Secrets

by Robin Jones Gunn

  She heard a light tapping at the closed door, and then it squeaked open. Jessica immediately stood up, as if she had been caught goofing off and Charlotte was going to yell at her.

  “Hi,” a cheery voice called out. “Are you Jessica? I’m Teri.” A medium height Hispanic woman with full, wildly curly, long brown hair entered the room. She had on a white, sleeveless, collared shirt and a baggy pair of cut-off jeans shorts. In contrast to her smooth, tanned skin and dark, snappy eyes, her white teeth shone like pearls.

  Jessica met Teri halfway across the room and shook Teri’s extended right hand. “I’m your neighbor,” Teri said. “I teach Spanish right over there.” She pointed to the back of the classroom. “I hear you’re going to teach English and a health ed class. I teach one health ed class, too. This year I think they tried to split it up so all the teachers each have one class. It’s not that bad. Kind of a nice break, actually. How long have you been here? Are you all settled?”

  Teri fit the pattern of the friendly Glenbrooke folk. Close up, Jessica noticed that Teri didn’t wear a drop of makeup, yet her skin was stunning. Jessica guessed her to be the same age as herself, but how could a twenty-five-year-old have the skin of a newborn?

  Jessica told Teri how she had unpacked everything over the weekend but was a little slow at getting organized because of the car accident.

  “Car accident?” Teri said. “How awful! Did the paramedics come and everything? Were you terrified?”

  “A firefighter apparently saw the accident, and he stopped and radioed for help. I thought later that if he hadn’t seen it, I might have lain in that ditch for hours.”

  “Who found you? Bobbie, Rod, Kyle, or Jim?”

  “Kyle. Do you know him?”

  “Of course. Everyone knows Kyle. He’s the best. Really. Kyle’s an incredible guy. A real knight in shining armor, you know?”

  Jessica nodded, not sure if Teri meant Kyle was a knight to every woman in Glenbrooke or a knight in shining armor to Teri personally, or just an all-around great guy.

  “Anyway, I’m pretty much settled in my little house, and I go back to the doctor day after tomorrow to have these stitches taken care of.” Jessica made an apologetic gesture toward her upper lip. Teri looked closer.

  “Oh, I hardly noticed,” Teri said. “So, what do you think? Should we work on our rooms first or go to an early lunch?”

  Before Jessica could answer, Teri said, “I vote early lunch, and it’s my treat. What do you think?”

  “You’re on,” Jessica said. She grabbed her purse, and the two women headed for Teri’s Volkswagen Rabbit.

  Jessica felt as if she had successfully completed the unwritten, ageless entrance exam given to all new kids on the first day of school—she had made a new friend.

  Chapter Five

  Your lip has healed well,” Dr. Laughlin said, examining Jessica under a bright light. “However, I’m afraid we weren’t able to restore you completely.”

  What is that supposed to mean? Where’s a mirror? Let me see!

  “It’s only a slight scar,” Dr. Laughlin continued, scrunching up his nose and peering through his bifocals. “Hardly worth mentioning. I’m afraid, short of cosmetic surgery, there’s not much we can do. Won’t affect you much, I imagine. Try not to think about it.”

  Jessica felt like crying. How could she not think about it when a doctor had just informed her she would be scarred for life? How dare he brush it off so lightly. This was her face they were talking about.

  Before Jessica had a chance to look in the mirror, she decided she would have cosmetic surgery as soon as she could save up the money. She had turned down the school’s insurance because she couldn’t figure out how to come up with false medical records under the name of Fenton. She would have to save money, somehow. That is, after she had saved enough for a car. And car insurance. First, she would have to obtain an Oregon driver’s license. Would they give her one with no driving record? This cover-up was becoming complicated.

  “That’s all then,” Dr. Laughlin said, snapping off the lamp above Jessica’s face and washing his hands in the stainless steel sink. “I still want you to limit your use on that left leg. Try to sit with it elevated whenever possible and don’t do any strenuous exercise like aerobics, bike riding, or jogging for at least another three weeks. Okay?”

