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
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.
By the time nine o'clock rolled around, the kids were ready for bed and I was
The man knew me
I held the beer and took a long swallow before handing it back to him. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Dinner.
“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
“
“
Me.”
He
grinned and
“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
“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
I smiled a him.
“Yeah, but where will I find that guy?”
He grabbed my arm and squeezed playfully.
“Any more questions like that and you'll actually have to go find one,” he said. “
“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
“No, it just pisses me off,” I said, annoyed. “
“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
“No, probably not,” I
“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'm the one putting it together,” I
“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
“Technically, it's still the beginning of the year,” Jake said. “It's not the middle. But who knows? We
“Give me the beer back,” I said. “And stop sounding so rational.”
He chuckled and handed me the b