Finally, the bell rang for the last period and Neal got a chance to sit down and finish his paper work. Neal was an active teacher always moving around and energetic. To Neal, English was exciting and he did everything possible to get his students excited too, He finished his notes and sat for a moment reviewing the day. He leaned back in his chair and cupped his hands contentedly over his belly.
He rocked and joggled the belly contentedly while his mind caught up.
"Belly! I don't have a belly." Neal's mind snapped to attention and he looked down to see a mound of pudge hiding his belt from view. He sat up and sucked it in.
"Where did that come from?" he asked himself. Neal had always been trim. He had been a runner in high school and college. He still ran once in a while and always thought of himself as a lean greyhound. He stood up and checked out his reflection.
"Yeah," he told himself. "You've still got the lean greyhound look going on. If your greyhound swallowed a balloon. Why didn't I notice,"
"Dad. you ready to go?"
Neal's middle son was a Junior and normally got a ride home with his Dad.
Neal enjoyed his son's and Wes was usually a lot of fun- not at school where he was embarrassed to have his Dad up close- but after Neal got him home, h was a laugh a minute. Neal looked his son over. He was a good looking kid but no jock and certainly not a greyhound Wes had always been chunky and since his growth spurt stopped leaving him only 5'9'' as a freshman, he had gotten chunkier. Wes was sensitive so Neal didn't really know his weight but he guessed that Wes and his older brother might balance pretty well on a teeter totter even though Tanner was 8 inches taller and had always been a natural with sports.
"Drop me at Mom's." Wes demanded as the two walked to Neal's car.
"You are with me this week." Neal whined. "Let's just get pizza and watch the game."
'Can't" Wes snapped. "I've got to study tonight and it's so much nicer in my old room. Besides, Mom always makes me cookies. It's nothing personal Dad. I just gotta pass this test and I can't study at your house. There is no privacy."
"OK, son." Neal told him. "But we've just got to have our quality time."
Neal dropped off Wes and watched as his son ran into his old house. Linda got the house while Neal merely got to pay for it. All he could afford now was a flimsy dump with paper thin walls in a working class neighborhood.
Tonight it would be just him and Cal, his youngest son. Cal was smart as a whip and had the personality of a door. Neal loved him but Cal was just no fun. He always had his head in a book and never watched sports.
By the time he reached home, Neal was feeling sorry for himself. Then he saw a note from Cal on the table. Cal was spending the night at his friend from the chess club. Neal was on his own.
Neal had planned to fix himself something light. He was committed to getting rid of that belly. Finding himself all alone in his dump pushed all that out of his head. He deserved better and if he couldn't like in a decent place, at least he could eat like a human being. Neal decided to
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