by Raquel Belle
“Pretty good, actually. I hired my first partner so we’re on the way to becoming a true practice,” Casey said proudly.
“That’s great son. It’s like I told you, slow and steady wins the race and you have to know who you’re hiring. Not just their track record but their potential as well,” Dad said. I tuned out as they traded knowledge on the joys of owning a law practice. My mom and sister started their own discussion about Jess’s studio and what she’s been doing lately. No one addressed me until after desert when it was time to leave.
“It was good seeing you, Nao. You should make it a habit to actually attend family dinners. It’s the only way we can stay close nowadays,” Mom said as she walked me out.
“I’ll try to be better about it,” I mumbled. I knew full and well that I’d be making an excuse for next week. They’d be lucky if they saw me once a month.
“Okay, have a good night hon, get home safe,” she said. I waved and hurried to my car to get the hell out of Dodge.
Chapter Two
Joshua
I finished drafting my e-mail and quickly read over it. First day of classes and my office hours had been slammed. I almost forgot how annoying it had been to field admiration from my students. Some of them had been so bold, too. They closed my door, one girl sat on my desk…it was crazy. Thus, I was sending out an e-mail to inform all of my classes that I was having limited office hours indefinitely. If they had a pressing matter they couldn’t discuss after class, they could e-mail me and depending on what the issue was, I’d figure something out.
My first day back in the saddle, I didn’t want to risk my job at the university for some nonsense with my students. I hit send and took a small breath. My watch told me that I’d stayed late by two hours. “This cannot happen,” I grumbled. My cell phone rang, when my sister’s face popped up on the screen I answered right away.
“Yo, baby girl. How are ya?” I said.
“Annoyed. You were supposed to be here an hour ago. I slaved like two hours making this dinner for you. Do you know how long I had to marinate this meat? Twenty-four-hours, Josh. That meant I was really looking forward to seeing you,” she railed. I had to hold the phone away from my ear a bit.
“Don’t worry, I’m on the way. You wouldn’t believe the mob I had to deal with on the first day,” I said.
“Oh, that’s right, you’re a pretty boy, the hot professor” Amy said, teasing.
“Please. Ugh, I hate that.” I laughed. “Anyway, I’m literally walking out of the office right now, give me twenty minutes and I’ll be there,” I said.
“Alright, Kaden can’t wait to see you.” I smiled, thinking of my nephew, he was two going on thirty-five and possibly my favorite human on the planet. We hung up and I quickly zipped my laptop into my briefcase, closed and locked my office, then got the hell out of the psychology building. I kept my head down, in case any of my students straggled late on main campus. Thankfully, I didn’t run into anyone and got to my car without incident.
My sister’s house was twenty minutes away from Southeastern’s main campus. She lived in a quiet neighborhood, the street was lined with the tons of fruit and palm trees that surrounded each house. Amy’s was a cute bungalow just big enough for her, Kaden, and their two Labradors. Her house was at the center of a cul-de-sac and partially camouflaged by two huge shrubs that she refused to cut.
I pulled into the drive behind her BMW. My sister was a painter and a well-known Miami talent. Her paintings were sold all over the world and for big bucks. Most of the money she made she just funneled into a trust for Kaden. Everything she did was for him. In a lot of ways, I looked up to Amy as if she were my older sibling and not the other way around. I jogged up the few Spanish tiled steps to her front porch. Amy’s house was small but designed with the idea of a Spanish villa in mind.
I lifted my hand to knock on the door and it was suddenly snatched open. It was Kaden, with his head of curly black hair and huge blue eyes. He wore a wrinkled peach t-shirt and light grey shorts. He only had one sock on his feet. “Little man!” I said and bent to scoop him up.
“Unca Jay!” Kaden squealed. Amy came running into the front room from the living room.
“The door was unlocked?” she asked, frazzled. Amy’s long dark hair was loose around her shoulders. She wore a tank top and loose jeans. Kaden started giggling and held onto my neck and shoulder tightly.
