“You’ve done enough,” I said. “We can walk. It’s only a couple blocks.”
He didn’t argue like he normally would. He just accepted it.
“Thank you for the pizza,” I said. “And you know…yelling at her teacher.”
Derek smiled slightly, the amusement in his eyes. “You’re welcome.”
Lizzie walked up to him and gave him an unexpected hug. “Thanks for having my back, Derek.”
He stilled at her affection, his arms rising slightly, like he had no idea what to do. His eyes widened, and he stared at me, asking for direction.
I moved my arms in front of me, showing him to hug her.
He moved slightly, but instead of doing what I suggested, he placed his hand on her back and gave her a gentle pat. “I always have your back, Lizzie.”
She pulled away, gave him a big smile, and then came back to me. “See you later!” She waved then walked beside me. “He’s the coolest guy ever, Mom. You’re so lucky he’s your boss.”
I was lucky that he was a lot more than that. “Yeah…he’s great.”Lizzie faced my mom in the kitchen and told her the whole thing, blow-by-blow. “And then he was like, ‘Oh, why don’t we go down to the principal’s office and tell him you’re a dumbass?’ and then Mr. Franklin just stood there like he pooped his khakis. Derek totally ripped into him, Grandma! He said I was smart and I was gonna get an A in that class, and it’s not my fault that he’s too stupid to understand the math I’m doing that’s being taught by this super genius. It was sooooo cool.” Lizzie kept going on and on.
My mom stood there with a grin on her face. “Sounds like Derek told that teacher where to go.”
“He totally did. He’s awesome, Grandma.”
I gave Lizzie a pat on the back. “Alright, it’s been a very exciting day, but it’s getting late so time to shower and get ready for bed.”
“How am I supposed to sleep?” Lizzie asked incredulously. “I’m gonna be the coolest girl in school tomorrow.”
“No one was there, Lizzie.”
“Oh, but I’m going to tell everyone. And tons of people saw Derek, so I get to tell them I know him!” She grabbed her backpack off the counter and walked into the hallway so she could do what I told her.
My mom waited until the door was closed before she talked to me. “So…sounds like the two of them are getting along.”
“She’s pretty enamored of him.”
“That’s great. I guess I was wrong about him.”
Yes, she was. “Derek seems to like her too. You should have heard the way he talked about Lizzie…saying how bright she was and that she could do anything, and it seemed like he meant it. And when he looked at her worksheet and saw that she got them all right, he had this look on his face, like that really made him happy.”
She smiled. “He sounds like a good man, Emmy.”
“Yes, he is.”
She came to me and gave me a one-armed hug. “When do you think we’ll be able to meet him? You know, officially? Sit down together and have dinner or something?”
“I’m not sure. I’m not sure when I’m going to tell Lizzie he’s not just my boss.”
“Well, from the way she talks about him, it sounds like she’d be thrilled about it, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Yeah…”
She patted me on the back and stepped away, ready to go across the hall and join my dad in bed. “You know, not a lot of men would have the balls to do something like that.”
“I know.” Raising Lizzie on my own had been challenging in a lot of ways, but I’d never felt like I needed a partner to do it. But having Derek around made me realize how nice it would be to have someone else by my side, to have someone who could teach her things I couldn’t, to have a strong male figure who showed her what being a man was supposed to be like. My father was the only male figure in her life, but he was her grandfather, so it was a different relationship. It was nice to have Derek walk in there and tell off Mr. Franklin in a profound way that I never would have pulled off. If I’d raised my voice, I would have been called a bitch, and he wouldn’t have budged in his decision to fail Lizzie. He would have pushed back harder and used his power against me because I was a woman. But with Derek, he stood no chance. I’d never needed a man for anything, but now that I had one, it was nice. It was nice to have someone to do the heavy lifting, to defend my daughter in a way I couldn’t.
My mom stared at me, like she knew the thoughts running through my head. “Tell him he has my approval.”