Erin smiled and told him, “Well, thank you, kind sir. Coming from a man as handsome as you are, that’s very encouraging. So if Cameron agrees, can we tentatively say Saturday at 7pm at my house?”
“Sure. That sounds nice. Can I bring anything? A bottle of wine maybe?”
“I’ll be making blackened salmon so if you’d like to bring a bottle of your favorite white, that would be great.”
“Cam has football practice right after school, but I’ll check him with tonight. Any chance I could get your number, Erin?”
She smiled devilishly and said, “Just hand me your phone.”
That Saturday evening, Shay came downstairs wearing a very nice dress and heels. “Wow! Look at you!” Erin said to her daughter. “We must be having someone over for dinner you find very…interesting.”
“Mom!” Shay said loudly. “It’s not like that. Cameron and I don’t really even know each other. I’d dress nicely for anyone coming over the first time.”
“Okay, if that’s what you say, honey,” he mom said as though she was pretending to believer her daughter.
“Well, I’m not the only one who got all dressed up. When’s the last time you wore that?” Shay said pushing back. Erin was wearing a very classy twin set and skirt along with a pair of her own heels.
“Well, I am single now…almost. And it can’t hurt to make a good impression, right?”
Shay moved close to her mom and said, “I think someone is crushing on the hot, younger, new chemistry teacher.”
Shay hadn’t seen her mother blush in…forever…but she was indeed flushed around the neck. “I know you and Dad aren’t divorced yet, but if, well, you know…you guys like each other—I’m okay with you going out. Just sayin’, okay, Mom?”
Erin stopped what she was doing and said, “You know, you are so mature for your age, honey. Thank you for saying that. It means a lot to me.”
“Mom?” Shay asked. “Have you ever dated a younger guy before? You know, before you and Dad, I mean.”
Erin tilted her head, thought for a moment then said, “Hmmm. Well…I went to my senior prom with a junior named Toby Andrews. I haven’t thought about that in years. But other than that, no, I don’t believe I ever have. Why?”
“I dunno. I was just thinking about Dad and his new…bimbo girlfriend. He’s 42 and she’s like 21 or something, right?”
Erin sighed and said, “Yeah, that’s about right, sweetheart. But as they say, the heart wants what the heart wants, right? We can’t really help who we fall in love with, you know. I mean, in a case like that, we can and should try and fight it with our head, but the heart usually wins out. I’m not justifying what your father did to us, Shay. I’m just saying I can understand.”
“So…if Mr. Garvin did ask you out…would you go out with him?”
“Well, let’s wait and see if that happens first. He’s probably got a ton of attractive women his age pursuing him already.”
“Yeah, I could see that, for sure,” Shay told her mom.
“And what about Cameron? Would you say yes if he were to ask you out?”
“Yeah, maybe. Well, I guess I would. Okay, probably,” she replied.
“You guess? Honey, I’ve been a guidance counselor for going on 15 years. In all that time I’ve seen maybe—maybe three boys as handsome as Cameron. I know we adults aren’t supposed to notice, but when they’re that cute? Come on. Even teachers are human beings after all.”