“I have.” Conner snarled.
Maureen would have been a lot better off with the guppy. The guppy wouldn’t have lost her job for her.
“Tell your kid we’re doing everything we can,” Bear told him. “And tell her I’m sorry.”
Conner huffed for a second before stomping back to his car. Hopefully, he was headed off to buttonhole one of the assholes on the board. They deserved it slightly more than he did.
“Well, he is right.” Tony raised an eyebrow at him. “Hurricane Michael.”
16
Maureen stared out the window. Dinner with Tony and Pam had hardly been distracting. She doubted the declaration of nuclear war would have been distracting at the moment. Linda was in danger of getting caught in her tidal wave. How many other teachers she knew hadn’t mentioned it to her? How many she didn’t know? According to Theresa, there were months of waiting and preparing for the trial to get through too. What was she supposed to do? She’d registered for a class at the university, but one class was hardly going to absorb all her time. A couple of parents had contacted her about tutoring.
Theresa recommended she stay in the community so she was a constant presence. Michael would be on tour until December with intermittent breaks, unless they added more dates. The thought of that made her stomach clench. She wasn’t sure she could handle the next couple of months alone. A few more might kill her.
Bear cleared his throat. “Maureen, I’ve been thinking.”
“You’re breaking up with me.”
“No.” He turned, giving her a horrified look. “No! What kind of a heel do you think I am? I’m not breaking up with you. I’m never breaking up with you.” He caught her hand in his.
“I can take it. Honestly, at this point I wouldn’t blame you. I’m a huge liability.”
“No, no you’re not.” He pressed her fingers to his lips. “I’m not breaking up with you. I was just thinking that it might be easier if I left early.”
“Because it’s easier to break up from a distance.” Relief coursed through her. Relief? This should be the worst thing that had ever happened to her. He was leaving. But now that the other shoe had dropped, she could move on. She’d always known it would. Someone like him could never stay with her. Especially considering what a walking disaster she’d become.
“I am not breaking up with you, but I am getting you bad attention. If I leave town, that should die down.”
And I’ll be alone again. Naturally. I need to sign up for another class. I can use the credit card Michael gave me to pay for it. Until he cuts it off. “Of course. You’re right.”
“I’m right?”
“Yes. You’re right.” The searing pain behind her sternum would go away. Maybe she needed to take a full load of classwork. She’d always wanted to take an archeology class.
“I’m ruining your life by hanging around here.”
“Yes.” She pulled her hand away from him and folded it in her lap. “I understand.”
“But I’ll come back. If things have cooled down at the end of August, I’ll come back then. If not, you and me can take the Satellite home. We could drive it back to LA together.”
“You don’t have to feel guilty about this.”
He clutched the steering wheel. “Well, I do.”
“It’s the most logical choice.”
“Jesus, would you get mad at me or cry or something already? You sound like you were raised by Vulcans.”
She studied her hands in her lap. She couldn’t say she hadn’t seen it coming. The moment she met him she’d known he was going to walk away. Exciting, funny, sexy guys like him didn’t hang around with dull elementary school teachers. And at that point she hadn’t realized how many excellent reasons he had to go. “Michael, I don’t want to make this harder than it is.”
“It’s not that hard.” He turned into her driveway. “Okay, it’s really fucking hard. I’m going to miss you and I’m going to want to see you every day and I can’t. But I will see you and I will marry you and we will make a life together.”
Maureen reached for her car door. “I know that.” The limp lie felt like the best alternative at the moment.
“Let me get the fucking door.” He threw open his door and stomped around the car. Opening her door, he lifted her out and held her. “I love you, Maureen. Things have sucked lately and I wish I could stay here and help you through it but even your lawyer says I’m making things worse by being here. If I go away, things will get better. I really want things to get better for you. I want to make your life perfect.”
The orange street lamps made it hard to see, but his sincerity shone through his gaze.
“Marry me, Maureen.”
“You asked me that once.”
“I know and I’m asking you again. Marry me.”
“Okay.”
“Christ. She says okay.” He cupped her face in his hands. “You remember when I told you I was willing to do whatever it took to make this work?”
“Yes.”
“That is what I am doing now. If me going away for a little while now will mean we can spend the rest of our lives together later then I’ll do it.” He groped in his pockets. “I still don’t have a ring for you, but this might work better.” After another moment’s search, he pulled his Mustang keychain out. A simple key ring with a short chain from which the pony emblem dangled like a charm. Picking up her left hand, he draped it over her ring finger. “There. You need me, you just hop in the Satellite of Love and you come find me. Okay?”
She turned her hand, studying the key ring hanging from her finger. It was escape and promise in one. Sobs gathered in her throat. Clutching her fingers around the key ring, she threw her arms around his neck.
* * * *
“Hey,” Marc answered on the first ring.
“I’m in Tampa.” Bear flopped backward on the bed. This room was his home for the next three days.
