“Sorry about that.”
“What happened?”
He shook his head and took a bite of pasta. “Nothing. Just the usual inconveniences.”
“It seems like you still have a lot of work to do,” Nina said. “Do you usually come home at this time?”
“Not usually, but I…” Theo shook his head. “I figured I’d work in my home office tonight. Fewer distractions.”
“That makes sense.” Nina tried not to feel hurt. She’d half thought that Theo might have come home earlier to see her and Jack, but of course, it made more sense that he just thought he’d do better work at home. She’d seen his home office, with its giant desk and ergonomic chair and shelves of books. She understood why he’d want to work there.
After dinner, Nina washed the dishes, and Jack helped her dry. They were on the last few plates when her phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Anita. She showed her phone to Theo, who was packing up leftovers in a plastic container, and he nodded encouragingly. She answered.
“Hello. This is Nina Thompson.”
“Good evening, this is Anita from Holyoke Academy. We spoke earlier today about admission for your son, Jack.”
Nina’s heart began to race. For her, it all came down to this. A good education for Jack was a huge part of the reason she’d agreed to any of this. Well, and the money Theo was offering didn’t hurt, either.
“Of course,” she said. “Thanks for calling, Anita.”
Theo stood beside her, still holding the container of pasta in both hands. He looked nervous too, for the first time all day.
“It was great meeting you and your family today,” Anita said. “As I told you, it’s less common for us to accept a new student mid-term, but Jack really impressed us. So, we’d like to invite him to enroll, starting as soon as possible. The good news is that most of the school welcome events actually happen in early October, and the kids have only just started classes, so Jack should settle in well.”
Happiness flooded Nina, making it hard to stand. She gripped the counter.
“That’s wonderful. Thank you so much.”
“Please come in tomorrow to fill out some paperwork and get a tour. Then Jack can have his first official day on Wednesday.”
“Of course. We will. Thank you so much, Anita. Talk to you tomorrow.”
Nina hung up and turned to Theo, bouncing with excitement. “We did it! He’s in!”
Theo grinned broadly. “Excellent.”
He held out one hand. Nina had just started to go for a hug — she was a hugger with all her friends — but quickly changed the movement into a stilted high five. They both looked away, awkwardness flooding Nina. Why had she gone for a high five? They weren’t Jack’s age. She turned to Jack to break the moment.
“You’re going to start at a new school,” she told him. “Isn’t that great?”
“Are the teachers nice?” Jack asked. “And the kids?”
“Yes,” Nina replied, though she had no way of knowing. “We’ll go tomorrow and meet everyone. What do you say?”
“Yay,” Jack said happily. He and Nina finished up the dishes while Theo disappeared, probably off to work again. Nina tried not to feel disappointed by that, either. It was better that he left them alone.
She and Jack spent the evening playing a board game, doing bathtime, and putting Jack to bed with a stack of stories. He was easier to settle now and didn’t complain about the big bed or the weird smell anymore. Jack was getting used to all this.
Nina was, too.
Once Jack was asleep, she padded back downstairs, intending to get a glass of water and do a little work. She’d prioritized interview prep and settling into Theo’s house the last few days, so she hadn’t gotten much done.
Nina was surprised to see Theo sitting in the living room with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He turned when she came down the stairs.
“I thought we could celebrate.” He nodded to the champagne. “This is a big moment for both of us.”
“That sounds great.” Nina grinned as she came the rest of the way down the stairs. She joined Theo on the couch, leaving the center cushion free between them. A little space was good. It would keep her from offering any more weird high fives.
