But the school noticed. They called by lunchtime—said Mandy wasn’t feeling well, that she had failed all her exams, wouldn’t eat.

“Didn’t she study last night?” Karen asked, rubbing her face with both palms.

“I saw her in her room, at her desk. I assumed she was studying.” Tyler unfolded a newspaper, spread it open in front of his face.

“Well, next time, check.”

“She probably just has a cold. Maybe they’ll let her retake the tests when she’s feeling better.” The newsprint stuck to his damp fingers as he tried to turn the page.

“Maybe the nice teachers will.” There was a tone to her voice that Tyler didn’t like.

“I would have let her.”

“You must have been a nice teacher.” This tone was better. Friendly, attentive.

“Some thought so. Some didn’t.”

“Sounds fair. Do you miss your students?”

“I used to.” He lowered the paper and smiled. “I like being here.” I’ve found a replacement.

“I wish I could stay here with you.” She groaned as she got up from her chair and her knee joints popped. “I’ve got a long afternoon on my feet ahead of me. Wedding season approaches, and everyone wants to try six different styles.”

“Not me, I like the one I’ve got.”

She laughed and kissed his bald head. “Call me when Mandy gets home; let me know how she’s doing.”

“Yes, dear,” he said.

She kissed him again, then left for the salon.

Tyler set down the paper, his sweaty handprints staining its edges.

He went to Mandy’s room and pulled the sheets off her bed, reeling when the scent of her ballooned off the fabric and surrounded him. He’d had no idea she was a virgin. At sixteen, the way kids acted these days, she was probably the only one in her school. How many of his school staff meetings had been concerning strategies for keeping kids from copulating in every corner of the building? The librarian had been at her wits’ end, stumbling over amorous students in the stacks. She’d never stumbled over him, though. He’d been careful. Even then, none of his girls had been virgins.

He dragged the basket of bedding into the basement and stuffed the sheets and mattress cover into the washer. He added the sheets from his and Karen’s bed as well. It was sheet-washing day. That was all. A routine chore.