Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“I found Epsom salts and the only bubbles that don’t smell like fake flowers in the cupboard.
Something called lemon grass and ylang ylang.
” Michael’s hand on my back is warm and sturdy as he guides me into the bathroom.
“We’ll unwrap your ankle for this. I think the salts should bring down any swelling. ”
This man needs to stop being sweet because I don’t know how to deal with it.
He took care of me all day yesterday, and I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but things between us feel different now.
Maybe because I’m looking at everything through a slightly different lens after that Bex call.
Or maybe because I’m not used to someone being so focused on my needs.
Either way, this snowbound hand-fasting situation we’ve got going on here is making me feel vulnerable. What? He’s making me a bubble bath . There’s nothing more domestic than that.
You might as well enjoy it. You never did get your hot stone massage.
I have a point. The bath is already running, there are two wine glasses full of cold juice beside a tub that should fit the both of us, and I’m a sucker because I’m totally into this. Where did cynical Win go? The Win who was only interested in one thing when it came to a man?
“I hope it doesn’t bring down all the swelling.”
Whoop. There he is.
Michael’s eyes narrow, but he doesn’t take the bait as he studies me. “I thought you said you wanted to be clean for what came next.”
I’m pretty sure that’s me, in case you were wondering. I’ll be the one coming next.
“I did and I do,” I say, my face heating at the steam…and possibly the direction of my thoughts. “No one wants to be the Thomas Paine at the party.”
He sits me down on the wide rim of the tub and kneels at my feet, taking my wrapped ankle in hand. “Tell me what Thomas Paine has to do with being clean.”
He actually asked for it. Voluntarily. How can I resist that?
“Do you know he only had six people at his funeral?” I inform him as he starts unwrapping the bandage.
“And it wasn’t just his personality and behavior that alienated everyone he ever knew.
He stank because he didn’t believe in personal hygiene.
‘The times that try men’s souls’ were probably times when they were locked in a closed room with that kind of body odor.
Then the poor guy got dug up and taken to England by a superfan.
And now I want a shower after my bath. And for us to rewind this conversation back to ylang ylang. ”
Michael’s lips twitch as he rubs my foot gently. “You do this for your students, don’t you? Your unexpected but situationally appropriate outbursts of trivia.”
“Sure.” I watch as he tosses the bandage aside and gets back to his feet.
“When we get to the Boston tea party, I usually take the opportunity to spill some tea of my own about every historical figure I can. Kids can relate to the Kardashian, Real Housewives and Traitors of it all. And if they can relate, they can remember.”
“I see it now. You as a teacher. You’re probably everyone’s favorite.”
“Of course I am,” I answer automatically before clarifying.
“Unless we’re talking about the ten percent of parents who’d rather I wasn’t gay.
Or the other teachers who wish I’d stick to the boring, test-centric lesson plans and not turn everything into a musical.
Or the vice principal who wants a little action in exchange for ignoring the complaints. Ugh. Please forget I said that.”
I told Bex, because she’s Bex, but I haven’t let anyone else know what I was going through for the last year.
Dealing with a closeted slimeball who was using my school as a stepping stone for his career.
One who actually hated children, by the way, and wasn’t that fond of the educational system in general.
Oh, and he thought it would be really cool if I bent over his desk while pretending to be stuck in detention. Skeeve City.
Michael’s smile evaporates and the seductive atmosphere instantly leaves the building. Why didn’t I just agree and shut up? Yes, I’m wonderful, let’s wash up and bone. That’s all I had to say.
“I really do love teaching those kids. I hear from the old-timers that this last decade has been one of the rougher ones to be in the education business, but things should be looking up again soon.” Maybe. “And for the moment, I’m enjoying taking a break from all the stuff that’s not so great.”
“Like the vice principal?” he growls.
“Yes.” And the lack of funding. And the school board’s ridiculous pronouncements.
And the constant textbook changes that are based on politics instead of actual history.
