Teaching Her Secrets

Four

Sweat beaded at the crown of Joshua's head. The sun beat at his exposed back and he used his discarded shirt to wipe his eyes free of sweat. The hammer he swung for the last hour and a half was starting to feel heavy in his grip and he was glad he only had a few more areas to nail before he finished the framing. He had been on the work site since six o'clock this morning, building the frame to the beginnings of a large five bedroom house. Just by looking at the blueprints he knew his father's company was going to make a decent investment on the property. 

Dean Thomas always seemed to be somewhat surprised when his son showed up for work despite it was they agreed to on the phone before Joshua moved back home. Years of not speaking to one another, the atmosphere between the two men was always tense and awkward so they kept the conversations short and eye contact minimal. 

Joshua finished the last of the nailing and slid the hammer back into its slot on the tool belt around his waist. Checking the time, he was annoyed when he saw it was well late in the afternoon. He wanted to be home hours ago so he could look over next week's test for his class but a cold shower with an even colder beer were at the top of his priorities currently.

He went to where his father was speaking with the driver a cement truck for a hasty farewell, but Dean stopped him. The resemblance between the two men were striking. Even in his older age Dean still had a well taken care of body with matching broad shoulders and tall height as his son. The full beard along his jaw was a silver gray, a handsome contrast to the dark brown hair on his head that had silver streaks through it. His eyes were the opposites of Joshua's, a color of coffee with wrinkles at the edges.

"I thought we could grab a late lunch together. You still haven't told me much how teaching at the high school has been."

"Assigning homework and grading tests, not much to talk about." Joshua said shortly.

"You're mother told me Lilly Hollands was in one of your classes." Dean continued a thick eyebrow raising. "I haven't seen her recently, but I will never forget how the girl looked at you back then, following you around like a lost kitten. Tell me, is she still in love with you despite your current position?"

If it were anyone else, Joshua would have laughed but the moment his father spoke her name he threw a dangerous look at him, turning to face his father threateningly. "Lilly is an adult, not the kid you remember. She knows better than to waste her feelings on someone she should not or can't have. Simple knowledge you didn't possess despite being years older when you fucked up."

Deep grooves formed at the corner of Dean's mouth where he frowned. "C'mon Josh, that's not fair. I'm trying to smooth the ground here."

He bit back a reply and turned, tossing his shirt over his shoulder. "I'll see you next week Dad."

He walked to his truck, chucking his tool belt, hard hat and shirt in the back before slamming the door shut after him in the driver's seat. It wasn't the first time his dad tried getting some one on one time with him. He clearly wanted to talk to Joshua about how he screwed up in the past, but he wasn't ready for it yet. It was more for his mother than himself that he agreed to work for his father part-time. When Joshua told her he was returning home, she all but begged him to work alongside her husband and to fix the relationship between the two of them. He reluctantly said yes just to have some of the sadness taken out of her voice. 

Joshua tried to reason with himself that if his mother could forgive her husband for having an affair with another woman then he would be able to as well. Each time he saw Dean, anger mixed with disgust made his fists clench and he could never bring himself to say more than a few words to him. His thoughts on the matter now didn't make his mood better and he glared at the stoplight, sending a silent threat to it if it didn't turn green in the next two seconds.