“Yes, from how tight he’s holding me, I’m guessing Kaden was responsible for that,” I said. Amy kissed me on the cheek and then tickled Kaden’s sides to loosen his grip on me. He squealed again and she grabbed him.
“I thought we talked about this, Kaden?” she said and put him down.
“But, unca J was coming, Mamma,” he said. His baby voice warmed me, honestly. I knelt and kissed the top of his head, then picked him up and tossed him into the air a few times. Kaden’s screaming laughter filled up the house.
“Where are the dogs?” I asked as I put Kaden down.
“They’re outside doing their business, living their lives,” she said. “Come on, I want to hear all about your first day,” she said. I followed Amy into the living room, the kitchen was behind it.
“Are you working on anything new?” I asked and sat down on the couch. Kaden settled on the carpet in front of the couch and started to play with a few toys strewn across the floor. Amy grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge then walked to the couch and plopped down beside me. I took one of the beers from her and twisted the cap off.
“Yeah. It’s…just a bunch of wisps right now. But I feel the weight of the idea settling in,” she said. I smirked, it was fascinating the way she talked about her process. Amy literally pulled incredible portraits and abstract landscapes out of the air. “So, what was it like getting back in the saddle? Bunch of students want to ride you?” she asked.
I almost choked on my beer and she laughed. Kaden ran up to me and started patting my stomach. “Thanks bud, I’m okay,” I said and kissed the top of his head. He sat on the ground in front of my feet and resumed playing with his action figures.
“Yeah, my office hours were a zoo. I almost asked one of the other professors in the department to sit in my office with me,” I said. “I don’t know anyone that well yet though.”
“What classes are you teaching again?”
“Developmental and the general psych classes. Two of each. My general classes are huge though,” I sighed and took a swig of beer. The dogs outside walked to the patio out back and scratched on the sliding glass door. They looked identical, black fur and brown eyes.
“Mamma, Jo and Bo,” Kaden said, pointing. Amy got up to let the dogs in. They came running as soon as the sliding door opened. I held my beer up to keep from spilling. Amy had gotten rid of her coffee table so Kaden could have a play space inside. I greeted the dogs and they settled down after sufficiently licking my hands and neck. They laid down around Kaden, keeping watch over him.
“You’ve got a good pack over here, I’m jealous,” I said. Kaden was well behaved compared to what I’ve heard about the ‘terrible twos.’
“They all have their moments,” she laughed. “I’m lucky anyway,” she said, looking fondly at Kaden. His dad, Amy’s fiancé, had been the kindest, gentlest and quietest man I’d ever met. But drunk drivers and motorcyclists were never a good equation at midnight in Miami. Jeff had died when Kaden was a month old.
“He’s a good kid,” I said. She smiled and sighed contentedly.
“So, how does it feel to be settled in a normal life again?”
I shrugged. “I miss the road. Honestly. I’d much rather be in a bar right now,” I muttered.
“Well get used to having beers with me,” she said. “Starting over is hard, it’s boring and frustrating. But once you get into the swing of things you’ll be okay. You’ll meet a woman, settle down and things will start to look up,” she promised.
“Yeah,” I sighed then glanced around. “So, where’s this marvelous dinner you toi
led over for me?”
“It’s getting delivered, Chinese,” she said. I looked at her and she met my gaze, deadpan. We both burst into laughter and Kaden laughed at us.
“I should’ve known it was too good to be true!” I said.
“Look, you were lucky that I even remembered to order something,” she said.
“Yeah, yeah. Chinese is good,” I said. “So, what about you? You’re tellin’ me that I’ll meet someone and get settled…what about you?” I asked in a low voice. Amy took a deep breath then let out a long sigh. “Wow, should I get popcorn?” I asked.
“It’s…you know…the men in this city are hit or miss,” she said. “I was dating this guy for a little while, like on and off but it just wasn’t panning out.” Amy shrugged.
“Do I have to beat someone up? He’s an idiot,” I said. She waved her hand dismissively.
