The teachers’ room door swung open. Ethan, the new teacher, walked in. He had the lean torso and sun-streaked hair of a surfer. He walked with a limp he’d acquired when he totaled his car after his life as an indie filmmaker imploded. Kate Stone, our bitch of a boss, was his godmother, and she was the only one who’d been willing to give him a chance. Already I knew that he had the makings of a good teacher. The kids were lucky to have him.

“Hey,” Ethan said. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

Polly’s glow turned into a serious blush. I’d read just enough Nancy Drew books in my formative years to know that this was no accidental meeting. Maybe she’d texted him before we jumped into the car with the turkey. Polly, not Nancy.

Ethan was trying to work things out with his girlfriend. A single and pregnant teacher friend was not necessarily the best way to make this happen. Still, even though the connection between Polly and Ethan didn’t fit easily into a category, it was unmistakable.

Lorna slid her chair away from the table. “I guess I’ll head home. The sooner we eat, the sooner I can shove my in-laws out the front door.”

“I’ll walk out with you, honey,” Gloria said.

After they left, I handed Polly the turkey baster. “Would you mind hanging around here and keeping an eye on the turkey? That way I can run home for a while and get some more stuff done.”

“Sure,” Polly said.

“I’ll stay and keep Polly company,” Ethan said, as if I’d had even a sliver of doubt.

Chapter Six

Before I’d high-tailed it out the door with the turkey, I’d sent John a quick text. I didn’t want him to get back from his walk and think that the holiday pressure had gotten to me and I was making a run for it.

“Notice anything?” he said the moment I walked into our new old kitchen.

My eyes went right to it. “You fixed the oven door!”

Horatio wagged his tail. I would’ve wagged mine, too, if I had one.

“My hero,” I said. “I knew you’d come in handy one of these days. How’d you do it?”

“YouTube. Three videos. Not only am I an expert at oven doors now, but I can fix toilets and do brain surgery at the same time.”

“Good strategizing,” I said. “We might need all three before the day is finished.”

John opened the oven door and shut it again. “So, it turns out it’s all about the latches. When you pull off the oven door, the latches are locked in the wrong position. Essentially, you find a hollow pipe and put it over each latch in turn, and then you use the pipe as a lever to pull the latch back until it locks in an angled position again.”