“You asked for cereal.”
“I didn’t know we had muffins.” The kid looked betrayed. “I want a muffin.”
“How about tomorrow?” Rosalinda felt a little bad about that.
Dominick looked incredibly hopeful. “You’ll save one for me?”
“Of course.” Her mind raced back to her fridge, assuring herself that she had enough muffins to let them both have one for the next morning.
“Good.”
She went back to her phone. A response had arrived during the great muffin debate. I don’t want to push too hard, I get that you’ve established a life.
We have. And we do pretty well for ourselves. She was feeling slightly defensive.
You have. I couldn’t have asked for a better life for a kid.
He’s a really good kid.
That’s because his mom is so great.
She blushed. Thanks. That means a lot.
When do you want to get together again?
I don’t know when I’ll be free outside of this weekend.
No response came for a while. She sighed heavily, checking her phone again and again as she helped her son get dressed and ready for the day. They had to get things done aside from obsessing over when some guy was going to respond to her text. Even if it meant so much.
Instead, she took her son out to the grocery store. They had to do some shopping so they had enough to eat for the next week. Every Saturday was grocery day, and they usually went out for lunch at one point during the trip. “Ready!” Her son yelled from the back seat as she started the car.
“Good,” she laughed. She knew that he was ready because she had gotten him ready. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“Can we get chocolate cereal?”
“That’s pushing it kind of far,” said Rosalinda.
“I want some.”
“Why do you want that?”
“Because it’s good.”
“You know we don’t get sugary cereal,” she said, and shook her head with a smile. She made an effort to only buy the healthy stuff.
“I know. It makes me sad.”
She smirked. “Does it?”
“It makes everyone sad. Sugary cereal is good.” The boy grinned in the back seat. She could hear it in his voice. “You shouldn’t be mean to the cereal. It makes the cereal sad, too.”
“I don’t think cereal wants to be eaten at all,” she retorted.
“That’s what it was made for.”
“Is that so?”
“You should think about it,” Dominick replied solemnly. “The cereal needs to be eaten. Think of the starving children.”
She nearly doubled over laughing. “Really?”
“Yes. It’s not funny, you know.” She could tell that the kid was trying very hard to keep a straight face.
“It’s not?” she replied, deciding to play along.
“The cereal needs to be eaten. It’s our job to make sure we eat them all.”
“Then I should buy corn flakes next?”
“Ew, no.” Dominick shook his head.
“Thought you said it needed to be equal,” she said, smirking as they drove down the street.
“But not corn flakes.” He was so sure of his words, and that it was perfectly reasonable.
“Then we should go with less sugary cereal. Get you something at least a little healthy, alright?”
“But why?”
She thought about it for a second. “Because other moms get judgey if I feed you to much unhealthy stuff.”
“That’s peer pressure.”
She chuckled. “It is, yeah. But I just want you to grow up big and strong. You deserve so much more than an unhealthy life.”
“I’m big and strong already.”
“You are, but you could be bigger and stronger,” she countered.
“Fine,” the boy sighed. Dom must have realized that he wasn’t going to win this fight.
“Let’s get to the grocery store.”
“Can we get treats?”
“We’ll stop for lunch, at least,” Rosalinda promised.
“Can I pick where we go?”
She smiled to herself. “Where are you wanting to go?”
“Chinese?” He sounded so hopeful.
“The buffet?”
“Yeah! The one with all the different flavors of pudding!” He was really getting excited about it.
“Yeah. We can go there, but before lunch, we have to go get your new shoes and underwear.”
“I hate underwear shopping.”
“Then stop ripping all of your underwear,” she shot back at him. “We’ll get that done then get lunch.”
“Fine,” he grumped in the back seat.
They headed out to the store, and it wasn’t until they had gotten to lunch that she got a response to the text she had sent. Sorry, life got in the way. I’ll make sure we fit it to your schedule.
She thought about what to say, her mind wondering what kind of stuff could be distracting him, but decided against asking. No prob. I’m sure it’ll all work out.
Yeah. When works for you?
I’ll have to check on some stuff and get back to you.
That works.
I hope that I get a chance to do it again soon. Dom is really eager to see more of you soon.
Is he? I really enjoyed getting to know him.
Yeah, he’s an amazing kid.
He really is. And he’s adorable. He looks like my uncle.
He looks like you.
I look like my uncle too.
She laughed loudly.
Her son looked up at her. “What’s so funny, Mom?”
“Nothing. Just got a funny message.”
“I wanna see it!” He got up from his seat in the restaurant and walked around the table.
She covered her phone quickly. “It’s boring work stuff.”
“What boring work stuff?” the boy asked, looking curious.
She wracked her brain for some kind of excuse. She had to think of something fast. The boy was smart for his age, and a good reader. She didn’t want to have to explain to him the conversation that she had been having with Nick until they had stuff figured out. “A physics joke.”
