Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
“My first priority is the school stuff, I guess.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Scythe asked.
“No. I really need to take care of my request for leave as a professional. Then my sub will need lesson plans. Surely, they’ll let me off for a few days,” she thought aloud.
“Do you like the staff in human relations at your central office?” Scythe asked.
“I do. She’s very sweet.”
“We go to the funeral home first to get everything set up. Then we split up. I’ll come back here and use the file to notify the medical supply place and the lawyer while you deal with the district.”
“You’re comfortable doing that?”
“Sure. I can be nice on the phone. Then I’ll head to work. You reach out when you’re ready to call it a night. I’ll come get you and make sure you eat.”
“And tuck me into bed with a bedtime story?” she asked with a smile. She’d look forward to that all day.
“Exactly.”
“Thanks, Scythe, for being here with me.”
“You don’t have to thank me for spending time with you. If I had my choice, we’d always be together from now on.”
“You don’t think you’d get sick of me?” Winnie asked, holding her breath in hopes he wouldn’t say yes.
“Not going to happen, Little girl. All right. Go potty, and we’ll get that folder.”
Winnie patted her blotchy face in an attempt to mask the results from their visit to the funeral home. She sat in her car, pulling together her thoughts for a few minutes before going into her district’s HR office.
“Hi, Mandy. I’m Winnifred Bradley. I don’t know if Miss Oberson informed you….”
“I got an extensive report about you today,” Mandy said with a stern glance.
“I’m here to talk about bereavement leave. My mother passed away in the early morning hours,” Winnie told her and watched the woman’s expression soften.
“This morning?” When Winnie nodded, Mandy said, “I am so sorry. I didn’t have any notice of that. Did you tell your principal?”
“I did. She wanted my mother’s death certificate as proof. I don’t have that yet.”
“Of course you don’t. Let me update the reason for your absence. Good. That puts you back in the green zone.” She turned from her computer and waved Winnie into a seat in front of her desk. “How long do you need off, Winnie? Your contract allows you to miss up to five days.”
“It’s Thursday. The memorial service will be on Monday. How about through Tuesday next week?” Winnie suggested.
“Notify me if you want Wednesday as well, but I’ll arrange a good sub for you. You’ll need to leave plans for her,” Mandy warned.
“That’s next on my list. I’ll send them to you as well, so you’ll be aware that I followed through,” Winnie told her.
“That’s not usually what people do. Is there a reason you want HR to have proof you’ve created plans and left them organized for the substitute?”
“Yes.”
“Gotcha. I can read between the lines of the mistake in your rationale for missing today and the concern that the sub’s information will mysteriously evaporate.”
“Thank you, Mandy.”
“Of course. I’m going to run off some paperwork for you to sign before you get to return to the hundreds of tasks you need to do,” Mandy told her before turning back to her computer.
In minutes, Winnie walked out the door with the approval papers in her hands. She drove next to her building and let herself in the entrance closest to her classroom. Apologizing to the substitute for interrupting, she talked to her second graders to explain her absence. Enlisting their help in cooperating with the substitute, Winnie stressed how proud she was of how much they’d learned this year and that she’d look forward to them dazzling her with the information they mastered while she was gone.
With their promises to do their best each day, she sat at a small desk in the back of the room and made her lesson plans, using the teacher textbooks while the sub coached the kids through their afternoon subjects. Taylor walked to the tissue box to blow her nose and stopped next to Winnie.
“Thanks for telling Mrs. Kelley about our signal,” Taylor whispered.
“Of course. That’s at the top of my list of important things for the substitute to know,” Winnie assured her and returned the child’s hug.
“I’m sorry about your mom.”
Tears gathered in her eyes as Winnie smiled at the young child. “Thank you, Taylor. Now, go back and learn all you can.”
The sweet student slid back into her chair and immediately focused on the substitute. Winnie quickly finished her lesson plans and sent them to the printer as well as to the other second-grade teacher, and Mandy at the district office, and her bestie, Abby, in case something happened to the printed copies she left for the substitute. Scythe might think Lorraine would stop causing problems, but Winnie didn’t trust her at all. After straightening her area and returning the teacher’s editions for the sub, she slipped out of the classroom and headed for home.