When the door bell rang Clara had already prepared everything. She was wearing a nice but casual dress, the table was set and dinner would be done in 20 minutes. She rushed to the door and opened it with a smile, greeting a rather confused John Smith.
“Hey, come on in,” she said happily.
John eyed her cautiously and stepped inside, checking her place for clues why she had invited him over.
“I missed you in class today,” John stated, but it sounded more like a question.
“Yeah, I made a decision,” Clara said nervously and gestured towards a chair, “Do you want to sit?”
“Okay,” John replied, still looking suspicious, but he sat down eventually.
Clara took a deep breath.
“I've been thinking about what you said. And I think you were right. This thing I'm doing now isn't me, so I thought about it all day yesterday and did some research. I found a school about 20 minutes from here and they were looking for an English teacher. So instead of coming to class today I went there. Turned out one of their teachers fell ill very unexpectedly and they needed someone to fill in immediately.”
John raised an eyebrow. “Past tense meaning?”
“I said yes. I'm starting next week. I know it's a big step and it might be a mistake and I might find that I still can't do my old job again, but I want to at least try. I've done university before and I wasn't really keen on doing it again in the first place but there didn't seem another option at that time. Besides, dating my professor is kind of weird.”
Clara stopped, waiting for John's reaction. She spotted a flicker of hope in his eyes but he didn't say a word, waiting for her to finish.
“I want to give us a chance, a proper one. I might not be ready to say the words to you any time soon and I might not be easy to handle all the time but I like you too much to miss out on this one. I can't promise you anything, I can't promise that it will all work out but I know for sure that I don't want to lose you. So what do you say?” Clara asked nervously.
“Wow,” John said, “You really spent a day thinking about this, haven't you? If there's a pro and con list, I'd like to have a look at it.”
“Don't make fun of me. What do you think?” she asked impatiently.
John rose from his chair again and a smile appeared on his face. He stepped closer and lifted his hands to her cheeks.
“I think it will all work out, eventually,” he said softly and placed a kiss in her lips, “And I'm very glad. Now, is there a pro and con list?”
“Maybe,” Clara replied wish a sheepish smile.
“And what does it say about me on the pro side?”
“Oh, you would like to know, wouldn't you?”
The kitchen alarm beeped, telling Clara that the food was now ready.
“Maybe I'll tell you after dinner. Maybe,” she giggled and walked towards the kitchen, happy and already knowing that she had made the right decision. John was usually right. It would all work out eventually.