Love Between the Pages – by Rae Shawn #6
Darius’s eyes floated over me, a slight smirk on his face. “Can you tell me more about your teaching style?”
“Oh, my goodness,” Melissa squealed, then lowered her voice. “Dad, you think Ms. Craig is cute.”
Darius went straight as a rod, and I coughed, covering my mouth and reaching for my water.
“Mel, that’s inappropriate?—”
“But true,” Melissa said. “You like my teacher.”
There was a wide grin on the girl’s face, and she looked proud.
“Melissa,” I said. “This isn’t something that should be discussed.”
“Ok, ok, but …” Melissa glanced at each of us again and sighed. “I know my dad, and I know he has never looked so caught up. He hasn’t even brought a friend around in like two years.”
Darius glanced away.
“She’s your teacher, Mel. Stop,” he said. “You’re gonna make things uncomfortable for her.”
I shifted my attention away from them as I sipped my water, but I could feel Melissa’s eyes burning a hole in the side of my face.
“Oh, you two already know each other,” she said, an innocent yet mischievous lilt to her tone.
It was much like her father’s had been in the past. Melissa grinned, her eyes becoming slits as she hunched forward and lowered her voice.
“Are you two already dating?”
“Mel,” Darius said at the same time that I uttered her full name.
She sat up straight immediately and sucked her lips into her mouth. I sighed and shook my head, meeting Darius’s gaze.
“I knew the world was small, but damn,” Darius said, leaning back in his chair. “Melissa said ‘Ms. Craig is amazing.’ Nothing she mentioned made me think it was you.”
I shook my head, a smirk on my face. “I guess two visual arts teachers were new to the school this year after all,” I said. “And I hadn’t mentioned my last name during our encounters.”
“So, y’all do know each other?” Melissa asked, her voice tentative.
“We’ve met, Mel,” Darius said. “We are not … dating.”
He lifted his attention to mine, something in his eyes saying that he wished that statement were false—and honestly, so did I. I’d mostly been hesitant to even mention the possibility of dating after we’d had sex because of the chance his child could end up in my class. This exact scenario.
“But you like her?” Melissa asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, resting my water bottle back on my desk. “He is the parent of a student. Nothing beyond cordiality will occur here regardless of feelings that may be present.”
I saw Darius deflate subtly, attempting to mask it by adjusting in his seat.
“What if he wasn’t?” Melissa asked.
We both shifted our attention to her as she smiled widely.
“What if I was with a different visual arts teacher? Or took a different elective altogether?”
“I thought you enjoyed my class.” The hurt was evident in my voice as I tried to keep my face neutral.
Melissa clasped her hands together in her lap, looking much older than her twelve years.
“I do, Ms. Craig.” She glanced at her father then back at me. “Dad looks at you with such happiness, though. He looks at you like my stepdad looks at my mom. I can’t let me being in your class keep him from that.”
I coughed out a laugh and shook my head. Darius rolled his shoulders and plopped a hand on Melissa’s forearm. “Mel, sweetie, your mom and Anderson are married and have been for a while,” he said. “Ms. Craig and I just met and had a couple of nice conversations. It’s not the same.”
“It could be, though, and if I’m the reason y’all don’t try, I’ll be upset,” Melissa said and climbed to her feet. “So, to the front office we go. I want to ask about switching my schedule before it’s too late.”
Both Darius and I hopped to our feet. “Hold on,” we said simultaneously.
Melissa shook her head and crossed her arms.
“Nope, I’m going to change my classes,” she said. “I don’t like my math teacher anyway, so if you don’t do it, Dad, I’ll ask Mom to do it when she brings me to school on Monday. You know she’ll be on my side.”
Darius squinted and pursed his lips.
“You are just like your mother.” His face split into a grin before he glanced at me. “I’m sorry. When she gets an idea in her mind, she runs with it.”
I chuckled and shrugged. “It’s … well, I’m not in this.”
Melissa laughed. “Ms. Craig, yes you are. You like my dad too, don’t you?”
I glanced toward the classroom’s door, remembering where we were. Both father and daughter also looked back. There were people walking by in the hall, but thankfully no one had come in during our conversation. When they returned their attention to me, both seemed anxious to know my answer.
“Well, do you?” Melissa asked.
I nodded. “You are a nosey child.”
A triumphant smile crossed her face, and I could see how much she resembled her father.
“I’ve really enjoyed the few classes we had together, Ms. Craig,” Melissa said.
“I would enjoy my dad being happy more, though. Maybe, if you guys start dating, I can still ask you about all the things I was gonna learn in your class?”
I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her into a hug.
“You can ask me about visual arts anytime, regardless of …” I looked up at Darius, who only shook his head, seeming to be in shock still. “If they don’t let you switch your schedule, I’ll see you on Monday.”
“I will get my schedule changed.” Melissa’s confidence was admirable.
“… and this is Ms. Craig’s class. She’s one of our new teachers.
” Averie’s voice rang from the doorway. She paused when she saw Darius and Melissa, her eyes assessing the situation before she turned back to the people she’d been speaking with.
“I’m sure your son would love her class. How about you all have a chat?”
As the couple entered the room walking toward me, I waved.
“See you later, Ms. Craig.” Melissa leaned in. “I’d love to hang out with you and my dad together.”
I covered my mouth as I cleared my throat and nodded. Melissa chuckled and walked toward the door, smiling at the couple as she passed them. She began talking to Averie, who eyed me curiously.
Darius lingered, and the couple stopped a few feet away. I reached out to shake his hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Jeffries. Melissa is a lovely young lady.”
Darius grinned as he held my hand for a little longer than necessary.
“That she is,” he said. “It was a pleasure. Thank you for explaining your teaching style and plan for the school year.”
I nodded, then glanced at the waiting couple, lowering my voice. “Duty calls.”
“Yeah.” Darius looked me up and down. “And I’ll be calling you later.”
Rae Shawn is a candle-buying night-owl who overthinks everything but manages to get things done.