Page 34 of Make It Without You

I get appreciative nods from some of the uneasy parents. And hopefully gain their respect.

Before more questions are asked, the principal comes over the intercom announcing that our two hours are up.

A few of the parents walk up after the open-house has ended to speak personally to me. It touches me to know that their child likes me and the way that I teach. I walk the last parent to the door and look across the hall to see Melissa still talking to some parents.

I go back into my room and gather up my stuff and send a wave to her when she glances my way. Then I send a text to the girls.

Me: I’m out! See you soon!

I walkinto Monty’s and search for my girls. It’s a Tuesday night so the bar is empty. With a quick scan I come up empty and determine that they’re still on the way. So I take a seat at the bar to pass the time.

“What can I getcha?” The bartender asks me and places a small napkin in front of me with a glass of water.

“May I get a Moscow Mule with Stoli, please?” I ask and peel my jacket off before laying it on the back of the barstool and climbing up, keeping my clutch next to me.

“Coming right up.”

Expressing to the parents the loss that I’ve been through was harder than I thought. I hadn’t talked about James openly like that in a long time. I also had no plans to. It was both comforting and unsettling.

“Here you go, sweetheart. Start a tab? Or close it out?”

I ponder that for a minute before I slide my card to him. “Thank you. Start a tab, please.”

Once he walks away, I continue to wallow in my misery. They say misery loves company. But I have no company. Just my misery.

It’s been two years, Em. I tell myself. Yeah but two years of him gone does little to erase the ten years of memories that we have together.

Had together.

October2009

“What was the surprise you had for me?” I ask James.

With my crying from my parents, I forgot that’s why I was originally supposed to come over here.

He gets up from the top step and holds his hand out for me. “Come on. Let me show you.”

Placing my hand in his, he pulls me up and together we walk back towards his bedroom. I shake off my parents being here and James’s big declaration and focus on him. We walk back into his bedroom and he closes the door behind him.

“Now that I think about it, it’s not a grand surprise. But the idea came to me and I ran with it.” James confesses when we’re back in his room.

“You know I’ll love anything you gift me.” I lean up and kiss him on the cheek, then I go and sit back on his bed cross-leg.

“Close your eyes.”

“Baby, seriously?” I look at him as if he’s serious.

His arms cross over his chest making the sleeves pull taught. As he’s gotten older he’s continued to fill out. With him choosing to not playing a sport in college he’s been hitting the gym to keep in shape. But with our personal extracurriculars, I’vetold him that should be enough. That earned me three extra orgasms. I didn’t complain at all.

I narrow my eyes at him before relenting. My hands go over my eyes too, just to appease him. “Does this work?”

“Yes, smartypants,” I hear a rustling and then nothing. “Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

He places the box in my held out hands. I give it a little shake just for reassurance.

“Just open it, ya goof.”

James sits on the bed next to me and waits with bated breath as I lift the top off the box.

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