by Terri Osburn
When I didn’t move, Ryan said, “Are we going any closer?”
I wanted to. But I also wanted to run the other way. “That day isn’t a great memory for me,” I explained. “I just need a minute.”
“Take your time.” He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it before standing in silence, patiently waiting for me to decide the next move.
“I’m glad you’re here with me,” I said.
I’d considered returning to this site countless times over the years. The girls would have stood by me for support. Dad, who still had no idea what happened on that trip, would have come if I’d asked. At some point, I’d decided never to come back, but after today, I needed to replace that memory, and this felt like the right way to do that.
Meeting my gaze, he smiled. “Me, too.”
Ready, I stepped forward and we descended the two sets of stairs that brought us closer to the fountain. As the wind shifted, a light spray hit my cheeks. I stopped again a few feet from the large concrete rim of the fountain.
“It was hot that day,” I began. “We were well into summer and this entire area was packed with people. Kids were playing. I remember one little girl bumped into me and dropped her doll. I tried to pick it up to return it, but Geraldine pulled me away. She wanted to get to the fountain.” Closing my eyes, I could hear the people chattering as if they were here with us. The laughter. A dog barking. “I wanted to sit and watch the people, but she only wanted to be near the water. When we finally got down here, she did something I hadn’t expected.”
Opening my eyes, I stared into the white burst of water.
“I’ve got you,” Ryan said, squeezing my hand once more. “You’re safe with me.”
His words helped. I took a step closer and lifted my face as the water spray grew stronger.
“Geraldine was so excited to be here, she kicked off her shoes and climbed up to walk along this rim. She insisted that I climb up with her, but I didn’t want to. I was too afraid of falling in or getting into trouble. No one else was up there like she was, and I noticed several in the crowd watching us.”
My heart sped up as the memory played on, getting closer to the worst part.
“I kept asking her to get down, and she got sterner, demanding that I stop being a baby and come up. That was her favorite reprimand. I was always being a baby about something. If I didn’t want to eat this food or swing that high, I was just being a baby. That day, I didn’t care what she called me. I wanted her back on the ground and when I started crying, she finally did come down. And then smacked me across the face.”
“Jesus,” Ryan mumbled. “Megan, that is not okay.”
“I know that now. I guess I felt it back then, but it wasn’t the first time. Just the first time she’d done it in front of other people.” Chest tight, I took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. “Dad still doesn’t know. He’d never forgive himself if he did.”
“Did you tell anyone?” he asked.
There had been one. “My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Alvarez. She told the principal, who called our house. The next week, Mrs. Alvarez was replaced by Mrs. Peters, and I learned not to say anything again.”
Turning me to face him, Ryan pulled me against his chest. “This is probably the worst thing to say right now, but I’m glad she left you.”
As painful as this was, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Life did get better once she was gone, but I still longed for her to come back. Kids are eternal optimists in that way.” Leaning back far enough to look into his eyes, I said, “Thank you for letting me steal part of our date to do this. It was time to change what this place means for me. To exorcise some demons, I guess. I feel better already.”
Brushing a thumb along my chin, he said, “There’s one more thing we could do to make sure we’ve fully erased that memory.”
The twinkle in his eyes made my heart flutter. “What do you suggest?”
Without a word, he leaned forward and I stopped breathing. When his lips touched mine, they were soft and gentle and made no demands. That didn’t mean I couldn’t make a few of my own. Sliding my hands up his chest, I wrapped them around his neck as I rose onto my tiptoes. I deepened the kiss as the wind shifted and pelted us with cold water. Breaking apart, we were both laughing as we hurried to put more distance between us and the fountain.
Breathless and happier than I’d been in a long, long time, I tugged him back up the stairs, ignoring the droplets falling from my hair. “We need to get back to this date. I’m starving.”
“I’ll feed you anything you want, but I have no complaints about this date so far.”
Tucking in against his side, I leaned my head against his shoulder. “Neither do I.”
I walked into work on Monday morning more optimistic than when I’d left on Friday. At the time, I’d had three major uncertainties in my life, and now I was down to two. The Cassie thing was still up in the air, but I’d done all I could. The rest was up to her. I did pay Dad a visit on Sunday to tell him about Geraldine. He was upset that I hadn’t called the moment she showed up at my door, but there wouldn’t have been anything he could do. She’d have been gone by the time he got there.
Plus, I wouldn’t have wanted him to hear whatever toxic rationalizations she’d have thrown his way. Everything was my fault or Dad’s fault or even her parents’ fault. Geraldine bore no culpability at all for her own choices, and that made even trying to talk to her pointless. A lesson I learned the hard way, but at least it was over with now and I could get on with my life.
I still didn’t tell him about the abuse. There was no point now.
“Good morning,” said Miriam as she plopped into her chair. “Though I guess we have yet to see if it’s good or not.”
My email to the directors had not been answered so I had to agree. This day could go either way. The kids would always be welcome at the library, whether the program was cut or not, but many of the resources they currently enjoyed, as well as some one-on-one attention the program provided, would go away. If the final word came down, I fully intended to fight on to reverse the decision.
