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ELIOT
“Hey,”a chipper voice greets me. “Where were you last week?” I check my watch. I know I agreed to help Tessa with her math if she needs it. I just didn’t think that would be today. It’s Monday. Even at four in the afternoon, Monday is still rough.
She plops her backpack on the floor and begins digging through it. A math book slaps the corner of my desk.
“Please, settle in.” I know… I could be nicer to the girl. But… Monday.
“Thanks, I will,” she grins. “So, where were you? I had to sit on the floor for an hour while Uncle Owen got groped by some skank.”
“Are you sure you’re old enough to know what a skank is?”
“Duh.” She rolls her eyes. Great, another smartass. There’s only room for one of those in this small office, and I called dibs years ago. “He was just there for you, you know. I mean, I get it. But, listen, I really need you to convince him I’m old enough to go to the dance. You’ve got to be on my side. Like chicks before dicks.”
“Okay. Slow down there, Sailor Mouth.” Sheislike me. I have a mini-me. “I agreed to mathematical assistance, not match-making intervention.” Or some Venuses before penises grudge match.
“Look. If you’re going to be Uncle Owen’s girlfriend, you have to be on board for all of it. That includes my baggage.”
“Yeah, but I’m not your uncle’s girlfriend last time I checked.”
“Are you sure about that?” She winks at me.
“Look, I haven’t talked to him in two weeks.”
“And whose fault is that?”
I open my mouth to respond then close it. Damn if she’s not right. I can’t just lay all the blame for this relationship going ice-cold solely on Owen.
It’s time to have a conversation. The fact he showed up at dance lessons with his niece in tow must mean he agrees. How many times did I tell Austen to sit down with Reed and have a simple conversation? I’m horrible at taking my own advice.
“How about we focus on math right now? I’m sure the rest will work itself out.” I clear a space next to me. Tessa scoots her chair around and opens her math book.
“How good at statistics and probability are you?” she asks.
“You are speaking my love language.”
Tessa stays half an hour as we work through her homework. She picks it up fast. Turns out, she’s sharp as a tack. I enjoy having her here more than I’d like to admit. She tells me all about the boy in seventh grade she has a crush on. He sounds a lot like Reed at that age. If that’s the case, she’s a lost cause.
“Do you think I could come back tomorrow?” she asks, packing up her stuff.
“That’s fine, but you should probably tell your uncle.”
“Nah, he’s fine. He’ll just give me a lecture about interrupting your workday. But you’re cool with me being here, right?” She glances at me. Her eyes show how vulnerable she is. At that moment, it doesn’t matter what I have going on. I’ll make room for Tessa.
“I’m cool, but you need to start showing up with coffee.” I pull a five out of my wallet. “Medium, vanilla latte. Hot.”
“You got it, professor.” She grins at me. “Tomorrow.” Grabbing the five, she gives me a wave over her shoulder as she walks out the door. Something about Tessa makes me think she’s twelve going on twenty. I shake my head. I can’t wait to see what she throws at me tomorrow.
Tessa shows up the next afternoon and the one after that bearing coffee. We talk about math, boys, seventh grade, and anything else that pops into her brain. I’ve found myself coming into the office early just so I have the time to devote to her in the afternoon. Today, I hauled a small table upstairs so she has somewhere to work. She still hasn’t told Owen.
“Guess what?” she asks, bursting through the door.
“Only four words in the English language end in d-o-u-s.”
“What?” She looks at me like I’ve gone completely mental.
“You said to guess.”
“What are they? The words?”