“Ew, physics.” The little guy flounced back to his chair and plopped down in it. “Gross.”
“It’s not that gross,” she insisted with a smile. Her mind slipped out of parental panic and back into having fun with her son.
“It is. I’m gonna be an engineer. Build big machines.”
“And you’ll need physics for that.”
“Will not.”
She put her hands up. “Ok, whatever you say. I surrender.”
“Good.” The boy puffed up his chest proudly. “I knew I was going to win.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’m super smart and handsome and strong.” He put his hands on his hips and stood tall.
She laughed at her goofy kid. “Sit down and eat your food.”
“It’s good food. Can we get pudding yet?”
“Eat some more vegetables.”
“Gross, Mom.”
She grinned again. “You know the rules.”
The kid groaned and ate some more broccoli. Rosalinda knew he liked to complain about stuff like he saw people do on television, but he didn’t hate eating vegetables. He just wanted to feel cool about it. It always made her smile, and it had become something of a joke that they shared. It was going to be a beautiful day of getting the weekly shopping done. An afternoon of picking meals for the week, and deciding on some snacks to take to Dom’s aunt’s house and school. And that was a great thing.
14
Letter in a Bottle
Nick stared down at the paper in his hands. An official letter. Or as official as a love letter could be. Who even sent love letters anymore? “Why, Janice?” He felt the pain wash over him from the whole situation.
Janice had sent a letter asking for a chance to see him again. An
actual handwritten letter in which she wrote about wanting to reconcile. And Nick couldn’t help but wonder why she had written it. As far as he knew, they were done with each other. Everything had been split, and their finances had been sorted out. Janice had changed her name back and the divorce was handled.
But here it was: scented with her perfume on pastel paper. A love letter from the woman whom he had left.
It was the kind of thing that would take anyone by surprise. Who sent actual letters anymore? He smelled the perfume on the paper. It smelled like her, and he remembered the touch of her body. But it didn’t do anything for him. He didn’t feel the same pull as when he was in the desperation of heartbreak over one night with his best friend’s little sister. A night that he’d never had a chance to talk about.
Janice had been trying to call and talk to him. Trying, for some reason, to reconcile. Her letter had stated that she had left her boyfriend because she missed Nick. It talked about how she realized the mistake that she had made, and how she wanted her life back with him. Nick wanted none of that. He wasn’t angry; he was just tired of living a life that he had settled for. And he knew that she was settling, too. She had settled for him, or she would never have agreed to his crazy schemes. Now, he had a chance to get the woman that he really wanted back, and he wasn’t going to let that go for anything.
He let out a sigh, and balled up the sheet of scented, lilac-colored paper, tossing it to the side. It missed the trash can by three feet, so he had to walk back over and toss it directly into the can. “Stop making a mess, Nick.” He looked around his barren apartment. The place still needed that homey touch, but he couldn’t find the energy to do it.
He couldn’t make himself get more work done, so he headed to the college. There was plenty of work to be done in his office, and he knew it would be open, even on the weekend. There were enough Saturday classes being taught by part-time professors for students who worked during the week, but still wanted to get something better out of their lives.
The parking lot near the chemistry building was nearly empty, just like he expected. It didn’t take him long to let himself into the building. It was quiet; normal for a Saturday.
It was only then that he pulled out his phone and answered the text from Rosalinda. She had been waiting long enough, but he didn’t want to tell her the truth. She talked about how she was out with her son. His son. The boy that he already absolutely adored. The conversation made him feel a thousand times better about throwing away that letter that Janice had sent him. It was the right thing to do, if he was going to have some kind of hope with Rosalinda. And he was really hoping for that.
Once Rosalinda said she had to go finish the grocery shopping, he looked at the clock. There was still time to hit the cafeteria. It closed a little early on Saturday, but he could make it in time. He was walking across campus when he started to run into a few of his students that lived there.
The stares started first. Then, the giggles behind their hands.
He looked at them curiously, and managed to overhear them speaking. It was less of an accident than he tried to tell himself that it was. “That’s Professor MacRoberts,” a girl giggled.
“Is he the one who was caught in the office with Professor Carlisle?” another girl said, as she openly gawked at him.
Nick didn’t like the look on her face as her friend dragged her further away and they lowered their voices. “Shhh. He’s looking at us.”
“There’s no way he’s listening. He’s probably just being nice and stuff.”
“He could hear us.” The voice was a hiss. The gawking girl didn’t seem to care much about being heard, but her friend certainly did. But Nick didn’t spend much time pondering about that. He wanted to hear what was being said about him.
Nick sat down on a bench and tried to act like there was nothing wrong. He purposely didn’t look at them.
The gawking girl stole a glance his direction, and Nick purposely averted his eyes. “There’s no way he’s paying that kind of attention.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because he’s a professor. They never pay attention to stuff.”
