“I never doubted you for a second.” He grinned so warmly at his son that I knew they had a great relationship. Not that I had doubted it, but it was nice to see the evidence. Back during the parent-teacher conference, I could tell he had been nervous and worried, rather than defensive or irritated, which some parents were when I had to message them about their children’s needs. “Think you’re ready to go and let Miss Fischbacher take a nap?”
“I gotta go potty first.” He looked at me, and it was just like being back in class. “May I use your bathroom?”
“Of course you may, Benny. Thank you for asking.”
I wasn’t in a private room, but the other side of the space was empty. Apparently, that patient had been discharged an hour after I’d come in.
“Thanks!”
He jumped off the recliner and rushed to the bathroom, leaving me alone with his father.
His sweet and handsome father.
Gulp.
“He might be a minute,” Mr. Poynter said, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled. He wasn’t flawlessly perfect, which was what made him that much more appealing to me. He had some lines on his forehead, and his nose was a touch too big for his face, yet somehow it all fit together so perfectly. “The doc says it’s not a big issue, but it takes him around fifteen minutes to go number two.”
“That’s fine,” I said, trying to keep my tone light. Why was I so nervous? “I’m not exactly in a rush.”
“What, you mean you don’t have an urgent appointment right after this?”
“’Fraid not. I canceled my interview with Barbara Walters just an hour ago.”
“How fortuitous.” A confused expression so identical to Benny’s crossed his face, and it was hard for me not to laugh again. “Wait, isn’t she dead?”
“Yeah, she is. The interview was supposed to be over Zoom.”
A loud bark of laughter erupted from his mouth. It was a joyous, booming sound, and it seemed to surprise him just as much as it did me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be that loud. I just wasn’t expecting that.” He chuckled again, shaking his head. “I guess they get good Wi-Fi in the afterlife?”
“I suppose it depends on where you’re sent. Imagine an eternity with intermittent signal while you’re trying to watch YouTube.”
“Are you sure you’re not actually Satan? Because that sounds like Hell.”
I shrugged, knowing I was grinning like a loon and really not caring. It was nice to joke around with an adult who wasn’t a colleague or related to me. I’d been so caught up in all of the school stuff that I hadn’t really been social with anyone but Grandma Mack. “Well, ya know, the American education system can share a lot of parallels with infernal torment.”
That got another laugh out of him. God, I wanted to make him burst out with laughter as much as I could. It was likely the last time we’d ever talk—as long as Benny’s time in the art program went well—so I wanted to make it memorable. And I supposed it was my insecurity whispering that he wouldn’t notice my sallow cheeks, the bags under my eyes, and my thin hair that barely made a braid if I made him laugh hard enough.
“You know, I have heard some horror stories. I couldn’t do that. It’s why I decided not to homeschool.”
“Oh, were you going to?” I asked, more than curious.
“It’s a tradition with most shi— uh, of my family. But I decided it wasn’t right for our situation. But, if he wants to later in his educational career, I’ll make it work.”
I studied him again, looking past the handsome exterior and trying to get a full read on him around the butterflies in my stomach. I didn’t know what was getting to me with all the twitterpation, but I liked to think I could look past it for actual, adult conversation.
“I think it’s great that you’d be willing to let him make that choice.”
“Well, you know, not everyone has the option to be available for something like that. But our situation is unusual in a lot of different ways.”
“Yes, I would imagine so.” I probably shouldn’t have commented on it further, but I couldn’t help myself. “It’s a very different situation, but I lost my mother when I was young too.Not as young as Benny, but you know, too soon.” I let out a sigh. “It’s always too soon.”
For the briefest moment, the anxious part of me wanted to ignore his gaze and stare at the wall, but the part of me that always craved genuine connection looked up to meet his eyes.
Fuck.
I hadn’t expected him to be beaming at me, but even so, I was not prepared for the depth of emotion in the cerulean depths of his eyes.