“He is an idiot, you don’t have to beat him up,” she said. The doorbell rang and she smirked. “That’s the food, be right back.” Amy handed me her beer and then darted towards the front of the house. I stood up and walked to the kitchen table to put the bottles down. Kaden yelled the dogs’ names and seemed to be trying to corral them like horses. They were running around him in a circle instead.
“What are you trying to do, K?” I asked. He spoke half baby gibberish and half English, to the effect of trying to get the dogs to stop. I chuckled and pulled out my phone. I heard Amy talking at the door and figured she’d be a while. Impulsively, I went to Facebook and the first post on my feed was a picture of my ex-wife. Melissa looked happy while holding her baby as she looked down at a birthday cake. The number one was the only decoration on the yellow cake. My chest constricted as I studied Melissa’s golden curls and tan skin, her green eyes and feline features. Her daughter looked just like her, gorgeous.
I couldn’t help myself, I scrolled to the comments on the photo and saw the caption, “Nia’s first! Next cake we’ll be cutting is at the wedding!”
“Wedding?” I said out loud, just as Amy walked into the room with two bags of Chinese.
“Wedding?” she echoed, sounding confused instead of dismayed. Amy peeked over my shoulder then huffed and grabbed my phone.
“Hey! How’d you do that?” I asked. I stood up and saw that she carried the two bags with one hand and my phone with the other.
“Josh, this is not healthy. Stop snooping on Melissa’s life,” she said angrily. I paused, surprised by the adamance in Amy’s voice.
“She’s marrying that…wad,” I said, glancing at Kaden who’d stopped chasing the dogs to listen to us.
“He’s the father of their daughter, what do you expect?” Amy said. She started to unpack the bags on the kitchen table. I turned around to pick Kaden up.
“He’s a homewrecker,” I muttered.
“Doesn’t change his paternity,” she said. I stifled my own sigh and sat down with Kaden on my lap. Amy didn’t have a high chair for him, she thought they were dangerous. Which, they weren’t, but to each mom their own. “I thought you let go of her—of them,” Amy said.
“I did.” I said. She and I both knew that I was lying. It was hard to let go, even two years after the fact. Melissa had been the love of my life. We were happy, we’d been trying to get pregnant. When trying got hard, that’s when the distance showed up and he stepped into the picture. Or she went searching for him. Either way, she cheated and I found out.
“Seriously, Josh. You should block her and stop yourself from checking in on her,” she said firmly. Amy left the table to get plates, knives and forks. “It’s not healthy,” she added. Kaden picked up a fork and reached for the container of sesame chicken. I smoothed his wild hair back and kissed his forehead before helping him get his food.
#
Wednesday came around all too fast. I only had classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If I didn’t have the general class on my schedule, I’d have Fridays off. I skipped my usual office stop before heading to my first class when I spotted a couple of my students heading into the psychology building. Thankfully, the classroom was empty, I was almost an hour early for my developmental psych class.
I grabbed a desk I knew wouldn’t be used, set it up next to the podium and took a seat. I started going over the lecture I’d give for about ten minutes before she walked in. The girl from Monday, Naomi. She wore shorts that showed off long legs and a tank top. Her auburn hair was loose around her shoulders and she wore a backpack instead of the purse she had Monday. She was still frustratingly beautiful and distracting. She had a delicate beauty about her: flawless cream colored skin, gently sloping nose, pouted lips, and naturally red, arched brows.
She sat in the back again, even though there wasn’t assigned seating or anyone else in the room. She didn’t even notice I was in the front. When she sat down, she crossed her ankles and then rubbed her temple. I wondered what she had on her mind. She was the oldest student I had that semester and I admired anyone with the courage to start college over for a better career or prospects. Another student walked in, a blonde kid that looked like an athlete. I hadn’t learned his name yet.
He gave me a head nod, “Morning JJ,” he said.
