Page 9 of Single Malt
Being able to have sex with Freedom on a semi-regular basis just might be worth any hassle that would come along with being an hour away from each other.
Six
Freedom
Aline had started feeling betterbefore the weekend was done, and even though she never saidI told you so, I’d thought it on my own. I should have just waited to see how things went and only made my suggestions if absolutely necessary. She wasn’t unintelligent, and it wasn’t as if she didn’t manage things independently.
Even as a child, she’d never had problems with doing her homework or studying for tests – not that she’d ever really needed to do much studying. She’d always gotten up on time on her own, and since starting college, had made it to all her classes without needing me to remind her or help her get around campus.
In the near future, she’d be in charge of an entire classroom of children. Take care of them, teach them. She’d excelled during her time as a student teacher, and I had no doubt she’d do the same when she was fully licensed. She was going to be amazing.
“What do you think about getting pizza for dinner?” Aline asked as she breezed into the living room. “It’s our last free Friday for a while. I thought we could relax, maybe watch a movie.”
“Pizza sounds good,” I agreed. “Pepperoni, bacon, and extra cheese?”
“With breadsticks and dipping sauce.” She grinned at me. “And one of those massive chocolate chip cookies.”
She plopped down on the couch and leaned against me the way she had done since she was a toddler. I was four years older than her, and she’d been small for so long that even when she’d finally ended up at a respectable five feet, four inches, we’d often still end up with her curled up against my side like she was five and I was nine again.
“Anything in particular you want to watch?” I asked. “Comedy or musical?”
Aline shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe one of each? One now and then one during dinner?”
My phone rang before I could respond, and as soon as I saw the name, I answered it. “Dr. Ipres, hello.”
“Good afternoon,” she said. “Are you free at the moment?”
“I am.”
I stood, and Aline stretched out on the couch, picking up her Kindle from the low coffee table.
“Is something wrong?” I asked as I went back to my bedroom.
I didn’t think Dr. Ipres was going to be discussing anything that Aline couldn’t know about, but Aline could sometimes get overly excited by something she was reading and talk out loud to the characters. Not long after she’d moved in here, I’d been on a video call with a study group when she’d shouted something along the lines of “why would you do that” and scared the life out of me.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Dr. Ipres said. “I know this is short notice, but I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me with an incoming student.”
I was confused. “What do you need me to do?”
“A fellow faculty member is friends with a couple in Spain who have recently moved to California. Their daughter, Karina, will be starting at Stanford on Monday, and while she does know English, her family is concerned that, if she’s left on her own, at least for this semester, she’ll fall behind.”
I really hoped this wasn’t going to be a request for me to hand-hold this girl all semester.
“Dr. Josephs had arranged for his TA to show Karina around over the weekend, forgetting that the young man had taken the semester off because his mother was having major surgery.”
I’d taken two of Dr. Josephs’s classes during my sophomore year, and I’d liked him well enough. He was extremely intelligent and articulate on his subjects, but it had been clear that his teaching assistants had been the ones to keep him organized. Brilliant but scatter-brained.
“He came to see me early this morning because he’d suddenly realized that he needed someone to take his TA’s place, and that person needed to be fluent in Spanish.” Dr. Ipres sighed. “That’s also when he told me that Karina is interested in the Department of Classics, specifically wanting to focus on Greek studies.”
Now, I understood. “Which means it would make sense to have someone who speaks both Spanish and Greek to help with any cross-translation issues.”
“Precisely.”
I held back a sigh. I hadn’t wanted to take on anything extra this semester, but Dr. Ipres had been a wonderful mentor and advisor. Plus, I knew she’d mention this in any recommendation letter, and it would look good on my resumé. Not only would I be able to say that I’d done translating from other languages to English or vice versa, but also had gone from one language to another, with neither one being my native tongue.
“Will I be able to meet her prior to her starting classes?”
“Thank you,” Dr. Ipres said, relief evident in her voice. “She’ll actually be at my office in about forty minutes. Would you be able to meet me there? It shouldn’t take long.”