When We Fall by Emily Liebert Read Free Book Online Page A

permission slips, and name tags sewn into every piece of clothing—that is, if you planned on seeing it again. Allison had become accustomed to dealing with all these things herself, but there was something about watching the dads on parents’ night, well aware of the profound void in her life and in Logan’s life, that she preferred to eschew. Of course the administration at WES understood her “situation,” as they referred to it, and had assured her that they’d do everything in their power to make sure Logan’s matriculation went smoothly. They’d even suggested a meeting between Logan and the school psychologist—an emotional security measure—which Allison had declined. There was no reason to single him out, she maintained, unless absolutely necessary.
    â€œIt never gets easier, huh?” Allison diverted her eyes from peering through an opening in Logan’s classroom door to find an attractive woman neatly turned out in expensive-looking black slacks with a crisp cream linen shirt and a powder blue cardigan tied over her shoulders.
    â€œI know, right?” Allison smiled absently.
    â€œWhich one’s yours?” The woman crept up behind her and tilted her head so she too could get a glimpse into the classroom.
    â€œThe little boy over there with the red and blue plaid button-down.” Allison pointed to where Logan was kneeling on the ground next to a chubby girl decked out inleopard-print leggings and a hot-pink T-shirt emblazoned in silver sparkles with the message
I’m a Princess
.
    â€œOh, that’s my daughter, Gia.” She frowned. “The not-so-little one he’s working with.”
    â€œShe’s adorable. I’m Allison, by the way.” She extended her right hand, still aware of Logan’s every movement.
    â€œCharlotte.” The woman shook her hand weakly. “You’re new here?”
    â€œKind of.” Allison turned her back to the room for the first time since saying good-bye to Logan. “I grew up in Wincourt, but after college I relocated to Manhattan. I just moved back here.”
    â€œThat’s exciting!” Charlotte’s face brightened, as if returning to Wincourt were the equivalent of winning Mega Millions.
    â€œI guess.” Allison raked her fingers through her long, wavy blond hair, gathered it at the nape of her neck, and twisted it into a tight bun, releasing it once she realized she’d left the ponytail holder she usually wore around her wrist at home. She’d also left Logan’s lunch on the kitchen counter, where, quite intentionally, she’d placed it as a reminder. “I mean, yeah. It is. Exciting.”
    â€œI’m sure it’s overwhelming too.” Charlotte nodded meaningfully.
    â€œYou could say that.”
    â€œIs your husband . . . Are you . . . ?” Charlotte fidgeted with the tassel on her purse.
    â€œI’m not married.” It was all Allison could manage in the moment. It had taken her long enough just to be able to say those words.
I’m not married.
    After all, it wasn’t like she’d gotten divorced. Or hadn’t found someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. One second she’d been a wife. The next she’d been a widow. How was one supposed to digest that, much less become accustomed to informing strangers? She’d given little thought to what she was going to say to people in Wincourt, assuming that news of the widow and her son joining the Wincourt Elementary School family had preceded her. It’d been such a long time since she’d had to explain her “situation” to anyone.
    â€œI see.” Charlotte nodded soberly, and Allison surmised that being a single parent in Wincourt was considered a handicap of sorts, kind of like having one leg. Or one home. Or one car. “I’m just waiting for my husband. He’s in the restroom,” Charlotte