Page 25 of Hot Four Teacher
She sets her hand on her hip. “Oh, he’s in rare form.”
“What did he do now?”
“Oatmeal was for breakfast, but according to him, oatmeal tasted like it had already been eaten. He asked for a pound of bacon.”
“A whole pound?” I question.
“Yep. Of course, we told him no. But he managed to sweet talk the ladies in the kitchen who happily cooked him an entire pound of bacon.”
I sigh. “I should be surprised, but I’m really not. Do you want me to talk to him?”
She waves me off. “Aw, that’s alright. He’s so feisty–always keeps us on our toes. We need more of that around here.”
“Alright, Darlene. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Will do, sugar.”
She walks away, and I head back down the hallway to Dad’s apartment. I knock on the door, and I hear him call, “Come in.”
I go inside, and he comes walking in from the tiny kitchenette holding a can of diet soda.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, Dane. Did I know you were coming today?” He asks, slightly confused.
“Nope. I’m a surprise.”
He walks over and gives me a hug.
My father was a staunch military man most of my life. He was never overly affectionate. I can’t remember one time when he ever hugged me as a kid or even told me he loved me. It wasn’t that he was an asshole or anything. He just had a code of conduct that he followed, and he expected his kids to follow it too.
Even after our mom passed away, he was still a pretty big hard ass.
When he finally got out of the service, he began to relax a little, but it wasn’t until he had the near-death experience that he really let loose. He began wearing Hawaiian shirts and listening to Jimmy Buffet. And for the first time in my life, he started showing me affection. He now makes sure my sister and I both know exactly how much we mean to him. He also has a granddaughter from my sister that he thinks the world of.
As he releases me from the hug, he asks, “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
He walks over to take a seat in his recliner, and I say, “Just thought I’d stop by. I know I haven’t been around much lately.”
“You’ve been moving. It’s understandable. Did you get all settled in?”
“For the most part. I’m still unpacking a little, but it’ll get there. Tomorrow, I’m going to the school to get my classroom finished before the kids come back in on Monday.”
He asks, “What’s the name of the town you moved to?”
“Lilly Leaf Falls.”
“Never heard of it,” he grunts. “Sounds made up.”
I purse my lips together. “That seems to be the consensus.”
I pull one of the chairs from his small dining table over to sit next to him.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” I say.
“Ah, there it is.”
“What?”