“Oh.”
He stared at the ceiling. Leaving Maureen at the airport this morning, he’d realized what it must have felt like for her to leave at the end of spring break. Getting on the plane required a supreme act of will.
“I’m assuming Maureen isn’t with you.”
“No.” Maureen was home by now and had been for a couple of hours. He hoped she wasn’t crying. She’d cried a lot last night, and screamed at the universe for making life so hard, but she’d never once questioned his need to leave.
“What happened?”
“It was getting pretty hot and I was attracting a lot of negative attention. I was ruining her life just by being there.”
“The story got picked up by CNN dot com. Legitimate news.”
“Great.”
“So you guys broke up?”
“No, we’re just…separated.” Separated sounded too much like almost divorced. He closed his eyes. Was that little girl still crying? Was her father still looking for somebody’s neck to wring?
“You know what, I’m not doing anything here. I think I’ll come out early too.”
“Yeah, I know how much you want to spend another night in a hotel room.”
“About as much as you do. I know, we can go to Disney World. How clean cut and straight laced would that be?”
The image of Marc walking around Disney World wearing mouse ears made him laugh. It helped stem the pathetic desire to gush over the fact that his friend was willing to fly in early just to hang out. “Might be fun. Give CNN dot com something to report. I’ll be here when you get here.”
* * * *
“…and I’ve filed a libel suit against the newspaper on your behalf.”
Maureen swam out of the fog of her reverie. The house was too quiet and it distracted her. “What was that last part?”
Theresa peered over the top of her bifocals. “What part?”
“The last thing you said.”
Theresa consulted her notes. “I filed a libel suit with the paper. They claimed on numerous occasions that the school board po
ssessed a number of complaints against you, but the board had never produced a single one.”
“But if the board said it, it’s not the paper’s fault.”
Theresa peered over her bifocals again. “It’s the reporter’s job to track down proof. Without proof they never should have gone to print.”
“But that reporter could be fired.”
“And should be. She wasn’t doing her job.”
Someone else on the verge of losing their job because of her. Was the poor reporter sitting at her desk worrying about when her last paycheck was going to arrive and how she was ever going to get another job with this on her record? “Theresa, this is too much. I want justice, not revenge.”
“Maureen, justice is what you’re getting. You did your job well and without fail for many years. Then along came a couple of people who wanted to shift blame for something beyond your control to you and a couple more people who didn’t do their jobs.”
“It feels like revenge.”
“If you wanted revenge, we’d have to add some zeroes to the damages.” Theresa smirked. “I see that you’re tired. Your boyfriend left?”
“Yes.” That was why the house was too quiet. Even when Michael was out, his temporary absence made noise in the house.
“I never sleep well when my husband is out of town.” Theresa shuffled together her papers and put them back in her briefcase. “I always think if I walk around another corner, he’s going to be there and, of course, he isn’t. How long will he be away?”
“He may come visit about the time school starts. Depends on what the situation is with the trials.”
Theresa raised an eyebrow. “Really? He would stay away to improve your chances in court?”
“He left early to improve my chances in court.”
“Well, that’s awfully supportive of him.”
No, it was just awful. She folded her hands on the table and tried to calculate how many minutes were left until he called again. Too many.
“What do you plan to do with your time? It can get very depressing just sitting around waiting.”
“I’m going to take some classes. I’ve been working on a Masters degree. Or I might run away from home and join the circus.”
Theresa laughed like she believed Maureen was joking. “Well, I’m glad to hear you have plans. I’ll talk to you again in a week and let you know how things are progressing.”
Maureen showed her out and then leaned against the door. It was awfully supportive of him to leave to help her, but she’d much rather have him here supporting her. She fished the keys out of her pocket. They hadn’t left her since he had. Last night when she’d been trying to sleep in her too big bed, they had been on the table, lit by the neighbor’s security light.
This was stupid. He loved her enough to leave even though he didn’t want to. She loved him and didn’t want to be apart from him just to prove a point. Even if she won, she lost. She searched the house for her cordless phone. It was on the bookshelf. “Hi, Linda,” she said when her friend answered. “What are you doing?”
Linda hesitated. “Nothing.”
Maureen chose to ignore the hesitation. “Theresa just left. We’re suing the newspaper too.”
“Really?”
“They printed that the school board had complaints and the school board isn’t producing them.”
“Yeah, well, should have checked facts, I guess.”
“It’s really frustrating that I’m guilty until proven innocent.” Why had she called Linda? Kaitlyn wouldn’t have gotten her all wound up. Jeanette would have asked if she wanted to come over and swim to distract her. Kathy would have taken her shopping. Linda was just going to get her angry.
“What’s worse is that it’s nobody’s beeswax. So you’re dating some super hot musician. What does that change about your teaching?” Linda asked.
“I know.”
