The Truest of Words

by Georgina Guthrie

  I melted into his arms. “Okay.”

  “I wish I could come in with you,” he whispered.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “I’m sure you will. I just really wish I could watch. I suppose it wouldn’t be appropriate of you to take video…”

  I pushed him away. “You’re awful.”

  “I know. I should be flogged.”

  I smiled grudgingly. I couldn’t fault him for trying to lighten my mood.

  “I should go. Your dad said ten thirty, right?”

  “He said he’d meet you outside Northrop Frye.” He tipped my chin up. “Go kick some ass. And get a few kicks in for me.”

  “Deal.”

  I stepped away reluctantly, leaving him alone in the writing lab. David was waiting for me on the front step of Northrop Frye Hall, staring at his watch every few seconds.

  “There you are,” he said as I joined him.

  “Where’s Gwen?”

  “She had a meeting at nine with some of the women from MADD. It’s not easy to find a mutually convenient time. She was reluctant to cancel.” David cleared his throat. “She’ll be here any minute.”

  I looked around uneasily. Damn that idiotic Elaine Armstrong. David and I had just started getting back to normal after my missteps with Daniel, and now she’d screwed everything up again.

  “How’ve you been the last couple of days? You haven’t been worrying, I hope?” he asked.

  “No, I’ve been fine.”

  “Good. And Daniel?”

  “He’s fine too. He’s waiting for me downstairs in Old Vic.”

  He nodded, and we stood there awkwardly, neither one of us bothering to pursue more small talk. I was running out of things I could describe as being “fine.” He tugged at his tie, as if the collar of his shirt was cutting off his circulation.

  “Did you want to go inside?” I asked.

  “Why don’t we?” He opened the door and let me pass through ahead of him.

  We stopped in the lobby. I perused the flyers on the bulletin board while David paced at the top of the staircase. After about five minutes, he looked at his watch for the millionth time.

  “Maybe we should go in. I have no idea what’s keeping Gwen. I’d say let’s postpone, but I need to resolve the situation.”

  “It’s up to you.”

  If I were Gwen, I’d want to be here, but it wasn’t my call.

  “I’ll text her and let her know we’ve gone in.” He quickly punched a message into his phone, and then he took me by the elbow and led me to the office. “Let me do the talking.”

  “Of course.”

  As much as I wanted to give Elaine a piece of my mind, who knows what kind of vitriol would spew from my mouth if I was afforded the opportunity to speak. That wouldn’t help our cause.

  When we rounded the counter, Travis stood up at the desk and managed to say, “Can I help…” before realizing what was going on. He snatched the phone, presumably to warn Elaine.

  David took the phone from him and replaced it on the receiver, smiling blithely at Travis.

  “Hold Dean Armstrong’s calls, would you?” He turned to look at me. “Aubrey?”

  He pushed the office door open and ushered me inside, closing the door behind him. Elaine looked up, startled for an instant, but then a satisfied smile spread across her face.

  “Won’t you come in?” she said dryly.

  “Thank you. Don’t mind if we do.”

  David motioned for me sit in one of the chairs across from Elaine’s desk. He sat beside me, unbuttoning his jacket. I tried to mimic his unruffled exterior. It wasn’t easy.

  Elaine appraised us across the desk. “I can’t say I’m surprised to see you. I’m shocked you didn’t come sooner.”

  “What are you playing at, Elaine?”

  “Playing? Oh, I’m not playing, David.”

  She was virtually purring. I longed to reach out and slap the smug smirk off her face. She regarded me with mock interest.

  “How about you, Aubrey? Are you playing? You don’t understand what’s going on here, do you? I’d have thought with your GPA you’d be brighter, but I suppose you’ve been blinded by the glamor of it all. Think about it, though. Can you imagine what would happen if Gwen knew what was going on? Your sons are older than Aubrey, if I’m not mistaken, David. But then, I suppose that’s what makes this so stimulating. Is that it?”

  I gasped and had to clench my teeth together to avoid calling her a stupid bitch. David’s hand flew to my wrist.

