[August 7]

Eric finished up his emergency certification program on Friday, having spent the last week shadowing a teacher in a summer school classroom. He now officially had the green light to teach high school in the state of Texas, though he admitted to Tami that he felt unprepared. "All that blather for weeks," he said. "I don't know if the people who come up with these educational theories actually spend any time in a real classroom. It would have been better if they had just apprenticed me to a good teacher for the whole summer."

They celebrated his completion of the program by picking-up Chinese take-out and a bottle of wine. Eating out at a sit-down restaurant simply wasn't in the budget. Eric was distracted throughout the meal, no doubt thinking of his kidney and his mother. Tami offered to do the dishes and put Julie to bed, though they usually split those duties, while Eric slid onto the living room couch with the last glass of wine in the bottle and stared somewhat vacantly at ESPN. Tami had thought the splurge for cable an unusual one given their budgetary issues and Eric's general fiscal conservatism, but he claimed ESPN was a necessary work expense. "I learn from these games, Tami, from the commentary, from some of these shows. It's an education for me, babe. I'll apply this stuff when I coach."

Julie asked for two stories and three songs tonight, and Tami indulged her. After the first story, she heard the phone ring, but it must not have been for her, because Eric didn't come to get her.

The TV was off when Tami returned to the living room. Eric was staring at the blank screen. His wine glass was empty and on the end table, resting on top of a copy of her resume she'd left there. That was about all that piece of paper was good for, she thought - a coaster. She lifted his wine glass, plucked up her resume, and slid down next to him with a sigh. "Do you think there's something wrong with this? Should I take off the waitressing? I thought I should show I had years of paid work experience, but maybe that's hurting me. Maybe - "

"- That was my mom on the phone."

Tami put her resume down on the coffee table. She turned to him and searched his eyes. She didn't like that she couldn't read the emotion there. His eyes usually said more than his mouth. "And?"

He took in a long shaky breath and exhaled. That sigh, at least, she recognized. Relief. And when she heard the relief in his sigh, relief flowed through her body as well.

"I'm off the hook for the kidney," he said. "Turns out her brother has volunteered to donate his. I didn't even know she had a brother. She acted as if I was her nearest living relation."

Tami wondered how much Mr. Taylor had needed to pay the man. She reached out and brushed a hair from Eric's forehead. "I'm so relieved," she told him. "I didn't want you to have to do that."

"Me either. I think maybe my father had something to do with this," he said. "As mad as he was."

"You're right." Tami told him about her lunch date with his father.

Eric shook his head. "I can't say I'm not glad, but I hate to be in debt to him. What do you suppose it cost him?"

"I don't suppose he's ever going to tell you that."

"Yeah," Eric agreed. "Probably not."

"How do you feel?" she asked him.

"Feel? I'm angry! Disappointed. But I'm just...I'm glad it's over. Because it is over. I'm never talking to her again. I want us to change our phone number. I don't want to try to have a relationship with her, when it's pretty clear she was just pretending to want one with me."

"Okay," Tami agreed softly. The pain in his eyes made her heart ache. "I agree we should do that." She kissed him softly.

When he pulled away, he laced his fingers through hers. They sat side by side on the couch, quietly holding hands. She wondered what she should do or say to comfort him and feared saying the wrong thing.

Finally, he gave her the direction she needed. "I could really use a distraction," he said.

She smiled. "What kind of distraction?"

He smiled back, a mischievous twinkle lighting his eyes. "The good kind."

"The kind where…" she slid to her knees on the living room carpet before the couch and put a hand on the button of his shorts. She raised an eyebrow. "I do this?" She slid the button loose.

His eyes darkened with desire. He reached down and cupped a breast through the cotton of her shirt. "You're the best wife in the world."

She pulled down his zipper slowly and seductively while he circled her nipple with his thumb. "Don't you ever forget it, sugar."

[*]

Later that night, as they spooned in bed, he said, "I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"About not listening to you or my dad when you were warning me not to try to pursue a relationship with her. I was foolish."

"You were human." She turned in his arms and kissed him. "And I know this is going to hurt for a while."

He smiled like a boy who has just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Well...a nightly blow job might speed up the healing process."

She rolled her eyes affectionately. He smiled and kissed her. With his forehead pressed to hers, he said, "I'm also sorry I've been so preoccupied with my mom that I haven't been there for you as much as I should have been. I know you're probably stressed out about Shelley's break up and about this job hunt. I'm sorry I haven't been a strong shoulder for you. If you want to talk about any of that now, though, I'm right here. Right now."

She did talk about it. She poured out her pent-up frustration. He held her and listened silently. Only when all of her words were out did he try to reassure her. "Shelley's better off without Javier. You know that. Soon enough she'll know that too. You're a good sister. She's lucky she has you to talk to. As for the job, you're smart, you're capable, you offer good advice, and you know how to listen. I'm sure you're going to get a job soon, because anyone who passes you up is a damn idiot."

She chuckled.

"And you know, Tami, we can afford for you to take your time finding something you really want to do. It'll be tight, sure, but we can manage it. If you end up taking a year off, or just working part-time while you look for that perfect match, we can do that. You're going to find something you love. You don't have to rush it."

"But you do want me to keep looking? You don't want me to just stay at home?"

"What I want is for you to be happy. That's what I want. More than anything else."

She kissed him. "Thank you," she whispered, and snuggled in, her eyes closed, weeks' worth of tension beginning to seep out of her limbs.