Widow, Virgin, Whore - A Novel

by Deanna Lynn Sletten

  "Go on, Chris. Tell me the whole story. Everything."

  Chris' eyes shifted nervously between the principal and his mother. He took a deep breath and began softly. "I was walking to class when I saw a group of boys surrounding Chelsea by her locker. When I got closer, I heard them calling her names."

  "What kind of names?" Katherine wanted to know.

  Chris turned pink. "Just stuff about her mom having AIDS."

  "Tell me exactly what they said, Chris," Katherine persisted.

  Chris bit his lip. "Well, actually it was just one kid talking and the others were all laughing. When I walked up, I heard him ask Chelsea if she was a lesbian like her mother and if that was why her mom had AIDS. When Chelsea didn't answer him, he said that he'd heard from his parents that her mom was a whore and she was spreading AIDS all over town. He yelled out, 'Hey, are you a whore like your mom?' All the other kids were laughing, and Chelsea tried to push her way through them, but they bunched around her tighter. So, I pushed my way in there and told them to leave her alone."

  "Then what happened?" Katherine asked as Chris paused. She was shocked at what she was hearing.

  "That same kid started in on me. He said, 'Whoa, look guys, it must be Chelsea's man trying to save her. Bet you get lots of it from her, huh?' I just told him to shut up and he started saying that I was probably gay anyway because I lived in the same house as Chelsea and her mom. He said our whole house was gay because nothing but women lived there. While he was mouthing off, I waved to Chelsea behind my back to get out of there, and she did without him noticing at first. But, no sooner had she gone down the hall, he noticed and he shoved me into the lockers and ran after her, yelling that he wasn't finished with her yet. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm and by that time I had come up behind him. So, I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from her. I told him again to leave her alone and told Chelsea to go on ahead to class. That kid got really mad and said he was sick of my face and he slammed me into the wall and started after Chelsea again with his little band of friends behind him. I was so mad by then that I went after him, grabbed his shoulder, turned him around, and punched him right in the face." Chris stopped and looked at his mom with questioning eyes. His face had turned red from reliving the anger he'd felt from the incident but he didn't look proud about what he'd done.

  For a moment, Katherine merely stared at her son. Her expression was a mixture of amazement, and a little pride. She couldn't believe that her quiet, shy Chris had actually stood up to a bully to protect Chelsea. It took all her restraint not to shout out "All right Chris!"

  Principal Spheres cleared his throat. "So you see, Mrs. Samuals, your son admits that he attacked another student, unprovoked." He stared at her with a pompous smile.

  "Unprovoked?" Katherine's eyes burned into the principal, making him literally push back deeper into his chair. "You call being shoved into the wall twice and verbally insulted unprovoked?"

  "Well...he did strike first," the principal stuttered.

  Katherine shot him a disgusted glare and turned back to Chris. "Has anything like this happened before? Have those boys bothered Chelsea or you at other times?"

  Chris lowered his eyes and didn't respond.

  "Chris, please tell me. Has this happened before?" Katherine asked again.

  He nodded his head slowly, then raised his eyes back to her. "I've heard him and other kids call her names in the hall, but they usually say it and run. Chelsea made me promise not to tell you."

  Katherine sighed, disappointed that Chelsea hadn't felt she could come to her or Denise with this problem. From the opposite side of the desk, she heard the principal clear his throat and her irritation grew.

  "Chris, did anyone else see this incident occur? A teacher or office worker, maybe?"

  Chris shook his head. "No one came to help until after I hit the other kid."

  Katherine fixed her eyes on the principal. "I thought teachers were supposed to monitor the hallways in-between classes."

  "Well, of course they monitor the halls. But you must remember, Mrs. Samuals, there are only one hundred and twenty teachers to watch over nearly two thousand students. They can't be expected to see everything." He gave her a victorious look as if he'd won a battle.

  "Amazing how they saw and heard nothing until Chris hit him, isn't it?"

