Page 38 of Desire

“Can we talk at home? I need to get out of here.”

“Whatever you want, baby. Right now, I need to know if you’ve been hurt.”

“Not physically, but we’ll talk about it. Can you help me with those bags?”

I looked in the front of the classroom and saw several bags in front of her desk.

“What are those for?”

“Those are my things, but I don’t want to talk about it now.”

I was annoyed because I wanted to know what the hell had happened, but instead of pressing her, I did as she asked. After grabbing all the bags, she took Azaria’s hand, and we exited the classroom and building.

Mrs. Duncan stopped me to apologize, but I was too pissed to receive it and didn’t know why I was pissed. I told her Azaria wouldn’t return as I exited ahead of them. Desire stopped and said a few words to her before she headed to her car.

When we arrived home, I told Desire to wait in my office while I found Azaria something to watch on TV in the family room. When I entered, she was seated in my desk chair. I took her hand and pulled her up so we could switch places, and she sat on my lap.

“Talk to me, baby, and don’t beat around the bush.”

She sighed. “I got fired.”

My gut told me it was something of that nature, especially because of the bags, but I hoped I was wrong.

“Why? What happened?”

“You.”

“Me? You got fired because of me?”

“Apparently, the school has a strict no-fraternization policy. Employees can’t date other employees or the parents of the students.”

“What? That shit sounds crazy. How the hell can they tell grown people who they can date?”

“It’s in the handbook. Mrs. Duncan said I’m the best teacher she’s ever supervised, and she fought for me, but…”

“That’s some bullshit. It’s not like we’re just messing around; we’re married. As a matter of fact, we never dated.”

“I know, but I guess there’s nothing I can do. God! I can’t believe I lost my job.”

The tears began to flow again. When she told me she quit law school to become a teacher, I knew her love for teaching ran deep. However, seeing her so upset made me realize how deep it was.

“Baby, it’s not the end of the world. There are plenty of good preschools in OC. You can get a job elsewhere. Hell, you don’t have to work at all if you don’t want to.”

“I know I can find another job, but it’s the principle of the matter, and I love Little Black Pearl.”

“Do you want me to see if I can pull some strings?”

She contemplated my question for a moment before declining.

“No, it’ll probably just make things worse. I’ll start applying to preschools on Monday.”

“Monday? Why don’t you take a week off and relax before you start applying?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had that much free time since I’ve been an adult.”

“Ria will be here with you, so your time won’t be as free as you might think.”

“Why would Ria be here?”

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