by KG MacGregor
“I can see that.”
Claudia blinked and stared back at her, as if suddenly aware
she had lost it completely. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to turn into
a lunatic. It’s just that I’ve been keeping this bottled up all week.
There wasn’t anyone else I could tell.”
“It’s okay. You can talk to me all you want.” Leo stopped
tinkering with the screen so she could give Claudia her full
attention. “I wish I could offer some sage advice, but the truth
is I don’t have much experience in the relationship department.
When I was with Melissa, all I learned was that thinking you’re
in love makes you do stupid things.”
“The stupidest thing I did was call him back. The next time
he wants to act like a child, he can go right ahead, but I won’t be
the one trying to smooth things over. I’ll talk to him when I’m
damn good and ready.” She slumped onto the stool again and
groaned in frustration as she stomped her feet. Then she blew
out a ragged breath, as if expelling the last of a demon. “God,
I’m so glad I got that out. Now, where were we? You wanted
photos?”
From her angry expression, Claudia was past her rant, but
possibly on the verge of tears.
“We don’t have to finish this today. If you want to just go for
a walk and scream at the world, we can do that. Or we can just sit
here and you can talk it out some more.”
Claudia blinked several times and dabbed at the corners of
her eyes. “No, this is ridiculous. I’m supposed to be modeling for
you, not bitching about Mike.”
From a purely selfish standpoint, Leo wanted her shot today.
The rainy season could start any day and there might not be
another opportunity before Claudia left for good. On top of that,
she had planned to present the six photos in three neat pairs.
Foregoing the second shot meant reshooting the first. From the
sound of it, though, Claudia didn’t need someone else pulling at
her. No doubt that’s what she expected from the people around
her, or she wouldn’t have held her feelings about Mike inside all
week. “What really matters is how you feel right now. I always
want people to have fun when we shoot, but if you’re upset about
something else, the camera won’t hide it.”
“No, you know what would really make me feel bad? Taking
this out on you.” She straightened up and lifted her chin as if to
pose. “Right now, I feel like you, Sandy and Maria are the only
friends I have. Did I tell you Sandy asked me to come to their
house for Thanksgiving? I might just do that. Mike can stay in
Taiwan if he wants to, but that doesn’t mean I have to entertain
his stuck-up family, or that they have to entertain me.”
Leo smiled gently. “You’d like Thanksgiving at Sandy and
Maria’s. We always have a good time.”
“God, it’s tempting.”
“Do it…do it…do it.” Her chant grew louder each time. “You
know you want to.”
Finally Claudia laughed. “You’re so right. You guys would
be a million times more fun than his folks. But I’m not sure I’m
actually brave enough to piss them all off.” Her angry expression
dissipated. “I’m sure this will all blow over tomorrow. Mike
wouldn’t dare skip our call tonight. If he does, we’re in a lot more
trouble than I think.”
Leo stepped onto the platform to gauge the light on Claudia’s
face. “If you’re ready to go ahead, the sun’s coming in for the next
one.”“How do I look? Did I mess up my eyes?”
“Not at all,” she answered, giving herself permission to boldly
study Claudia’s face. She gently touched a smudge of mascara
and wiped it on her jeans. Their eyes met, and in that moment
a feeling crystallized inside her—envy so powerful it made her
ache. Mike probably had no idea what a wonderful prize he had.
If Claudia were hers, she would never make her cry.
Claudia peeled off the scenic seventeen-mile route and
turned for home. The drive had been cathartic, a chance to let go
of her irritation and summon her resolve.
Talking things out with Leo had been just the ticket she
needed. It was nice knowing there was someone who would take
her side no matter what. That’s what Mike was supposed to do,
but when he resorted to hardball negotiations to bring her around
to his point of view, she felt more like one of his contractors than
his wife-to-be. They never had this problem when they talked
things out face to face. It was only when they tried to sort out
important things over the phone, which made meeting in Hawaii
after Christmas all the more important so they could get this
settled.
In the meantime, with Leo’s encouragement, she had decided
to stand firm. Since Mike chose to work in Asia, she had every
right to pursue a job wherever she wanted. It wasn’t as if she was
being stubborn. This was her dream as much as working in his
family’s company was his. Once they talked it out in person, he
would understand.
The first thing she noticed when she entered her apartment
was the flashing red light on her answering machine. The robotic
voice announced two new messages, and her finger hovered over
the playback button. It would be nice if one of these was an
apology from Mike.
