Love Lessons

Chapter Thirteen Eggplant

Chapter Thirteen Eggplant

Valerie

Valerie felt that glow pregnant women talked about. Her cheeks were pink and her skin was clear and she felt generally good

even if it was increasingly difficult to find clothes that fit as she transitioned into the third trimester. And Andrew...

well, Andrew hovered. The man was a worrier.

She sat on the edge of his bed with the blood pressure machine squeezing her arm as he stared at the digital numbers on the

screen. He meticulously reminded her every morning and every afternoon to check her blood pressure, as if she would forget.

It wasn’t as if the eggplant-size baby in her belly was something that could slip her mind.

“That’s pretty high,” Andrew said, alarmed. He was looking over her shoulder as she took her blood pressure. “How long has

it been that high, and why didn’t you tell me before? Should we call the doctor?”

“She said to worry when it gets to one forty over ninety. We’re not there yet. Let’s keep calm. I’ll take it again in a few

minutes.”

“Give me all that, lie down, and relax,” he said, taking her tablet and her phone away and placing the covers over her. “What is this?” He looked down at the screen.

“I know I said I’d stay with you, but I’ve been looking for apartments. You know, just in case.”

“Just in case what? There is no just in case. The baby is coming whether you want it to or not. I’m the father whether you

like it or not. And your apartment is shit, whether you want to admit it or not. So stop worrying about all the other bullshit.

I am not going anywhere, Valerie. I’m just not. There is no just in case.”

Her bottom lip quivered.

“All this shit is stressing you out and thus raising your blood pressure. Stop catastrophizing.”

Goodness, the man knew her more than she thought. Hell, more than she knew herself, it seemed.

“I’m trying not to. So much is changing.”

“You can stay at my house. Hell, I’ll move in here, and you stay there if you want. I just need you not to worry.” He was

so sincere, so worried for her, that her heart did a loop the loop. She’d never met anyone like Andrew. He was such a good

man.

“I don’t want you to give up your house for us.”

“Us? You and the baby are part of me. Even if we aren’t together, I will always do everything in my power to make sure you

two are okay. Looking for apartments is not making you okay, so please... eliminate this stress and just say yes.”

“Yes,” she said, without much thought. She’d been looking for apartments for weeks, and every time she even thought about the daunting mission of signing a lease, packing up her belongings, and moving, she had a little anxiety attack. “But you can’t move out. It’s your house. We’ll make it work.”

He lay down beside her and kissed her forehead. “I promise, you won’t regret it.” Then he spoke into her belly. “You hear

me, little guy? You won’t regret it.”

“Oh!” she said, startled, and grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly. “He moved. A lot. Can you feel it?”

“Oh my God!” he said, and moved his face closer, speaking to her stomach. “Hi, little man! It’s your dad.”

She laughed, and they both waited to see if the baby would make another appearance, but he didn’t. Andrew then moved back

up to her face. “You know... I’m here a lot.” He was there a lot. Not every day, but most days. He slept over often—sometimes

he’d make them dinner, sit down to watch television, and they’d doze off without so much as a kiss. Other times, he’d make

dinner, and they’d kiss, which would lead to an all-night lovemaking session because she was insatiable these days. Other

times she’d go over to his house, and there were even times they’d stay in their respective homes. She didn’t feel any pressure

to be with him. If he was disappointed on the days they slept apart or the days that they just slept, he didn’t show it.

“You are,” she said matter-of-factly.

“You don’t have to wait until the baby is born to move in with me.”

“You don’t think it’s all moving too fast?”

“I can’t control the human gestation period. If I could, I’d slow it down so that you could see what’s already so obvious

to me.”

“Which is?” What was she missing? They weren’t in love. She wasn’t even a hundred percent sure they were a good match. Sexually, they were perfect together, but if there were no baby involved, there wouldn’t be a “them.”

“That we’re both fucking tired of climbing a thousand steps to get up here.”

That was not what she had expected him to say, and she burst out laughing.

“You know it’s true. You have to take a break every floor. You’re winded by the time you open the door. Plus, my bed’s bigger.”

“But my instruments are here.”

“Just say the word and they can be at my home.”

“You’d let me take my instruments to your house?”

“I’d rather they stay, but I’m going to assume you want them around.”

“It would be a deal-breaker. Music is part of who I am.”

“Then I’m okay with them coming along. Who needs a dining room anyway?”

She chuckled. “You drive a hard bargain, Wexler.”

“Speaking of hard...” He took her hand and placed it on himself.

“I like where your brain’s at,” she said, and forgot all about apartment hunting and moving in with Andrew.

