Come Rain or Shine by Lane Swift

Author:Lane Swift
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, gay, bisexual, gay romance, mm romance, gay marriage, romance gay, gay love story, romance modern
Publisher: Lane Swift

Chapter 10

Dale

THE KIDS came in from recess, flushed and sweating, especially the boys. Through the week, as May had rolled into June, a cloying humidity had built alongside the heat. It was like someone flipped a switch over Memorial Day weekend, and summer was officially here.

Lively chatter filled my classroom. Only a few weeks to summer break, and already spirits ran as high as the barometer. A lot of these kids in Troy had pools in their yards, or they belonged to the Beachwood Club with its tennis courts and Olympic-sized outdoor pool—open since the holiday weekend.

The excited discussions about summer plans continued as my favourite seventh graders took out their pens and notebooks.

‘What about you, Mr Hepburn?’ one of the girls said. ‘Any plans for the summer?’

‘Lots of rest and relaxation.’

I kept my answers vague. Lately, I’d been glad to get away from wedding talk. Wedding plans. Wedding mania. Still, I would have liked to tell my class I was getting married. Certainly, if I’d been marrying a woman, I’d have mentioned it.

That thought sat in my gut like a stone.

I’d batted away the kids’ questions about my marital status often enough. Told them nothing as opposed to telling a lie. And I hated it. Other teachers never had to worry like I did. They could share varying degrees of personal details with ease. They could speak freely about their spouses or their children. Hell, some of them brought their spouses to concerts and fairs and sporting events. Mrs Patel’s husband had DJ’d for the elementary school next door’s annual jogathon.

But me? I couldn’t bring Nick to school. I couldn’t tell my students I was marrying. I couldn’t share anything about what was meant to be the happiest day of my life.

On and off for the rest of the day, I stewed in bitter juices. Hadn’t realised how much my mood had tanked until I sunk into one of the easy chairs in the staff lounge and Mrs Jarvis, the principal, said to me, ‘Hang in there, Dale. Only a few weeks to go.’

Shaking off the melancholy, I summoned a laugh. No way I wanted to share what was eating at me.

Once or twice, I’d thought about looking for a new job. Maybe at a school in Ferndale or Royal Oak. The downside, though, was the lower pay. Plus, for the most part, I had it easy in Troy. Generally good, motivated kids with supportive parents. Nice facilities. Extra cash coaching. In other words, most people’s idea of a dream teaching job.

I needed to quit griping. It wasn’t so long ago I didn’t have a job at all, and that was sure as shit no picnic. So what if I had to keep my private life private? Yeah, I envied Nick’s openness at work, but I didn’t envy the hours he put in, or the relentless travel. I’d take my job over his any day.

When I left school at the end of the afternoon, grey clouds scudded across the sky.

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