Presidents' Day was unexpectedly warm, so I met a group of friends and went on a hike along the coastal trail. There were several couples along, and I got the usual amount of razzing for being single. "When are you going to meet someone?" and "What's your problem?" came up in equal measure, and I just smiled. Dating a parent when you're a teacher is a gray area, so I kept my mouth shut about Lindsey. Having sex with a student is obviously not something I brought up either! Still, it was a nice day overall, even if my thoughts did stray back to my day with Grace a lot.
When I got home, I made a light meal and settled down to do some prep. When I opened up my email, I had to laugh. Among the administrivia, there was a message from Lindsey with the subject line "Thank you for coming!" I clicked on it with anticipation, knowing that she would have a lot to say about my day with Grace.
Dear Steve, (it read)
Grace was very pleased with the progress you two made. I saw evidence of some very good work being done in several areas. Thank you again for your care, attention, and flexibility. We both appreciate you making yourself available!
Lindsey
That was her best email by far--laced with double-entendres, and totally innocuous to an outsider. I did my best to match her tone in my response, adding interesting line breaks just to mess with her a little.
Dear Lindsey, (I wrote after the subject line "My pleasure")
I was glad to be there. I was very satisfied
with her hard work--
we did cover a lot of different areas.
Grace is coming
along very well, and I look forward to
filling you in
on her progress when we see each other!
I'll be there tomorrow
to work on the essay some more.
Steve
I grinned to myself and got back to work. About 20 minutes later, my phone buzzed on the coffee table. It was a text from Lindsey, of course.
"You're hysterical.
You better fill me
In, you bastard!"
I love a woman who gets the jokes!
On Tuesday, I returned to work in an excellent frame of mind. The day seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, I was in line at Starbucks getting a cold brew for myself and another disgusting flat white for Grace as a thank-you present. I pulled into the driveway, parked as usual, and knocked loudly. I heard steps in the entry hallway and put on my best grin, but when the door opened, my eyebrows went up in surprise. I was face-to-face with Grace's dad for the first time since Parents' Night.
"Hello there!" he boomed. "It's Mr. Robertson, honey!" he called over his shoulder. "And he brought coffee for everyone!"
I could feel his question hovering in the air, so I nodded a respectful greeting and gave him a sensible response.
"Good to see you again," I said with a smile. "I told Grace I might be late because I needed a shot of caffeine, and she asked if I could pick her up a drink as well."
"I hope it's your treat!" he joked, his eyes glittering. "We're paying you a lot of money!"
I was getting tired of the booming voice already, and the money shot was completely unnecessary, but I was in no position to argue. I kept the smile on my face while I reminded myself that I was sleeping with his wife AND his daughter and he was footing the bill.
"It's been a great arrangement so far," I answered easily. "Grace has made a lot of progress this semester and she should be in great shape to graduate."
"Well, that's good! Second time's the charm, huh?" he said with a chuckle at his own joke.
"Absolutely. Is Grace ready to get started?" I asked politely.
"She's around somewhere!" he snorted. "Grace, honey, are you here?"
"Right here, Dad. Hi, Mr. Robertson! Thank you so much for stopping at Starbucks--I was so wiped out after the weekend that I almost fell asleep in class today."
I gave her a small smile, inwardly admiring her innuendo.
"Ready to work on that essay?" I asked earnestly.