“Good morning,” I said. He spotted Naomi and made a beeline to sit next to her. He even, not so subtly, pushed his seat closer to hers. Naomi glanced up at him, did a double take, then smiled. It was friendly, I didn’t know why I was watching her so closely or why I cared if she looked at him with a friendly smile or not. Students were off-limits. The guy started chatting with her, she seemed quiet at first, then they started to talk about a couple other classes that they had together. I could tell from the engagement in his eyes and the inflation of his chest that he liked her.
Again, I had to stop myself from analyzing them, her. I forced myself to pay attention to my phone and the lecture points I’d written down.
Chapter Three
Naomi
The real first day of classes were always on the second day. Dr. J lectured on the first two chapters of our book, which was the development of a child’s brain from the first six months of their life to the first year. He also talked about how children learn and experience things in those early stages of life. Honestly, I loved the lecture, I thought it was fascinating and I wanted to talk about some of the cognitive development points he made and broach the topic of psychosocial development. Dr. J didn’t mention the second theory at all but it was mentioned early in the first chapter and here and there throughout the second.
As soon as the chorus of laptop keyboards quieted down and the sound of everyone packing up to leave started up, a line began to form at the head of the room. I hurried to pack up my stuff and waved bye to Jacob. By the time I got out of my seat, nearly all the girls in class had lined up to talk to Dr. J. I sighed and waited at the back of the line. The longer I waited, the more certain and determined I became that my questions were important enough to wait in line for.
Nearly twenty minutes had passed before the last person had gone and I was up to ask questions. “Hey, Dr. J, I have a question about some of the theories you talked about in lecture,” I said. He looked at me and clear annoyance changed his expression.
“I really can’t stay any longer to talk, Naomi. Just hold the question until next class and I’ll address it then,” he said tersely. With that, he grabbed his leather briefcase/messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder before hurrying out of the classroom as if I’d set it on fire. Confused, I stood in place and watched the door swing shut behind him.
“Okay…” I muttered. He stayed late to take everyone else’s question but mine? What was that about? It wasn’t like I was coming on to him like the other girls in class. I rolled my eyes and left, annoyed. He’d literally been in no hurry to answer everyone else’s questions. Unfortunately, I fumed about that until I got home later.
I was surprised, when I stepped into the apartment, to find V sitting on the couch cuddling with Jerry. “Um, break in much?” I said. V got up and we m
et halfway in the kitchen, I hugged her tight. Veronika was just as tall as me, she had long curly black hair and dark brown eyes. V was the most hipster person I knew. She wore huge round wire framed glasses, a grey tank top with her jacket tied around her waist, leggings and boots.
“Oh please, you need to hide your spare key better,” she said. “It’s not like this is the first time I’ve let myself in,” she said. “Jerry needed company.” V walked back to the couch as Jerry slunk through my legs. I bent down to scratch behind his ears and then walked to the kitchen to put my things down.
“How was your day?” I asked.
“Crazy. I almost scaled my first lamp post today to get these aerial shots of a bunch of kids on bikes chasing a guy who stole a woman’s purse,” she said.
My eyes popped. “Wait, what?”
V nodded excitedly. “It was amazing, I’d been having a dry spell lately and then this high speed chase just unfolds across the street from me. So, instead of climbing the light pole, I ran back into the gallery and sprinted to the roof. I got the whole thing in a series of shots. They chased the guy around our building and caught up to him by the dumpsters,” she said.
“Wow, V. That’s freaking incredible,” I said, wishing my life was half as interesting as hers.
“Yeah, I should’ve brought my camera but you’ll see the photos once they’re sorted out. I got some good ones,” she said. V curled her legs underneath her on the couch and rested her elbow on the back of it. “How’s school going? Do you work today?”
I walked to the fridge and pulled out half of a sub I had left over from lunch. “I work tomorrow and the rest of the week. Do you want anything?” I asked.
“Pizza?” V suggested. I put my sandwich back in the fridge.
“Sounds good.” We ordered the pizza and went for a quick wine run at the store. We talked about the gallery V runs and I almost forgot about how pissed I’d been earlier. We got back to my apartment and I put the wine in the freezer to chill.
