by Naomi Niles
I stood up, “Okay. Well, let’s go.”
We arrived at Mike’s house twenty minutes later. “Heeey, look who the fuck decided to show up,” he said with a smile on his face and a beer in his hand.
“Jesus, Mike, it’s fuckin’ 9:30 am, and you’re already drinking a beer?”
“What? Some people drink coffee in the morning. I drink beers.” He looked past me, “Heeey, Bethany. Tell this fucker that there is nothing wrong with a little brewski in the morning.”
She nudged me, “Um, Gavin? There is nothing wrong with a little brewski in the morning.”
“Yeah, that’s it!” he said, reaching his arm around her shoulder. A few drops of beer splashed onto my shirt in the process, “After a second thought, you getting married might not be a bad thing. I mean, that is, if you are marrying her.”
“Married?” Bethany asked with one eyebrow raised above the other.
I shook my head. “He is just talking. He CLEARLY must be drunk. Right, Mike?”
“Huh?” He searched for clarity, and when it hit him like a bag of bricks, he spoke up again, “Oh, right! Yeah. I mean, I wasn’t saying that he was going to propose to you or anything. I mean, he doesn’t even talk about that shit with me. We’re not a couple of chicks, you know? Blabbing on and on about this and that. I was just saying though. I was just, um…” he was at a loss for words. “Vinny! Your father is here!” he said, trying to change the subject.
I smiled at Bethany as she walked ahead of us into the front room. Once she cleared the area, I punched Mike in the chest. “Man, what is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry, Gavin. That shit slipped out.”
“Damn it. The last thing I need is to scare her away with thoughts of marriage. I know how I feel about her, but we are still early in this relationship, and if I start talkin’ about marriage now, she might think I am fuckin’ insane.”
He took a swig of his beer. “Or, she could be feeling the same way you do. I am willing to bet that both of you fuckers feel the same way. That’s my guess, though.”
Just then, Vinny ran up to me and threw his arms around my waist. “What’s up, Dad? I missed you last night.”
I embraced him, “Yeah, I had to take care of some business last night, but thanks for lookin’ after your Uncle Mike. He was on his best behavior, right?”
“I mean, he was drinking a little bit, but that’s it.”
“So, nothing out of the ordinary?”
He laughed. “Nope.”
“Hey, you all come on here and get some breakfast. I knew you were coming over here, so I made enough shit for all of us. Bacon, eggs, and biscuits.”
“What? You cooking for everyone? Are you sure this stuff isn’t poisoned?”
He smiled. “Not this time.”
We walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Mike started to fix our plates, but Bethany waved him off and took over the task. She did it effortlessly. She didn’t mind stepping in and taking control of things like that, and it’s not that I wanted her to do it, but it let me know that I could count on her to help me out in areas that I needed it most. She smiled and put the plates on the table, then sat down. “Shoot,” she said, “I forgot to get the drinks.”
I grabbed her hand, “No, sweetheart, I got it. You relax a little.”
I got up and fixed our drinks as Mike spoke to her. “So, you ever been married before?”
“Mike,” I said sternly as I took the orange juice out of the refrigerator.
“No,” Bethany responded, “it’s fine.” She turned to Mike, “No, I’ve never been married. I’ve been in a couple of relationships before, but that’s it. That’s all in the past, and I moved out here to get away from the past.” She cleared her throat, “But sometimes, things have a way of finding you.”
I put two glasses on the table in front of Mike and Bethany, then fixed the last two drinks for me and Vinny. Mike responded, “Yeah, I hear you on that. I’ve been married before. The worst fucking years of my life and ever since the honeymoon ended, the nightmare started. She used to do all kinds of freaky shit in the bedroom and after that–”
“Mike!” I yelled, glaring at him. I nodded my head towards Vinny.
He chuckled. “Shit, I forgot he was right there. Sorry, buddy,” he said, rubbing his hand through his hair, “Don’t listen to Uncle Mike, especially when Uncle Mike has had a few brews.”