  Jessica nodded. She couldn’t wait for him to leave the room so she could sneak a look at her lip in the mirror above the sink. She knew Kyle would be waiting outside for her, and she wanted to see the scar before he did. Dr. Laughlin opened the door and motioned for her to exit ahead of him. She wished he had left her alone for a few minutes by herself.

  “Ready?” Kyle asked, rising from the waiting room’s brown plaid couch and gazing just a little too long at her upper lip. What did he think? How bad was it? She couldn’t tell by the look on his face.

  “I think I’ll duck into the restroom, if you don’t mind waiting another minute,” Jessica said.

  “Not a bit. I’ll be right here.” Kyle picked up the copy of Time magazine he had been reading and sat down, thumbing through it to find his place.

  Jessica pushed the restroom’s door open and felt relieved no one else was there. She stood at the sink and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The scar was easily seen. The whitish, half-moon shape perched half on her lip and half on her face, about a quarter of an inch from the corner of her mouth.

  Jessica purposed to put her positive mental attitude into position. It’s not too bad.

  But then her negative side galloped into her thoughts. Oh, yes, it is! It’s awful. It’s permanent!

  It’s only temporary. I’ll have cosmetic surgery just as soon as I can.

  Yeah, in about fifty years when you have enough money saved up. Until then, you’re going to be walking around disfigured; everyone will notice. Wherever you go, people will stare at your lip.

  Jessica tried to make both sides of the war scatter from her mind. She pulled a tube of lipstick from her purse and went to work. One last look in the mirror told her the lipstick was an improvement. It covered at least half of the tiny moon, and for now, that was good enough for her.

  Kyle didn’t seem to notice when she joined him in the lobby. At least he didn’t look at her the way he had when she first exited the doctor’s office. He walked alongside her to the car, talking about an article he had just read about black holes in outer space. Jessica decided that was a good place to focus their conversations—in outer space.

  Kyle had taken her to the chiropractor before her visit with Dr. Laughlin, and now he made a quick stop at Dairy Queen before returning her to school. Things became awkward at this point.

  Kyle ordered for himself, then turned and said, “What would you like?”

  Jessica’s pride rose to the fore. “I’ll get my own.” She only had the twelve dollars she had been hoarding for almost a week. Not much to carry her through, but she couldn’t accept Kyle’s offer.

  He paid for his order, and Jessica stepped up to the window and ordered a junior hamburger and a small Coke. The clerk behind the window asked if she wanted tomatoes and onions on her burger, and she hesitated, wondering if it cost more. “No, thanks,” she said, pulling her money from her wallet casually and handing him a ten-dollar bill as if plenty more were stashed where that came from.

  They sat at one of the picnic tables out front, Jessica with her junior burger and Kyle with his triple burger, large fries, and Oreo shiver. She had been to lunch with many men in her time and had gone dutch with many as well, but she couldn’t remember ever going dutch at a Dairy Queen. And she certainly couldn’t remember ever having this feeling of panic over money.

  Within the first five minutes of their lunch, Jessica counted four people who greeted Kyle by name. He introduced Jessica to each of them, and once again she felt their warm Glenbrooke welcome. Of course, Kyle introduced her as Jessica Fenton.

  At first, using a fake last name hadn’t seemed false, but like a ne
cessity, and she hadn’t felt bad using it to protect herself. But now she felt prickly every time she heard it repeated.

  Teri had invited her over to her house for dinner on Friday. How could she become close friends with Teri without revealing her true identity? And what if a possibility really existed of developing a relationship with Kyle? How could she allow herself to become close to him? Jessica Fenton must not allow anyone to get too close. She could be friendly, of course, but she could never be intimate or self-revealing the way Jessica Morgan had been.

  As Jessica took another bite of her hamburger, a painful thought paraded across her mind. Had Jessica Morgan ever been close to anyone? Immediately she knew that, aside from her mother, the answer was no. “Morgans do not make friends,” her father had once said. “Morgans network.”

  “I suppose we should get back to school,” Kyle remarked, fishing in the bottom of his brown sack for the few final french fries. He tossed the bag and empty shiver cup into the trash can behind him. “Teri said you’re scheduled for meetings all day tomorrow and Friday.”

