Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 122966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Elise straightened in her seat, and her lips parted in surprise.
I smiled and shoveled some food into my mouth. “I’m not letting you go back to San Francisco thinking we’re putting anything on hold again, Pipsqueak.”
There it was, the hope in her eyes. I hadn’t imagined it. It suddenly became so clear that she was trying to pace herself and let me set the tempo, and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want her to be afraid she’d come off as pushy or whatever else.
“You…” She swallowed hard and put down her spring roll. “Like, you’re ready to be a couple?”
I flashed a quick smile at her straightforward wording, then wiped my mouth on a napkin before I left my seat. The table was in the way. Grace was babbling to herself, in charge of her own spoon, resulting in approximately ninety percent of her food ending up around her plate, but it meant she could entertain herself for a moment.
Elise scooted out and eyed me warily, nervously, and I helped her up so I could take her seat. Then I pulled her down sideways across my lap, her legs dangling off the armrest. This was much better. Closeness, intimacy, with the one person I had a feeling would never betray my trust. Because she was Pipsqueak.
“More than ready.” I tucked a piece of hair behind her ears and looked into her eyes, and yeah, no, I wasn’t going to be able to hold anything back now. It was all going to come out, my thoughts, my plans, my hopes. “When you left last summer, this house became empty. It was good in a way, because it forced me to think about what I wanted for myself.” I didn’t want to leave her in suspense, so I continued right away. “You’re definitely a part of it—you’re the biggest part of it—but there’s something I have to do for myself as well.”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek, her eyes asking the silent question.
“I have to get out of this town for a while,” I admitted. “I’ve spent my adulthood building a safety net, and it’s not enough anymore. I want to do what you do—see a new place, try something new, take a risk or two.”
“I’m not taking any risks,” she argued anxiously. “Where are you going? What does this mean? Won’t I see you? How long—”
I pressed my lips to hers to shut her up, which only worked half the time. This time, luck was on my side, and she quieted down with a huff.
I smirked. “It’s kind of up to you where I’ll go, baby,” I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Grace reaching for her sippy cup, so I extended it to her. “I’m not returning to work in the fall,” I went on, facing Pipsqueak again. “Starting on August twenty-seventh, I’ll be on a one-year leave from Ponderosa High.”
“Oh my God.” She swallowed, her gaze flickering across my face. “I-I don’t know how to process. You’ve been a teacher for as long as I can remember. You teach up in Ponderosa—it’s what you do.”
“And I’ll return to it next year. I’m not quitting.” I knew I had to be patient with her here, and there was no way I could mention selling the house just yet. It would be too much. “It’s just a sabbatical.”
She wrung her hands awkwardly in her lap. “Okay. How is it up to me where you go?”
Because I didn’t want to impose, of course. “In case one of my plans isn’t optimal for you, I’ll go with the other,” I answered. “This summer, I’m going to travel the West Coast a bit with Grace. There’re some sights I’d like to visit, and I don’t have to find work right away.” Here goes. I cleared my throat. “What I do after that… Either I can go farther inland or perhaps south, or I can accept a job in the Bay Area.”
“Y-yes,” she choked out, eyes widening. “Yes. You can come to California? To San Francisco?”
I exhaled a small laugh. She didn’t inquire about the job, just went straight to the possibility of having me nearby. Jesus Christ, I loved her.
“The email you saw… An old college friend of mine lives in San Francisco, and I asked him to put out some feelers in the area,” I admitted. “He’s set up three Skype interviews for me, one of which he believes will result in a direct offer from a public school in Oakland.”
“That’s so c-close!” she stammered, fisting my hoodie. “You have to take it, Mister. Please, please, please!”
I grinned and kissed her quickly.
“Dada, mow!” Grace’s demanding voice stole my attention, and she clearly wanted more to drink. She waved her sippy cup at me.
While I reached for the pitcher of strawberry lemonade and refilled her cup, I explained to Pipsqueak that even though I might get an offer quickly, it would take some time before I could work in California. Mainly because of paperwork. My experience wouldn’t matter if I didn’t meet the standard teaching credential requirements.