The Center of My Universe

::24::

   "Alright," Alex said, fixing his tie. It was the first day of school, and Alex's first day of teaching. Ellen sat up on the bed behind him. She got up and walked to the kitchen, making breakfast for the two. They sat down and ate quickly.

"Are you driving Jennifer to school?" She asked.

"Yeah but she wants me to drop her off a block away," he said, and she laughed.

"Don't take it personally. It's her senior year and her brothers going back to school," she joked. He laughed and leaned down to kiss her.

   "Wish me luck," he said. "I love you."

   "I love you too," she said. He walked out the door and drove to pick Jennifer up. Ellen sat on the couch and grabbed the book she had been reading off of the coffee table, turning to the page she had marked. She sat and pet Elvis while reading, before organizing the coffee table. "Well this is boring," she said. She decided to get dressed and take Elvis out for a walk. She threw on a comfortable long skirt and shirt, before grabbing a leash and shoes. She connected the leash to Elvis's collar and they began to walk. She decided to knock on the Keaton's house and see who was there. Elyse opened the door and smiled.

   "Ellen!" She exclaimed, opening the door. "I was just working on some blueprints. Come on in."

   "I'm sorry for dropping by without telling you. We were on a walk and decided to see if anyone was home," she said, and Elyse waved her hand in the air.

   "Don't be silly you're always welcome," she said. "Sit down. Do you want anything?"

   "Oh no I'm fine," she replied and Elyse smiled and sat next to her.

"Are you sure?" She asked, and Ellen gave a small smile and nodded.

"This just all seems so different without Alex, and he's only been gone a few hours," she said, setting a hand over her small stomach. Elyse wrapped her into her arms in a way only a mother could. She held her tightly.

"You know, I had Alex when we were in Africa for the peace corps. There were days when it was so hot, I couldn't leave my room. I was absolutely horrified. If it weren't for Steven, I wouldn't have gotten through it," she told her, still hugging the girl tightly. Ellen separated from the woman and looked at her.

   "Elyse you raised four amazing kids. How did you do it?" She asked. Elyse smiled, and pulled a hand through her hair.

   "You have to take what you can get. Kids are messy, and defiant, and sometimes they're more focused on politics then they are with being potty trained," she said, which made Ellen laugh. "But more often then not, they're caring and kind individuals."

   "Thank you," Ellen said softly. She looked down and wiped a tear from her eye. "I really appreciate you being here."

   "Of course Ellen," Elyse replied. "You're family."

Ellen and Elvis got home safely, and waited out the hours until Alex came home.

Alex grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote his name on the board. He then greeted the class and took attendance.

"I have been advised by other, more experienced teachers to go around the class on the first day and use icebreakers," he said. "My name is Alex Keaton, this is the high school I went to, I just moved back home with my wife, and this is my first year teaching." He went around the room and got to know his students. He mentally picked out the ones he thought looked promising, and the ones he thought looked like slackers, and even the ones in between. Alex was looking forwards to this year.

When he opened the door to his new home, Ellen saw and smiled widely. He ran to her and kissed her. They separated.

"How was your first day?" She asked enthusiastically. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

"I think this job is a good fit for me," he said.

"Good," she said. "I think you're right."

"I have five different classes with about twenty kids per class," he said. "A lot of them seemed outgoing."

"Thank god. You don't want a bunch of snobs," she said, and he laughed.

"I think you're right," he said. He told her all about his day.

"How was Jennifer's day?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"I waved to her in the hallway and she ducked behind Chrissy," he said laughing. "It was very obvious."

"Don't do anything to embarrass her," Ellen said, smiling and pointing at him. He held his arms up in surrender.

"I won't. I swear," he said. "Pinky swear."

"Okay," she said, and they locked their pinky's together tightly. "Pinky swear."