Between the Sheets by Julie Prestsater Page A

think
it’s watching them succeed against all odds that does it for me. I
try to help in any way I can.”
    “ Yup, I know the feeling.
I’m a sucker for a happy ending too. When I see my kids, the ones
who most thought were a lost cause, cross the stage and get their
diplomas at graduation, it makes all the extra hours of phone calls
and come-to-Jesus talks worth it.” This last May, I had a student
introduce me to his mom. She thanked me, shaking my hand and not
letting go. She expressed how grateful she was to me for being
there for her son and how she didn’t think she would’ve seen him
graduate if it hadn’t been for me. She’s a single mom, working two
jobs to care for her elderly mother and her two children. Because
of that responsibility, she wasn’t always aware that her son was
ditching and getting into trouble all the time. He loves his mom,
but has some serious daddy issues. But he figured it out. Now, he
has a high school diploma to get him started and he got a part-time
job at the airport. Each of my students has a story to tell. I
could flip the pages of the yearbook and share all their sob
stories, some more sad, depressing, and maddening than others. But
the best tales are the ones where the students beat the odds to
find success, just like Ty described.
    “ So what’s your plan for
the day? Cuddle the doggies? Talk shit with my sis?”
    He knows me well. As soon as I dig
myself out of this abyss of throw pillows I call a bed, I’m heading
over to my mom’s. And if she doesn’t talk my ear off the entire
day, I plan on seeing my best friend. It’s been years since we’ve
been away from each other this long. And I definitely miss her.
Even more than Mer and Der. But I wouldn’t tell her
that.
    “ That’s the plan,” I tell
him.
    “ You know if you want to
come up again, you can bring the little fur balls with you. No need
to find a babysitter.”
    The idea makes me want to pack my bags
now. “Let’s see how things go. With your commitments at the center,
you might not have much time. We’ll talk about it in a few weeks.”
As much as I’d like to turn right back around and drive up there in
time for dinner, I know I can’t. I have to exhibit some
self-control. And hell, I’d like him to come to me. I can’t just
spend eighteen hours in my car to make the trip to and from the Bay
every time my heart warms to his voice. I’m not that
pathetic.
    “ Okay,” he says. “But just
so you know … I want you here. With me. All to myself. Now that
I’ve had my fill of you, I can’t get enough.”
    “ Oh, Ty. I’ve had my fill
of you too. Been more full of you than I could ever imagine, as a
matter of fact. And believe me, we could be a hundred years old and
I still will not have had enough.”
    There’s a low groan in his tone when
he replies, “Oh lord, woman. You’re killing me. I gotta go jump in
the shower. Or maybe a tub of ice.”
    There’s laughter on both ends as we
end the call.
    He wants me there. With him,
huh?
    Well, that’s definitely something to
think about.
     
    “ Mom,” I shout when I enter
my parents’ home. Instantly, I feel like a little kid again. Being
here always makes me feel like I want to put on my PJs and watch As
The World Turns with my mom and grandma. The damn show is gone now,
but Grey’s works.

    “ I’m in the kitchen,” I
hear her call out.
    She turns as I come around the corner.
She wears a bright smile on her face as she wipes her hands on her
apron. “Hi, baby girl.” Her hands fly up, welcoming me. “How was
your trip? How is Tyler?”
    “ Oh, Mama.” And the tears
fall. What the fuck? Where did these come from? I bury my face into
her shoulder and sob. “He’s wonderful.”
    “ Then why are you crying?”
She pats my head and runs her hand down my hair.
    “ I don’t know. I have no
idea where this is coming from.” I back away, wiping the tears from
my now damp face with my fingertips.
    Her concerned eyes search mine