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As the teacher speaks, I watch Jack and his friend, goofing off together. The two remind me of how I was when I was a kid. I couldn’t concentrate to save my life, and it got me in a whole lot of trouble. But, ultimately, I turned out just fine.
Then I glance at Faye, and as I’m taking in her beauty, the classroom door opens and in barrels Char. All eyes are on her as she interrupts the class, and she doesn’t say sorry or anything. “Mommy!” Jack exclaims and runs over to her.
Faye looks at me a little confused and probably because she thinks I’m coming on to her as a married man, but it’s the complete opposite. Char and I have been separated for over a year now.
Char looks down at the close distance between Faye and I, which I honestly didn’t notice until now, and she grabs a chair, glaring as she huffs, then rudely says, “Excuse me,” to Faye, causing her to scoot over so Char can sit between the two of us.
“Seriously?” I scold her, like she has any fucking right. But Char sits there ignoring me, acting like Faye did something wrong. As I glare at her, agitated, she flips through the papers that are on Jack’s desk and then hands them to me. I just set them down, completely pissed that she is being such a fucking cunt.
“Why are you late?” I whisper, pissed off, not able to control the anger she brings out of me. It pisses me off that she can’t seem to pull her shit together, even for Jack.
But she doesn’t answer me, and I know now is not the time to get into things with her. Char can push my buttons better than anyone, and I know if I don’t keep in control, I’ll end up looking like the asshole. The teacher ends her talk, playing a short slide show letting us all know what we are in for this year. Which isn’t much—it’s first grade.
“That concludes my presentation. Parents, please make sure you stop by the stations around the classroom to sign up for volunteering and to see how your child’s day will run. And please feel free to ask me any questions.”
Char gets up and goes over to Jack, talking to him at eye level. There is a tag sticking out the back of Char’s jacket, and it makes sense why she was late. She was shopping, as I suspected, and in such a hurry to wear her new purchase that she couldn’t even remove the God damn tag.
Faye and her son begin to make their way around the room. And I can’t help watching her, but Char ruins that too. “Isn’t that right, Thane?” she interrupts my fantasizing, and I get up, ignoring her. It really pisses me off that she just rolls in here late, acting like she has some claim over me. The fucking woman is exhausting. If I didn’t have my son with her, I’d leave the fucking country, that’s how much I hate her.
Then without another word, she walks out, and I let out the deep breath of air I’ve been holding since she barged in here.
“Come on, Daddy,” Jack says and drags me to where Faye is. Obviously, the two boys are friends and have a connection.
“I’m sorry about that,” I tell Faye.
“It’s all right. I didn’t know you’re married.”
“I’m not. I’m most definitely not.” I make that very clear. “I mean, I am. But we’ve been separated for a year now, and the divorce is almost final.”
“It’s okay; you don’t need to explain anything to me.”
I run my hand through my hair feeling like a fucking shmuck and pick up the clipboard in front of me, filling out my name for some sort of volunteering.
“Can Jack come over and have a play date, please?” Faye’s son begs her, and I look to see the two boys staring at her with pleading eyes.
She looks at me for approval, and I nod. “Sure, Braxley,” she tells him.
The boys immediately start to talk about what they want to do at the play date, and I write my number on a flyer from one of the tables. “Here, so you can call me for the play date and possibly a cup of coffee,” I try again. But she rolls her eyes taking my number from me. Our hands touch when the piece of paper passes between the two of us. The warmth of her skin has me immediately wanting more. “I’m not buying you coffee. That wasn’t part of the deal, remember?” she says, using my own words back on me.
“Fair enough,” I tell her, and for a woman I barely know, I can’t wait for the play date, maybe even more so than the boys.