An hour later, her blood pressure was back to normal—well, her new normal, at least. Remarkably, she felt right at home with

her new living arrangements. Maybe Andrew was the real deal after all.

Andrew

Something he’d learned about the carefree woman he worked with and now was planning on living with was... she wasn’t that

carefree. At all. She was actually pretty skittish, and if he didn’t proceed with caution, he’d scare her away. So when she

agreed to move in with him, he went against all his instincts to hire a moving company, grab all her shit, and move her in

the next day. Instead, he coaxed her by moving her stuff little by little. One Tuesday afternoon, he carried her keyboard

downstairs and placed it in his truck. She hadn’t even noticed, because she had been busy making dinner for them. He’d avoided

letting her cook after the egg fiasco. But she had insisted, and he took the opportunity to start moving her. Another day

he brought her two big boxes and asked her to fill them up with some of her clothes. It took her an entire week to do that

because she was unsure whether to take all her underwear and bras or whether to leave some at her own apartment. Two days

later, she showed up at his house with a lamp and a few books.

It had been two weeks since she’d finally decided to move in with him, and she had two books, a lamp, her keyboard, five pairs

of underwear, and two bras at his house. At this rate, she’d finish moving in by the time the baby turned three years old.

But the last thing he wanted to do was add stress, so he waited patiently, even if he did nudge her every once in a while.

Andrew also did not make a big fuss when she started to spend more time at his house than at hers. Secretly, he was ecstatic, but he kept that to himself. He did, however, want to broach one particular subject.

“Any thoughts on a nursery?” he asked.

“Hello! Aren’t you following my Pinterest board?”

“No,” he said with a laugh.

“Well, you’re missing out. It’s pretty awesome. Why do you ask?”

“Because my house has two rooms. I’m wondering if you’re still thinking about taking your own room instead of sharing one

with me.”

“What are your thoughts?” she asked as she gnawed at the cuticle on the side of her thumb.

“Well, I think in order to have a Pinterest-worthy nursery, Junior should have his own room. Otherwise, one of us will need

to share a room with him, which will mean we would need to fit a bed and a crib in one of the rooms.”

“So let me understand your thought process here, Wexler. Are you suggesting that we share a bed in the interest of having

the cute nursery I envision?”

“Exactly. I’m willing to share my room and my bed so that you can have your pretty nursery.”

“You’re so altruistic.”

“I know.”

“So naked sleep time and quick access to sex never crossed your mind? It was completely for the purposes of the nursery?”

“A hundred percent.”

“No.”

“No?” Her response caught him off guard.

“I already agreed to move in with you until I find an apartment. We can live together but we can’t live together , if you know what I mean. The lines are becoming too blurred.”

“Oh my God, woman! The lines are not blurred! They’re completely fucking clear. Crystal fucking clear. We’re having sex. We’re

together all the time. We’re having a baby. We’re going to be living together. What clarity do you need? You and I are together

whether we put a label on it or not.” Why couldn’t she see it? He’d been walking on eggshells for months, but right now, at

this moment, he’d had enough. He wanted the woman. All of her. In his bed. In his arms. In his life. He wanted Valerie Marquez

more than anything he’d ever wanted in his entire damn life, and he was genuinely pissed off that she continued to push him

away.

“We are not together. I was very clear on that from day one.”

“Yes, and then that went straight to hell when we almost fucked on top of your desk at school. We’ve been having sex for weeks.

We’re practically living together already. What are you so scared of?”

“Seriously? I can barely wrap my head around the fact that we’re having a baby. I like you, Andrew. But that feeling in and

of itself is new to me too. Can you honestly say that if we weren’t having a baby together, any of this would have happened—this

thing between you and I? Plus, I’m still worried about our jobs. I’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about budget cuts. Haven’t

you?”

“I’m sure it’s just rumors.”

“You don’t know that. There’s a lot going on, Andrew, don’t you think?” She had begun to pace, and he spoke as she walked back and forth, back and forth.

“Yes, it’s a lot. But it’s the reality of the situation. If we weren’t having a baby, no, we wouldn’t be together. Of course

we wouldn’t. We’d probably still be arguing all the time about nonsense. But we are having a baby, and we’ve gotten to know

each other, and this is where we are now. This isn’t just because we’re having a baby together anymore. I know you feel it

too, Valerie. We’re good together. And stop thinking about your job and Carmichael. I promise you, I will not let you lose

your job.”

“You can’t control that.”

“I can, because if you’re gone, I’m gone, and he is not going to lose us both.”