“It’s like they want to fire you on an ethics violation and you haven’t had the good taste to show up to teach stoned. This isn’t the nineteenth century. Teachers don’t have to conduct all their dates on the front porch where the whole town can see them.”
“I know.” Now she knew why she’d called Linda. She needed a reason.
“You have a right to your life.”
“I do. And I’m a good teacher.”
“You are a great teacher. Your class had the best scores in the building on the stupid tests. If they’re gonna fire somebody over that, then they need to fire whoever had the class with the lowest scores.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“No, but neither is what they’re doing.”
She paced behind the couch. “True. And if they were going to fire someone over ethics violations—”
“Oh, oh, the coach at the high school.”
“Uh huh.”
“I don’t know why they let him near girls. If he isn’t doing something yet, it’s only a matter of time.”
“I know.” She adjusted a pillow. “So you think I have a pretty good chance in court?”
“If there is any justice in this world, the school board and the paper will settle because if you go in front of a judge with your record, you’ll will mop the floor with them.”
“Can you watch my house?”
“Why?”
“I’m going to go on tour with Michael.”
Linda laughed. “You go. Send me postcards.”
Maureen threw a few things in a bag and tossed it in the car. Running back into the house one last time, she located the tour book he’d given her so she would know where he would be. The directions to the hotel and the venue would work just fine once she got Tampa. This time when she parked in front of the garage, Tony walked out.
“Hi, Maureen, what’s up?”
“I need the Satellite.” She climbed out with her bag in her hand.
“What…for.” Tony’s eyes fell on the bag. “I thought you were supposed to stay in town to look good for your lawsuits.”
“I’m going to let my lawsuits handle themselves. Where’s the Satellite?”
“Around the side. Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Maureen walked around the side of the building to the weedy lot where he parked cars while he waited for their owners to come pick them up. Her old car sat there with a For Sale sign in the window. The Satellite was parked next to it. “I’d rather lose and be happy than win and be miserable.” Overheated air washed across her face as she opened the Satellite’s door.
“It’s a long drive.”
“Fine.”
“Shouldn’t you call ahead?”
“I’ll do that when I get closer.” When she sat in the driver’s seat, it fit like a glove. Even before she started the engine, she knew what it would sound like.
“Well, wait a minute.” Tony shifted from one foot to the other. Rusty and Eric leaned around the side of the building to watch the excitement. Tony kept stalling, and when she reached for the door handle, he jumped to attention. “I just got the badge this morning. I figured Bear would want to put it on himself. Let me get it for you.”
Maureen started the engine. It did have a lovely, heavy purr. A lot like Michael.
Tony came back around the building with something in his hand. “Here. Bear will know what to do with it.”
Maureen traced her finger over the little piece of plastic that spelled out the words “Satellite of Love” in aerodynamic sixties type.
“And if you get tired, you pull off and get some sleep. At a nice hotel, not a motel.” Tony pushed her door closed. “There’s no hurry. The Tampa show isn’t until tomorrow anyway.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Grinning at him, she slipped the car into gear.
* * * *
“What the fuck is that?” Jason demanded.
Bear turned toward the sound. It sounded suspiciously like his car. What would his car be doing in Florida in the underground parking at the venue? The whole band was here now. Marc and Ty came out early a
nd they’d spent yesterday at Disney World. Though he hadn’t been able to talk Marc into the Mickey ears, he’d found a great barrette for Maureen. Brian and Jason had arrived just in time for sound check. Afterward they’d come out to the bus to check things over because Rudy swore something was wrong. Nothing looked out of place.
Except the candy apple red nineteen seventy-two Plymouth Satellite coasting past the parked rigs and stopping in front of the bus.
Bear glared at Rudy, who was smirking. “You dick. You knew.”
“Of course I knew. How do you think she got in here?”
Maureen climbed out of the car and leaned on the roof. “Hi, baby.”
Bear ran around the car, grabbed her and spun her around. Setting her back on her feet, he leaned his forehead on hers. “What are you doing here?”
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“What about your lawsuit?”
“Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to. Besides, there are schools in California. Here, Tony sent this.” Maureen angled her hand between them and opened it.
He had to lean back to see what she was holding. Satellite of Love. Perfect. Bending her back, he kissed her. She was still summer and fine wine and the audience screaming for a second encore in the pouring rain.
Perfect.
Christa Maurice
For my seventh birthday my brother gave me The Eagles’ Hotel California and I was completely enchanted by the title track. No clue what it meant, but I loved it and my fate was sealed. Unfortunately, as a hard core introvert, performing onstage in any capacity was off the table as a career choice. So I turned to writing and spent many boring college lectures detailing the adventures of Touchstone in the margins of my notebooks. Years later I decided to do something with them and wrote what became Heaven Beside You. These things do tend to get out of control with me. A fun side project that kept me entertained while I was teaching English in Korea turned into a series that I was working on through a stint in Chile, the US and the Middle East. And I’m not slowing down.
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