In fact, both messages were from Mike. The first had come at
four, which was four a.m. on Monday in Taiwan, and it cheerfully
promised good news. The second came two hours later and
was tinged with a barely perceptible impatience that she hadn’t
already returned his call. Still, he reiterated that he had good
news, but only if she called him back quickly.
The incredulous, demanding tone he had exhibited last week
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was gone. Most likely, he had stewed on it and realized he was
out of line, but was unable to admit it. She blamed his father for
that, since Mike had been raised to conduct himself in all matters
without ever showing weakness.
This time, Nissa put her straight through to his office.
“Claudia?”
“I’m glad you called, Mike. I was starting to think you didn’t
want to talk to me anymore.”
“What do you mean? I was four hours early,” he quipped,
his voice carrying a hint of mischief, confirming her suspicion
that he intended to move on and pretend the whole incident had
never happened. “I was wondering if you had any plans for, say…
Thursday night?”
“This Thursday?”
“I should get into the airport at San Luis Obispo about nine
o’clock. Since I can’t come for Thanksgiving…”
“You’re coming home?”
“Just for three days. I have to meet with a couple of our
architects so we can make a few modifications on this retail
structure and move the project forward. Trying to clean up after
them from over here just wasn’t going to happen. Besides, it gives
me a chance to see my girl.”
Her mind raced
ahead to the weekend. If she left school
promptly at three she could be in San Simeon by six. “I can be
there in time for dinner on Friday.”
“That won’t give us much time, honey. I have to fly back on
Sunday afternoon. I know you’re supposed to be at school on
Friday, but if there’s any way you can meet me in the middle on
this one, it would be great. It’s a long trip for us to barely see each
other.”
He was right, of course, and she was glad he was the one
flying so far and not her. “I don’t know if they’ll let me have the
day off, but I can ask first thing tomorrow morning. The problem
is that this is my phase to have total responsibility for the class so
I have to make sure it’s okay with my supervisor.”
“Don’t they have sick days or something?”
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“Not for interns.” To say nothing of the fact that she wasn’t
sick. “But I’ll do everything I can to get there on Thursday night.
I’m so glad you’re coming.”
“Yeah, me too. I can’t stand being away from you so long.
Talking on the phone just isn’t enough. I need to see your pretty
face again.”
She savored his sweet words. This was the Mike she had
fallen in love with. “I feel the same way, honey. Do you want me
to call the inn?” They both were wary of sleeping together under
their parents’ roofs, so they typically got away to a local bed-and-
breakfast for privacy.
“I’ll probably have to stay at home at least a night or two, or
I’ll never hear the end of it from Large Marge.”
Claudia laughed, as she always did when Mike invoked his
favorite nickname for his heavyset mother. “Tell you what…I’ll
call and make sure they have a room and we can slip out when
nobody’s watching.”
“Sounds like a plan. Oh, and I should warn you that I’ll
probably have to be in the office part of the day on Friday.
Shouldn’t be long though.”
“Then we’ll be even, because I’ll probably have to bring a
stack of papers to grade.” She caught herself smiling to realize
the stress of the past week had evaporated. It was possible the
whole thing had been triggered by Mike’s frustrations with the
architects, not with her. Things like that happened. She had done
it herself this afternoon, nearly screwing up Leo’s photo shoot
with her bad mood.
Leo…their third session was scheduled for Sunday at two,
and they had agreed to have dinner afterward at the wharf. “Mike,
what time is your plane on Sunday?”
“About four. I have an overnight out of LA.”
She would have to reschedule with Leo for after Thanksgiving,
but that shouldn’t be a problem, since they had only one more
session. Leo would have plenty of time to get the workshop
application together before the deadline. “Will you call me
tomorrow? I should know about Friday.”
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“I can try to call if I get a minute, or you can call Nissa and
leave a message. Oh, and she’ll probably ask if you’re meeting
me in Honolulu. She’s holding those tickets, but I looked at my
schedule and I can change it to the week after Christmas if you
want to go to your graduation.”
A wave of warmth enveloped her at hearing he had changed
his plans just for her. This was the Mike she knew and loved, the
one who knew exactly how to make her feel special. “I’ll tell her
yes.”“That’s my girl. Thanks for calling back.”
“I’m really glad you’re coming home. I can’t wait to see
you.”“Same here, babe.”
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Chapter 15
Claudia squatted precariously in her skirt to tighten the
Velcro strap on Kimberly Patton’s pink sneaker. The moment
she dismissed her class they would empty into a crowded hallway,
where a thrown shoe could get a third-grader trampled.
“Thank you all for your hard work today. I’m very proud of
you, and I can’t wait to hear you read from your journals again
tomorrow. You’re dismissed.”