An hour into the day, the elevator opened and three familiar faces stepped out. Meredith Fellows, the system director; Regina Norman, the director of Human Resources; and the man who kissed me senseless two nights before, Ryan Stallings.
“Good morning,” I said, leaping from my seat and hopping to attention.
Director Fellows did not look pleased. “Good morning, Megan. Is Chamberlain here?”
“He came in half an hour ago.” The expressions on the two women’s faces gave nothing away. A ball of nerves, I shot Ryan a questioning look. When he winked, the knot in my stomach loosened. “Do you want me to call him up here?”
The director shook her head. “That won’t be necessary, but do you have time to accompany us to his office?”
As if I’d say no to witnessing whatever was about to happen. “I do, yes.”
Sliding around a speechless Miriam, I quickly whispered, “I think we’re going to be okay.” Gesturing toward the stairs, I let the three visitors go first, but Ryan lingered behind so we were side by side. When he wiggled his brows and smiled, I nearly giggled with excitement. This was going to be good.
Once we were all downstairs, Regina Norman knocked on Jeffrey’s closed door. “What is it?” he barked from the other side.
The two women exchanged a telling glance before Regina turned the doorknob and we stepped inside. There wasn’t room for all of us so I remained in the doorway with a clear view of the action.
The HR director tossed a folder onto his desk as Jeffrey bolted from his chair, his eyes wide and mouth agape. “What’s this about?”
“Did you falsify the programs report submitted to the consultant?” Director Fellows asked. Her tone said she knew the answer, but she gave him the chance to respond anyway. I believed this was called giving him the rope and letting him hang himself.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His eye
s cut from me to Ryan and back to the director. “Everything I turned over was accurate.”
Unflinching, Director Fellows said, “I’ve reviewed both the original report, supplied by Ms. Knox, and the one submitted to Mr. Stallings. The one that has your name at the top. There are some troubling discrepancies between the two.” Before he could respond, she added, “I’ve also compared the one Ms. Knox created to our library data and found hers to be impressively accurate. Can you explain why yours is not?”
Like a cornered animal, he sputtered, “All of my information came from her.” A chubby finger pointed in my direction. “If it’s wrong, then that’s what she gave me. She must have given you a corrected version to make me look bad.”
The ladies weren’t buying it.
Regina slipped another folder onto his desk. “You have exactly fifteen minutes to vacate this office, Mr. Chamberlain. Your employment here has been terminated.”
“You can’t do that,” he blubbered. “On what grounds?”
Director Fellows took a step forward. “We’ve done a little more research into your references and employment history. Behavior like mishandling of funds and sexual harassment of a coworker—all documented and corroborated—were conveniently omitted from your resume. Adding falsifying documentation for an ongoing financial review and your termination is more than justified. I suggest you start packing up. The clock is ticking.”
I knew he’d lied about the programs, but I’d never imagined he was guilty of so much more.
“Stanford Bridges will have something to say about this,” Jeffrey muttered as he grabbed his trench coat off the hook behind him.
“Stanford is no longer on the Board of Trustees.”
“Since when?”
“Since today,” Director Fellows replied. “He won’t be able to help you now. Regina will stay here to escort you out.” She shifted her attention to me. “Megan, do you have time to talk?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m free until the senior computer class starts in thirty minutes.”
Another program Jeffrey had tried to cut.
“Good. Then let’s take this upstairs.”
There were no offices on the second floor, and enough patrons entering to make a private chat at the front desk impossible, so I suggested we chat in a quiet corner in the non-fiction section. I had no idea what the director wanted to talk about, other than what they planned to do now about Jeffrey’s open position. Part of me hoped she might tell me that Nancy was coming back.
“First,” she began, “I want to apologize for ever installing Jeffrey Chamberlain into that position. Apparently, he and Stanford Bridges are old college buddies. Fraternity brothers. This is the second time Stanford has helped him cover past indiscretions to find a job. We trusted Mr. Bridges’ judgment and didn’t scrutinize Chamberlain as much as we should have.”
Regina Norman joined us at that moment. “He’s gone,” she said. “And I take responsibility for that. I made assumptions based on Stanford referring him when I shouldn’t have.”
“We’ve all learned a lesson from this,” Director Fellows said. “To the point that we plan to be more thoughtful about finding his replacement. Which leads to you.” She paused and I glanced over to Ryan, who had been silent through this entire scene. He offered a reassuring smile, but I had no idea what I was being reassured about. “Megan,” the director went on, “we would like you to consider taking the job.”
Watching Jeffrey get fired had been shocking. This left me stunned.
“Me?” I squeaked.
“Yes, you,” Regina replied. “Your report on the programs showed us more than Chamberlain’s deception. It shone a light on your knowledge of how the library operates, as well as the passion and devotion you have for the patrons we serve. That makes you an obvious candidate for branch manager, and we hope you agree.”