  “Yes. I’m just about ready to feel overwhelmed.”

  “Was the first week this packed at your last school?” Kyle asked.

  Jessica hesitated. “Actually, this is my first school. It’s my first year of teaching anywhere. Except for my student teaching, of course.”

  “I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Kyle said.

  Two teenagers pulled up in an old blue truck. They honked, called out Kyle’s name, and waved.

  “You seem to be pretty popular around here,” Jessica teased.

  “Small town,” Kyle said. “You’ll get honked at too, after the first couple of school days. Just wait, you’ll see. We have great kids in this town.”

  “Have you lived here long?” Jessica asked once they were back in Kyle’s truck and headed for the high school.

  “About six years. I really like it here. I grew up in Portland. This small town is more my pace. How do you like Glenbrooke so far?”

  “I like it. Everyone is nice and friendly. It’s a lot like I thought it would be.”

  “Did you come from a small town in California?” Kyle asked.

  “How did you know I was from California?” Jessica asked, her shields automatically going up.

  “The license plates on your car. By the way, Al didn’t charge you for towing your car, did he? I told him not to.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, because…” Kyle paused.

  Jessica waited for him to say, “Because I knew you didn’t have any money.” She hated feeling like a charity case.

  “Because I told him you were new in town, and I…” Again Kyle seemed to choose his words carefully. “I told him I’d do him a favor someday. That’s how things work around here. The barter system is very much alive in Glenbrooke.”

  Jessica was trying to decide if she should speak up and defend herself or just let it go. How much of Kyle’s kindness was part of the way of life around this town? Was he interested in her as more than a needy newcomer?

  Kyle pulled into the school parking lot and turned off the engine. “I’ll walk you in. I have to check on something in the office.”

  They walked silently as Jessica’s imagination conjured up an image of Ms. Mendelson being the “something” Kyle had to check on. Charlotte had to be five, maybe six, years older than Kyle. Why would she go after him in such a big way? Jessica cast a sideways glance at Kyle, and the answer was obvious. The man was gorgeous. Not to mention kind, tender, compassionate, and understanding. Any woman would be crazy not to try to capture his undivided attention. Jessica felt a twinge of remorse that she had determined to hold Kyle at arm’s length.

  “Well, hello!” Charlotte said, appearing suddenly as the two of them stepped into the building. Jessica wondered if Charlotte’s office window faced the school parking lot and she had been watching them walk into the school.

  Ignoring Jessica, Charlotte sidled up to Kyle. “I see you received my messages. Let’s go into my office. We have so much to discuss.”

  Kyle stood his ground, not budging as Charlotte pulled on his arm.

  “I’ll see you later,” Jessica said. “Thanks a lot for the ride.” Then remembering Kyle’s statement about Al and the barter system, Jessica added, just for spice in front of Charlotte, “I’ll have to do something nice for you someday.” She headed down the hall slowly so she could hear Kyle and Charlotte’s conversation.

  “Bye, Jessica,” Kyle said. Then he changed his tone of voice and said to Charlotte, “I can do the fire safety check you requested on the building tomorrow. I need the right forms from the station, and I didn’t bring them with me today. As for the assembly, the end of the month would be the best for me.”

  “Wonderful,” Charlotte cooed. “And what about setting a date when I can fix you dinner to thank you?”

  “We’ll have to wait on that,” Kyle said.

  Jessica couldn’t hear any more as she entered her classroom. But she had heard enough to give her some hope, hope that Kyle was spending his free time with Jessica because he wanted to. Hope that there might be room for their relationship to develop into something. But what? And what would she do with it if it did?

  The phone on the wall next to her desk rang, and Jessica jumped just a little before hurrying to the front of the class to answer it.

  “Hi, it’s Teri. I thought I heard you come in, neighbor. Is it okay if I come visit?”

  “Sure, come on over.”

