TWELVE
The commotion of searching for Dylan stalled the service, causing many people to be waiting for their food or their bill.
Great, more stress.
“Hannah, I will need your help, at least until it calms down a little,” Shilah tells her daughter. “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a couple of minutes, sir,” she informs my professor. “All the booths are occupied and one is out of service, as you can see.” She motions to Dylan’s booth.
“Shilah, if you don’t mind,” I start. “I’ll stick to this side of the restaurant so I am closer to him. Is that alright?”
“Sure, dear.” She nods before turning back to Hannah while they agree on what to do and what to cover.
As I am about to go tend to a few clients, who are on the verge of finishing, Professor Adell finally speaks.
“I can look after him if you want.” His words stun me in place.
“Ahm, there’s no need,” I answer way too fast. “I–I’ll be around now. Thank you, though.”
“It’s not a problem at all,” he admits, shrugging his shoulders. “Also, I need a table to eat, and he happens to have one. We can keep each other company.” He scratches the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.
Is he even used to being with kids? I mean, he is a teacher, and I reckon that at some point, he has dealt with them…right? But his whole stance worries me. Is he being weird because he is uneasy with me, the kids, or the situation in general?
As his cheeks blush lightly and he looks away, I suppress a gasp. Is he…shy?
Surely, it can’t be.
Stealing a glance at my kid to make sure he is still where he should be, I consider it real quick. I once believed this man only had bitterness in him, and yet today, I’m seeing a whole other persona in front of me. Still, having him watch over Dylan, as much as it’d help me, I don’t know if I trust him enough.
“I mean, I can fix you a table in five minutes probably, if you don’t mind waiting.”
“There’s no need. He seems like a laid-back kid; I don’t mind it at all.”
His words seem honest, making me feel torn, but as I look around and see the number of people still unattended, I give in. A nod is all he needs to head over to the booth and say something to Dylan. A second later, my son smiles, and Professor Adell sits down across from him.
With that thought still swimming in the back of my mind, praying that this won’t come back to bite me in the ass later, I focus on work and tend to the customers that are waiting to pay. It’s only when I am finally caught up that I realise I haven’t asked the professor what he wants.
Turning in their direction, I stop once I catch a glance of them. It’s so surprising that it has me blinking several times just to make sure it’s true.
He’s already eating a burger, but that’s not what surprises me. He’s talking animatedly with Dylan while feeding him fries once in a while. My kid is thoroughly entertained and munches whatever is given to him, despite having had dinner already.
They’re both gesturing a whole lot and laughing alternately between themselves. It’s the first time I’ve seen my son connect this easily with someone who isn’t family or a kid his age. Though it isn’t really surprising; my boy is the opposite of me. A social creature. But watching them warms my heart.
At least until my brain is invaded by his little weak voice, asking for his dad.
Is this what it would look like?
The two parallel images make me shudder. Neither of these possibilities are exactly welcome in my mind. In the end, both get him taken away from me. And that is something I wouldn’t recover from.
Still, watching Dylan and my professor together feels like a slap on my face. It’s an upfront show of how much I have robbed him. Or them.
But I had to.
And I can only hope that he’ll understand, someday...
“Seems like he’s good with kids,” Shilah comments behind me, startling me.
With a defeated sigh, I turn to look at her. “I wouldn’t know. He’s never been nice to me, so I was reluctant to let him watch over him, but I guess...”
“Well, look how well that turned out. Sometimes, fate works in weird ways.” She winks at me.
Automatically, the thought brings me back to Liam, and I visibly wince. It works weird alright. After leaving when I was young, the prospect of seeing him again was one chance in ten million. Still, we were able to choose the same city to study and live in without trying to. I mentally snort at the thought before a memory of when we were sixteen washes over me.
“Your dad will be fuming when he finds out,” I muttered.
“Let him, Lo. You know damn well I don’t need no private colleges; public ones are even more prestigious in our country, and you know it.” He shrugged unaffectedly. “Besides, you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, squeezing me into his side.
I loved the warmth of his voice and his dedication to staying with me through college as long as there was a medicine program. I didn’t want to be away from him either, but this would have turned into a big problem. His parents only tolerated me because they were friends with mine, but deep down, I knew they didn’t like me.
I could see it by the way they looked at me like I wasn’t good enough. Sure, I was a quiet and shy girl with good grades, but I wasn’t a genius nor the most beautiful girl around. And I struggled with numbers a lot; if it weren’t for Liam, I would’ve failed math every time.
But Liam was adamant to stay close to me. Truthfully? That was all I wanted, too. I had been in love with him, my best friend, forever. I couldn’t even remember when it started; it probably was love at first sight.
His parents were pushy with him about his studies and grades. They wanted him to be the best and go to the best college there was out there. They’d send him off to Oxford if they could, especially since Mason, Liam’s older brother, refused to go to college and started working right away.
But every time I mentioned it to Liam, he shrugged me off.
“But still.” I looked at our intertwined hands, avoiding eye contact. “You’re giving up a dream college for me. I don’t want you to miss out on anything.”
“Lo,” he called, and when I didn’t look up, he gently pushed my chin up with his free hand, making me look up at him. “That’s their dream, not mine. My dream is to be a fucking good doctor with you by my side. It doesn’t matter where I decide to study.”
