Other Side of the Wall by Jennifer Peel Read Free Book Online

deep feelings for me because I was so not what he wanted in a
partner. I was just a fun friend. By the end of the summer, I gave up on Scott
ever seeing me differently, and I decided I should start thinking about dating
again. My mom had been trying to convince me for a while to get back on that
horse. She reminded me I wasn’t getting any younger and she still wanted
grandchildren. I never told her of my fondness for Scott, she just knew we were
friends, that we saw an awful lot of each other, and that I liked him.
    While
I contemplated getting back into the game, I still saw Scott on almost a daily
basis. At the end of August Scott asked me if I wanted to attend a class he was
teaching at the Lincoln Park Zoo. He sometimes did educational classes for
children there. I liked seeing him in action, so I agreed. I had no idea I
would be getting more than an education that day.
    Peter
had been becoming more and more a distant memory for me; he hadn’t contacted me,
and I was so busy with work and Scott that I rarely gave him a thought any more.
But unfortunately life sometimes has a way of reminding you of the past.
    Peter
had two older sisters, Tonia and Carla. Both of them, along with their mother,
Piera, hated me. Piera means stone or cold in Italian, and it fit her to a tee,
except where her precious baby son was concerned. I had had plenty of visits
from all three of those women after Peter and I split up. They couldn’t believe
I wouldn’t give Peter another chance. His mother even had the nerve to tell me
that all men stray, and I was the selfish one not to give him another chance.
She had had to do the same with Peter’s dad, so I guess that made it ok. I
never could understand that reasoning.
    Both
Tonia and Carla still lived at home. Tonia had a seven year old son, Daniel. He
was a hellion. I love kids and hope to have several someday, but this kid was a
terror. I hated when they came to visit; inevitably something would end up
broken, and I was never allowed to say anything about it. Unfortunately, the
only male influence Daniel had was Peter, which didn’t give me much hope for
him. To top it off, his mom and aunt and grandmother only encouraged his bad
behavior, and they were just as loud and obnoxious.
    Believe
me when I say I would be more than thrilled if I never ever saw any of these
people again. They had been nothing but belittling and horrid to me. Chicago was
a big place, and I had never just run into any of them by happenstance. That
was until that Saturday in August. I had just helped Scott finish setting up
his presentation. He was teaching about the life cycle and eco patterns in the
ocean. I was totally turned on by his mind. Anyway, that’s when the kids and
their parents and guardians began filling up the outdoor classroom. And that’s
when Peter and Daniel walked in. I was still at the front with Scott when I
noticed. I could immediately feel my heart rate change and the color rise in my
cheeks. He was the last person on earth I wanted to see.
    Without
thinking, I grabbed Scott’s hand. Thankfully he didn’t pull away. That would
have only made the situation worse, but he knew something was wrong.
    “What’s
wrong, Ava?” he asked.
    At
that moment, Peter and I locked eyes. At first his eyes lit up at seeing me,
but then he noticed my hand in Scott’s, and then he scowled.
    Scott
noticed where I was looking, and he recognized Peter. “It’s ok, Ava. Just breathe,”
he whispered in my ear. He squeezed my hand. “Look at me.”
    I
turned toward him and he smiled. I instantly felt better. He just had this way
of making everything better. I smiled back at him.
    “You
have this, Ava.”
    I
had expected him to ask me if I wanted to leave, but he surprised me by giving
me something better: not an out, but a realization of my strength. I took a
deep breath. “You’re right.”
    He
squeezed my hand once more. “Take your seat. I expect you to be my top pupil
today.”
    He
released my hand,