Tom Smith came to attention the third time the student cleared his throat. Kevin had been trying to get the professor's attention for a few minutes, but the professor had been lost deep in thought.
He had been a professor in the paralegal program for six years. As he liked to tell people, he was a civil litigation attorney by day and a professor at night. His day job paid the bills, but teaching was his passion.
He loved the rush he got from teaching. He enjoyed seeing the light "switch on", so to speak. It made it all worthwhile when a student finally grasped a difficult concept or finally understood what he was trying to teach them.
Kevin whispered, "Mr. Smith? Excuse me, Mr. Smith, can I go now? I'm done with my final."
He looked up and said, "Sorry Kevin. Yes, that's it, we're done. I'll send your final grade via email within two weeks."
"Thanks professor. I'll see you around."
He glanced up at the clock and saw that it was 7:40 p.m. Class normally got out at 9:30, but it seemed as if he would be done by 8:30 tonight. There were only a few students left taking the final. He looked around, but stopped when his glance landed on Suzy.
Suzy was a bright, articulate and motivated student. He remembered when she first walked in to his Introduction to Paralegal Studies class in the spring. He mistakenly thought she was another dumb co-ed who's goal in life was to, "Like, uumm, like go to law school one day" as they all liked to say.
God almighty if he heard that one more time he would puke. It seemed as if all these girls thought going to law school was like getting their hair done. He occasionally got a bright student, which made teaching worthwhile, and made putting up with the dumb ones tolerable.
He'd thought she was just an airhead when he first laid eyes on her because she looked like a lingerie model. She was tall, at least a couple of inches taller than him. Had long straight light brown hair that skimmed the top of her ass. She always dressed meticulously, and he couldn't remember her ever not looking gorgeous.
He was 37 and figured she was the same age he was. He'd learned they both had completed undergraduate degrees at the same university, just a couple of years apart.
Tom was a happily married man. It was actually a true statement and not just a line he repeated in an attempt to keep lascivious thoughts at bay.
"I'm a happily married man. I'm a happily married man.", was his mantra.