  “Don’t answer that, Aubrey. Don’t even dignify the question with a—”

  David didn’t finish because at that moment, Gwen’s voice rang out on the other side of the door, telling Travis not to trouble himself because she didn’t need to be announced. The door flew open, and Gwen appeared. She closed the door and crossed decisively to the desk. I was kind of glad Gwen had been late. Her entrance was amazing, and the look on Elaine’s face was priceless.

  “Gwen! What a surprise,” she choked out, standing up shakily.

  David offered his wife his chair, and Gwen looked at Elaine serenely.

  “Elaine, please sit, won’t you?”

  Nothing like treating someone as a guest in their own office. Elaine slowly resumed her seat, and Gwen smiled at me.

  “Hello, Aubrey. How are you, dear?”

  “I’m as well as can be expected under the circumstances, Gwen. Thank you.”

  David pulled one of the chairs from the round table over to the desk. He placed it between Gwen and me and sat down, crossing his legs comfortably while Elaine tried to regain her composure, her eyes darting between the three of us.

  Gwen smoothed her skirt over her knees. “I’m a busy woman, Elaine,” she said. “I don’t have all day to waste dealing with nonsense. I’d like to get to the bottom of these ridiculous allegations you’ve made against my husband and Aubrey.”

  Her self-possession regained, Elaine lifted her eyebrow, her mouth twisted into wry smile.

  “I must say I never imagined you’d come clean. How admirable, Provost Grant.” She turned her attention to Gwen. “And so noble of you to stand by your man, regardless of his impropriety. I never took you for the self-sacrificing type.”

  Gwen sighed heavily. “I’m not interested in your faux-sycophantic drivel, Elaine. Let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we?”

  Faux-sycophantic drivel? Wowza. No vacuous charity wife here, folks.

  “Fair enough,” Elaine said, tapping one of her fingernails on the mahogany desk. “David’s behavior with this girl is a disgrace to the university. Perhaps you can put up with his philandering, but having someone in such an important and ethically demanding position behaving so immorally is unconscionable. I simply can’t stand by and let it go—”

  David waved his hands and grimaced.

  “Okay, enough of this nonsense. When Aubrey told me about these claims of yours, I thought she was joking. The whole thing is preposterous. You can’t seriously be prepared to stand by your accusations?”

  “I most certainly do. Everything adds up, David.”

  “You must be using one hell of a calculator, because you have nothing—absolutely nothing—to base your claims on.”

  “That’s not true. I have a witness—someone who saw a late night tryst between—”

  “Don’t start with the business of me dropping Aubrey off at residence in February,” David said. “Gwen and I had Aubrey over for a family dinner during Reading Week, and I was merely seeing her home safely. Travis should get his facts straight before running around spreading half-truths.”

  The blood drained from Elaine’s face, and she glared at me.

  “You snoop. Have you been reading my emails?”

  The gall of the woman! She was calling me a snoop?

  “You do realize that would require a password, Dean Armstrong,” I said calmly. “I don’t even have a password to access my own email anymore.”

  She expelled a sharp breat
h through her nose. David looked at me in confusion.

  “You haven’t been able to get into the email account?” he asked.

  “Dean Armstrong changed the access protocols,” I explained, matter-of-factly.

  Gwen leaned forward. “David, could we discuss email accounts later? I’d like to return to the topic at hand.”

  “Of course.” He turned to Elaine. “Suffice it to say that we’re well aware of the so-called proof you think you have, but trust me, Aubrey didn’t discover that information nefariously. You might want to consider your own indiscretions. I can’t control what absurd scenarios you cook up in your head, but when you publicly spout lies about me, lies that affect my reputation, my marriage, and my relationship with people who are dear to me and my family—” he glanced at me briefly “—that’s when the gloves come off.”

  “I’m not the only one who’s noticed what’s going on,” she said. “It suits you to believe I’ve concocted this, but you made quite a spectacle of yourself the week before your party. Running from office to office demanding an extra invitation be printed for Aubrey…”

  David sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Gwen put her hand on his sleeve and leaned forward, speaking on his behalf.