  Teri appeared a minute later. She had her wild, wavy dark brown hair back in a clip and wore a red tank top and a pair of white pants that were just a little too tight for her. Jessica noticed then that Teri’s thighs were large and not at all in proportion to the rest of her figure. She had hidden her thighs well over the last few days, but today the white slacks did nothing to camouflage them.

  “How did everything go at the doctor’s?”

  “I’m scarred for life,” Jessica tried to make it sound like a joke.

  “Really?” Teri came closer and looked at Jessica’s lip. She did it in such a way that it seemed as if she had to look hard and long to see the scar at all. Jessica knew it was much more obvious than that, yet she appreciated Teri’s benevolent act.

  “It’s hardly a scar at all,” Teri said. “A little aloe vera and that tiny mark will heal right up. My grandma grows the plants in her back yard in Escondido. That’s where I grew up. I have a dozen plants growing in my back yard. I’ll bring you one tomorrow. Have you ever used an aloe plant? You just break off a leaf and put the gel right on the spot. It’ll heal up in no time.”

  The only kind of aloe Jessica knew about came as an additive in lotion or shampoo when the manufacturer wanted it to appear to be a more natural product.

  “The stuff really works. I use it on my face, too. It’s kind of slimy and smells a little too earthy for me, but it’s a habit. My grandma started spreading the gel on my face when I was a teen to keep it from breaking out. You’d like my grandma. She’s quite a character. I can just hear her now, ‘Teresa Angelina Raquel Moreno, have you used your aloe today?’” Teri rattled off the question in a high pitched, grandmotherly voice with a perfect Spanish accent.

  Jessica wondered if the aloe was, in fact, the secret to Teri’s flawless complexion.

  Teri looked around Jessica’s classroom. “It’s looking good in here. Did all your books come in?”

  “I’m not exactly sure. How do I find out?”

  “Ask Charlotte, I guess.”

  “In that case, I think I’ll wait.”

  “That bad, huh? Did she convince Kyle to do an assembly yet?”

  “Yes, I heard them talking about it after Kyle brought me back. She was waiting in the hallway, all coiled and ready to spring the minute we walked in the door. It’s creepy. Is she bugging you and the other teachers, too? Or is it only me?”

  Before Teri could answer, Jessica’s phone rang. Since Teri was standing the closest to it, she
answered the call. “You’re kidding! Really? That’s great! Of course. We’ll be right there!” She hung up and turned to Jessica, her brown eyes shining. “Guess,” she challenged.

  “I don’t know. Charlotte just resigned.”

  “Better. Mr. McGregor is awake and asked to see you.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  “Of course I’m not kidding,” Teri said, charging to the back of the room. “Let me grab my car keys, and we’ll drive right over. This is such an answer to prayer. Thank you, Lord!”

  Jessica silently agreed that it was an answer to a prayer. But she was surprised to hear Teri say it, especially when she added the “thank you, Lord” part.

  The two women sped across town and rushed to the hospital’s second floor to see Mr. McGregor. Ida greeted them at the door. She had a string of pink sweet peas draped down the right side of her yellow blouse. “Oh, good! You got my message, Jessica. Now, one at a time, girls, and speak nice and slow and clear.”

  Jessica went in first. She eased herself into the chair next to the bed and smiled into the dazed looking eyes of a man she once thought was the wisest man in the world. “Hi, it’s me, Jessica.”

  “Jessica? How are you? I understand you entered Glenbrooke with fanfare.” Mr. McGregor didn’t sound like he was in any pain. But his expression was flat. Non-existent. It almost seemed as if some ventriloquist were pulling invisible strings attached to Hugh’s eyes and lips, putting words into his mouth at the right time.

  “It was rather exciting,” Jessica said lightly. “I’m fine, though.”

  “Good. And you like the house?”

  “Oh, yes,” Jessica said, warming up. “It’s exactly what I wanted. It’s really charming. And comfortable, too. Thanks, Mr. McGregor.”

  “And you are safe?”

  “You mean in the house? Yes, I feel very safe.”

  “Safe in being here?” Mr. McGregor spoke softly.

  “I think so.” Jessica didn’t want to say anything about how Ida knew her last name, even though she was anxious to ask him whom else he had told.