Chapter Three #2
“Then how about this. I will never make those kinds of decisions for you. But I would like to see you again. You’re funny, and you know what you want.
Most people don’t. I can’t tell you that I won’t be asked to move, but I will promise that if I am, and we are still dating, that I will ask you what you want to do. Is that fair?”
Dade was tempted to just say no and go on home.
But Cliff was kind and thoughtful, a combination Dade rarely seemed to find.
He also listened to him, and considering that Dade had done a lot of the talking, Cliff hadn’t tuned him out or gotten tired of his ramblings.
Instead, he’d paid attention. Few people outside of the school where he taught had.
“Okay,” Dade said. What was he going to do, turn away a man with many of the qualities he liked—and one that was hot to boot—and not give him a chance?
“We’ll see how things go.” Dade pulled out his phone and got Cliff’s number.
He called it so he would have his number and then added Cliff to his address book.
“So, what are you doing tomorrow?” Cliff asked.
“Grading papers. I have plenty of them to look at. After that, I have lesson plans to review and units to develop. Some of them I have from last year, but I need to develop new ones. I don’t want things to get stale, and this year I’d like to do something special in January.
The holidays are over, and it sometimes seems like a real letdown.
I also need to go to the Dollar Store for shopping.
The school gives the kids a list of supplies they need for the year, and I have kids who can’t afford those things.
They come to school on a lick and a prayer.
Every month, I get some of the supplies that they don’t have and put them in my locked closet.
That way I can give them out when they’re needed. ”
“Do you use your own money for that?” Cliff asked. “Because that just isn’t fair.”
“There isn’t the budget for it. So yes, I have to spend my own money. All teachers do. I know it isn’t fair, but that’s the way it is. I’m a regular at the Dollar Store. I get simple things, but that way no one has to go without.”
“I don’t need to be on post this weekend. I’ll take you to the store on Saturday and help with the shopping.” Cliff’s jaw was set, and he had a fierce expression. Dade wasn’t sure what it meant, but he agreed.
“Saturday morning about ten,” he said. “You know where I live, so you can pick me up and we can go on to the store.”
“Then I can take you to lunch after, and maybe if the weather is nice, we can go for a bike ride or a walk along the LeTort Trail.” Cliff had one of those smiles that Dade found completely disarming.
“Very good.” They turned at the square and continued the walk back to Dade’s small apartment.
“I’d like that. The only time I get outside most days is when I’m on the playground, though I don’t have that duty every day.
Mostly when the kids are at recess, I grab a cup of coffee and go back to my desk to do some planning or marking.
A lot of teachers spend time in the lounge, but I don’t have the time for that. ”
“Because you’re a good teacher.”
Dade shrugged. “Mostly because when I go home, I try to have some time to myself and not spend time at my kitchen table grading papers or preparing for the next few days. I get done as much as I can at work.”
Once they arrived, Cliff walked him to his door and said good night.
Dade hugged him and then went inside, closing the door, wondering if he should have kissed him, but then maybe there should be something left for next time.
He gathered a few things and his work bag and headed out to the hotel, since his apartment was practically a disaster area.
At the hotel, Dade checked in and went to the room, grateful that it smelled clean with no hint of smoke.
And at least it would only be for a night or two.
He smiled as he took off his jacket and kicked off his shoes, before pulling out his bag filled with papers.
Dade still had plenty to do at home, but that would need to wait for now.
It was amazing how many papers a class of twenty-five kids could generate in a day.
He set them out and got started marking the last of them, but he found it hard to concentrate.
Cliff kept invading his mind, and more than once, he paused, red pen in hand, just staring at the wall, wondering what Cliff looked like under those clothes.
He had caught sight of muscle at times, and it was obvious that Cliff took care of himself.
His phone vibrating on the table interrupted his thoughts. Dade snatched it up, frowning at the strange number, and almost let it go to voicemail, thinking it was a telemarketer. “Hello,” he said cautiously.
“Good evening. I hope it’s not too late to call.
I was given your number by General Saracina.
I’m Headmaster Wilson Groves from the Pittsburgh Military Academy.
We’re a private prep school that stresses leadership, discipline, and rigorous academics, and we are in need of a math teacher for our middle-school-aged boys.
I met the general at a function a week or so ago, and he told me that you might be interested and asked me to contact you.
I must say, your qualifications are impressive, and we would be happy to speak to you about filling the position. ”
Dade wanted to kill his father. He had no right to do something like this. “Mr. Groves. The thing is… I have a position here, and I love it.”
“The general gave me the distinct impression that you wanted to move on from your current position to one that provided more of a challenge.” He seemed genuinely shocked.
“May I ask you, have you ever been in a classroom with twenty-five second graders for six hours a day? Let me tell you, the challenge is keeping up with all their energy. You are probably aware that General Saracina is my father, and you can imagine that the general tends to get what he wants.” He wanted to say that his father was an interfering pain in the ass, but he needed to keep the call professional.
“I really do appreciate the call, but I’m very happy where I am.
But if that were to change, you’d be one of my very first calls. ”
“I appreciate that. You have a wonderful evening.” He ended the call, and Dade ground his teeth in anger.
Damn his father for just going ahead with whatever he wanted.
At least he had nipped that in the bud. Dade got back to his grading, wondering what his father was going to pull next, because his father never gave up—he just kept attacking from different angles.