  “As an employee and close family friend, Aubrey had every right to be on that guest list, Elaine, and you know it. David had a lot on his mind the week before his tenure came to an end. He made an oversight, forgot to put Aubrey on the list, and was merely trying to rectify an error. Surely there are more important things to concern yourself with. You’re supposed to an officer at a university!”

  Elaine narrowed her eyes at Gwen. “You’ve thought this through carefully. You have an answer for everything. Tell me, David, does Gwen know about this secret that you and Aubrey were discussing on the phone last week?” Elaine looked at me. “‘Don’t worry, Gwen won’t suspect a thing?’ Isn’t that what you said?”

  Gwen turned to me. I sighed wearily.

  “Mother’s Day tea. When David called to invite me, apparently Dean Armstrong was eavesdropping.” I shot an incredulous look at Elaine, as if I hadn’t known she’d been standing there absorbing every word. I was right to suspect she’d twisted everything I’d said to suit her own purposes.

  “Honestly, Elaine,” Gwen exclaimed. “This is what you’re basing accusations of adultery on? You must see how ridiculous you’re being?”

  “I don’t think people will find this ridiculous at all,” Elaine said. “And stories like these have a way of spreading without it even being clear how they began.”

  David was instantly on his feet and looming over her desk.

  “If I catch a whiff of this business beyond this office, I’ll sue you for defamation before you’ve had a chance to blink.”

  My own heart was thundering, so I can only imagine how David felt. How he wasn’t strangling her was beyond me. Gwen was sitting with her hands clasped together in her lap, the very picture of poise. I did my best to follow suit.

  “We seem to have reached an impasse,” Elaine said, her voice restrained. Even so, a flicker of doubt danced behind her gaze.

  “Aubrey, would you excuse us for a moment?” David asked, not once breaking eye contact with Elaine. “We’ll be out shortly.”

  Gwen reached across the empty chair to squeeze my hand.

  “Um, yes, of course.” I pushed myself out of my chair.

  They hadn’t reached an impasse. Elaine was trying to save face, and David wasn’t having any of it. Perhaps he thought he’d get further with her if I wasn’t there. He was probably right. By the same token, I wanted to stay. I knew I was about to miss the good stuff.

  “Fun times?” Travis asked as I closed the office door. He was staring out the window.

  “Best time I’ve had in months.”

  “Look, don’t bitchface me. You brought this on yourself.”

  “I beg your pardon?” I crossed to the window. “I brought this on myself? Are you mental?”

  “You think someone else is responsible for you fucking the Provost of the university?”

  I wanted to be calm and dignified like Gwen. But, hell, let’s call a spade a spade. I’d never be like Gwen.

  So what did I do?

  I slapped Travis.

  I slapped him really frigging hard, my palm stinging on impact. He recoiled in disbelief, his hand flying to his cheek to cover the red mark.

  “You bitch,” he said, his back hitting the windowsill. “I can’t believe you hit me!”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t punch you in the junk, asshole,” I hissed. “It’s all lies. I’m no more having an affair with David than you’re having tea with the Queen every afternoon.”

  He rubbed his cheek again, giving me a smug sideways look before turning to gaze out the window. I put my hands on my hips, trying to contain my fury.

  “What?” He shrugged nonchalantly.

  “You know, don’t you! You know there’s nothing going on between David and me. You’re playing this all up. You bastard.”

  He didn’t reply, instead turning his spiteful smile out the window again.

  “Why would you do something like this?”

  He gave me another quick glance. “David had it coming to him. He’s a pompous prick. Embarrassed the shit out of me a few years ago after the episode at the library. It was all Lyle’s fault, and I got dragged down with him. We ended up paying all this money to replace old books that should have been tossed in the garbage years ago anyway—”

  I crossed my arms, fuming. “Travis, you urinated on books…in the library! What the hell did you think David’s reaction would be? It’s called restitution for destroyed property. He was doing his job.”

