by Brenda Novak
She didn’t say anything until Sophia encouraged her. “This is a friend of mine, honey. Can you answer him?”
“She kept shoving her pencil into my back,” she mumbled.
“She being...Connie?” Ted said.
A nod confirmed this.
Sophia made a sound that led him to believe she’d jump in, but he squeezed her arm again. “And she poked you before the fight broke out?” he asked.
Another nod.
“Did it hurt?”
“Yes!” Alexa spoke louder. “It was the pointy end!”
“Then it probably left some marks. Do you know if it did?”
“No,” she said. “I can’t see my own back.”
“Can we take a look?”
After a silent confirmation from her mother, she got up, turned around and let Sophia lift the back of her shirt. Sure enough, there were several red marks, one where the point had broken the skin.
“Did you tell the teacher?” Ted asked.
She tugged her shirt down. “I couldn’t. She wasn’t there. It wouldn’t help, anyway.”
“Because...”
Her voice filled with indignation. “Then Connie and the others would be even meaner. A bunch of them followed me off campus yesterday, and Connie hit me lots of times.”
“So you’d already had a bad experience with this girl.”
Her chin bumped her chest as she nodded.
“What did you do when she kept poking you today?”
“I asked her to stop. But Babette and Ella kept laughing and egging her on. They said they’d give her a dollar to do it again. Then they offered her a cookie and a bag of chips. She was pulling my hair when she wasn’t poking me.” Alexa held out her white blouse. “She even marked my shirt with her pen and said I’d have to get another one from a thrift store since we don’t have money anymore.”
Ted knew this wasn’t his battle, but he was glad he’d come. Sophia was so emotional. She’d break into tears if she tried to speak.
When he looked up, Mrs. Vaughn cleared her throat. “A sympathetic story. But the other kids say most of it isn’t true. They maintain that Connie made some comment about Alexa having to get her clothes from a thrift store and that was all it took.”
Ted stood and gestured toward Alexa. “And those marks on her back? How did they get there?”
The principal couldn’t argue with that. Alexa couldn’t have hurt herself in that way. “She should’ve gone to the teacher, like you suggested.”
“Tell me something, Mrs. Vaughn.” Ted rested his hands on his hips, knowing it made him seem more imposing. “What would you have done in her shoes?”
“Stop baiting me, Mr. Dixon. I can’t condone her actions. Fighting doesn’t solve anything.”
“That’s true. So what’s Connie’s punishment for instigating this?”
She straightened her blotter. “I’ve assigned her after-school detention.”
“And Babette and Ella?”
“Babette and Ella?” she echoed. “This is the first I’ve heard of their involvement.”
“Now that you know they have some culpability, I mean.”
“Unfortunately, it’s impossible to be perfectly fair to every child who might have been involved. I wasn’t there. I can only go by eyewitness accounts, and I have to draw a hard line when students get physical. Alexa’s the one who crossed that line.”
“She just showed you the marks on her back. That looks pretty physical to me.”
“But I have no idea how they got there. Maybe she poked first, because what she’s saying goes against everything I’ve heard so far.”
Ted caught Alexa’s eye. “Lex, could you wait outside and let your mother and me have a few words with Mrs. Vaughn alone?”
After the door closed, he lowered his voice so she couldn’t hear him in the anteroom. “I’m sorry to learn that you condone bullying here, Mrs. Vaughn. With my mother being a principal herself, I expected more from you and our school system.”
She drew herself up taller. “I don’t...condone bullying, Mr. Dixon!”
“Then why are you punishing the victim instead of the perpetrator?”
“Consequences follow behavior. One child struck another, and now she must face the consequences.”
“It doesn’t matter to you that the child you’re suspending is the one who was first teased, poked and tormented?”
Her nostrils flared, but she didn’t answer.
“I believe I’ve committed a sizeable amount to funding the new gymnasium. As disappointed as I am in the way this school is being run, however, I’m afraid I’ll have to withdraw my support from that project.” He motioned to Sophia. “Let’s go.”
Mrs. Vaughn hurried around her desk. “You’d penalize the kids for something you feel I’ve done?”
“Why not? You’re penalizing Alexa for something Connie did.”
