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Chapter Twenty-Six
Josh
“Amy, where are we going?” I asked for the third time. Kaden put his hands on my cheeks and leaned forward on my head, I was carrying him on my shoulders through the mall. Amy dragged me shopping with her and I still didn’t understand why.
“Has Naomi said that she loves you yet?” Amy asked. She stopped walking abruptly and I glanced around. The mall was pretty scarce for a Sunday afternoon. We stood in front of a jewelry store but I didn’t think anything of it. “Not yet and I’m not pressuring her to,” I said.
“Do you see yourself down the line with her?” Amy asked. I squinted at her, unsure of the direction of our conversation.
“Yeah. I don’t want to be with anyone else and she’s having my baby. We’re going to be a family,” I said. Amy tilted her head towards the store and raised her eyebrows. Then it clicked. “You think…?”
“I think you should be thinking about it,” she said. I took a deep breath and then walked towards the store. Before stepping in, I took Kaden off of my shoulders. We were greeted by a couple of the clerks standing behind the counters. Amy asked where the engagement rings were and we were directed to a case in the far back of the room. “You know mom and dad are going to ask these questions. I’m just priming you before you tell them and they annoy you,” Amy said.
I shrugged, already anticipating what my parents would say. My eye was caught by a rose gold ring—the double band was inset with diamonds—which had a solitary diamond that would draw anyone’s attention.
“He’s got the look,” the sales lady said, her tone was almost smug. “Do you know her ring size?” she asked me.
“No, I don’t,” I murmured and tried to picture Naomi’s fingers.
“Well, we do hold rings with a small down payment, we also do layaway and payment plans. Anything to help you get the perfect ring,” she said. I looked up and then glanced at Amy, who shrugged, but her facial expression said, “get it.”
“How much is it?” I asked. The saleswoman grinned as if I’d made her day and I knew that the ring wasn’t going to be cheap.
#
It's a good thing I had a decent savings account, but after that trip to the mall, it had a seven thousand dollar hole in it. I didn’t see myself proposing for a while. I wanted to do it when the time was right and I was sure that Naomi wanted to spend her life with me and it wasn’t just the other way around.
I stared at the front of the psychology building and sighed deeply. I didn’t want to go inside and face the music. Dr. Prescben had sent me an e-mail bright and early, letting me know to go to his office first thing when I got to campus. On a whim, I got out of the car and grabbed my briefcase. Before I could convince myself to turn around, I locked the car and walked into the building. It was oddly quiet and empty, then again, when it was early there was never many people inside.
I stopped at my office to put my things down then walked down the hall and knocked on Prescben’s door. “Come in,” he called.
I pushed it open and stepped inside, surprised to find Naomi sitting across from him and another faculty member I didn’t recognize standing next to Prescben’s desk. “Good morning…” I said, sounding a bit lost.
“Good morning, Dr. James, I’m Dr. Lee, head of the faculty ethics committee,” he said and offered his hand. I shook it and then sat down next to Naomi. She was chewing on her bottom lip, obviously stressed. There was no way I could comfort her with the company we had. I was sure touching her would be the worst possible move.
“You okay?” I murmured. Naomi nodded.
“We just had a good talk with Naomi about your relationship,” Dr. Lee said. I nodded, wishing they’d just get to the point. “The language around relationships between instructors and students is plain. We don’t encourage or technically ‘allow’ it. But since you reported the relationship and it seems to be mutually serious, we’ll categorize it as a relationship that started before Naomi became your student,” Dr. Lee said. “It’s the easiest course of action,” he added.
I glanced at Prescben who nodded and looked at me as if saying, “take the deal.” I glanced at Naomi who pursed her lips and glanced at me, already nodding. “I think that’s good. It’s the best solution,” she said.
“Right, so if anyone on campus asks you two about your relationship, that’s what we recommend you say unless you’d like a big mess on your hands,” Dr. Lee said frankly.
“Got it,” Naomi said. She glanced at me and I nodded.
“Okay, thank you,” I said. Naomi stood up and I followed her lead. We got out of there quick after shaking their hands and thanking them again. We didn’t go to my office, instead we walked to the small courtyard area in the back of the building and sat on the lip of the huge fountain there. A nice mist fell on us and combatted the growing heat from the sun.
“That went…surprisingly well. I guess we were overestimating how bad it all could’ve been,” Naomi said.
“No, it would’ve been bad if anyone found out before we reported it,” I said. She nodded in agreement. “It’s weird that they gave us the option of essentially covering it up, though.”
“Well, Josh, I’d rather that then have the plain truth out there. Isn’t it better to say that we’ve been dating since before the semester started than saying we started a fling after the first week of school and then I got knocked up?” she asked. I glanced around, hoping no one was around to hear. There wasn’t.
“Guess you’re right,” I said and put my arm around her. She grinned, a sparkle in her eye, and then stole a quick kiss from me. My heart still pounded in my chest from that quick gesture that no one saw. But it was nice to do and not have the fear of being fired. “So what did you tell them, anyway?” I asked.
“I told them the truth. That we started seeing each other casually and that you…broke me down,” she said, her voice got quieter and she held my gaze. “I told them how I felt about you…that I love you,” she said.
Relief left me in a big exhale and I squeezed her hand in mine. “I really wish we were by a bed right now,” I said. Naomi giggled. “I love you too but you knew that already.”
