The Professor
Recap: Molly has approached her former professor on whom she has a deep crush. They exchange stories to explore their fantasies and philosophies as he attempts to rein in her emotions.
Sunday, Day 10 What Might Have Been
"Professor, Thank you so much for everything." They had finished carrying her belongings into her refurbished apartment. Outside there was a warm rain that fell intermittently. They had come back into the house for her purse, and she stood before him in her tan raincoat buckled at the waist, wearing her new boots. "I confess I didn't sleep much last night. I wanted to leave you with another story."
"Another one? I would love hear it."
"It's dedicated to you, of course. I call it 'The Professor.'" She handed him a few pages.
"You are not going to read it?"
"This is only the beginning. I've been thinking about it for a while. I only have the first few pages."
While Molly unpacked, Stephen sat on the edge of the bed and began to read.
The Professor
Prologue
I knocked tentatively on Dr. Morris' door. He called loudly, "The door's open." He was sitting with his feet on his desk when I looked in. "Molly! What a surprise. Please come in."
I was so nervous - I had the biggest crush on him. No, that makes me sound like a high school kid. He was handsome and recently tenured and the smartest person I ever knew. I'm a serious student surrounded by kids who couldn't give a fuck and he respected me for that that. He took time to help me learn and he took my ideas seriously. He treated me like an adult. You know how few people in your life really care enough to do that? I think he likes me, too. He has always been friendly and seemed to be looking at me when he could. The only thing keeping me from being all out in love with him is the fact that he always kept professional boundaries. I tried to take as many courses from him as I could before this year; but I know that if he crossed the line it might ruin his career. So, I never told him. On the contrary, I had to start avoiding him - until now. It was all or nothing, so I screwed up my courage.
"Professor, I hope I am not disturbing you."
"Not at all. Please take a seat." He hastily sat up and removed a stack of ungraded final exams from the nearest chair and waved me into it. "How have you been, Molly?"
"Fine . . ."
"What have you been doing with yourself?"
"Well, I'm graduating . . ."
"Congratulations."
". . . and I thought I would take a year off. I have a job in town. Not much of one. Working in an office pushing paper. It starts in a month. But it will give me time to prepare for the LSATs and apply to law schools in the fall."
"I'm glad to know your talents won't go to waste."
"I have a favor to ask of you. A couple, perhaps. While I'm studying . . . could you perhaps coach me? I mean write me letters of recommendation, and so forth?"
"Of course. I would be delighted to. And anything else I can do."
I fumbled with my purse. I'm sure I was blushing by now. "And there is something else. Everyone has family coming in for graduation. Someone to wave to in the stands and pat them on the back. I won't have anyone there. Would it be terrible for me to ask you to be my family?"
"
In loco parentis
?"
"Something like that. I mean I'm feeling alone right now and it would be great to know you were thinking of me."
"Where are your parents?"
"My mother died a dozen years ago. Cancer. My father hasn't paid much attention to me. I put myself through school. He's not going to come."
"Of course, I would be happy to be your family next week. It's also traditional for families to take their graduates to dinner. May I?"
My heart leaped. "Oh, I couldn't."
"It would be my pleasure."
"Thank you."
"Give me your phone number and I will set something up."
"By the way, I wrote a story for you." I handed him an envelope.
"Thanks. I'm sure it will be much more interesting than these." He gestured at the unread term papers.
"I should hope so. I would love for you to read it."
"I'm not a literary critic."
"This isn't literature. I know that." I handed him a folder and rose to leave. "But I would like to know what you think. Or maybe, I would love for you to know what I think. Thanks." I disappeared before he could reply.
The next day he called me. He had made dinner reservations for after commencement at his favorite restaurant. It was in the next town over - far enough from campus to avoid the crowds or run into students. I didn't hear from him again until he came to pick me up. I imagined him reading my stories. Could he possibly understand what I was trying to say?
Submission
Annie headed to the Garden House for lunch. She anxiously scanned the tables. With some disappointment she sat down at an empty one next to the sidewalk.
Annie was a jeweler with her own shop. She loved to design new pieces and had just launched her own line. She considered herself moderately successful and was ready to settle down and work on her empty personal life. She usually didn't go out to lunch, but had been forced to a few times recently when she had nothing to bring from home. One time she was asked to share a table with a handsome stranger named Joseph Steckel. They had a warm conversation and she regretted when the lunch hour was over. The next time at the restaurant she ran into Joseph again. Since then she had frequented the restaurant more often hoping to run into him.
Annie felt a great debt to Joseph. He had used his business connections to arrange a showing of her creations, and since then her work had taken off. Over several months their friendship grew and Annie was hoping Joseph would take it further, but he seemed reluctant. She had really fallen for him. Lately she has started taking more pains with her appearance. In her mind, her flirtations had reached a point just short of suggesting they get a hotel room. While he had not responded directly to them, he didn't push her away, either; and for a while he was showing up at the restaurant pretty regularly. But he did not respond as warmly as she had hoped. She knew little about him. He worked in one of the large financial firms nearby and appeared to be single and living alone. She found him a bit eccentric but very intriguing. On the outside he was staid and reserved, but he was extremely smart. And just when he seemed to be oblivious to the person across from him, he would say something insightful that showed he was both attentive and very perceptive; yet she never knew what he was thinking. This left her on edge and quite intrigued. He also seemed to be more interested in the arts than sports, and this gave her encouragement.
She ordered a salad and glass of wine and busied herself with a magazine until a shadow fell over the table, and a familiar voice asked politely, "May I join you."
She smiled. "Of course, I was hoping you would show up."
Today over lunch he seemed a bit preoccupied. She struggled to keep the conversation moving. She decided she would have to make the next move in their relationship, but his distance said this was not the right time. Joseph apologized and said he was working over some issues at work and needed to get back to the office. Annie rose as he stood to day goodbye. Impulsively, the gave him a brief kiss. He froze for a moment, then acted is if the gesture were perfectly natural; but he held her hand for a while before leaving.
Annie was going crazy trying to figure out what was in his mind. She didn't even know where he lived. A fear passed through her mind that he might be married. She searched for him in the phone directory and the internet and found three J Steckels. She looked them up on a map. One was in a poor black section of town. A second was in a western suburb and the third in a wealthier older section near the downtown. She reasoned the third was most likely to be her Joseph, but she had to be certain. She knew he worked late, so she decided to investigate.
After she closed her shop, she drove to the house and parked on the street where she had a good view. The house was dark, which was a good sign that he was not home yet. She sat in the car for two hours as the sun set and almost missed him. A BMW turned into his driveway almost before she noticed it. It disappeared around the back of the house. A few moments later a light appeared through the shades.
