ChristopherI chuckled. “It isn’t so bad. I signed up for a couple of more classes. I am officially a student again.”She bit her bottom lip. “Oh. Wow. Well, I guess I expected that.”“Would you prefer I hadn’t?” I questioned.“No! I don’t want you to not do what you want because of me.”“Look, I like you and I want to see you again, but if it makes you too uncomfortable, then I will back off. You’re sending a lot of mixed signals and to be perfectly honest, I’m old and out of practice. Maybe this is how the whole dating thing is done. I don’t know. I’m more of a guy that prefers a little more cut and dry.”“And you should,” she said, turning on the bench to look directly at me. “You should be able to expect openness and directness. I’m usually a lot more direct, but dammit, Christopher. You are really throwing a wrench in things.”I scowled. “You say that like it’s a good thing but the words, the words are not good.”She sighed, her head hanging down for a brief second before she loo
LeilaI felt a little giddy. I loved the first day. The looks on the faces of most of my students told me they didn’t share that excitement. Most of them looked like they would rather be anywhere but in front of me. I was sure half of them were asleep with their eyes open.I already missed Christopher. He had been such a joy to have in class. He was the ideal student for a professor to have. I loved how engaged he had been and how he had been able to actually have a conversation about the subject matter. I missed him.I glanced down at my watch and cringed. I had done it again. There was so much I wanted to get out and it just never seemed to fit into my class time. No matter how many times I tweaked the first lecture, I was always running short on time. I could talk for hours.“Thank you everyone,” I said clapping my hands together. “Some advice that I know past students would pass on to you is read the syllabus. Pay attention. Read. The. Material.”I didn’t feel like they were liste
LeilaI slowly nodded. “Because of things that have recently happened?” I asked softly.His soft, yet sad smile made me want to hug him. “Yes.”“I think that’s smart,” I told him honestly. “I think knowledge is truly power. I love to read and read and read. I’m not all about Greek mythology. I love just about anything. I just love to fill my head with knowledge.”“If more people read instead of playing video games, I would feel much more confident about the future of our species,” he quipped.I giggled almost choking on the bite of the sandwich. “We sound like snobs.”He was unapologetic. “I don’t think it’s snobbish to want more for our future generations. I remember when Olin was maybe ten. He wanted an iPad and a new Xbox and new headphones. I was making good money and I found myself in line at Target with everything he asked for. I looked over at the next line and saw a little kid in a cart, headphones on and playing on a tablet. His mom had a Bluetooth piece in her ear and her ph
ChristopherI pulled into the garage and noticed the empty spot. I checked the time. Olin said he would be home right after school. I wasn’t going to panic and start blowing up his phone. I’d give him a few minutes to check in before I hunted him down. I was desperately trying to take a soft approach to parenting, but it went against every fiber of my being.I was used to being in control. Olin was a smart kid and I had to trust him. Giving him the car was the first step towards showing him I did trust him. I got out of the car and was just to the door when I heard the garage door opening.I watched Olin pull the new Nissan Maxima into the garage. “Were you waiting for me?” he asked as he climbed out.I smirked. “No, I just got home. I trust you.”He gave me a look. “Sure, you do.”“How was school?”He shrugged. “Boring.”We walked into the kitchen together. He immediately went for the fridge. “Did you turn in that report that was due?”“Of course.”I chuckled at his confidence. “It w
Christopher“About my weight?”“Yeah. Mom said you could eat all day and not gain any weight.”I smiled. “Your mom was being kind. She packed me lunches that were very light. I worked out like a dog.”“But you don’t now,” he reminded me.I sighed. “I will. I have the treadmill. I’m going to start using it.”“You said that months ago.”“But this time I’m serious.”He cocked his head to the side. “Why? Trying to impress a woman?”I shrugged. “Maybe. I like feeling good. We could turn one of the rooms into a gym.”He shrugged. “That’d be cool. I’ll need to start working out to get ready for baseball tryouts. I’ve gotten a little soft.”“Eat like that all the time and you’ll be a lot softer.”“Ha. Ha. I’m a growing boy. I need to eat.”I dumped some flour into a bowl. “You’re growing all right, but you might not be growing upwards.”He smirked, stuffing another bite into his mouth, clearly not bothered by my comment. I liked that we could tease each other. It had been a long time since we
LeilaI didn’t even bother pulling out the paint supplies. I was expecting a call from Christopher. We had briefly talked yesterday, and he had asked if I would like to do something over the weekend. I, of course, said yes. After the incident with the dean, I had been very careful not to let myself get in any more compromising positions. Christopher stopped by and said hello and that was that.No more lunches. No private moments in my classroom. Nothing. I was starved for his attention and his touch. I had gotten up early, taken care of all the little things I hadn’t done all week, and got ready for the day.When my phone rang, I practically jumped on it. “Hi!” I answered a little too enthusiastically and not at all cool and casual.“Hi. You sound excited.”“No, not at all. What’s up?”“I was wondering if you’d like to come over and hang out by the lake, maybe have a barbecue or something?” he asked.I grinned, my face practically splitting in two with my wide smile. “I would love to.
LeilaChristopher was quiet for a minute. “And then one day you realize you’ve been steamrolling through life and letting the world pass you by. We all get caught up in our own little bubbles and forget about actually living and enjoying life. We forget to literally stop and smell the roses.”I nodded. I could hear the pain in his voice and knew he was talking about the unexpected death of his wife. Well, I was assuming it was unexpected, because I doubted she had been geriatric when she passed. No one expects to die in their thirties or forties. It was an unexpected event that had rocked his world.“I think I’d like to smell the roses more often, or the water,” I replied.His arm squeezed me a little closer. “It’s moments like these that make you appreciate life. I probably sit out here and think too much, but it has made me a much calmer person. I don’t feel angry or stressed.”“You do have a very Zen quality about you,” I told him. “You have this calming effect that is hard to expl
ChristopherI carried the steaks to the table, proud of the way they had turned out. Leila had done a great job setting the table and putting out just about every condiment possible. I liked that she was thinking of me and trying to make sure I had all I needed. It was very sweet.I watched as she cut into the steak, anxious to see what she thought. “Well?” I asked.She smiled, dabbing at her full lips with a napkin. “Perfect. It’s better than any restaurant I’ve ever been to.”“Liar,” I said with a laugh.“Not at all. It’s really very good.”“Thank you.”“Do you do a lot of cooking?” she asked.I shrugged. “I do more than I used to.”“Did you have to learn, after—” she said, not completing the sentence.“Actually, no. I knew how to cook before I was married, but I kind of got out of practice during the marriage. She did all the cooking.”She smiled and nodded. “I understand.”“What about you? Are you a gourmet cook?”She burst into laughter. “I’m a gourmet eater, does that count?”I