We Belong Together

(II.) Who is your hero?

You're such a fool if you thought you would wake up in his embrace and have sex for good morning.
I am sitting on the living room floor in my small apartment and I feel sorry to myself. And a bullshit about a fiancée? I don't even know where this "fiancée" is. I wrote messages to him, called him, and he still didn't answer me.
"Tina, you really don't want to eat?" third time today, my neighbor Lupe knocked on my door. "No, thanks. I am really not hungry," I call her back. Lupe is 76 years old and since I moved here, she's taking care about me. I am never hungry, thirsty, she's informing me with all the gossip and when she come to visit, she always clean up my apartment and water the flower - the only thing that I have in memory to my mother.
She has fluffy, fat, orange cat. Otherwise she has only me and some neighbors. She has no relatives, just like me.

It's three o'clock in the afternoon, and I am still in the same clothes as last night. Well, just without panties.
I remembered that I need to prepare some materials for tomorrow's lessons, so I get up and walk into the bathroom with difficulty. A cold shower will clear my mind. I undress myself and step under the shower. "Jorge," I say softly and close my eyes. My thoughts go back to him again. Where is he now? What is he doing? Will he go to the discotheque again today and perhaps meet another woman and take her to the hotel? With this though I become angry. To myself. To him. On yesterday night. Ice cold water flows through my body, my nipples harden. I start to wash myself, when my fingers go down and start teasing me. I've never done this before. No thought to any man has ever brought me to this. Not even a long-time relationship.
"Stop it!" I say angrily and I force myself not to continue. I quickly dry up, then wrap in a towel when I hear the phone's beep. I walk to the living room and look who wrote.

-

Andres <3
Hi, baby <3
I'm sorry for answering you late. All those trips, sightseeing... ah, you know how it is.
I'll be back in a few days.
Thinking about you :*

-

I roll with my eyes. You know how it is... No, I don't!
I throw the phone on the couch and put on my pajamas. Yes, at half past four in the afternoon, I am already in my pajamas. Who cares, it's Sunday.
It took an hour and a half to prepare the material, then I become hungry. I don't want to bother Lupe, so I call Lucia. "Hey," she answered. "Hey, what are you doing?" I ask. "I am lying all day long. I have a hangover," she whines. "Oh, yeah," I sad. "You too?"
I think. Yesterday, I drank so much, but I feel good. "Yes," I lied, "then rest, I'll call you next time," I add. "Okay. Have you talked to Eva?"
"No, you?"
"Her phone is switched off."
"That's typical for her when she's going through the hangover," I laugh. "True. Okay, call me," she laughs too. "Bye," I say and hang up. I walk to the kitchen and I take milk out the fridge. I dip the cereal in the bowl and start eating. Thoughts are back to him again.

*

"Sorry, for being late," I apologize to the teacher with whom we are teaching together. "Don't worry, I also sleep badly. Probably the moon is playing with us again," she smiles. I smile her back.
"Good morning, children. Today, we will talk about the heroes," I say, and 28 clever heads cheerfully applause. "Okay, I'll start," I say and walk around the classroom. "My hero was my mom. For years she has been struggling with a serious and hard illness, but unfortunately she lost her battle. Over the years, I watched how brave she faced with it, despite all the pain and suffering," I finish and deepen my sigh to block access to tears. I look at the seats from which sad faces are now looking at me. "Okay, it's your turn now," I say cheerfully. "Who will be the first?" I ask and almost everyone raises hands.
"Clara," I say and point to a little girl with dark hair and big brown eyes.
"My hero is my dog Luna, because she is with me in good and bad moments. When I am sad, she comes to me and cheers me up," gently, but with a spark in her eyes she says.
I smile: "Very good, Clara. Pol, who is your hero?"
Pol, a boy with glasses says: "My dad, because he is a fireman. He is saving lives, extinguishes fires, drives a fire truck and is always available to help. Even if he sleeps. When alarm rings, he wakes up and rushes to help."
"Excellent, Pol. Angela, let us hear you," I say. A girl with two braids speaks up: "My hero is my mom, because she is a doctor. She also saves lives and heals the sick. When I am sick, she always brings me medicines and it cures me immediately. My hero is my dog Fuego, too. He fought for his life when he was hit by a car. Now, he's okay, he's barking and running around again."
"Thank you, Angela. It is very nice to hear such a nice words. Okay, we have time for one more." I look around the classroom and I choose the quietest pupil. "Adrian, who is your hero?" I gently ask. The boy is silent for some time, but then he starts to speak: "My hero is my uncle. He risks a lot for his life, because he is riding a motorcycle. Almost every day and at very high speed. This is his job."
I smile: "Thank you for sharing this with us."
I sit for the teacher's desk and on the computer I turn on the movie. "We'll watch the story about another hero," Julia - the other teacher said.
The children are watching the film with enthusiasm and we are almost at the end of the hour. "For your homework, solve the page 114 in the workbook," I order before leaving the class.

The next two hours I have a free time and I think about him again.
"You are absent," Julia said, who brought us coffee. "Ah, I am just thinking," I smiled. "What about? Maybe I can help you."
"On Saturday, I and my friends went to a discotheque. We drank a lot and I met someone. We went to the hotel and... well, you can think of how it ended."
Julia nods: "But... didn't you say you have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah. I only see him one week in a month. He is a tourist guide and travels a lot around the world," I say. Julia nods again: "It's hard for me to advise you on this. I have been married to my first boyfriend for 15 years and we have three kids." I smile, when the school bell rings. "My next hour," he said and stood up. "Thank you for a coffee and chat," I thank her. She smiles at me and then she leaves.

Now I am on my way to my class to take them to the playground.
"They are so lively," Julia laughs when I enter the classroom. "Jose, please clear the board," she said, when the boy cleans math calculations. "I'll take them to the playground. We have to take advantage of the last nice days. At the end of the month they predict a specific cooling," I say when Julia nods: "Of course, we're almost at the end of autumn. Have a good time, see you tomorrow."
"Fine, have a nice day," I wish her.
"Okay, kids. Take all your stuff because we're going on the playground," I say when everyone grabs their school bags and walk out of the door.

In five minutes they are already playing outside. I am chatting with a teacher of high classes when someone approaches and greets us. I turn around and at the same moment smile disappears from my face. "Excuse me," my co-speaker said and left.
"What are you doing here?" I ask. "How did you know that I work here?" I add.
"I didn't know. It's nice to see you again," he said and smiled. "I came to pick up my nephew. His parents got a great job opportunity and went to America for a few weeks."
Nephew?
"Uncle Jorge!" the boy shouts and embraces him. Adrian? I become pale. Jorge is Adrian's uncle. And I slept with him less than 48 hours ago!
"Ready to go, champ? I have a surprise for you," Jorge said and puts him to the floor. "A surprise?" the boy asks. "Yes. I am taking you to lunch, but I don't tell you where. Go get your school bag," he said, ruffle his hair. Adrian runs to the other side of the playground. "That should not happen," I say quietly. "We didn't know."
"What if someone finds out? I'll lost my job at the same moment. Teachers shouldn't get involved with relatives of their pupils," I say with horror. "Look, don't worry," he says, trying to hold my hand, but I step away and quickly look if anyone sees us. "Please, don't touch me," I say, although I yearn for his touch. Adrian runs to us and Jorge takes his school bag. "Teacher, he is my hero," the boy said, pointing to Jorge.
Of course, he was describing him.