She continued to pace back and forth while gnawing at her thumb. If her blood pressure wasn’t through the roof, her heart

rate sure was.

“Sweetheart, sit down, please. Take a breath,” he said. She would agree, eventually. She was the kind of woman who overthought

things, freaked out, and then dove in headfirst. She was at the freak-out phase in her three-step program.

“Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Yes, fine. May as well share a bed. In for a pound and all that.”

And that was his girl. Headfirst. All in. He wanted to throw his fists up in the air with joy, but he tamped down his excitement.

“When I fantasized about asking a woman to move in with me, that’s exactly the level of enthusiasm I hoped for.”

She laughed loudly and playfully shoved him. “Like any woman would be crazy enough to move in with you...”

Valerie

I really appreciate your coming over to help,” Valerie said to Monique, who sat on the floor of Valerie’s closet putting shoes

inside a box.

“How’d you go from pregnant to living with a guy you don’t even like?”

“I guess I like him a little.”

“You think?” Her friend laughed. “You know it was always obvious to all of us that there was a thing between you.”

“Please, I beg of you, for all that is holy, do not say that there’s a thin line between love and hate.”

Monique laughed. “I won’t say it.” After a few minutes of silence while they packed, Monique added, “But you know... there’s

a reason why that saying exists.”

Valerie tossed a pillow at her friend. “Andrew and I do not love each other.”

“But you also don’t hate each other.”

“Yeah, we don’t. I like him. He’s a good guy. Drives me crazy sometimes, but he’s a good man, and he’s going to be a great

father.”

“Hmm,” Monique murmured.

Valerie changed the subject. “So what’s new these days? Any good gossip? Tell me something that doesn’t revolve around being

pregnant and babies and love or hate.”

“Let me think... Oh, did you hear that Maria isn’t coming back next year? Neither is Frank.”

“You have got to be kidding. Maria is a fixture at GPA. She’s been there how many years now?”

“Twenty-five, I think. And Frank’s been there for eleven. Apparently, they’re retiring.” She air-quoted the last word.

“What do you mean, retiring ?”

“Rumor has it that the board asked them to retire. They’re cutting costs next year, big time.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yep. Apparently, it’s not cheap to give so many scholarships. Some board members want to raise tuition; others want to cut

the scholarships. Losing funding from the state has been hard. You must have noticed Carmichael’s mood lately?”

“Everyone’s noticed his mood.”

“It’s the stress, poor thing. He’s trying to switch faculty around in order to keep as many people as possible, but Fiona

says he’s under a lot of stress.”

“Crap. Should we be worried about our jobs?”

“I think we’re fine. I had lunch with Fiona last week, and she said not to worry, that the teachers are safe. I trust her—she

has her ear to the ground. But then, who knows... Look at what happened to Maria and Frank.”

“Maybe there’s more to this story than we know. Could just be a rumor, right?”

“Maybe.” Monique took a big roll of tape and closed the box. “But you and Andrew are the most sought-after teachers at GPA.

I wouldn’t stress about it.”

Too late.

Hours after Monique had left, Valerie was still thinking about their conversation. With all the changes that were going on in her life, the last thing she needed was to lose her job.

A few days later, Valerie was still thinking about the conversation with Monique. She’d told Andrew about it, and he hadn’t

seemed concerned at all.

“Stop thinking about something you can’t control,” he said during class when he caught her staring into space.

“I can’t help it. I don’t have a master’s in education like you do.”

“But you are a phenomenal teacher.”

“Says the man who thought I was a hippie quack.”

“I was wrong,” he admitted. “Plus, I’ve told you a number of times, if it’s between you and me, I’d quit.”

“I won’t let you do that.”

“But you’d do the same for me,” he said, as if it were a factual statement.

She didn’t hesitate to answer. “I would.”

“So, he’d lose us both, and that’s not good for the school. You have nothing to worry about. Focus on baking our baby.”

She laughed and then startled when Harper shrieked and climbed onto her chair. “Look!” she pointed to a disgusting rat-looking

thing walking across the classroom.

“Ewww!” the class yelled.

“Oh my God!” Valerie yelled, and instantly put her legs up on the desk. She didn’t like rats or mice or whatever the heck

that hairless thing was. A few other students jumped onto their chairs like Harper.

“Look, another one!” another student yelled.

“What the hell are those things?” Valerie said in disgust.

“Miss Valerie said a bad word!” Theo said.

