28. Chapter 28
OLIVER
What happened that day was never brought up again, much like she said she would, Luna let it go and we returned to our new normal, with her Theo and I eating dinner together when I got home from work, then she cleaned I whilst I got Theo ready for bed and once he was asleep, I made it up to her with the best way I know how - she had zero complaints.
Things continued to be great throughout the week as if nothing happened at that bus stop. Luna and I were back into the bliss of what was brewing between us, and before we knew it, it was Friday - the day of Theo’s parents’ evening.
The day I’d pictured in my head over and over again had finally come, although it wasn’t going to have the satisfying ending I wanted, putting a certain shitbag six feet under.
I wasn’t leaving tonight until I received some redemption for the tensing in Luna’s shoulders as she shuffles nonstop in the passenger seat while we’re on our way to Theo’s school.
I’d now learnt the way her body worked inside and out, which only enraged me, knowing he was the cause of her negative emotions.
I didn’t want her to feel this way any longer.
Now that I was aware of who he really was and what he did, I was putting a stop to it one way or another.
When we arrived at the school, Luna, Theo, and I all walked in together, turning a majority of heads. As Luna mentioned earlier, she tried to convince me that it might be better if Theo and I went without her, but I wasn’t going anywhere without her by my side.
I’m no stranger to being the talk of the school as a single bachelor-type father who worked a lot and contributed a lot towards the school, was a recipe for gossip.
The mothers of Theo’s friends had nothing better to do than judge and bicker over who they thought I’d be more attracted to amongst them, and every time they ask, I give the same answer - none.
That being said, I so much as hear one rumour about Luna and I’ll destroy the entire PTA with the utter of three words, a threat I’ve only had to make once when one of the parents on the committee attempted to push me too far that the subject was never brought up again, it’s also why one stern look towards that same parent as we walked into the room zipped her lips tighter than you can say gossip.
We then make our rounds, greeting every parent, engaging in useless chit chat, which is more about talking about themselves than it is about their children, the whole reason we’re all here.
As for Theo, he’s long gone. After greeting all the parents with a quick hello, before running off with his friends on their way down the hall, following the sound of his other friends laughing in the play area.
I, on the other hand, thank God Luna was here, keeping me company and doing most, if not all, of the talking. I knew Theo was going to abandon me almost straight away, as I’d been to enough of these to know how they went.
Usually, we parents were all stuck in a room with crappy refreshments, forced to mingle.
The other parent insisted on trying to set me up with someone they knew, and I’d have to decline and wait while we were called into the next room one by one to discuss how our children were getting on in school with their teacher.
But two things had changed since the last parents’ evening, one being that I had Luna, who was happy to filter out the needless talk of self-centred parents and the second being that I no longer had any obligation to behave when it came to Theo’s teacher.
Hence, why I am savouring my words for the time our names were called for the meeting, aka last, as Theo and my last name meant he was always at the bottom of the register, with it going in alphabetical order, but as I mentioned, I no longer have an issue with that.
As the evening went on, I ended up learning a lot - mostly through Luna. That not all of the parents here were stuck-up arseholes; that was now only reserved for the cliché of mums, otherwise known as the PTA.
One of the more tolerable ones was Harry, Edward’s dad, a new friend who only joined the school last week. I’d heard Theo talk about him a lot recently, and I had the pleasure of meeting the little guy as he came to introduce himself earlier when he and Theo came running in for a quick check-in.
Turns out his dad and I support the same football team, Arsenal, which gave the two of us something to talk about when Luna broke away to use the bathroom.
Harry and I were able to discuss where we thought the team was heading next.
He’s a lot more interesting now that I’m getting to know him.
He told me all about working as a CEO at a start-up company and that his wife was in the Navy, due to come out permanently sometime at the end of this year, hence the permanent move here.
It was thanks to Luna creating that bridge that the night ran a lot smoother, with less torture.
