Page 40 of Hot Four Teacher
She suddenly blurts, “I asked him, but he completely avoided the question and changed the subject to me meeting his new girlfriend.”
“Oh.”
“It’s like he didn’t care at all about what I was trying to ask him. All he cared about was me meetingDina.”
She says her name as though it’s poison on her tongue.
My blood boils as I think about Danny just blowing off our daughter like that. Over the years, Eve and I have gotten used to him being a piece of shit who seems to always regress after showing even the tiniest glimmer of hope. Just because we’ve grown accustomed to it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt every time he does something self-centered. Sometimes, I just want to go over there and shake him.
Our daughter is an awesome kid, but he has no idea how much so because he’s never taken the time to get to know her. Sure, she goes over there and spends time with him, but it’s always him trying to just befunandcoolrather than being her father.
“I’m sorry, sweets,” I tell her. “Do you want me to talk to him?”
She adamantly shakes her head. “No. Don’t. If by some miracle he gets his head out of his butt, he needs to do it without your help. It’s not going to mean anything if you tell him how to fix it.”
“Okay. Then, how can I help?”
Her shoulders shrug. “I don't know that you can. I’ll be okay.”
We sit quietly for a moment before I feel the need to add something else.
“Eve, I’m going to play Devil’s advocate here for a second.”
She looks annoyed, but she doesn't try to stop me.
“I know you don’t want to meet this woman. And I know you want to cultivate a better relationship with your dad. Maybe he wants a better relationshiptoo. What if this is his way of trying to do that?”
“What do you mean?”
“It sounds like your dad wants you to meet her to include you in his life more. He wants to share something with you. It may not be the worst thing in the world if you went and met her. That way, even if your dad doesn’t try, you can say that you did.”
She sits in silence while mulling over my words.
“Look, Eve, you don’t have to listen to me. It’s just something to think about.”
Pushing a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, she finally speaks. “Okay, I’ll think about it. But I’m not making any promises.”
“Fair enough.”
After another long pause, she asks, “Do you think Dad will ever be different?”
I’m fairly sure I already know the answer, but I respond with, “Only time will tell.”
Chapter fourteen
That makes Two of Us
Dane
Iam a Marine. I have been put in some scary-ass situations in my life. But I don’t know that much compares to being stared at by a dozen high school girls. Girls who are hoping that I will be their new amazing soccer coach.
I already feel like I’m about to let them down, and we haven’t even gotten into anything yet.
“Hey, girls,” I begin.
I have all of them in my classes, so we are already acquainted, but this environment is completely different. In my classroom, I’m an expert on the material. I’m the one who has something to teach them.
But out here on the soccer field? No matter how many YouTube videos I watched or how much I read, I’m sure all of these girls know much more about soccer than I do.