“Sorry!” She covered her mouth with her hands. How was it that Wexler cursed all the time and never got caught? The one time

she had used one bad word, which wasn’t that bad, it had slipped out so loudly from her mouth. Andrew bent down to investigate

the first little creature and then walked over to look at the other creature. A few of the students got close as well. As

if they were inspecting it. In fact, Melanie, one of the students who was great with science, brought a magnifying glass from

the toy chest to look at the animal.

“They’re everywhere, Miss Valerie, ewwwww!” Harper yelled, while pointing to the corner by the box of instruments, where another

one was crawling out. Andrew followed the trail. Then moved some of the instruments out of the box. “Oh my God!”

“What is it, Wexler?”

The boys looked over Wexler’s shoulder, and threw their hands up in the air in delight. “It’s Simon!” They jumped and yelled,

“Simon is alive! He came back!”

“Ha. Seems like Simon is actually Simone,” Andrew said. “And she had little hamster babies.”

Valerie put her feet down and stood. “What? No way!”

“Very much yes way,” Andrew said with a smile. “No one touch the babies or Simon. Ms. Marquez, why don’t you call your friend

who gave you the hamsters and see what we should and shouldn’t do.”

“So it seems like Simon and Garfunkel are parents,” Valerie said as she picked up her phone.

“Fun fact, if you touch a baby bird, the mom will reject it, and then it’ll die,” Fernando said.

This kid. His fun facts were not that fun, even though they were usually on point. Valerie sent a text to her friend at the

pet store.

“For homework over the weekend, I want you all to find a photo of your favorite baby animal and bring it to class on Monday

and tell us all about it. Make sure you find out what they’re called. For example, a baby cow is a calf,” she said. This was

the first time she’d ever seen children excited about homework.

“So do we just leave these little things here until Monday?” Andrew whispered to Valerie.

“Of course not. This is where the learning opportunity comes in. One sec, my buddy texted me what to do. I’ll be back. I have

to run to the nurse’s station.”

“Are you okay?” he asked, alarmed.

“Yes, it’s not for me, silly. It’s for the mom and the babies. I need to get some supplies, and then you’re going to help

me move the babies into the cage. We need to separate Garfunkel, so why don’t you figure out a way to divide the cage.”

As she walked out of the class, she heard Andrew give the children instructions. Like little excited soldiers, they all went

straight to work.

When Valerie returned, she had hand towels and a roll of heavy-duty paper towels. “Okay, did you divide the cage?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Andrew said.

“I’m going to make a little nest using these towels. Kids, why don’t you find something that can work as a little cave for them to hide inside. They need darkness and quiet, so let’s not yell,” she said in a loud whisper.

The kids, being kids, started to tip-toe around the class looking for supplies. She loved children. They were funny, inventive,

and truthful. Times like this were why she taught. They worked together to make a little cave out of books and tape. They

tried to whisper, but they mostly whisper-yelled. She chuckled at their excitement and how, when the time came for work, they

all rallied together.

The cave wasn’t bad, actually, and she helped place it inside the cage. Valerie then filled the area with a towel so the hamsters

would be warm and comfortable. Tomorrow the pet store would be bringing more supplies, but this would have to do for now.

“Okay, Wexler, you’re up. Using this paper towel, carefully pick the babies up and put them in the cave. Fernando, why don’t

you carefully bring Simon over too?”

She picked Fernando just because he was closest to the instrument box, where Simon had made a nest. He worked gently, and

the other children put their hands under his to catch Simon if she happened to fall. It was so sweet.

“That one is super small,” Harper said, pointing to one baby in particular.

“It’s common for there to be a runt of the litter. Sometimes the runts don’t make it. We need to let Mom do her thing and

see what happens. It’s sad, but nature is like that sometimes,” Valerie said.

“Is it going to die?” Theo asked.

“I hope not, buddy. But there’s nothing else we can do for now.”

The rest of the afternoon was all about the hamsters, as was expected. When the bell rang and the parents came for pick-up, the kids were jumping out of their skin to tell their parents all about the very eventful afternoon with Simon and the babies.

“Well, I didn’t see that coming,” Andrew said after the class had left.

“You know it’s kind of your fault, right?” Valerie replied.

“My fault? How is this in any way my fault?”

“Hamsters need quiet and dark areas when they’re about to give birth and for about a week or two afterward. Since you did

not let me have music time because of your migraines, they had the perfect little area to nest. If I had been able to use

my instruments, they wouldn’t have found the nesting place and we would have found them immediately.”

“I avoided a migraine and helped Simon nest. I think the only one who doesn’t see the positivity in my work is you,” he said,

and playfully slapped her ass as they finished tucking in all the chairs under the desks and tidying up.

“Har-har.”