I sat down at the table, shaking my head. As we ate breakfast, I caught Vinny smiling at Bethany a few times when he thought I wasn’t looking. It seemed that he was happier than me at the fact that she was back with us again. I could tell that he was worried when he didn’t see her around for the past few days, and I talked to him a few times about it, so I knew it bothered him. “So, what do you think about us getting our revenge on Bethany today at the bowling alley?”
A wide grin escaped his face, “Yes! Can we? Please?”
“Yeah, please?” Bethany added.
“Yeah. Absolutely. I don’t see why not.”
As we sat at Mike’s table, I couldn’t shake off the fact that things just seemed to fit together perfectly between the three of us. It fit in a way that it never would have between me and Karen, and for that reason alone, I was completely happy with my decision to stick it out with Bethany.
Chapter Thirty-Two
BETHANY
I showed up to work Monday with a bright smile on my face. It was amazing how things had shifted from bad to good in just a couple of days. My ex was being transported back to Richmond, and he wasn’t going to see the light of day for a while. In addition to violating my restraining order against him, he had a few drug charges pending, and he had broken his probation by leaving the city of Richmond. Not only that, but I reconciled with Gavin, and things seemed to be going back to the way they were before all that information about my past came to light.
“Hey, Sharon,” I said, stepping into the teacher’s lounge.
“Hey, boo.”
I wrinkled my eyebrows together. “What’s wrong? Somebody ate all the nightcrawlers from the doughnut box,” I said, laughing, as I slid my lunch box into the refrigerator. Normally, that would’ve at least cracked a smile on her face, but this time, she didn’t do anything. “Okay, it’s not like you to at least throw an insult back at me at the minimum. What’s wrong?”
She finally made eye-contact with me. Her deep, brown eyes possessed a mountain of sorrow as I walked closer to her and sat down at the table. “You used to be a stripper?”
Suddenly, my heart dropped from my chest and hit the ground like a bomb. My mind immediately went to Derrick as I shook my head. “Stripper? Wait, where did you hear that?”
“Things started floating around the school when you left Friday.”
“Floating around the school? What do you mean floating around the school?”
“Rumors. I don’t know where it came from, but late Friday afternoon, I walked into here and I overheard some teachers talking about you. They were like, ‘Yeah, that Bethany? She used to be a stripper in Richmond.’ I mean, they were going on and on about where you used to work and guys that used to talk to you. Well, guys that you used to fuck,” she whispered.
Just then, another teacher walked into the lounge. She avoided eye-contact with us as she popped something into the refrigerator, then left the room just as fast. We waited until she was gone before we continued. “That is bullshit, Sharon! Bullshit,” I whispered in a stern tone. “They are rumors, and that’s it! I didn’t fuck around with guys like that.”
“But did you used to be a stripper?”
“So what if I was? I am not one now. We all make mistakes, and I don’t think anybody in this school, outside of students, can sit there and boast about having a squeaky clean past. This is bullshit, Sharon, and you know it!”
“Listen, Bethany.” She scooted closer to me, “I am not judging you at all. I don’t care if you used to be a stripper, a prostitute, or a damned drug addict. You are not one no
w, and that is all that matters. Shit, I’ve done a lot of bullshit in my past, too, so I get it. But, the truth of the matter is that Principal Jones is old-school. He does things by the book, and if he gets wind that you used to be a stripper, then he will get rid of you. Not just because of that, but because once the parents find out, they will not want their children around you. It is fucked up, but it is the cold hard truth, Bethany.”
Tears swam at the bottom of my eyes. She was right. I knew that Principal Jones was not one to let something like this slide, but I figured I would be able to keep things quiet for the time being. At least until I finished school and found another job as a teacher. Now, I wished that I didn’t drag my feet when it came to finishing my degree. “Derrick! Fucking Derrick!” I said, slamming my fist on the table. I looked away from her as I replayed his words in my mind. “He did this. He started all of this bullshit!”
“What did he do?”
I faced her, “He cornered me last Friday. He said that if I didn’t take him out on a date, he would let everyone know what I used to do in the past.”
Her mouth hung open. “He said that?”
