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I’m pregnant, and you’re the dad.
The clearing of a throat pulls me back to the present and the snarky lady in front of me.
“Can you call her and ask to come here?”
She blows out a breath. “We do not make it a habit to interrupt our teachers for non-emergencies. Is this an emergency?”
I’d like to say yes, but in the conventional sense, the answer is no.
She raises her hand, snapping her fingers. “Elijah, come here.”
A boy I hadn’t seen standing behind her, and the security guard walks out from around them. He has a young, innocent face that’s starting to grow a mustache. He stares at me, and I smile at him.
“What’s up?” I ask.
He doesn’t respond, his unblinking eyes steady on me.
I return my gaze to the woman. “Listen, tell her Damon Siska is here. I think she’ll want to see me.”
That’s likely a lie, given the fact Adeline hid her pregnancy from me for six months. I doubt she wanted me to show up where she works, but I prefer the element of surprise. Giving anyone knowledge of what you’re about to do gives them time to prepare, think of an out.
“And what makes you so special?” the woman asks.
Feeling the kid’s eyes on me still, I glance down and offer him a fist bump. He slowly raises his small fist and knocks mine before lowering it, all while not blinking.
I want to tell her to ask this kid why I’m so damn special or the guy behind her—who must be scared of her too—because I see his excitement in the smile he’s still giving me.
She frowns and waves for me to follow her into the office on her right. I do so, as do the security guard and the kid. We all stand on the opposite side of a desk as her while she lowers her head and writes a note, strips it off a pad, and holds it out over the desk.
“Elijah, take this to Miss Morgan, please.” She turns her gaze to me. “You can have a seat.” She points with her pen behind me.
“Why don’t I just go with Elijah?”
She scoffs. “This is a school, sir.”
“You can call me Damon,” I offer with the hope she’ll give me her name. Maybe if we’re on a first-name basis, we could make this run a little smoother.
“No, thank you. As I was saying, this is a school. We don’t let just anyone who wanders in walk around the school.”
I open my mouth, but she’s quick to put up her hand. This woman reminds me of Mrs. Labyrinth in twelfth grade when she caught me in her basement with her daughter. She made my life miserable in physics class that year.
“Now, I know you’re Damon Siska. I recognized you as you stepped out of your fancy car after you decided you were too important to park in the lot like the rest of us and felt entitled enough to park in the fire lane. Obviously, Elijah thinks you’re all that and a bag of chips. Usually the kid can’t shut up. But no one is going to walk through our school unless they clear through me.”
Begrudgingly, I sit in one of the plastic chairs, officially schooled. Everyone always likes me, so why does this woman have a problem with me? Then it dawns on me…
“You’re a Green Bay fan!” I point in her direction, and the security guy nods. “That makes sense. We’re kind of close to the border of Wisconsin, right? That’s cool. I have some friends who play up there, even if we’re rivals. Who’s your favorite player? I can get you an autograph or maybe tickets.” The season’s over, so I can’t really offer her much at the moment. But Roman Maxwell plays for them now after being traded from the Grizzlies a couple years ago.
“This has nothing to do with what football team I cheer for. There are rules, and based on your reputation, I gather you don’t like to follow them.”
I point at myself and look over my shoulder. “I’ll have you know, in kindergarten, I received the best listener award.”
She stares blankly while the security guard laughs but is quick to stop when she gives him a scathing look over her shoulder. “Are you looking for a congratulations?”
“Nope. Just stating facts.” I sit back in the uncomfortable seat and wait.
The longer I wait, the more my bravado ebbs, and my nerves set in. I crack my neck a few times. Seriously, the drive here sucked. Why would anyone want to live here? There’s nothing here for a single woman Adeline’s age. Especially one so beautiful.
I sit in silence for at least ten minutes, observing the woman’s demeanor with other people who come in. She’s pleasant to a mom bringing in her son’s lunch because he left it at home. She smiles at a father here to pick up his sick kid. And she’s downright flirtatious with the package delivery guy, purposely eyeing me as she apologizes to him about the parked car in the fire lane.
