Page 9 of Hot Four Teacher (The Lawson’s #4)

Chapter nine

Animal House

Dane

I hate the smell of this place.

That’s the number one thought I have every time I walk into the assisted living facility that my dad now calls home.

A couple years ago, my father had a widow-maker heart attack. At that point, he was checked into the rehabilitation side of this facility. He loved it here so much that he decided to move into the other side.

I wouldn’t consider this place a nursing home per se. Everyone has quite a bit of freedom, and most are still active. But I’d still rather my dad be living life on his own away from here.

As I walk through the halls, making my way to his room, I pass the nurse that’s on-call for the floor.

“Morning, Darlene,” I greet.

With a warm smile, she says, “Good morning, sugar.”

“How’s he doing today?”

She sets her hand on her hip. “Oh, he’s in rare form.”

“What did he do now?”

“Oatmeal was for breakfast, but according to him, oatmeal tasted like it had already been eaten. He asked for a pound of bacon.”

“A whole pound?” I question.

“Yep. Of course, we told him no. But he managed to sweet talk the ladies in the kitchen who happily cooked him an entire pound of bacon.”

I sigh. “I should be surprised, but I’m really not. Do you want me to talk to him?”

She waves me off. “Aw, that’s alright. He’s so feisty–always keeps us on our toes. We need more of that around here.”

“Alright, Darlene. Let me know if you change your mind.”

“Will do, sugar.”

She walks away, and I head back down the hallway to Dad’s apartment. I knock on the door, and I hear him call, “Come in.”

I go inside, and he comes walking in from the tiny kitchenette holding a can of diet soda.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hey, Dane. Did I know you were coming today?” He asks, slightly confused.

“Nope. I’m a surprise.”

He walks over and gives me a hug.

My father was a staunch military man most of my life.

He was never overly affectionate. I can’t remember one time when he ever hugged me as a kid or even told me he loved me.

It wasn’t that he was an asshole or anything.

He just had a code of conduct that he followed, and he expected his kids to follow it too.

Even after our mom passed away, he was still a pretty big hard ass.

When he finally got out of the service, he began to relax a little, but it wasn’t until he had the near-death experience that he really let loose.

He began wearing Hawaiian shirts and listening to Jimmy Buffet.

And for the first time in my life, he started showing me affection.

He now makes sure my sister and I both know exactly how much we mean to him.

He also has a granddaughter from my sister that he thinks the world of.

As he releases me from the hug, he asks, “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

He walks over to take a seat in his recliner, and I say, “Just thought I’d stop by. I know I haven’t been around much lately.”

“You’ve been moving. It’s understandable. Did you get all settled in?”

“For the most part. I’m still unpacking a little, but it’ll get there. Tomorrow, I’m going to the school to get my classroom finished before the kids come back in on Monday.”

He asks, “What’s the name of the town you moved to?”

“Lilly Leaf Falls.”

“Never heard of it,” he grunts. “Sounds made up.”

I purse my lips together. “That seems to be the consensus.”

I pull one of the chairs from his small dining table over to sit next to him.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” I say.

“Ah, there it is.”

“What?”

“You just have that look about you.” He eyes me up and down.

“What look?”

“The same look you gave me when you were ten and asked if you could ride your skateboard off the roof and into the pool.”

I smile just thinking about it. “Yeah, and you yelled and told me no–pretty loudly.”

“I was even louder when you did it anyway and broke your arm.”

We both chuckle, and I say, “Yeah. Good times.”

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Well, I know that you love it here–”

He cuts me off. “Dane, don’t start with this shit again.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“Oh, I’m sure I do,” he argues.

“Okay, well, how about you listen anyway. Let me say what I need to say, and then, you can respond however you want.”

With a deep sigh, he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. “Fine. I’ll give you two minutes.”

“Alright. I know that you like it here, but I found an assisted living facility that’s closer to where I’m living now.” I pull the brochure out of my pocket and hand it to him.

He reluctantly takes it and starts perusing it while I continue. “It’s a really nice facility. They have all sorts of amenities, and the apartments are double the size. They have a pool and a sauna. It even has a golf course on the property. Plus, it’s only about twenty minutes from my new place.”

“Dane, I don’t like this place because of the amenities. ”

“Clearly,” I mutter under my breath.

He folds up the brochure and hands it back to me.

“Dane, do you remember when I first had that heart attack? The doctors were so worried about me that they put me in here. I was so pissed that I wouldn’t talk to you for a week.”

“Oh, I remember.”

“I thought I was going to hate it. I felt like my independence was being stripped away from me. But when I got here and let my guard down a little, I realized how much I loved it. I found some friends and for the first time in my life, I felt a huge weight lifted off me. I got to enjoy my life without responsibilities. No military to serve. No house to take care of. No kids to raise. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“My point is that now, I get to relax. I hang out with friends. I do activities throughout the day. I get to nap whenever the hell I want. I’m living the dream. I have no intention of going anywhere else.”

“If it’s about the money–”

He cuts me off, “It’s not.”

As I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees, he says, “Son, why don’t you tell me what this is about?”

“I just think it would be nice to have you closer to me,” I tell him.

“A, you’re the one who moved further away. And B, you told me yourself that it’s not much further. It’s not like you’re hours away.”

“What if something else happens?” I question. “What if you have another heart attack?”

“What if I do? Are you going to save my life?”

“Maybe…”

“Dane, you were five minutes away last time. If that would have been my time to go, it would’ve been my time. You can’t interfere with God’s plan.”

I cock an eyebrow at him. “Since when did you become religious?”

“Since I had a heart attack that was supposed to kill me. I should not have come out on the other side. But I did. I have to think I have someone looking out for me. Whether that be God or fate or the universe, I don’t know. But I’m grateful to whoever or whatever it was.”

“I just worry about you, Pops. ”

“I assure you I’ll be okay. I like it here. You go live your life and come visit when you can.”

We both fall silent for a moment before he says, “Now, I hate to kick you out, but they’re about to start a movie down in the rec room. They’re showing Animal House, and I don’t want to miss it.”

“You like Animal House?”

“No, I love Animal House.”

Didn’t see that one coming.

“Alright, alright. You call me if you need anything, and I’ll be here. But you know, it’ll just take longer. Just remember…that’ll be your fault.”

He laughs. “I’ll just have to live with the consequences of my decisions.”

***

Twenty minutes later, Dad and I have said our goodbyes, and I’m on the road back to Lilly Leaf Falls.

I knew going to talk to him would probably be a lost cause, but I had to try. He and I finally have a decent relationship, and I don’t want to lose any ground we’ve gained. I guess I’ll just have to make more of an effort to go see him.

As I’m driving, I try not to dwell on it and instead focus my attention elsewhere.

Michelle.

Ever since I left her last night, she’s taken up residence within my thoughts.

I really want to get to know her better. That probably sounds insane considering we only spent a couple of hours together. And she was drunk for most of that.

Still, I liked her.

After I left, I felt bad that I didn’t stick around longer. Maybe I should’ve stayed to make sure that she was okay. But I’m sure that her being practically naked would’ve made for an awkward conversation when the alcohol wore off. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

I wish I could call her and see how she’s doing, but we didn’t exchange numbers.

Damn.

Guess I’ll have to think of something else.