“Yes! He said that, and I know he is behind all of this! I know without a shadow of a doubt! He is a prick! A fucking prick!”
“I can’t believe this, Bethany! He seems like a spoiled ass little boy.”
I stood up from the table, knocking the chair over in the process. Just then, two more teachers walked into the lounge. Two women smiled at me but didn’t say a word as they walked over to the doughnut box. I was liked by everyone at the school, but it would only take something like this for people to show their true colors. In my mind, they were belittling me because of the rumors that were floating around the school. Before I allowed my anger to explode, I turned to walk out of the room. “Hold on, girl,” Sharon said, trailing behind me, “I don’t need you to do anything stupid!”
I charged down the hallway, headed straight for Derrick’s classroom. I showed up ten minutes before the first bell rang and children had just started to walk into the room and place their bags on the shelves. Sharon caught up to me, “Bethany, now is not the time, okay? The children are coming in. Just wait.”
“Wait?” I said, aggressively. “Wait for what? If it is already floating around the school, then I know Principal Jones has already heard it by now! He is ruining my life! My career!”
“But Bethany, this is not the best time to talk to him. Not when you are like this.”
I rolled my eyes at her, then continued my pace to Derrick’s room. Moments later, he stepped out of the class and looked down the hall in my direction. A smirk appeared on his face. “I told you so,” he lipped towards me.
I bit my tongue as I continued towards him. If it wasn’t for the children standing around, curse words would have bounced off the walls until they bludgeoned him to death. He folded his arms over his chest when I finally approached him. “I need to talk to you. Now.”
Sharon stood beside me as he responded. “Um,” he looked at his watch, “I have a class to teach. It’s funny, though, because if you’d given me a little time this weekend, I’m sure neither one of us would be in this position now. I tried to give you the chance to see how much of a gentleman I am, but since you didn’t afford me the opportunity, well… you got the other side of me.”
“That was weak, Derrick,” Sharon spoke up. “You didn’t have to do that. This is her job. You’re going to ruin her job just because she didn’t give you a date? Really?”
“It is more than that, Sharon. It is about way more than that. It is just the principle, you know? And, speaking of,” he looked beyond us, “good morning, Principal Jones. It is a fine start to the week, yes?”
He didn’t respond to Derrick, and soon, he stood right beside us. The smile that usually covered his face in the mornings was replaced with a solemn glare. “A word please, Ms. Pope?”
I lowered my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Derrick’s smirk. It tormented me because I knew what was coming and his rumor was the prelude to it all. “Yes, sir. Lead the way.”
He started walking towards his office, and before I could follow him, Sharon grabbed my hand, “Just be honest with him, okay? That’s all you can do.”
I wiped a tear from my eye and nodded my head, then followed him down the hallway. I kept a few paces between us as if I was a student trailing its teacher. Some children smiled and waved at me as I walked behind Principal Jones. I forced a smile onto my face and waved back at them on my way in. Once we got inside, he closed the door. “Have a seat, Ms. Pope.”
I smiled as if nothing was wrong. “Sure thing, Principal Jones. What have I done now?” I asked, jokingly. “I promise you that I did not eat all of the bagels.” He sat down in his chair behind his desk and propped one leg over the other. His foot bounced around as he connected his fingertips. I could tell that he didn’t want to make eye-contact with me. His cheekbones gyrated inside his mouth. A few awkward moments passed by before I spoke up again, “Sir? Is something wrong?”
He exhaled. “I um, I just want you to be honest with me right now, okay, Ms. Pope? Honesty is what matters most.”
“Oh. Okay, sure thing.” I knew what was coming. I glanced at his desk. A picture of him and his wife faced me. It was a picture I had admired since the first day I stepped foot into his office. I imagined me and my husband in the same pose if we were fortunate enough to make it to that age.
“What type of career did you have before you moved out here to Roanoke?”