  “Whatever. He didn’t have to be such a dick about it.”

  “Whatever? This isn’t a frat boy prank. This is the kind of shit that makes people toss around words like slander, libel…lawsuit. Don’t you get it? And what about me? I’m stuck right in the middle of it!”

  He glanced at me indifferently. “Collateral damage.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re such an asshole.”

  “And you’re a superior bitch. You were a bitch then, and you’re a bitch now. Lyle was going off the rails, and you blew him off. He wasn’t good enough for you so you bolted. I was the one who ended up trying to drag him through the rest of the year.”

  Wait, he was blaming me for Lyle’s academic failure?

  “I can’t believe you—I can’t even…”

  I had to walk away. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to control my desire to grab the stapler and sink a bunch of metal clips into his forehead. I crossed my arms and moved to the front of the office, breathing deeply to slow the flow of adrenaline pumping through my body. The door of the inner office flew open, and I spun around to see David stride out, steering Gwen by the elbow. Elaine appeared behind them, her face a fabulous shade of gray.

  “We’ll just leave you to your apple polishing, Elaine. Have a lovely day. Aubrey?” Gwen joined me at the door. “We’re leaving now.”

  I nodded and shot a final death glare at Travis who’d reclaimed his seat at the desk.

  “I almost forgot,” David said, producing a small white envelope from his inside pocket and placing it in Gisele’s inbox tray. “Elaine, please let Gisele know there’s a posting across campus for a senior secretary. With her qualifications, she’s a solid contender for advancement. The necessary information is in that envelope. I’ll call tomorrow to follow up.”

  Elaine crossed her arms and raised her chin haughtily. David leaned over the desk, and Travis glared up at him.

  “As for you, I’ll be meeting with your father at my office tomorrow morning. I suggest you make yourself available.”

  Travis swallowed hard.

  “Oh, and I want that,” David said, pointing to the plant atop the bookshelf. “Get it for me. Now.”

  Travis’s gaze flickered over to Elaine. She closed her eyes and nodded once. I got the
distinct impression that if she let her control slip, even for a second, her face would crack open and a hundred snakes would burst out of her head. Travis stood on a chair and retrieved Archie Junior.

  “Thank you,” David said with exaggerated graciousness as he took the plant in both hands. “Now we’re leaving.”

  In the writing lab, Daniel was pacing like an expectant father. As I pulled the door shut, he closed the distance between us, taking me into his arms and examining my face.

  “Is everyone okay? Where’s my mom and dad?”

  “Everyone’s fine. Your dad said he’ll call you later. He’s taking your mom home. She was pretty shaken.”

  “What happened?”

  “Do we have to talk here? I’d rather not.”

  “Of course not. You said you wanted to swing by Jackman and grab a few things. Why don’t we go now? You head over, and I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

  I dashed to Jackman Hall, let myself in, and looked around. Matt’s door was closed, but Jo’s was wide open. Even so, she didn’t appear to be home. I slipped off my shoes, adding them to the pile of footwear in the hallway. Before I had a chance to contemplate giving my room a quick tidy, the buzzer sounded. I let Daniel in, and he leapt through the stairwell door a moment later, walking briskly down the corridor.

  “Hey,” he said, putting his arm around me. “Are you sure you’re okay? Your cheeks are flushed.”

  “I’m fine,” I assured him.

  Satisfied that I was none the worse for wear, he scanned the apartment. “This is it, huh?”

  “This is it.”

  “Let’s go in your room, and you can tell me everything.”

  We started down the hallway when Matt opened his door.

  “Hey, this is a surprise,” he said.

  Under normal circumstances, he’d have reached out for a hug. Instead, he held out his hand for Daniel to shake. Daniel took his hand warily, as if he thought Matt might be about to press one of those practical joke buzzers into his palm.

  Hand-shaking. No practical joke buzzers. This is progress.

  A strange look passed between them, and Matt nodded.

  Silent communication?