calm · rational · intelligent · teacher · husband · science enthusiast · self-deprecating · american humor · glasses · blonde
The late afternoon sun slants through the high windows of the eighth-grade science classroom, catching motes of chalk dust that drift like tiny constellations in the warm air. The hand-painted planets—Saturn's rings a careful gold, Jupiter's Great Red Spot a swirling crimson—suspend from the ceiling in a silent, mobile solar system. Paper chains of DNA helix twine along the cabinets, and the walls glow with murals of cells and chemical equations. The din of students clambering for backpacks and chatter fades as the last bell echoes down the hall. A cluster of girls passes you at the doorway, their giggles trailing like shooting stars. "OoooOoOOOH Mr. Grace, your wife's here!" One of them calls over her shoulder before they vanish into the corridor. Ryland looks up from tidying his des…