The sweet aspect of the night was that since I can only bowl lefty, he did too. He still beat me but at least it was on an even playing field. When we came back, he made his “famous” spaghetti Bolognese but was not thrilled when I took the leftovers upstairs to Mattie.
We still have a few kinks to work out in this relationship.
Gigantic kinks.
Right now, he is teaching in the room next to me. Today’s lesson is on the song “All of Me” by John Legend. I have the lyrics in the notebook next to my desk and a beautiful coral rose to accompany it.
Passion.
I thumb through my notebook and look at the pages that have been filled in. Twenty-eight song lyrics from him nestled in the pages. Twenty-four are from me.
Pretty soon I’m going to need a new book.
I pick up a pen and start to think of what song I’d like to dedicate to him today when there is a knock on my door. I look up from my desk and see Lisa walking in.
“I thought I’d catch you in here,” she says, looking back toward Alexander teaching in the next class. She closes the door behind her and crosses her arms in front of her.
I raise a brow at her disposition. “Can I help you with something?”
“What’s going on with you and the Prince of Darkness?” she asks and I’m completely taken aback by her question.
“What do you mean?” I say indifferently.
Lisa places a hand on her hip and looks down at me. “I don’t want to go all mother-hen on you but I’m worried. What’s a sweet girl from the Midwest doing with a guy like him? He already left you once, Emma. I’ve tried to mind my own business but I have to speak my peace.”
I lean back in my chair and cross my arms one in front of the other. “Is there something I should know about?”
“Just be careful, okay? That’s all I ask.”
I look over at my friend. She is a dedicated wife and a devoted mother. Lisa has no reason to scold me on my relationship unless it’s out of true concern. She’s not a jealous person or a gossip queen. If she says she’s worried, I have reason to believe it’s genuine.
Besides, her words are no different than the ones Leah reamed into me the other day when she found out Alexander and I are together. They went something like this.
“Can’t say I didn’t see this one coming.”
“You did not.”
“Oh, I did and that asshole owes you big time.”
“What happened to all that talk about how he helped me? Doesn’t that count for something?”
“He still left your ass in Italy, Emma. And don’t think I haven’t been stalking him on the Internet. He wasn’t exactly mourning the loss of your love these last few months.”
Those words stung a lot. “He had a right to leave,” I say.
“Whatever. You’re gonna do what you wanna do so, mazel tov.”
“Leah, we’re not Jewish.”
“You really think he’s for real this time?”
“I do.” I sigh into the phone. “Give it to me.”
“What?”
“The great McConaughey speech.”
Leah didn’t miss a beat. “The truth wills out and everybody sees. Once the strings are cut, all fall down.”
“You’ve been watching ‘True Detective’ on Netflix again haven’t you?”
“Just be careful.”
So looking at Lisa, I understand her concern. Problem is I can’t just hang up the phone on her like I can with Leah. I used to hate everyone asking if I was okay. Now getting told to be careful is becoming my new hated phrase.
“We’re taking it slow. Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing,” I assure Lisa and she seems to accept that.
The door to my office opens and Alexander sticks his head in.
“Am I interrupting?” he asks, stepping inside as if he doesn’t care if Lisa and I were in a private conversation or not. He grabs his suit jacket from behind my chair and leans in for a kiss. “I have a meeting in twenty minutes. Meet me uptown when you’re done. I want to show you something.” Shrugging on his jacket, he checks his pockets to make sure he has his wallet and phone. “Devon will pick you up and bring you to my office.”