Flash #3

I think the novel might be called Going Down "A" Street. We shall see if that one holds up. As of right now word count is 6,672.

They identified this early on in one another, the only two “teachers” in the Community Center, and five years later they are still backing each other up – either as the minority opinion or in the way that their programs do sometimes go hand in hand. Ellen runs the Mother and Baby Program, Mac the Teen Outreach. Teenagers make babies. That’s something Mac can vouch for.
“Pretty blouse,” Mac comments quietly as he takes his seat at the staff meeting and gives Ellen a smile.
“You like?” she says nonchalantly, but smiles warmly in response. “I wear oatmeal well,” she adds pointing to what looks like a fresh stain on her shoulder.
He laughs, “How’s that Ruby girl?”
“Just as naughty as ever,” Ellen replies taking out her notebook. “How about Sheila?”
Mac shakes his head, “Sixteen…need I say more? She’s driving her mother crazy. I expect her to be dropped at my doorstep any day.”
“Alright now…alright,” Justine comments to the group’s chatter. “Let’s get goin.”

During the meeting Mac’s mind wanders to Ellen and her family. Ruby is a doll, someone he got to know before she was even born. The older one, Theresa seems a little bratty now and then, but she’s as smart as a whip, anyone can see that. And of course, Ellen is great. Mac concedes privately that he has had a little crush on her for quite a while now, which seems pretty harmless considering she’s happily married to Charlie-the-sculptor. Mac knows that he and Ellen are just really good buddies, but he can’t deny he finds her incredibly cute. Not cute in a girlish or superficial way. It’s the kind of cute that just kills him – like if Doris Day had an edge, if Donna Reed cursed. She’s sarcastic as hell, tough in a crisis, but then you see her holding a baby and it’s like there’s nobody else in the room. Mac will stop by the playroom in the Center just to watch her do it sometimes, especially when she’s working with a new mom that is one of his teenagers. It’s a wonder.