The Love We Choose

Chapter 23

"How was your meeting with Sasha and all of them?"

"Oh just peachy-keen. Like always, we could have accomplished the same amount of work if Donald had just sent out an email. But that wouldn't give him the time to pontificate about the 'seriousness of what befell our committee.' Jesus, Mary, and Josephine Stalin, that man is full of himself," Lynne let out in a terse whisper as they walked down the hallway toward the Arts Department. They had stepped out to get lunch at the diner as usual, but decided against eating it there as the smells in the establishment were turning Lynne's stomach.

"Aww. I thought you loved hanging out with the crew of fellow overachieving nerds on the Re-accreditation Committee," Ava said with a teasing smile.

"You do realize I got volun-told for that committee anyway, right?"

"Look Lynne, we all have our burdens to bear. You just let yourself get suckered into it by Strauss. Anyhoo, how was your weekend? I drove by your place intent on bothering you on Saturday, but your car wasn't in the driveway."

"Oh, I was in the city this weekend from Friday night to Sunday afternoon."

"Having fun in the city with your fetus's father?"

Lynne clenched her teeth and shushed Ava as she looked around the hallway to make sure no one was around to hear that. Pulling the other woman toward the Art Department's door, she ducked them both inside. Luckily, it was empty inside, the other members of the department were nowhere to be seen. "Don't say that so loud. You know the walls have ears in this place!"

"Fine. Don't pull me so hard next time," Ava told her, shrugging her hand off her shoulder.

"Anyway, I wasn't having fun. He was sick and I was helping him out."

"And did Dr. Daddy ask you to help him out?"

"No, but he was too pitiful and prideful to ask for help."

"Mhmm." Ava gave Lynne a skeptical look as she sat down behind her desk.

"Don't look at me like that Ava. I did it because he is my best friend, Ava." Lynne told her off with a huff as plopped down on the chair opposite Ava.

"So you're telling me, if I called you and sounded sick at 9pm at night, you would pack-up your Insta-Nurse kit and drop by my house to ensure my well-being?"

"Yes, I would!"

"Lies! You would ask me a few questions, tell me what remedies you recommended, and come over with soup the next day. Not drop everything and fly to my side that night."

"Well...umm...it is a little bit different. You have a husband and all. I know you are in great hands with Keith. Huan is by himself."

"Really, that's the best you can come up with. Ok, I counter with, his mother lives in the same state as him and could be quickly dispatched to deal with him in his sickness."

"Yeah, but..."

"But nothing," Ava cut her off, "Huan is a grown-ass man. You didn't have to fly to his side like that." She twirled the pasta she had ordered for lunch around her fork before continuing, "however, you will always fly to his side. It's your incurable desire to take care of everyone else. One of these days you're going to wake up and realize someone should be taking care of you as well." Her words hung in the silence of the office. "Anyhoo, did you hear that Vice Principal Mendez and Nurse Franklin were caught in a compromising position on school grounds by Helen?"

Lynne's eyes went big as she put down her chicken sandwich and reached for her water bottle, "NOOOOO! Not frumpy Franklin? Really?"

"Girl, if I'm lying, I'm dying. This is all completely off the record though...."

XXX

Sitting at her desk the following Friday, eyes tired from reading through lines and lines of numbers, Lynne sipped on a cup of mango juice. It was part of her first craving, pairing mangos and habanero peppers. She had finished the pepper laden tacos from her lunch earlier but was still craving the sweetness of the not-in-season fruit. This Friday couldn't come to an end fast enough for her. Each year, the week before Thanksgiving break was always a drag for Lynne at work. Budgeting for the annual Thanksgiving banquet, Homecoming, and football game madness was never easy.

A ping from her cell phone took her eyes off the screen momentarily and reminded her that she was due at her sister's house by 7pm that night. "Shit. I forgot I'm tutoring the kids this weekend." Lynne made it her duty to help all of her nieces and nephews when it came to their education. She knew that she was not the fun auntie they wanted to play with or hang out with and gossip, Elisa, Julissa, and Nat all filled those roles. It was ok, she knew that wasn't where her strengths lay. But, she was always there when they needed help academically or to discuss serious topics. Where their parents would get frustrated when trying to explain things to them, Lynne had the patience to walk them through each step until it clicked for them.

This was precisely the reason she was going over to tutor Liam and Harley in Math and History, respectfully. And then she would do a refresher SAT prep course for the two together on Saturday. That and she missed her family, dearly. With all the hubbub going on with her, Huan, and the pregnancy, she hadn't been hanging out with her family as much as she used to. She would have to swing by her house to pick up her tutoring supplies before heading over. She also had to give herself a quick refresher on the Balkan Wars as she would be helping Harley out for her World History exam. It had been a while since she had discussed the topic. Lynne was much more confident in her ability to prep Liam for his Geometry exam.

With her mental checklist in place, she turned her focus back to her computer and dug in for the last few hours of the day.

XXX

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