His light blue eyes looked fragile as he zeroed in on me. A wave of shame flooded through my veins like heroin. Hairs stood upright on my arms like they were infused with static. I twiddled my thumbs in silence, wanting to come up with a lie, but knowing that it would only delay the inevitable. He knew the truth. That is why I was in here in the first place. I wiped a tear from my eye before it had a chance to fall. “I um,” I took a deep breath. “This is hard for me to say, sir. It’s a part of my past that I am ashamed of. I made some mistakes. Well,” I wiped another stream of tears, “a lot of mistakes, but it has made me a better person. Sir,” I said, looking directly at him, “I used to be a–”
“Don’t,” he said, cutting me off before I could finish my sentence. “Don’t say it, Ms. Pope. I believe I already know what is going to come from your mouth. I heard the rumor on Friday before I left, and I brushed it off. You are like a daughter to me, Bethany, so I did not want to believe it. However, for the sake of the school and the parents, I had to look into it. So, I checked with the board to see if they could prove the rumor to be false. But, to my dismay, they couldn’t.”
Heartbreak pumped through the room like poison gas, and I could do nothing but inhale. I knew my time here at the school was over, and after a long meeting, he confirmed what I already knew would happen. He allowed me to keep the things in my office until the evening so I could avoid the embarrassment of moving everything out during the day. He embraced me, and with that, I left the school with tears blurring my vision on the way out. As soon as I got into my car, I cried out loud. I couldn’t believe that everything was over. My past almost destroyed my relationship with Gavin and nearly killed me, and it had even taken my only source of income. I had no idea what to do, and finally, I found the strength to start my engine and head to the only place I knew I could go for comfort.
April opened the door to a sea of tears as I stood on the other side. I couldn’t get a word out. I fell into her arms and cried on her shoulder. “Sweetheart, what is it? Did Gavin do something to you? I will skin him alive if he hurt you!” I shook my head no as she pushed the door closed, then led me to the couch. She handed me a Kleenex and said, “Here, sweetie, dry your eyes. Now, I’m going to need you to calm down,” she said, rubbing her stomach, “You know I am pregnant, and I am already emotionally unstable, so you have to calm down because I will either start crying myself or I will want to hurt someone. I am going to get another box of Kleenex though beca
use it looks like we will both need it.”
She pushed herself up from the couch, then waddled down the hallway as I tried to calm myself. After she came back, only silent tears fell from my eyes. I was ready to talk. I told her what happened to get me fired. “That bastard! Can’t he get sued for that? Defamation of character? Slander? Something, shit!”
“No,” I said, “well, I don’t know. Even if he could, I don’t have the money for a lawyer or anything like that. I have enough money to help me float for the next two months, but after that, I am shit out of luck.”
“Damn it. I didn’t think guys would be so petty that far along in their lives. Like, grow up. You know?”
“Yeah. On top of that, my ex showed up this weekend.”
“What?”
“Yeah. He showed up at my house, pulled a gun on me, and everything. Luckily, I found a way to call Gavin without him knowing and before anything could happen, the police showed up. They shot him in the leg because he refused to put his gun down.”
“No shit?”
“Yeah.”
She scooted to the edge of the couch, “Wow. You had one fucked-up weekend. Then you get fired?”
“I know. It seems like when things start to get better, they then get ten times worse. I should be used to it by now though.” I dabbed my eyes with Kleenex. “Gavin decided to work things out with me, and then a day later, I get fired.” I laughed at the backwardness of my life.
I didn’t know how Gavin would take the news of me getting fired, but I had to be honest with him. I didn’t want him to find this out on his own like he did with my past. I was hoping for the best between us, but as always, I prepared for the worst.
Chapter Thirty-Three
GAVIN
I walked into my office and found Sarah’s desk cleaned out. I looked around, thinking that maybe she moved her things to another desk in the office, but when I didn’t see her anywhere, I headed straight to HR. They told me that she had to go back to school earlier than expected because of some club she was involved in, so for the time being, we had to make due without one until she was replaced. That was going to make my job harder, especially since Sarah was such an excellent replacement. I made it to my office and tossed my suit coat on the rack. I had no idea what was on tap for the day, but Sarah always saved my meetings weeks in advance and emailed them to me. I searched for her name and pulled up the IT. I didn’t have a meeting until later that day at 2 pm, so for now, it was just down time.