She followed the line as they walked swiftly to the bus ramp,
noting proudly that her children conducted themselves in an
orderly manner compared to those from other classes who raced
pell-mell for the door.
Once outdoors her tidy line splintered as children picked up
their steps toward the various buses that were parked in a line by
the curb.
“’Bye, Miss Galloway!”
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She smiled and waved in response, but noticed that one of
her students, a cherubic boy with curly blond hair, had lagged
behind. Usually cheerful and outgoing, Jeremy Erikson had been
out of sorts today. “Are you feeling all right, Jeremy?” She felt his
forehead and quickly ascertained that he had no fever.
His eyes darted anxiously between her and the bus, and he
took a step backward.
She looked over her shoulder toward the ramp, but didn’t see
anything amiss. “Is something wrong?”
He dropped his books and started shaking his hands
fretfully.
“Jeremy, look at me. What is it?” She squatted again and took
him by the shoulders. Tears had welled up in his eyes.
“I don’t want to go home.”
“Are you afraid of something? Did you get in trouble at
home?” That wasn’t typical of Jeremy, but all children misbehaved
from time to time.
The buses began to pull out, including his.
“Wait!” she yelled, lurching toward the curb.
The driver didn’t look their way as he followed the line to the
exit. That meant Claudia would have to take the boy back inside
and call his parents to come pick him up.
She picked up his backpack and nudged him toward a bench
by the door. A horrible thought struck her as they walked—that
he was afraid because someone at home was hurting him. Part of
her teaching training had focused on the signs of abuse, including
bruising, soreness or sexual acting out. Jeremy had exhibited none
of those, though he had been quiet today, keeping to himself at
recess and lunch. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
“My daddy won’t be at home anymore.” He was crying so
hard she could barely understand his words. “He’s getting a
divorce.”
Her eyes stung with tears to see him so obviously crushed.
She had met the Eriksons two weeks earlier when they had come
together for the parent-teacher conference. Andrew Erikson
was a soldier at Fort Ord, the nearby army base. His wife Susan
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worked as a hairdresser. Both had shown interest in Jeremy’s
progress, and no outward signs of discord. “Are you sure, Jeremy?
Did they tell you they were getting a divorce?”
He nodded. “I said I’d be good.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Her heart broke for his tragedy. “This isn’t
your fault, not at all. I’m sure your mom and dad love you very
much. They told me so.”
That calmed him a bit, but she could still see the sadness and
<
br /> confusion in his face.
“Let’s go call somebody to come get you. I’ll wait with you
in the office.”
She placed a somber call to his mother at her salon, explaining
the situation. The woman promised to come as soon as she
finished with her current customer. Claudia sat with Jeremy in
the office, sprinkling their conversation with questions about his
toys and pets in order to distract him from his heartache. When
Susan Erikson finally arrived, he bubbled over again in tears and
ran into her arms.
“Thank you for coming,” Claudia said. “I’m really sorry he
missed his bus.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered, fighting back her own tears. Like
Jeremy, she was somewhat overweight, and had the tired look
of a woman who worked on her feet all day. “It’s a hard day for
everybody.”
“I’m sure.” She knelt to get Jeremy’s attention again. “I need
to talk with your mom for just a minute. Can you go out and wait
by the door?”
He looked at his mother and then left without a word.
“I suppose he told you what’s going on at home.”
Claudia nodded, noting the mother’s look of guilt.
“I’m sorry you got caught in the middle of this.”
“I’m afraid Jeremy is the one in the middle, Mrs. Erikson. He
seems to think all of this is his fault.”
“That’s ridiculous. It’s between his father and me.”
“I know. I just wanted you to know he’s feeling that way. He
might need a little bit of extra reassurance, especially over the
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next few weeks while he gets used to the changes.”
“I’ll make sure I do that.”
“It’s probably important that his father do it too.”
Mrs. Erikson wiped her eyes and said bitterly, “I’ll be sure to
pass that on to Andrew if I hear from him.”
“Would you like for me to call him? I know it isn’t my
business, but your husband”—she paused for a second, hoping
Mrs. Erikson wouldn’t react badly to her untimely word choice—
“he seems to care a great deal about his son.”
“He does. We both do.”
“Maybe…I don’t mean to be offering advice, but I really care
about Jeremy too. Maybe this is a good chance for both of you
to show him that his needs are still your priority, whether you’re
together or not. If you don’t think Mr. Erikson will be calling
soon, I’ll be happy to call him at the base. I don’t want to make