“Oh my God, you sound just like Mom,” she said, as she rolled her eyes dramatically. I winced as the words hit my ears, but I knew that Nina was searching for the words that would give her an advantage. She’d become an excellent manipulator since the divorce and knew exactly how to play Remy and I off of each other. Tonight, I wasn’t having any of it.
“That’s probably because we both want you to do well in school, kiddo,” I said, moving back into the living room and shutting off the television. “Bedtime.”
“F
ine,” Nina pouted. “You’re so mean.”
“I know I am, but I love you enough to let you think that,” I said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “I’m doing it for your own good. Now, get up and get moving, young lady!”
She reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck, and I stood up, pulling her up off the couch so that she was hanging around my neck like an albatross. I loved this ritual. We’d been doing it since she was a tiny girl, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before I no longer had the opportunity to do these things. It made me smile to know that while she might be mad at me for enforcing bedtime, she wasn’t mad enough to skip our ritual. I wrapped one arm around her waist and did an exaggerated Frankenstein walk down the hall to her bedroom. Nina giggled the whole way as I growled and grumbled like a monster. In her room, I reached up and untangled her fingers so that she fell backward onto her bed, bouncing once or twice until she was still.
“I love you, Nina,” I said, as I bent down and kissed her forehead.
“I love you, too, Dad,” she replied. “I just don’t love this bedtime thing. I’m not a kid anymore!”
“You’re my kid and, believe me, you’ll thank me for it later,” I assured her. “Now, you get some sleep and work on those grades.”
“Only if you get some sleep and find a date,” she shot back.
“I don’t know where you got this smart-ass streak from,” I said, shaking my head sadly.
“Better to be a smart-ass than a dumb-ass,” she retorted, as I exited the room, shutting the door behind me.
As I cleaned up the kitchen, I thought about what Nina had said about dating. I knew that it was probably time to get back on the horse, but after two years of being on my own, I’d grown accustomed to my routine and I wasn’t sure that there was room in it for someone else. I tucked the sponge behind the faucet and shut off the kitchen lights as I told myself that I could let it go for now and worry about dating tomorrow.
Chapter Four
Emily
When the alarm went off early the next morning, I groaned as I hit the snooze button and then rolled back over and closed my eyes. The air in the bedroom felt colder than usual, and I knew that the furnace had most likely gone out during the night — again. I’d told my landlady about the problem, and she’d assured me, numerous times, that she had someone coming to take a look at it, but the problem persisted. This made getting up on a Monday morning even more unpleasant than usual.
“Oh Christ,” I groaned, as I slammed my hand down on the alarm button as it began beeping again. Howard purred softly as he shifted his position under the covers. I reached out and petted him as I grumbled, “You’re living the life of Riley, and you know that, don’t you?”
I slid out from under the covers, and as my feet hit the hardwood floor, I knew that my assessment of the furnace situation had been correct. I could see my breath hanging in the air as I made a break for the bathroom and cranked the hot water on. Then, I quickly padded into the kitchen where I flipped on the small space heater I’d bought just for mornings like these. Back in the bathroom, the small room had warmed up as it quickly filled with steam. I shed my pajamas and stepped under the stream of scalding water.
Once I’d showered and done everything I could possibly do to get ready in the small, warm bathroom, I wrapped myself in a thick, terry cloth robe and shoved my feet into a pair of sheepskin slippers before heading to the kitchen to make coffee. I found Howard sitting in his usual spot at the counter on the middle stool, slowly grooming himself as he waited for me to serve him breakfast.
“I’m not sure what Edith is going to do about the heat today, buddy,” I said, as I scooped coffee into the filter and then flicked on the machine. I grabbed Howard’s bowl off the floor and opened the cabinet where I kept his food. “You’re probably going to have to tough it out in bed today. I’ll stop and pick up another space heater on my way home because one way or another, we’re going to have heat in this damn place.”
As if ignoring me, Howard sat staring out the window until I placed his bowl on the floor. Only then did he hop down from the stool and wander over to head butt my leg. I flipped on the news and saw that they were just heading into the weather report.
“You’re welcome,” I said to my furry companion as I began making breakfast and packing my lunch.
“There’s a northeast storm heading our way this week, and it looks like we’re going to be dipping down into the sub-zero temps overnight,” the local meteorologist said a little too cheerfully. “If you’ve got drafty windows or doors, I’d recommend putting something along the cracks to keep the chill out!”
“As if you’d ever lived in a drafty house,” I muttered, as I flipped the toast onto a plate and buttered it quickly. I took my coffee and toast to the counter and sat down.
Howard and I ate in companionable silence as I mentally ran through my lesson plan for the day. I knew the sophomore class was going to be rough once I handed back the papers, so I decided to wait until we’d finished the day’s lesson to give them out. The kids would grumble, but in the end, I knew it was the only way to go.
An hour later, I was at my desk prepping the assignments I planned to hand back and the ones that would be given as homework. The school was chilly, and I decided that another cup of coffee was in order, so I headed down to the faculty lounge.
“Morning, Emily,” frowned 10th grade English teacher, Betty Paxton. She had a sour look on her face.
“Morning, Betty,” I said, as I tried to slide past her. Betty had a reputation for being difficult, and I found that staying out of her way lessened the chance that she’d bend my ear. Unfortunately, this morning I was the only other teacher in the lounge.
“Have you ever known a class of 10th graders to be so absolutely lazy as this one?” she asked, as I reached for the pot that had just finished brewing.
“Lazy, really?” I said, without looking up. “No, I haven’t found that to be true.”