Mathematics of Love ⭐

Two

I was sitting helping Mary with some problems and I had given her some workbooks to go through when I heard the door open.

"Frank is home." Mary said and I looked up at saw a man come walking in. He was wearing a white t-shirt that was dirty and a pair of very faded jeans. I smiled at him and placed a hand on Mary's back.

"You think can you try the next one without me while I go meet your uncle and then I will check it?" I asked and she nodded. I got up and walked over to Frank.

"Ms. Collins?" Frank asked and I nodded and extended my hand.

"Melina, Mel or Lina would be fine. I will answer to all." I said and he nodded.

"Well just call me Frank and you met Roberta and Mary obviously." Frank said and I nodded.

"I did. Mary is amazing." I said and Frank nodded.

"Tell me something I don't know." Frank said and Roberta hit his arm hinting at his attitude.

"Listen Mr. Adler...-" I started to say.

"Frank." He interrupted.

"Frank...you never explained the situation to me. You never said it was a 7-year-old who is working on problems I didn't work on until my second year of college." I explained and Frank hung his head and groaned.

"Listen, if you don't think this is going to work out there is the door." Frank said and I crossed my arms and Roberta hit him again.
"Frank, I never said I couldn't do this because I can but I assure you that when people hear about Mary they will want her." I said and Frank glared at me.

"That is why I didn't want this." Frank said and walked passed me and grabbed my bag, workbooks and everything I brought.

"Frank! Stop!" Mary said since she was working in the workbooks. He threw everything in my tote bag and shoved it at me.

"I will make sure you get paid for today but this isn't going to work." Frank said and I sighed.

"Frank stop!" Roberta said and Frank walked to the door and opened it.

"Have a nice day." Frank said and I looked at Mary who looked sad. I went to walk past Frank to leave.

"Unless you can teach her this stuff you are letting it go to waste in her brain. She needs a tutor and I'm the best you can get." I said in a low tone.

"How do I know that?" Frank asked.

"Google me." I said and walked out. As I was walking to the car I heard my name being called.

"Melina wait!" I heard Roberta and I stopped and she caught up to me.

"Frank can be a bit of an ass but you just have to give him time." Roberta said and I sighed.

"He fired me Roberta. I'm not coming back." I said and I reached in my tote and pulled out the workbook Mary had been working in and placed my card in it as well.

"Can you get this to Mary somehow. My email is on the card. She can email me or call me with questions. Frank cant just let her brain turn to mush." I said and Roberta smiled and nodded.

"You got it." Roberta said and I extended my hand to her.

"It was nice to meet you." I said and she shook my hand.

"Nice to meet you too." Roberta said and I walked to my car and left. Once I got home after picking up some takeout I just sat on the couch and groaned looked at my cat sleeping on the couch without a care in the world.

"Must be nice to not give a shit." I said and started eating my dinner.

*****FRANK POV*****

Once Mary went to bed that night I grabbed my laptop and typed in Melina Collins in the search engine and sighed seeing everything that came up. She was top scholar in mathematics at her high school and college, she graduated with top honors in mathematics amongst a whole bunch of awards. She was as smart as Diane just she wasn't pushed like Diane was. I sighed and went and grabbed a beer from the fridge and went out to sit on my steps to take in everything. I saw Roberta come walking over to my apartment and I sighed.

"Here." She said when she reached me and she shoved the workbook that Mary had been working in earlier at me.

"Where did you get this?" I asked.

"Melina gave it to me when I followed her out. She see potential in Mary." Roberta said and I nodded.

"I know, I googled her." Frank said and Roberta looked at me waiting for me to continue.

"She was as smart as Diane. She just wasn't pushed like my mother pushed Diane." I said. I had told Roberta about my sister soon after we moved in.

"Frank...don't you think maybe Melina is the best thing for Mary then? She needs someone Frank." Roberta said, patted my shoulder and walked away. I started flipping through the workbook seeing the work Mary had done and just sighed. I grabbed my cellphone from my pocket and pulled up a text message.

FRANK: Melina, it's Frank Adler.

MELINA: I know I have your number still saved in my phone. What can I do for you Mr. Adler?

FRANK: Listen, today didn't really go as I planned and I may have been an ass. I was wondering if you would come back and give this another chance.

MELINA: May have been an ass?! You know what fine...I will come back but for Mary not for you. I know you are only doing this because you researched me. Mary is a bright little girl Frank and I didn't mean anything by what I said today. I want to protect her, I know about your sister and I don't want her to be pushed like her.

FRANK: Tomorrow 3pm.

*****NORMAL POV*****

Frank ignored everything I said about knowing about his sister and just told me 3pm tomorrow. I was back on the job. I wasn't sure how I felt about this and how things would be between Frank and I but this wasn't about me, this was about a little girl named Mary.