Thursday was busy as everyone got caught up after the snow day, juggling assignments and due dates and missed meetings. It flew by, fortunately, and just before three, I was pulling into Grace's driveway. Lindsey let me in with a smile and a brief kiss and I made my way into the kitchen where her daughter was sitting and scrolling through her Instagram. She tucked the phone away when I came in and got her stuff out, all business.
For the next hour, we worked steadily to make sure Grace knew what was going on in class. She was still struggling to keep up, so we went over the class work again and again until it began to sink in. It took her a painfully long time to process things, but once she had them, she did seem to understand and remember them. Anyway, after an hour she zipped off to her lacrosse meeting with a smile and a finger wave.
Lindsey was sitting on one of the kitchen stools looking at an iPad when I stood up and got my things together. I walked over to her and pulled out the stool beside her. She looked as put-together and beautiful as usual, and the comfort between us had softened some of her brittleness. She smiled as I sat down and turned the screen toward me.
"Grace is passing Law and Government," she said.
"Allelujah!" I laughed. "She actually has done a lot of work this semester that she didn't do last time around."
"I think she needed some...motivation," Lindsey said slyly.
I laughed at her innuendo and went right along with it: "Well, I like to call it a comprehensive tutoring service for the struggling learner!"
She laughed, then resumed her mock-serious tone: "Tell me, Mr. Robertson, is it normal to reward student progress with sex?"
"We don't like to use the word "normal" when speaking of our students," I opined haughtily, "because every student has a unique set of circumstances."
"Oh, I see!" she chirped, sounding remarkably like Grace. "Some students need just oral sex, and some need a finger in the butt!"
"Well, I wouldn't limit myself to JUST those options, but those are both valuable forms of extrinsic motivation."
"Wow!" she cooed, "You must have studied for a long time to get so smart!"
I nodded wisely: "I like to think of myself as a life-long learner."
"Do you realize," she said, dropping the repartee, "that a month ago none of this had happened and Grace was failing and I was a frustrated wreck?"
"I think it's been an amazing month all around," I answered sauvely.
She smirked at my tactful answer, then added "Me, too!" as she leaned forward to kiss me.
The kiss was heartfelt, but she pulled back after a few moments, shaking her head and smiling.
"I can't get all revved up!" she complained. "I've got a parents' group this evening and I have to get things ready."
"Duty calls," I said with a shrug.
"One serious question before I kick you out, though."
"Shoot," I said.
"Do you think once a week is enough for Grace to stay on top of things? I'm not trying to cheap out, but I don't want to monopolize your afternoons or have her start to think that she doesn't have to do it on her own."
"I get that. I think once a week would be fine. With Grace, I mean!" I added suggestively.
"Damn right once a week isn't enough for me!" she said with a smoldering look. "But seriously...Gracie is going to start lacrosse soon, and it's going to eat into her time after school. Do you want to meet later on, or do you want to do weekends?"
"Let's play it by ear. I can do whatever she needs."
"Academically, I hope you mean!" she said with a snort.
"Definitely," I said in what I hoped was a reassuring voice. "I haven't forgotten why I'm actually here, ya know?"
She grinned, knowing she'd gotten me.
"I know. You're the consummate professional. Hold on, though...I'll grab you a check."
"Whatever. I know where to find you!" I answered with a smile.
"And I can always drop it off..." she said tauntingly.
"Very true. But my goodness will the neighbors gossip!"
"Fuck 'em," she said briskly, standing up and grinning widely. "Got any plans for the weekend?"
"I was going to ski, but my friend in Maine has to work all weekend, so no."
"Poor baby. Grace has indoor practice on Sunday."
"Well, I'd hate to have you rattling around this big house all by your lonesome!" I said. "Do you want to come to my place and drop off a check, or should I come to your house so you can give it to me here?"
She giggled at the raunchy tone I had used and then pouted adorably: "Gee...I'll have to think about that!" she said breathily.
"Let me know," I said in a normal voice, leaning down for one last kiss.
"Will do."
I smiled as I drove home.
For the next few weeks, things were normal and busy in the Grace-Lindsey-Steve world. I worked with Grace after school on Thursdays and she ran out the door right at four o'clock. I had Lindsey over on the weekends twice and enjoyed a long Thursday evening exploring the sprawling house and trying to have sex on a yoga ball in the third-floor studio. All-in-all, it was a good situation.
When lacrosse practice began in earnest, though, things got complicated again. Grace was tied up from 2:30 to 5:30 every day after school and so tired she could barely focus on work after dinner. The first Thursday I went over, I had to jolly her through a seriously basic assignment about members of Congress and she seemed grumpy and unwilling or unable to get her mind onto the task. Lindsey told me later that Grace was super-stressed about being a captain and whipping herself into a frenzy over little things that matter so much when you're a kid in the moment but seem like nothing from an adult perspective.
"What she needs," Lindsey said one day, "is a life coach, not a tutor!"
"Wow!" I said with a wince. "I can take rejection, but the way you just said "tutor" hurt me to my very soul!"
She punched my arm, knowing that I was kidding. Before she could object or add anything, I jumped in with a suggestion.
"Actually, I do a lot of organizational tutoring as well as history stuff. If you're cool with the change, I'll shift my focus a little bit to see if I can help."
Lindsey nodded and pulled me down for a kiss to seal the deal.
The next Thursday, I stayed after school and caught up on grading. After that, I grabbed some dinner at a local deli and headed over to Grace's house. Lindsey's car was not in the driveway or garage, so I made my way inside and settled into the usual tutoring spot. Grace sat beside me and after some small talk, I explained the new life coachidea to Grace. She seemed guarded, though, and I asked her what she thought. To my amazement, she didn't answer...she just got up and walked away into the kitchen.
I gave her a minute, but then got up and followed her. She was standing in front of the fridge with the door open to block me from her field of view.
"Grace," I said softly from behind her, "what's up?"
"I don't know," she whispered without turning around.
I took a step closer and put a hand on each of her upper arms, squeezing gently.
"Yeah, you do," I murmured. "You're busy and you're stressed and it's hard to keep up with everything you have to do."
I felt her shoulders shake at the same time I heard a sob. She spun in my grasp and buried her face in my shirt, clinging to my waist and hiccuping as she cried. I held her gently and stroked her back, murmuring soothing noises. After a while, she seemed to slow down and breathe more normally. When I heard her sniff, I knew she was done and pulled her back from me a little bit. She looked up with wide, teary eyes and sniffed again.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, starting to look down.
I caught her chin and pulled it up. Then, because of our history, I gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and smiled down at her.
"It's okay. You're stressed. There's a lot going on right now."
"It's not just that," she whispered, resting her head on my shirt again.
"What else?" I asked her quietly.
"I know it's stupid because I'm passing Law and Gov and I should be happy, but...".
"But what, Grace?"