“But he’s leaving next year,” I add, needing to wipe that look off his face and remind myself there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
“Getting a promotion in another district. Those offices turn over so often at my school, we barely get to know their names. In this case, it’s a good thing. ”
Michael doesn’t look any happier. “I’m still sorry you had to go through that.”
He doesn’t ask if I reported him, I wonder if it’s because he knows making that kind of noise is a good way to paint a target on my own back.
I should have reported him, and I would have if the few people I could have complained to didn’t celebrate the guy as having the right upwardly-mobile stuff.
My fear of unemployment came up against my revolutionary spirit, and that spirit blinked and slunk away like a coward so I could keep my job.
And then I decided to take a break. I wasn’t running. I was hitting pause to regroup.
“I want you to be willing to take a chance. With your work. With a person.”
I’ve thought about other options over the years. Teaching at a more innovative school where I’d have some control over the curriculum. Private tutoring. Becoming a professor. I have a friend who went from teaching students to teaching teachers, and she said she loves it.
But all of those options mean leaving my middle school, and my goal was to go back there and make the kind of difference my teachers made for me. How can I leave it behind?
Shaking off those dark thoughts, I focus on Michael and slip off my shirt.
“It’ll all be worth it in another fifteen or sixteen years, when one of my kids wins a Grammy or becomes president and says it’s all because I made them memorize a song about the states.
Or told them a talkative man named Gouverneur Morris—who once lost a leg running from a jealous husband—became known as the ‘Penman of the Constitution’ instead of Cheaty McPeg-Leg, which means that anything is possible. ”
I laugh at his expression. “The answer is yes. I can do this all day.”
He stares at me intently. “All year. Didn’t you mention something last night about a summer camp you and your friends run?”
I raise my brows. “You’re starting me a sexy bath, I’m shirtless and you want to talk about my summer camp?”
“I need a distraction from Stinky Thomas.”
I snort. “Fair enough. We’re actually really proud of what we’ve accomplished with minimal funding.
Val donated the land—it’s across the lake from his house—and threw up some cute little buildings for us to do activities in.
Every weekend for a month, the kids from our neighborhood show up to have fun and learn something.
Connor’s all about Mathletics, tying knots and wilderness survival.
” I tilt my head. “Looking back, I should have paid more attention to those classes.”
I’m sure he’ll make me participate next time.
“Val’s lessons usually revolve around art, construction and money management.
Bex shows up sporadically—she worked nights until recently—to teach them everything they need to know about computers and safe-but-fun things to do with drones.
” I point to my bare chest in case he forgot where it was.
“I discuss surviving bullies, loving yourself, and how vital it is to be a well-informed voting citizen, before choreographing at least one musical number.”
He grins at that, like I knew he would.
“We’re aiming for well-rounded fun,” I defend firmly. “And they leave with all the donated school supplies we’ve been able to gather throughout the year. We’ve been doing it for five years, and the kids and parents love it.”
“It sounds impressive. It also sounds like you never take a vacation.”
“I’m literally taking one right now.”
“You’re here for a singing job.”
“But I’ve spent the weekend lounging around and eating gourmet meals, and now I’m about to luxuriate in a giant bath. If it walks like a duck...”
“How long has it been since you’ve been out of state or out of the country?”
I shrug uncomfortably. Michael’s mentioned how much he travels for work and, being a Demir, he’s probably done it for pleasure as well.
Seen places I can only imagine visiting in my not-in-my-budget daydreams. I’ve had a few weekend trips to New York for Broadway reasons, and stayed at a hotel in Philadelphia once when I chaperoned my school’s history club before we lost funding.
But other than that? I’ve spent at least ninety percent of my life tethered to the same ten city blocks.
Bex was right, damn it. None of us have been champions of personal growth, have we?
Connor, Val and I are all exactly where and who we were a decade ago.
I’m still a workaholic who doesn’t date or take vacations.
Val, even with his career success, is still taking care of his elderly parents and waiting for Bex to notice his crush instead of getting a personal life.
Connor still lives with me and lets me do his laundry.