I blushed at his words.
“And,” he insisted. “I am not worried about that yet. We still have two years to decide and plan on which college we go to together.” He squeezed my cheeks.
“If we go to the same one,” I pressed.
“Well, if we can’t go to the same one, we’ll choose the ones that are closest.” He grinned. “We’ll make it work.”
“Sure, Casanova. With all the girls falling at your feet, you’d forget me in less than a month.”
I freed my face from his hands and tugged at one so we could start walking. Instead, his hand tightened the hold on me, pulling me back against his chest, awakening the dormant butterflies in my stomach.
“Baby, I could never forget you; not even if fifty years had passed by.”
“It’s safe for you to go home now.” Shilah’s words startle me out of my memories.
I stop cleaning the counter and look back at her quizzically. I had told her I’d stay until closing time to make it up to her.
“Look.” She points at the booth where Dylan and Professor Adell are, and I gasp in shock.
Sure enough, he’s sitting by Professor Adell’s side, instead of across the table from him, with his head leaning on the side of his chest while one big bulky arm is wrapped around my kid’s shoulders and the other holds a small pocketbook on the table. My professor’s attention is focused on it, seemingly reading.
Are they reading together?
Without thinking, I approach them, only to be stopped by movement. The book is closed gently on top of the table, and Professor Adell rotates his head, looking at me and shushing me. My eyes widen, and I get even closer to confirm my suspicions.
Dylan is snoring softly, nestled into his side.
“When he learned I’m a Portuguese and Literature teacher, he asked me to help him with his reading,” he whispers. “He told me he wants to start first grade knowing how to read, and after a few minutes of me reading to him, he fell asleep.”
Oh my god.
“Thank you so much for looking after him. This won’t happen again. I know he can be a handful sometimes,” I mutter, embarrassed. “I’m done already, so I’m just going to change quickly, and I’ll be back to pick him up. Is that okay?”
“Sure, don’t worry.” He nods before opening his book back up.
Without another word, I head to the staff room with a frown etched onto my face.
This man is giving me whiplash.
He was nothing but awful to me since the beginning, and now, he”s being nice and helping me out?
All I can think about is…why?
When everything’s properly folded inside my locker and I check I have everything in my purse, I head back outside, ready to pick up Dylan and carry him to the car, but to my big surprise—once again tonight—Professor Adell is already standing up with a sleeping Dylan in his arms and his big jacket over his small body.
Dylan’s chubby face is flushed and squashed against his left shoulder while my professor’s arms hold him from under his bum. He is waiting casually close to the exit, talking softly with Shilah as if my kid weighs nothing. Something in my chest warms and my stomach flips.
For a second, the feeling has me hesitating. But not understanding why, I quickly shrug it off and walk toward them. All conversation ceases the moment I arrive next to them, and Shilah quickly kisses me on the cheek before going behind the counter again.
“Ahm, I–I can take him from here,” I stutter.
Smooth, Willow, real smooth.
“Nonsense, I’ll follow you and put him in the car if you’re okay with it. He’s a big guy.” He gives me a small tight-lipped smile.
I freeze.
He smiled. He smiles.
The corners of his eyes crinkle just a tad, and it rejuvenates him for at least five years. The man is handsome, even more so with a tiny smile on his face. I can only imagine how much younger he”ll look with a full laugh.
“Shall we?” He breaks me out of my trance.
“Yeah, sure,” I answer and hold the door open for him, since, you know, he’s carrying my kid.
We arrive at the car in no time, both in silence. There, I unlock the car, and he places him down on his chair, buckling him in and straightening his head up while I hold his jacket for him. All the while, Dylan doesn’t even stir. That kid is a heavy sleeper.
When he straightens from bending inside the back seat, I give him his jacket back. He thanks me quietly before putting it on.
“Thank you, Professor, for everything. It was very kind of you.” I smile weakly, trying to hide the discomfort of this favour that I now owe him.
“Please, call me Arthur,” he requests quietly, and I nod absentmindedly. Knowing full well I won’t do it anytime soon.
“I want to apologise, honestly,” he starts, scratching the back of his neck. “I was nasty to you from the beginning, and I had no proper reason to be. I made all of these wrong assumptions based on a really bad experience I had in the past, just because you remind me of someone.”
I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off.
“I was fucking awful to you, and every time you were nothing but polite and respectful, even when defending yourself.” He sighs before continuing. “Then, when I saw that Dylan was your kid and not your boyfriend…and, em, it dawned on me that you’re not who I assumed you to be. Fuck,” he hisses quietly. “I’m rambling now.” He rubs his forehead before looking back at me. “Anyway, I really am sorry.”
His dark brown eyes are looking directly at me, unwavering, and it makes me feel weird. Even though what he did is not okay, it takes courage and self-introspection to recognise one’s mistakes. And in reality, I’m not one to hold grudges.
“Of course, Professor. Let bygones be bygones,” I say simply. “I have to go now, toddler to put to bed and all.”
We smile back at each other before I slip inside the car and drive home with a sleeping kid in the back and a small smile on my face. I don’t know why but a weight seems to have been lifted off my chest and I feel lighter.