’d done it. It was going to be easy