Page 27 of Claiming His Student

I glance at Cora as she’s balancing Ariel on her hip and chatting with Gabriel. Since she finished school, she’s spent most of her time looking after the kids, but she’s also started her own book club that became a viral sensation. People from all over the world tune into her podcast where she discusses her favorite books. She also has a book club once a week in person with people in town which has proved to be extremely successful. The kid’s book club she runs is every Thursday after school, so I guess that must clash with music class. I squeeze Celeste’s hand.

“Darling, if music club is what you want to do, your Mom will understand. We want you to follow your passions. She’s not going to be offended. She knows how much you love to read. You don’t need to show up to her book club to prove anything to her. Besides, you have your own little book club, right? You read together every single night.”

There’s always a moment of calm every evening when Cora settles down with the kids to get them to read. They don’t even need to be persuaded because they love it so much. Even Ariel is trying her hand at picture books already. The kids are different from us in many ways, but when I see them with a book in their hands, I know they’re ours through and through.

“Okay, I’ll ask her later. I just hope she isn’t upset.”

I kiss the top of her head. “She won’t be. She loves you. And all she wants if for you to follow your heart. Don’t worry about it one bit.”

The rest of the evening goes off without a hitch. We speak to Gabriel’s teachers first, who tell us that he’s a bright kid with a bright future. Like we didn’t already know that. A few of them mention that he’s not always the best behaved and can be easily distracted, but we were expecting that. When they hand over his term grades and we see that he’s top of the class, all of our concerns fizzle away.

When it’s Celeste’s turn, her teachers describe her as a creative girl with her head in the clouds. Cora exchanges a smile with me. We know she gets that from her mother. But even if she’s not getting straight A’s in math and science, she’s excelling beyond all the other students in the rest of her classes. She looks guilty as we walk away from her final teacher.

“Did I do bad?” she asks miserably. “I know my grades for math were bad.”

“We can get you some extra help for that,” Cora says, ruffling her hair. “But honey, everyone has their strengths. You’re a creative person, math was never going to be your strong point. We’re so proud of you for your grades in English, music, and drama, the rest doesn’t matter. As long as you’re trying your hardest then you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

I can’t stop smiling. Its moments like these when Cora proves how good of a mother she is. She always knows exactly what to say to the kids to make them feel better. Celeste cheers up immediately and when Cora suggests ordering pizza in to celebrate, the three kids go wild with excitement.

We spend the rest of the evening in front of the TV, eating pizza and ice cream and watching a family movie. The kids are pretty hyper throughout it, but by the time the credits roll, they’re all sleepy and ready for bed. Cora takes them upstairs to read for a while and I take that time to pour us each a glass of wine so we can kick back and relax. Every single evening, we make sure we have enough time to just enjoy one another’s company. I still work full time at the university and she can often be busy with the book club and the kids, so every second we steal together is precious. Since we’ve had the kids, though, our feelings have only strengthened for one another. We still make love every single night. We still look at each other with as much love in our eyes as we did the first time we met. She still turns me on every single time she walks into a room. I’ve never looked at any other woman since I met her, and I know she’s never looked at a man either. We are still a perfect match.

When she comes back downstairs in a pair of silk pajamas and sees the glass of wine waiting for her she smiles.

“I definitely feel like I need that tonight, parents night is so intense. I feel like the kids put so much pressure on themselves, parents night just stresses them out even more. I wish I could protect them from that feeling.”

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