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I'd gotten home after stopping at Data Dork and the store and , true to his word, Jake had dinner ready, save for the sauce that he needed to heat up. Fifteen minutes later, he had spaghetti, garlic bread and a salad on the table, in the middle of yakking jabbering , starving children. I ate and listened, smiling occasionally, laughing a couple of times. Brenda had taken the kids on a field trip to the chiropractor's office and Grace told me all about the padded tables and the pictures of bones hanging up on the walls. Will rolled his eyes and announced the doctor wasn't really a doctor because he didn't have a medical degr ee but Sophie and Grace ignored him and thrusted coupons for a wellness check in my direction .

I smiled and tucked them into my pocket but I didn't ask questions and I didn't engage as much as I usually did. But I was tired, beaten down and more than a little frustrated. My level of involvement at dinner was far less than usual. The kids didn't pick up on it, but Jake did and he hustled me away from the table as soon as dinner was over , telling me he'd take care of the dishes and clean-up. I rarely took him up on it, but this time I did. I took a long hot shower, laid on the bed upstairs then, clad in my pajamas and slippers, snuggled with the two younger kids and listened while they read books out loud to each other and to me.

By the time nine o'clock rolled around, the kids were ready for bed and I was while he played games with the kids and got them ready for bed and smiled at him whe ready for some alone time with Jake. n he He tucked the kids into bed, then joined me in our bedroom came to bed , holding with a an opened bottle of beer.

The man knew me better than I'd ever been known. well.

I held the beer and took a long swallow before handing it back to him. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Dinner. Occupying the kids Tucking the kids in . The beer.”

“Oh. Those.” He smiled. “Anytime.”

“I'll remember that.”

“I'm a very capable house-husband at times,” he said, taking his own drink from the beer.

“More than capable.”

“Now that we've established how awesome I am,” he said, handing me back the beer. “Talk.”

“ I don't know if you'll want to listen.”

“ Try me.”

I threw my head back on the pillow and gripped the beer with both hands. I then laid out my day for him in painstaking detail, from Harriet waiting for me in the morning to Harold's revelation before I got home. Half of the beer was gone by the time I finished.

“Whoa,” he said, reaching for the beer when I was done . He swallowed a mouthful. “And I thought I had a full day ? . ”

Yeah, s S eriously,” I said. “Who knew volunteering was going to be so awful?”

“ Me.” He grinned and took a drink and set the bottle on the nightstand. “So . L , l et's look at all of this step by step.”

“Oh great. Let's re - live it a third time.”

“Relax,” he said. “I meant to see if we can find some solutions.”

“There are no solutions,” I whined. told him.

“Issue number one,” he said, ignoring me. “Your sign-ups actually sound pretty good. Even if you didn't get another one, the show could run with fifteen . Correct?”

“It doesn't seem like enough.”

“It doesn't seem like enough because it isn't the number you wanted,” he said. “But , in fact, if you think plan for that each act might to be on stage for an average of five minutes, you have enough for at least a ninety minute show when you f . D on't forget to f actor in transitions and a fantastic emcee making who will make great jokes and enterta ining in the crowd.”

I smiled a him. “Yeah, but where will I find that guy?” I asked.

He grabbed my arm and squeezed playfully. “Any more questions like that and you'll actually have to go find one,” he said. “ Now isn't the time for jokes. Face it. You need me.”

“I always need you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said , waving a hand in the air. “But now you need me in a tux and at my witty best.”

“I suppose that's true.”

“Right,” he said. “So, I get that you're frustrated about the counselor and the president not being there, but, in truth, it all honesty, it really doesn't harm the show.”

“No, it just pisses me off,” I said, annoyed. “ Charlotte, I'm disappointed about Charlotte because she's I consider her my friend, but I understand. She can't change her tournament or whatever it is. But what in the world could Bingledorf have going on that she's backing out? I mean, that doesn't even seem fair.”

“Well, it seems she may have a lot going on,” Jake offered. “Which brings us to issue number two.”

“Her leaving Prism?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Actually, let's backtrack to issue number one and a half,” he said. “Can we finally admit that I've been right all along about this school being a total freaking sham? With an administration that has no clue what it's doing and teachers that have no business being in the classroom? Can we just admit I've been right so I can pat myself on the back?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes. Congratulations. Because that's the important thing right now.”

He smiled. “Thank you. I feel better. Okay. On to issue number two and Bingledorf's supposed move to greener pastures. I have to ask . W – w ould that really be such a bad thing at this point, given what you've seen and learned this week?”

“No, probably not,” I said admitted . I grabbed the blanket at the edge of the bed and pulled it up over my legs. “But the way she came at me about this stupid fundraiser, with all of the urgency and everything. W ..w hy would she do that if she's leaving? Why make such a big deal about it if she's on her way out?”

“Just because she might be leaving doesn't mean she doesn't care about the school or what's happened,” Jake said, sounding ridiculously reasonable. “Think about it this way . I : i f she is leaving, is there a better way to go out then after you've put together something that helps the school? There's a lot of potential goodwill there.”

I'm the one putting it together,” I said. told him.

“You know what I mean. Just because she might be leaving for another position or for whatever doesn't mean she wants to leave the school in a lurch.”

“But how can a principal president leave her school in the middle of the school year?”

“Technically, it's still the beginning of the year,” Jake said. “It's not the middle. But who knows? We , in fact, really don't know anything about what she might be doing other than the husband of a PTA mom says shared a rumor that she's leaving.” He shrugged. “A lot of room for misunderstanding when the line between the tin cans stretches tight.”

“Give me the beer back,” I said. “And stop sounding so rational.”

He chuckled and handed me the b eer ottle . “And I'm sorry. You know how I feel about people leaving jobs. As long as they do it in a professional manner, no one should ever take crap for leaving a job. Ever.”