Rock Bottom

Summer

The summer passed in a haze of sweat, laughter and sore muscles, and before Alec knew it he was facing his first ever September without school. It was a very strange concept to him at the moment, but one he knew he'd have to come to grips with eventually. The reality of the situation was that his days of being a full time student were over.

With his birthday fast approaching, Alec thought it would be nice to invite all his new work friends, all his old school friends, and his sister out to dinner.

"That's a wonderful idea," Mrs. Grey said when Alec told her his idea.

"Thanks, Mrs. Grey," Alec grinned.

"Will you pretty please call me Tessa?" she sighed. "I'm not at work, you are no longer my student, Mrs. Grey is so formal."

"Tessa," Alec said with a little flinch. "Still weird."

"Well, suck it up buttercup," Mrs. Grey snapped. "From now on every time you don't call me Tessa, no dessert for you!"

Alec loved her cooking, and took this as seriously as it had been intended. "Okay Tess-a," Alec said more slowly, trying to get better at it.

"Good," Tessa stated. Alec decided calling her Tessa in his head would help him say it out loud.

"Did you ever call your teachers by their first name?" Alec asked her.

"No," Tessa replied. "But I never lived with any of them either."

"Fair point," Alec chuckled.

"So, are you going to invite your parents to this dinner?" Tessa asked.

"Not even a little," Alec replied easily.

"But, you invited Charlotte and Henry," Tessa reminded him.

"I see them everyday at work," Alec said. "It's Maia's last weekend before she leaves. I don't want to think about everything that happened with mom and dad, just a nice relaxing time."

"I'm sure they know it's your birthday," Tessa smiled. "You could at least call them."

"I'll text them," Alec said. "If it makes you happy."

"Thank you," Tessa smiled. "It would, yes. Or at least it would make me feel less guilty."

"Why guilty?" Alec asked confused.

"It feels like I've stolen you away from your family," Tessa sighed.

With a smile, Alec got up and went over to hug her. He whispered in her ear, "Nah, you've just been added to it." She hugged him back so tight Alec felt like it was exactly what she'd wanted to hear.

Just then, Mr. Carstairs arrived home. It was late in the evening now, and though Tessa was home from the school, her husband had stayed late to supervise detention.

"Hello all," he said as he entered.

"How were those misbehaving students of yours tonight?" Tessa asked him as she welcomed him with a kiss.

"Don't you mean ours?" he chuckled. "Or am I wrong in thinking you assigned one of those detentions?"

"Just eat your dinner," Tessa laughed. "It's in the oven."

As he watched the older married couple interact in that casual way people who have been together a long time do, Alec smiled. It was a lovely world he lived in, despite all that had been taken away from him. Alec felt more than lucky to be living here with them. He sensed somehow the correctness of the moment. Safe with these people was right where he was suppose to be.