  Mr. Spheres' victorious look faded.

  Katherine stood, her gaze still leveled on Principal Spheres. "As far as I'm concerned, the only problem here that needs to be resolved is the school's lack of supervision."

  The principal sputtered. "What? Your son attacked another student who left here with a bloody nose and a black eye!"

  "Yes, and he undoubtedly deserved it."

  "I don't think you understand," the principal interjected in a patronizing tone. "Our school has a zero tolerance policy for violence. Your son violated that policy. Therefore, he must be punished."

  Katherine drew herself up taller and squared her shoulders. "And what is the school's policy on sexual harassment?"

  "What?" The principal looked confused.

  "Sexual harassment, Mr. Spheres. Chelsea and my son were verbally abused with sexual comments by that boy. That is sexual harassment. What is being done about that?"

  Principal Spheres looked around his desk as if in search of some piece of paper that would provide an answer. When his eyes finally met Katherine's again, they looked perplexed. "We cannot control what the students in this school say. We can only try and stop violence as it occurs."

  "Violence can occur in different ways, Mr. Spheres. What that boy said to Chelsea and Chris was just as violent and demeaning as the punch Chris gave him. Tell me, Mr. Spheres, what will be done about that boy?"

  The principal suddenly looked exhausted. He sighed heavily. "I don't understand what you mean."

  "What will be done about the boy who harassed Chris and Chelsea?"

  "Well, nothing. He's the victim here, not the perpetrator."

  "The victim?" Katherine nearly laughed out loud in frustration. "The victim? This boy and his friends surround a young girl and call her demeaning names, shove Chris against the wall, not once, but twice, and continued to harass both children verbally, but you call him the victim? I think you need to reevaluate the school's policies, Mr. Spheres. They are turned upside-down."

  "Can we just handle the matter at hand, Mrs. Samuals?" He reached for dismissal papers, wanting to end this confrontation as soon as possible. "If you would just sign these papers..."

  "I will not."

  "What?"

  "As far as I'm concerned, my son and Chelsea are the victims here and I will not have my son punished for defending himself."

  The principal's face dropped.

  "And I have a notion to sue the school system for allowing such sexual harassment to occur. The emotional impact of what was said to Chelsea could be devastating. Don't you think that young girl has enough to deal with, without being harassed on top if it?"

  The principal frowned. "But that doesn't excuse your son from striking another student. What that boy said to Chelsea had nothing to do with him."

  Katherine gave the principal a look of controlled patience. "Mr. Spheres, Chelsea is like a sister to Chris. They have grown up together and are good friends. Would you allow someone to harass your sister that way? Or your daughter, or wife for that matter?"

  "But that's not the case," he protested.

  "Isn't it?"

  Mr. Spheres sat speechless for several seconds as if weighing the situation. Katherine took his silence as an opportunity to further control the conversation.

  "I expect Chris not to be suspended from school," she announced. "And I also expect that young man to apologize to Chelsea for his behavior. I also suggest, Mr. Spheres, that you review your sexual harassment policy with your staff and students and also review your sexual education program. Considering the comments made by that boy, it's obvious the children are not learning about AIDS effectively."
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  Mr. Spheres didn't reply, only nodded his head, defeated. He knew he'd lost this battle entirely.

  "Now, I'd like to see Chelsea before I go."

  He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but only a parent or guardian can call a student out of class."

  Katherine stood taller and smiled. "If you check your records, you'll find that I share legal guardianship of Chelsea with her aunt and mother. I'd like to see her, please."

  The principal gave in easily. He didn't intend on dueling with Katherine any longer.

  ***

  Katherine spoke with Chelsea and Chris in the empty teacher's lounge. "Are you okay after what happened today?" she asked the young girl.

  Chelsea nodded her head. "I'm use to it by now," she said softly.

  "Is that why you've been down on school lately?"

  Chelsea nodded again.

  "Why didn't you say anything, honey? We would have tried to help."