“He’s a new guy. He probably does.”
“Stop it. Just tell me what happened. I have to know.”
The friend of the gawking girl lowered her voice even further. Nick had to strain to hear, but that meant he had to keep his face turned away. “I heard he had his hand up her skirt. Just all over her. Couldn’t keep his hands to himself.”
“That can’t be true,” the gawking girl said, shaking her head.
“God’s honest truth. I heard it from Alex. She saw it.”
“Alex makes stuff up.” The gawking girl seemed to roll her eyes, her voice taking that very specific tone that he didn’t even have to see to know it.
“Not this. She swears it happened. He was in her office in the physics building, and they were all over each other.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
Nick got up off the bench. He had heard enough. Rumors were going to fly no matter what he did, and while he didn’t want to hear any more of it, he knew that it was going to come eventually.
A part of him wondered if he should tell Rosalinda about it, but he decided not to. The woman had enough that she was dealing with. She didn’t need any more stuff on her plate.
Instead, he headed to the cafeteria where more people stared and pointed. Many students seemed to have heard the flying rumors, but Nick managed to secure himself a private corner to sit down in a large booth with his laptop. It was enough to get out of sight as he dished himself out some food from the various offerings.
He had just sat down when the TA, Ben, slid in next to him. “How’s it going?”
“Pretty good,” Nick smiled at him. “What about you?”
“Just getting some food and a break from a study session. You stuck grading papers?”
“Yeah. I’m actually ahead of the game, though.”
“I was just coming to see if you needed some help.”
“Nah, I’m doing alright.”
“That’s what I hear.”
Nick groaned. “Have you been hearing the rumors too?”
“Everyone is hearing the rumors. You got caught with the pretty physics professor.”
“I didn’t mean to get caught like that.”
“Trust me, every guy here knows how lucky you were to have her on the desk like that.”
“I didn’t have her on the desk.” Nick shook his head. “It wasn’t like that at all.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“You heard a lot of things, I’m sure.”
“A lot of the students are talking about it. They’re saying all sorts of crazy things.”
“How bad are the stories?”
“Depends on who you talk to. Some people are talking about you two being naked on the desk together.”
“That never happened.”
“Didn’t say it was true, that's just what people are saying.”
Nick groaned in frustration. “I can’t believe this. This can’t be happening. One student walked into her office at a bad moment, and now this is happening.”
The TA’s eyes sparkled with glee. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Not really. I wouldn’t really want to damage her reputation.”
“What are you, in the middle ages?”
“No, I’m just being an adult.”
Nick was met with a soft smile. “You’re a good man, and so lucky. I considered asking her out when I finally got to teach.”
“Aren’t you a little young for her?”
“Just by a couple of years.”
“You know she has a kid, right?”
“Hey, I was raised by a step-father. And he was great. Still is. He even paid for my education. And I don’t have a problem with kids.”
“You seem to really like her.”
“She’s kinda h
ot. And I’m not hung up on her or anything, but it would be nice to get a shot.”
“I didn’t think she dated anyone.”
“I’ve heard of her turning down a hundred guys.”
“You’ve actually heard it?”
“I heard about it. No one gets close to her. Everyone thinks she has a secret boyfriend. Maybe some married guy or girl.”
“Really?”
“Who knows. No one gets any answers or anything,” Ben said. “I can’t really tell much about it. I’m not a great judge. But she’s pretty, and she’s pretty smart.”
“She’s more than pretty smart,” Nick smiled slightly.
“You seem to be pretty stuck on her.”
“I wouldn’t go that far yet. We do have a bit of history.”
“Oh? Good history or bad history?”
“Probably an ‘in the middle’ kind of history.” He was purposely vague about it.
“That just makes me more curious. I want to know more.”
Nick sighed. “What does it matter? We grew up together. Her brother was my best friend.”
“That’s a pretty big history. Also, kissing your best friend’s sister? That’s bound to get you in trouble.”
“Yeah. It was a long time ago. We’ll be fine.”
“From the way you two were going at it, it looks like it wasn’t that long ago ”
“It was just a kiss.”
The TA laughed lightly. “That’s not what’s going around. And you two were doing it with the doors open.”
“It really wasn’t that bad.”
“It was bad enough to make a bunch of students talk about the two hot professors getting together.”
“I don’t see why.”
“Don’t you remember college? Professors getting in trouble is a huge deal every day.”
“We’re not getting in trouble,” Nick said, looking down at his plate. He was feeling a lot less hungry at this moment. There was no way that Rosalinda wouldn’t hear about all of this when she got into the office on Monday.
“I mean, I don’t know if you have or not,” the TA shrugged.
“Should I warn her about this?”
“I don’t know,” Ben said. “I’ve never had to deal with this kind of stuff. The Ewings were already married when they got jobs here.”
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