Day 22

This could be just a symptom of our busy lives, but it was a thrill today when I walked in the rain to meet my son at the bus stop and from under my umbrella, saw my husband strolling toward me, hands in his pocket, and his orange raincoat hood on his head. Rob and I share the school routine: He gets Will to school in the morning; I greet him in the afternoon when he gets off the bus. It's an equitable arrangement, but never flirtatious. Only today, Rob was working from home, looked at the clock, and decided to walk on down the street because he could.

The usual cluster of neighbors stood, chatting about the weather and other inconsequential details of the day. The bus had not yet arrived. Our eyes locked, and we met in the middle. "Fancy meeting you here," I said. No, he didn't grab me in a mad embrace or lean in for a ballroom dip--that might have been awkward in front of the other parents--but it was still nice to break off from the group to exchange workday snippets, and whether Will noticed it or not, I'm glad he had two parents to welcome him home when he jumped down the steps of the bus.

We walked side-by-side on our way home from this unexpected rendezvous, which is much better than our usual cell-phone talks around the same time. He still had work to do, so he headed back into the study; I had a slice to write, so I got the boys situated with snacks and logged in to my Blogger account. And I'm pleased to report that romance is alive in Teacher Town. Not bad for a Monday.