Adela's Class
Copyright © 2026 by OmegaPet-58
Chapter 8: Weak Defense
ADELA
We arrived at the park about ten in the morning, so it was time for lunch. While we ate, conversation flowed easily, I thought. I noticed Paolo had become more comfortable with his English, even throwing in a few of those silly idioms we’d covered in class. All of our truck-based chatting was paying off.
Meanwhile, Julie was teasing David good-naturedly about his ball technique and his offense and defense. Paolo asked me, “Why do Americans say ‘dee-fence’?” I punted to my son.
“It comes from crowds and arenas,” David explained. “‘DEE-fence’ just blasts louder than the normal word, so fans drag out the vowel.” Paolo showed a little uncertainty on David’s last word, so Julie jumped in with, “Son los vocales: a, e, i, o, y u.”
I looked at Paolo. “See, you don’t need me when you have Julie.”
“Not true! I need you, Adela. Always. I miss you when it’s Tuesday or Thursday.”
My novio’s English wasn’t fancy, but his words were so sweet. I looked down, feeling self-conscious, but I could tell his eyes stayed locked on me and I raised my head to see him. I also saw the kids exchange glances.
“Julie, David, can you pick up the remains of our lunch and put everything back in the truck for us?”
When they were past being able to hear me, I softly told Paolo, “I think they’re on to us. Maybe we should hold off on our declarations of everlasting love, as much as we enjoy the feelings.”
“I guess you’re right. I like ‘everlasting love,’ though. You come up with all these great extra words.”
“That’s the risk you take hanging out with an English teacher like me. You just have to accept it.”
“I accept happily, Adela, everything you have for me is precious.”
Julie and David returned, still having some kind of conversation without speaking. It was a little unnerving.
“Julie, if you and your father are available, I’d like us four to go to my house for the afternoon. And then I’ll make dinner, while he helps me in the kitchen.”
Paolo said, “That sounds great, except I’m not going to be a lot of help for you. Julie says when I try to cook on the stove I can burn water instead of boiling it.”
I chuckled. “I’d almost want to watch you do that—it seems impossible. Don’t worry, I’ll have you chop vegetables and other things I can supervise. You’ll be fine.”
Julie added, “Already Adela’s starting to tell you what to do, Dad. It’s a great start.”
“Giulia, you’re too old for me to spank. So I’ll ask David to take over.”
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