Teacher's Pet

“So he doesn’t know you’re here?”

“I told him I was going shopping and out to lunch. He might have guessed himself that I was coming to see you. I know I could’ve called, but I wanted to see you in person. It’s been too long.”

“I know it has,” I said. “I’ve missed you, too. I don’t want to be fighting with you guys right now.”

“So . . . how is everything going?”

“Pretty good. I mean, I’ve been a little stressed and really busy with everything, but things are actually . . . good.” I smiled, thinking about Leo. And since he had confronted Seth’s mother about the paper and they had both agreed to just keep quiet about everything, I felt as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. It seemed that things were actually working out, and that made everything else seem more bearable.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

I was about to ask how she was doing when I saw, over my mother’s shoulder, that Leo was walking toward us. I smiled and gave a little wave as he approached, a

nd my mother turned to see who I was waving to.

“Hey, Tessa, you want to . . .” Leo’s voice trailed off when he realized it was my mother. “Oh, hi,” he said.

My mother frowned. “Hello,” she said. “I was just trying to talk to my daughter.”

Leo nodded. “Yeah, of course. That’s fine. I can give you guys some space.”

“That’s not what she meant,” I said, even though I had a feeling that was exactly what she wanted. “Listen, Mom. I know you and Dad don’t approve of this. And I’m sorry that you had to find out about it the way that you did, but the semester is basically over, and Leo and I are staying together. I’m living with him right now, and I don’t have any plans to move out.”

My mother didn’t say anything for a minute. Finally, she took a deep breath and nodded slowly. “That’s not what I was hoping to hear, obviously,” she said, “but I’ve realized over these past few weeks that you’re an adult, and you are allowed to make your own choices. They might not be the choices I’d make for you, or the choices I would make if I were in your shoes, but we do need to let you make the decisions in your own life.” She looked at Leo. “I’m sure you’re a very nice person,” she said. “This whole situation has just been a bit of a shock to us.”

“I don’t think any of us planned on things happening like this,” Leo said. “And I do apologize that you had to walk in and see us like that . . .”

My mother and I both blushed. “Anyway,” I said.

“I’ll give you guys some time to catch up,” Leo said. “I think that might be a good idea.”

He gave us both a smile and then strolled off. My mother watched him go. “He is an incredibly good-looking man,” she said, almost to herself. She sighed and turned her gaze back to me. “I’m not going to try to tell you what to do anymore, Tessa. We have a lease on your apartment, though, so regardless of what your father might tell you, we will continue to pay for that because we have to. He’s certainly not going to go through the trouble of finding someone to sublet it, and I have no interest in that either. I suppose we can revisit the issue when the lease runs out in a few months and see where things are. Maybe you should try giving your father a call.”

“Why?” I said. “I thought you just said he didn’t even want you to come and see me.”

“Oh, you know how he can be. And I know that he does happen to miss you a great deal, and that he’s worried about you. It might help if he just heard your voice, if you took the first step.”

I sighed. “I’ll think about it,” I said.

“But since I’m up here, why don’t you let me take you out for coffee, at least? Could we do that?”

“Sure, Mom,” I said.

We went to a little café not far from the school. We sat at a corner table and I got a mocha, and my mother got a cappuccino. It felt a little strange to be sitting with her after not seeing or talking to her for a while, but it was nice, too. I was glad that she’d come to see me, even if it hadn’t been exactly what my father had wanted.

“So you really think I should call Dad?” I asked. “You don’t think he’s just going to yell at me and then hang up? Because that’s basically how our last call ended. He yelled at me and hung up.”

“Tessa, you’ve got to understand that what has happened this past semester hasn’t been easy on any of us. We didn’t realize that you’d gotten involved with . . . what was his name?”

“Nick.”

“We didn’t realize that you’d gotten involved with him, and that was why your grades suffered to begin with. And then to find out that you got involved with a professor . . . it’s not really what any parent expects to find out about their child.” She took a tiny sip of her coffee and then set it down. “Now, I don’t know all the details about you and Leo—and I don’t need to—but there were a few things that I did not tell your father.”

“About Leo?”

“I only told him that I happened across the two of you in a compromising position. I did not elaborate any further.”

“Well . . . thanks, I think,” I said.