“Do these particular social activities involve a man?” His finger points at me. “Because let’s not forget you promised me a drink and I don’t mess with another man’s woman.”
My eyes almost roll out of my head. “Trust me, I am no man’s woman.”
“Clare, you’re too hot not to belong to a guy out there.”
Oh, John. Sometimes I forget under his pretty face he’s a misogynistic pig at times. “You’re confused again. I’m not the type of girl a guy owns.”
“Which is why I fear you and I will never work out.”
Standing, I brush off my pants from any invisible debris. “There are many reasons you and I would not work out, John.” I walk to my door ready to be done with this conversation. He’s great with the kids. Really, I swear.
John follows me out the door. “Did you hear the big news?”
I stop walking and run through the news I heard today. Stephanie’s mom has a new job so they can stay in their apartment another month. Travis’ uncle might make early parole. And Jackson’s brother was accepted to the military. All big news depending on who you ask.
“Can’t say I have. What’s the scoop?”
“Del Fray Technologies was bought out this morning. An under the table thing. No one saw it coming.”
That is big news. Del Fray Technologies is a large employer in this neighborhood. Many of the kids’ parents have worked there for generations.
“Do you know who?”
John shakes his head. “Not a clue. Some investment firm, but it hasn’t hit the papers yet.”
John attends the local community college business program and always has an update on things going on in the city. He heard about the new Jack-in-the-Box before anyone else, so I don’t spend long questioning his words.
“Well there’s no sense in speculating. Del Fray used to be a big supporter of the center, but those donations dried up in the last year or two. Let’s hope the new owners will invest in the neighborhood again.”
“Let’s hope they’re not your typical fat cat who will suck every penny they can from the company to buy themselves a new house.”
I tilt my head and speak with sarcasm, “Now let’s be fair. No respectable fat cat builds a house. It’s a mansion or nothing. Possibly a yacht.”
John laughs along with me and then gets serious. “I swear I’m going to use my business degree for good.”
“I hope you do.” I pat him on the shoulder. For whatever faults he might have, John has a big heart.
“And then you’ll see how awesome I am and go on that date with me.” He follows me down the long hallway again.
“John…” I shake my head. I thought we’d gotten over this part of our relationship. “You are way too young for me, but one day you’ll find a great girl.”
“That’s why you won’t date me? I’m too young?”
We stop at the beginning of the gym entrance and I use my fingers to list off the reasons I will not be dating John. “I’m twenty-four and you’re twenty. That’s quite an age gap. We work together. And you want to be someone’s big strong husband, who they need for everything. I want a man who understands I don’t need him to plant me flowers. I can garden for my damn self.”
“You might be right, Clare. We’d be horrible together.” He walks past me entering the gym but stops and looks back, a huge grin on his face. “But we’d have one hell of a time figuring it out.”
The dribbling of basketballs that covered up his words a moment ago stops.
“Ohhhhhhhhhh.” The kids turn and stare at John, but only Travis calls him out. “He said a swear word.” Ten index fingers point at John.
Last summer I instituted a no swearing policy. All it did was make the kids hyperaware of when I swore. “Yeah?” I shake my head and roll my eyes at Travis. “Don’t think I missed that F-bomb you dropped walking in this morning.”
“That? You got it wrong, Miss C. It must be the echo off these walls. Bad insulation, it messes up my words.”
“Is that so? It must be a new form of science because I’m sure when I was in school echoes worked differently.”
Travis throws his hands up in an exaggerated shrug. “That’s a public school education for you.”
