Page 94 of Every Bit As Perfect
Lying next to him in my bed, I realized we always stayed at my place.“I can come to your place tomorrow night if you’re sick of being here,” I offered.
His eyebrows rose, and he pulled me closer in the bed.“Your place is much more comfortable.”
“Aw, so the man who’s not into material things is succumbing to the temptation of comfortable furniture?”
He shrugged, his mouth twisting to the side.“You know, I never really saw the point in it all.It’s all transient.It doesn’t last, and in the end, it’s not important.”
“This is true,” I agreed, “but I can’t say I don’t love my place.”
“It’s you,” he stated.“It’s a physical manifestation of you.I love being here, surrounded by you.In your case, I can see the benefit of the exception.”He paused.“I did tell you it’s one of my faults.”
“What is?”
“My simple lifestyle.I don’t see the point in amassing great amounts of wealth or pouring all my energy into maintaining an impressive stack of bricks.”
I drew circles on his naked chest with the tips of my fingers.“I don’t know if that’s a fault.”
“It’s been deemed a huge fault in the past.”
I stilled.“Past girlfriends?”
“Mhm.They think the kindergarten bit is cute but after a while every single one of them began to drop hints that they’d like me to pursue a job that would put my Master’s degree to work.”
“You have a Master’s degree?”
“In Mathematics.I could be making bank but the idea of sitting in an office crunching numbers made me want to take a long walk off a short pier.”
“How did you end up being a kindergarten teacher?”
“I went to talk to a career coach, and they asked me a question: When was the last time you felt truly happy?”
“And when was it?”
“I took a co-op course in grade 12.Career testing identified me as a good candidate for teaching.With my math grades, my teachers encouraged me to look at teaching high school.But the only placement they could find for me was in a kindergarten classroom.I was ready to decline when my mom suggested I try it.She said I was far too serious, and it might be fun for me.”
“Was she right?”
“I loved it.I thought about becoming a kindergarten teacher a lot through university, but the lure of a big salary was hard to deny.In the end, I couldn’t face it and had to go back to school for another year for teacher’s college.I’m a seriously overqualified kindergarten teacher.”
I flattened my palm over his chest and rubbed a soothing circle.“I’m good with the kindergarten gig.”
His gaze warmed me.A hint of passion infused his tone.“I’ve seen kids, seen what school does to them when they struggle.I know how important a positive start is.That’s what I give them.I lay the foundation for the next year and every other teacher that follows me does the same for the teacher that comes after them.And I get so much more back.
“I want kids of my own some day, and I want to be around to spend time with them, not working twelve-hour days.I want time with my wife.I want to travel.First with my wife and later with our kids.”
I listened intently, his words sinking through the cracks of my shattered glass heart.
“My mom made good money running an at-home daycare.I was comfortable around small kids.My mom could have gotten a job working outside the home.She took so many courses, always learning, but she wanted to be there for me when I got home from school.”
He sighed.“I am a simple man.My needs are few.I work hard.I love hard.I want to sit in my backyard at the end of the day with my wife in my lap, a beer in my hand, and my kids playing in the yard, knowing I made a difference in some kid’s life that day at work.”
I ran my hand over his abs to rest over his heart.“How do you feel about getting a dog?”
He nuzzled his nose into my hair.“I’ve always had cats, but I could make that concession for you.”
“Yeah?”I teased.“You’d do that for me?”
Holding me tight, he confessed, “I’m not sure there’s anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
