Page 18 of Remember Me

“How?”

“Huh?”

“You said he opened your eyes. How did that happen?”

“Oh. Sorry, I lost my train of thought. I was complaining one day. I think I’d gotten a crap grade on an assignment because I didn’t show the right steps or something. He told me that was a load of horseshit, and I actually had one of the most mathematically-inclined brains he’d taught in recent years.”

I remembered his words, stern, with no room for argument.Just because you don’t solve a problem the same way everyone else does, doesn’t mean you don’t get it. You’re getting it on an entirely different level.

“And you wanted to make sure that no one else struggled in the same way.”

“Pretty much. I mean, it’s a little difficult by the time they get to college. But I can hopefully have some impact, you know?”

She was looking at me instead of around at the office, and there was a softness in her gaze I hadn’t seen in a while. “Yeah. I know.”

“Anyway.” I located the book I was looking for and turned back to her. “This is my office.”

“Where the magic happens?”

I laughed, a bit uneasily. “If that’s what you call grading, phone calls, and meetings with…various people.”

She looked then, studying the solid wood shelves behind the desk, the small window hidden with blinds, the metal filing cabinets in the corner by the door. Her eyes fell on the desk and she walked closer, leaning her weight on it.

“Have I been here before? There’s something…” She tapped her temple with her forefinger. “…niggling.”

“You have, plenty of times.” I smoothed a hand across the surface of the desk. “You helped me christen the place when I got the job.”

Her cheeks pinkened. “We had sex on this desk.”

“We had very good sex on this desk.”

“Hmmm.” She boosted herself up to sit on it and I walked around its expanse to ease onto my hip beside her. “Have you ever had sex with a student?”

“Jesus, Birdie! Of course, not!”

“It was just a question. You’re very good-looking. I can imagine plenty of your female students being hot for teacher.”

I wasn’t amused. Her observations were hitting too close and I could barely spit out a sentence that made sense. My brain was spinning in the opposite direction as part of me tried to decide if I should just tell her. “I just got this job this summer. We’ve been together since January. I wouldn’t cheat on you.”

“Hey.” Birdie touched my knee, the warmth of her palm a brand through my gray dress slacks. “I’m sorry. Obviously, I hit a nerve.”

I stood and her hand fell away. “Forget it. Let’s just go.”

I walked away, trying to ignore the feeling I was leaving something behind.

“Oh, what we could be

if we stopped

carrying the remains

of who we were.”

Tyler Knott Gregson

November 21¦Birdie

“BIRDIE, YOU HAVE COMPANY!”

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