The Science Teacher

• 16 •

"Babe...are you okay?" Mark questioned worried. "Baby, I need a huge favor from you. Like the hugest favor I'm ever gonna ask you for." I sighed. "Anything."

Mark made his way over to me, and sat down looking me deeply in my eyes. I took a deep breath in and let out a nervous chuckle. Humor was my way of coping and dealing with nerves. I guess my chuckle put him a little bit at ease, because he relaxed his shoulders. He softly took hold of both my hands and began to trace the back of them with his thumb.

"I need to move in with you." I bluntly stated. Another thing about me, is that I don't sugarcoat. Why beat around the bush, when you can get it out of the way.

The puzzled look on his face both concerned and excited me. "Baby you've been here a week, you bas"—"No, like, I need to actually move in. Like, packing boxes and living here...with you...together." He furrowed his eyebrows with confusion, and I was scared of what he would say. The silence in the room did not comfort me and was unsettling to say the least. My heart pounded in my chest as I so desperately scanned his face for any sign.

"I'm confused." Mark's deep voice broke the silence, calming me down just a little bit. "I just got off the phone with my mom, and basically, the job in Arizona pays more and if I don't find somebody to stay with down here, then I have to move down there."

Mark's face softened a little bit and he cracked a small smile. "Baby, of course. I'll do anything for you." He chuckled, and a wave of relief washed over me. But there was still one thing to cover. "You're gonna have to meet my mom." I blankly said out of the blue.

His reaction was the total opposite of what I'd expected. "Okay, sounds cool. When?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion at his response. "Monday...?" I hesitated. "Okay babe, that's fine. What do you want for dinner." As much as I wanted to question why he was so okay with this, I am kind of hungry. Who am I kidding, I'm starving.

My heart was literally jumping with joy at the fact that I was gonna eat. I just brushed it off as I made my reply. "Garlic Chicken Alfredo?" I said. His eyes widened, and it scared me a bit. I furrowed my eyebrows as my heart began to pound against my rib cage. "Are you kidding me?!" He whisper shouted. "What??" I said, in a bit of a panic now. I thought something was totally wrong.

"I love Chicken Alfredo." He softly smiled, and a wave of relief washed over me. I slowed my breathing down, and playfully rolled my eyes. "My God Mark, you scared the crap out of me. I thought something was wrong." I whined laughing, playfully nudging him.

"I'm sorry baby, I won't do it again...maybe." He grinned devishly, greeting my lips with a tender kiss, and waltzing out of the room. I smiled as the sweet smell of his cologne left the room with him. 'God, that man is gonna be the death of me.' I chuckled to myself, walking out after him.

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Dinner, was lovely. We spent it how we would usually spend it. Cracking jokes, talking about life, and anything we could possibly think of. However, I just couldn't shake the thought that he was so comfortable with meeting my mom. It was kind of like a ghost lingering over my shoulder, that I couldn't get rid of. I just had to know.

"Mark?" I called out to him. "Yeah?" He responded swallowing the last bit of food in his mouth. "How come you're so okay with meeting my mom?" I said. I tapped my fingers softly on the mahogany dinner table. The satisfying sound of my nails clinking against the wood, put me at ease.

"Why would I not want to meet my future mother-in-law?" He smiled, getting up from the table and taking his dish to the sink. He started up some dish water, and I giggled like a little girl trying to hide my rosy red cheeks. "No, like, aren't you even the slightest bit of nervous?" I said, bringing my dishes to the sink, and helping him.

I turned the faucet over to my side, and began to rinse with warm water. "I mean, of course I'm nervous. Who wouldn't be. I don't know if I'm gonna make a good impression on her." He said, washing a plate.

"Well of course you will. I'm quite sure that you're pretty experienced in making first impressions. You're a teacher, you should be good at this kind of stuff." I chuckled drying the remaining dishes, and putting them away. Mark let out the dishwater and began cleaning the counters.

"Did you want me to be nervous?" Mark questioned grabbing hold of the broom, and beginning to sweep the tile floors. "It's not that I want you to be nervous, I just didn't expect you to be so nonchalant about the whole situation, that's all." I smiled nervously, holding the dustpan.

Mark swept the contents into the dustpan, as I emptied them out. "Well if it makes you feel any better, I am very nervous. I just have a good way of not letting it show," he said. "After years of being a teacher, you tend to get pretty good at hiding things like that." He chuckled, hugging me from behind.

I giggled and turned around to face him. "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully, and she'll love you babe." I giggled kissing him softly on the lips. With that, I turned on my heel and waltzed into the living room. Mark turned off the kitchen and dining room light, following close behind me.

I laid across the couch childishly, turning on Netflix. Mark laughed picking me up, and laying me down in front of him. His big strong arm caressed my right arm, making me grow goosebumps. "What do you wanna watch?" I questioned him, browsing through all the choices. Comedy, horror, romance, mystery, literally anything.

"It doesn't matter babe, you pick." Mark shrugged scrolling through his phone. I took his phone out of his hand, placing it face down on the coffee table. I turned off the lamp that was beside the couch and continued browsing. Mark let out a deep chuckle, and kissed my forehead.

"I'm bad with decisions, come on, there's plenty of genre's to choose from." I insisted. "Okay. Have you seen 'The Conjuring'?" He questioned with a bit of a cocky smirk. "Are you kidding, I'm literally the queen of scary movies. Of course I've seen that." I scoffed, searching for the movie. "Okay, we'll see." Mark chuckled pulling me closer.

I got comfortable as the movie began to play, letting any and all stress leave my body. This weekend was the time for Mark and I to relax. No drama or problems from school, no work, no students, just us. This was the most important time for us as a couple, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Hi guys...sorry for the wait...how was the update? Did you guys like it? Was it too much, not enough what do you guys think? I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, I just never have the inspiration. I've expressed this before. I'm trying, I really am. Please be patient, I hope you like this update. I'll try to get more out. I love you. 💕