  Chelsea shrugged. "You and Aunt Denise and Mom have enough to worry about. I thought I could handle this myself."

  Katherine sighed and placed an arm around the young girl's shoulders. "We're never too busy for you or Chris. Come to us from now on, please?" She hugged her close.

  Chelsea smiled shyly at Chris. "Thanks for helping me today. Those kids were really big jerks. Did you get hurt?"

  Chris shrugged. "No, but I don't think that kid will bother you again," he said with a crooked smile.

  They all broke out in laughter, easing the tension of the situation. By the time Katherine left the kids, she felt confident they were okay and could handle just about anything. But she also left feeling a little disappointed that all the work she'd done trying to educate the people in the area about AIDS hadn't been effective. It left her wondering how she could expand her message throughout the area, especially to the young people.

  Darla had managed to get downstairs and on the sofa on her own by the time Katherine returned home. "So, how's everything at the middle school?" she asked.

  Katherine gave her a surprised look. "How'd you get down here?"

  "I flew. How do you think?"

  Katherine smiled, shook her head, and sighed as she fell onto the other sofa. "You must be feeling better. You have your attitude back."

  "A little bit. So, what happened at school?"

  Katherine explained the situation to Darla, who listened intently. Her expression was so serious that she didn't even react to the humor of quiet Chris actually punching out a kid in Chelsea's defense. After Katherine finished explaining, Darla made no comment, only sat, staring straight ahead of her, deep in thought. That's the way Katherine left her when she went up to her office to finish the hospital article, another article topic already forming in her mind.

  Later, when Katherine came down to start dinner, both kids were home and Denise had just walked in the door.

  "What's up with Darla and Chelsea?" Denise asked in a whisper as she dropped the mail on the kitchen table.

  "What do you mean?" Katherine hadn't noticed either of them when she'd come down to the kitchen.

  "They're out on the front porch with their heads together. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I think Darla was crying."

  Katherine wasn't sure what was going on either but she had an idea. As she washed the chicken and peeled potatoes, she recounted the events of the day to Denise.

  ***

  Darla and Chelsea sat on the shaded porch as the breeze from the Sound gently cooled them. Neither noticed the beautiful weather nor the water sparkling below them. Their heads were bent low, their voices quiet.

  "I'm sorry you're suffering because I have AIDS," Darla told her daughter, her eyes moist. "I know I've never been a very good mother and I've always been selfish and self-absorbed. But ever since I became sick, I've been even more selfish. I was so intent on telling the world my story, I never gave one thought to the fact that you would have to live with the consequences of my actions."

  "It's okay, Mom," Chelsea said, looking uncomfortable.

  "No, Chelsea. It's not okay." Darla placed her thin arm around the young girl's shoulders. Another first. Chelsea wiggled a little, not use to her mother's touch. "I should have consulted you before having my name and life story spread out in the newspaper. I thought I was helping people by exposing my life but I never gave any thought to how it would affect you."

  Chelsea sat up straight. "Mom, it's really okay. I'm proud of you sharing your story in the paper and the work you do for the AIDS group. That's why I didn't want to tell you about the problems at school. I didn't want you to quit telling people about AIDS because of me."

  Darla's eyes widened in their deep sockets. "You're proud of me?"

  Chelsea smiled shyly. "Yes, Mom, I am. I know I was angry at you when you first told me you had AIDS but I'm not anymore. You've changed a lot since you found out. You're helping people and making a difference for others. I want you to keep doing that. It's made you," Chelsea faltered a moment, then finished in a quiet voice, "a better person."

  Darla stared at her daughter, absorbing her words. Tears of joy threatened to spill from her eyes and a powerful urge to hug her daughter came over her. For the first time in her life, she was content to let both urges take her over, happily.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  "I've decided I want to speak to the students at the middle school about AIDS," Darla announced to Katherine and Denise later that evening. Denise looked up from her magazine, shock embossed on her face. Katherine was less surprised. Nothing Darla said surprised her anymore.