Harry, whom I’d also found out wasn’t the biggest fan of Greg either, headed into his meeting, and we agreed to possibly watch a match together with the kids sometime.
I was less reluctant to stay in my bubble, reuniting Luna with my side as she spoke to most of the parents in the room, as well as the occasional nod towards the PTA, stealing glances at us every chance they got.
But they quickly became irrelevant as time went on; their bubble of a bond was broken piece by piece as they went into their meetings and out the other side to fetch their children, until finally it was our turn.
Luna and I share a look. We’re the only two left in the waiting room as I watch her put on her brave face, gently extend her hand for mine to take, knowing it would give her the extra courage she needed to get through this, but fuck that.
I may not be a fan of expressing PDA in front of others daily, but I have no issue with showing off what’s mine, especially when I want others to know it.
I grab hold of her waist and hitch her against me, despite her little fight to separate us.
She allows herself to sink into me and takes a small breath in and out.
One she thinks I can’t hear, right before we walk in.
I take immense pleasure in knowing that the sight of me holding Luna against me, her leaning into my touch, makes him grip that pen in his hand far too tightly.
Secondly, I take pride in being able to dissipate some of Luna’s worry by maintaining eye contact the entire time as she is too busy smiling at me to even look at him, yet another thing that seems to drive him feral.
He tries to act otherwise because, as far as he knows, I have no idea of his past with Luna, so he puts on his best fake smile and stands, rounding the desk towards us.
He extends a smile towards Luna first, which she politely returns, but it’s not the kind that meets her eyes and has the power to light up a whole room.
He and I both know that, and yet, he still attempts to touch her in some way by extending his sleazy hand towards her, which I take instead, not wanting Luna to taint herself any more than she has with this vile human. I give his hand a firm handshake, making him wince in discomfort.
Then I turn to Luna, making sure to touch her with my non-contaminated hand and gently brush a loose curl behind her ear as the perfect excuse to stroke my thumb over her cheek.
“I think Mr Stevens and I can handle things from here. Why don’t you go and check on Theo, il mio tutto?
” I say, offering her a smile only. Keeping things formal while the lady in the room is still present, even if all I wanna do is rip this guy’s nut sack off…
what’s left of it, that is. Luna silently expresses her gratitude by leaning into my touch when I feel her softly kiss my hand, then turns to leave.
I don’t give him the satisfaction of watching Luna leave as I use my body as a barricade while she is exiting the room, yet another gesture that has caused him irritation and me joy. Once the sound of Luna’s heels is no longer heard in the hallway, only then am I properly greeted by the asshole.
“Mr Walters, it’s good to see you again. It’s been a while,” he lies as a feeble attempt to appear friendly, but I quickly nip that in the bud.
“It has, but we can skip the pleasantries as always; it’s been a long evening, and I’d rather cut to the important stuff,” I state, using the same tone I use to boss around my interns.
The tick in his jaw indicates he hates that I’m talking down to him, that he can’t seem to stand being in the same room as me.
Neither of which I don’t give a fuck about; neither of us has ever really liked each other, so the feeling is mutual.
Besides, after what he did to Luna, I do not need to attempt to pretend otherwise, whereas he seemed to think he’s been nothing but a professional at masking his unforgivable deeds.
But I guess that will be yet another thing I’ll prove him wrong about.
Then he goes back to his desk, and I sit in one of the chairs opposite, as he walks me through Theo’s progress since the last parents’ evening.
I want to express that even if he is a disgusting human being when it came to respecting women, much like every man my mother became infatuated with, he’s still a half-decent teacher, but that would be lying.
Theo is an exceptional child for his age, although our start together was slow and non-verbal. Once he caught up, he surpassed the children in his year when it came to counting and spelling his name; he became the equivalent of an eight-year-old in a six-year-old’s body.
The first week Luna started working as his nanny, she’d already outlined and analysed his strengths and how to improve his weaknesses, whereas this man, who supposedly had been teaching my child for the last two years, knew barely anything.