This possibility never even occurred to me. Even when Nancy left, I hadn’t considered applying. I liked my job. I liked interacting with the patrons, old and young, but especially the children. If I took the position, much of that would go away. It wasn’t a lack of ambition on my part. I simply didn’t see myself taking on such a role. At least not right now.
Treading carefully, I said, “Can I make another suggestion?”
The two women exchanged a concerned glance, but the director said, “Of course.”
“I think my coworker, Miriam Webster, would be more suited to the position. She’s been here longer than I have. She knows the ins and outs of this place as well as if not better than I do. And she cares deeply about those around her, both patrons and coworkers.” Not wanting to offend, I added, “I do appreciate the offer, but I truly believe Miriam is a better choice.”
Silence fell over our little group as my superiors considered my suggestion. If they disagreed, I had no idea what I would do. There was always the chance that they would again look outside the system for a replacement and we could end up right back where we’d been with Jeffrey. Maybe not as underhanded, but not a member of the team, so to speak.
“She does have an excellent record,” Regina finally said. “What she’s done with the local history project is quite impressive.”
“That’s Miriam’s project?” Director Fellows asked.
“It is.” Feeling more confident, I said, “She would be an amazing manager if given the chance.”
Seemingly coming to a conclusion, the director nodded. “We’ll need to have a meeting before deciding for sure, but I like this idea. Megan, thank you for bringing this Chamberlain issue to our attention and for your suggestion about Miriam.” Turning to Ryan, she said, “Mr. Stallings, we appreciate you accompanying us today. Without your presence, no doubt he would have denied his part in this so you see why we found it necessary that you be here.”
“I do,” he said. “Happy to help clear things up. I have, of course, revised my recommendations accordingly based on the correct report supplied by Ms. Knox. That should conclude the review once again. I’ve enjoyed working with your staff.” With a half grin, he added, “Most of the staff, anyway.”
“Yes,” she echoed. “Hopefully, we’ve rooted out the one bad apple. So we’re done here. Megan, thank you again. You have a bright future here. I won’t be surprised if you have my job someday.”
That was a huge compliment. “Someday would be nice, but I’m very happy where I am right now.”
“We like to hear that.” The two women turned for the elevator and Ryan stayed behind. “Are you coming, Mr. Stallings?”
Pasting an innocent look on his face, he said, “I just have a couple of questions for Ms. Knox. A little research I’m doing for another review.”
Neither woman commented and they both stepped onto the elevator when the door opened.
“Research?” I said once they were out of sight. “How can I help you, Mr. Stallings?”
“First, you can agree to have dinner with me tomorrow.”
“A date on a Tuesday night? That seems unusual.”
He leaned closer and the scent of sandalwood surrounded me. “I don’t want to wait until the weekend to see you again.”
“You’ll see me on Wednesday,” I pointed out. “At practice.” Flexing my ankle, I added, “I can play again.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
No, it wasn’t. “Then I guess I can make time tomorrow, but only on one condition.”
Tucking a lock behind my ear, he said, “Anything.”
“That we go for ice cream again.”
“Ice cream?”
“Yes.”
Looking around to make sure no one was looking, he dropped a quick kiss on my lips. “We can do that.”
Epilogue
Miriam had been acting strange all day, and though I didn’t know the exact reason why, I had my suspicions.
Because today was my thirtieth birthday.
My new boss—which was so awesome to say—loved birthdays. She lived for them. I’d arrived that morning to streamers ha
nging from the light fixtures, trays of cookies and cupcakes covering the front desk, plus she’d put the entire staff in matching shirts meant to look like softball uniforms. They were pink and black with the words West End Readers scrawled across the front. I was given one as well, except mine had Birthday Girl printed across the back.
Presents had been opened—all books, of course—and by mid-afternoon we’d mostly returned to business as usual. But Miriam clearly had something up her sleeve because she had that sneaky look on her face and every time the elevator opened, she nearly leaped out of her skin. That was the other thing. She’d made one excuse after another not to return to her office downstairs.
I was choosing the children’s reading picks for the rest of the month when her surprise finally arrived, and my heart nearly stopped at the sight. Two young people, one familiar and one not, stepped off the elevator. I was too stunned to greet them so we’d stared at each other in silence.
“Wow, Cassie, how crazy seeing you here,” Miriam said, as if she hadn’t known they were coming. The woman had terrible acting skills. “Who’s your friend?”
Eyes on me, Cassie said, “This is my brother, Luke.” To me, she said, “Our brother, I guess.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, and the pair quickly went out of focus.
“Let’s go downstairs,” Miriam said, pulling me out of my chair and away from the front desk. “Cassie, you, too.”
By the time we reached the break room, I’d regained some control.
“What are you doing here?” I said as Miriam slid out the door, leaving us alone.
Cassie glanced up at her brother, who looked just like her except several inches taller. Same blue eyes. Same dark-blond hair. “Well, um…” She cleared her throat and looked back my way. “I’m not sure if you remember when I mentioned that I’d found one relative through my DNA results, but he turned out to be a great uncle, and though he’s really old and has dementia, his daughter responded to my message. She’s my… I mean our mom’s cousin.”