  "You want to what?" Denise asked.

  "You heard me."

  "After what happened today at that school, you want to make things worse? Chelsea will be teased right out of school if you do such a thing," Denise said.

  "Chelsea's okay with the idea. In fact, she's behind me one hundred percent," Darla said proudly.

  "You can't be serious." Denise looked over to Katherine for support. "Kathy, tell her she can't do this."

  Katherine shrugged apologetically. "Actually, Denise, it might not be such a bad idea."

  "What?"

  "See, even Kathy agrees," Darla said. "The way I see it, if the kids understand what it's like to have AIDS, then they might be less likely to tease others about it. Besides, making the kids understand is important in stopping AIDS, too. The more they know, the better decisions they can make."

  "Darla has a good point, Denise," Katherine said. "You can't argue with that."

  Denise shook her head. "I think you're both crazy."

  Katherine ignored her comment and focused her attention on Darla. "It might be difficult getting the school to agree to let you speak. Principal Spheres isn't exactly the open-minded type."

  "Couldn't we go to the school board about it?" Darla asked. "If they agree, the principal couldn't do anything about it."

  Katherine nodded slowly, her mind working fast. "Parents might be a barrier, too. Some parents get wound up at the mention of anything sexual. Parents are always trying to revise the Sexual Education Program. Many might not welcome the idea of their child hearing about AIDS firsthand."

  "I bet there are a lot of parents who would agree to it though," Darla insisted. "The more their child understands about AIDS, there's less risk of them becoming infected."

  "I'm not disagreeing with you, Darla," Katherine said gently. "I'm just warning you that getting permission to do this might be tough."

  "Darla, please, just drop it," Denise pleaded. "You're not up to fighting the entire school system. You have enough to worry about fighting AIDS."

  "No," Darla said, her expression rigid. "This is something I have to do." She turned to Katherine, the determination to complete her mission burning in her eyes. "You can break the barriers and make this happen. I'm sure of it."

  Katherine was astonished at her complete belief in her capabilities. "Well, I'll try, Darla, but I can't promise anything."

  "I'm not worried," Darla said, relaxing deeper in
to the sofa. "I know you can make this happen."

  Katherine frowned. "What makes you so sure?"

  "You talked the principal out of suspending Chris, didn't you?"

  "That's because I knew I was right and he was wrong."

  "Well, this is right, too."

  Katherine sat back and pondered this. Denise shook her head at both of them and hid behind her magazine. Darla lay back on the sofa, a victorious smile on her face.

  ***

  Later that evening, after helping Darla upstairs and into bed, Katherine noticed the unopened mail on the kitchen counter. She picked it up and wandered into the living room where Denise still sat with her magazine.

  "Darla is going to drive us all crazy," Denise piped up as Katherine sat on the sofa, sifting through the mail. "She expects way too much out of everyone, especially you, Kathy."

  Katherine nodded but her attention was on the letter in her hand. Slowly, she sat up straight and dropped the rest of the mail onto the coffee table.

  Denise noticed Katherine's silence. "What is it? What's the matter?"

  Katherine held up the letter. "It's from the literary agency."

  "Do you think they've made a decision about your book?"

  "I don't know." Both women stared at the letter reverently for several seconds until Denise's curiosity got the better of her.

  "Well, open it!" she blurted out into the silent room.

  Katherine started at Denise's voice, then chuckled as she began tearing open the letter. "This is silly," she said, pulling the letter from the envelope. "After all, what's the worst they can say?" She unfolded the crisp paper and let her eyes scan the words.

  Denise held her breath. "Well, what does it say?"

  Katherine's face stayed stoic, reveling nothing.

  "Well?"

  "They've rejected it."

  The anticipation in Denise's face fell. "What? How can they? After all the work you put into revising your book for them? They can't do that."

  Katherine looked up and met her disappointed eyes. "They can and they have."