“But we’ve already lost the money Mr. DeBussi pledged to the project!”
“That explains a lot, doesn’t it?”
They glared at each other for several seconds, until she lowered her gaze. “I apologize if you feel I’ve been unfair.”
“I don’t feel anything. I’m convinced of it.” Whether she’d acted consciously or not, she’d known that Sophia was in no position to defend her daughter. In his opinion, Mrs. Vaughn thought she’d be able to get away with punishing Sophia and Alexa for Skip’s sins, just like Chief Stacy seemed eager to do.
“What do you suggest as a more fitting punishment?” she asked grudgingly.
“You assigned Connie detention. Maybe Alexa should have the same.” Ted turned to Sophia. “Don’t you agree?”
She nodded.
“I don’t mind telling you that it’s a mistake to keep rescuing a child,” Mrs. Vaughn said, her voice and demeanor full of reproach. “It teaches the wrong principles.”
Ted straightened the nameplate at the edge of her desk. “Didn’t you admit to me that this is the first time Alexa has ever been in trouble?”
She didn’t reply to that question. With a sigh, she wadded up the sheet she had ready for Sophia to sign and threw it in the wastebasket. “Fine. She’ll serve detention for five days after school, starting tomorrow. But it’s not my fault that she’ll be doing it with Connie. And I will not tolerate either one of them acting out again.”
“Will a teacher be present at all times?” Sophia asked. “I don’t want her left alone with that girl ever again.”
It was easy to see that Mrs. Vaughn was loath to reassure her. She preferred to insist that the way she’d chosen to handle the situation would’ve been better. But Ted wasn’t about to back off. He was tired of the prejudice and injustice that’d been heaped upon Sophia, and he was angry that everyone else’s reaction to what Skip had done kept drawing him into her life. He wouldn’t have gotten involved with one of his best friends if not for Sophia. But he didn’t want to think about that, didn’t want to feel any regret because it was too late to change anything.
“There will be a teacher,” the principal said.
Sophia lifted her chin. “Thank you.”
Mrs. Vaughn followed them into the reception area, where they waited for Alexa to retrieve her backpack. “Does this mean we can count on you to help with the gymnasium?” she asked.
Ted could see Alexa in the principal’s office, wiping her eyes before pulling her backpack over one shoulder. “We’ll see how school goes this coming week,” he replied. “As long as Alexa remains safe, I’m happy to donate.”
Her lips pursed. “So...are you and Mrs. DeBussi...seeing each other?”
She was still perplexed as to why he was there, was trying to put it into some sort of context. “No, Mrs. DeBussi is working for me.”
“Since when?”
He pretended not to hear her. Alexa joined them at that moment, and they walked out.
“Thanks for your help,” Sophia murmured as they navigated the front steps.
He didn’t respond to that, either. He was drifting closer and closer to her; he could feel it. But he didn’t know how to stop what was happening between them. Being with her, standing up for her, felt too damn...natural.
17
“Once you drop me off, you can head home,” Ted told Sophia as he drove them back to his place. He probably should’ve let Sophia take the wheel. The Mercedes was, after all, her car—until the repo company took possession of it, anyway—but driving gave him something to concentrate on besides his new housekeeper and her daughter.
“I’ll finish that project you gave me first,” Sophia said. “And make dinner. Alexa can do her homework. We were planning to have her come over after school, anyway, so nothing’s changed.”
“Except that it’s been a rough day for both of you. Why don’t you go home and recoup?” He hoped to convince her, especially because he needed to do the same, needed to get her out of his system before Eve picked him up. The last thing he wanted was to be thinking of Sophia the whole time he was trying to talk himself into loving the person he’d chosen to pursue.
“No, I’ll finish out the day. I don’t want you to feel my problems are taking a toll on my work.”
“I don’t mind.”
She raised a hand. “Please, I need to finish...for me, if not for you.”
“Right. Okay.”
“I have to do my part,” she explained. “I hope you understand.”
“I do. And I appreciate that,” he said, but when they went into the house so she could get Alexa set up at the kitchen table, he saw her lunch and knew she was trying too hard. When she’d brought up his tray and he’d waylaid her without realizing she hadn’t eaten, she’d never said a word.
She should’ve spoken up.
“Get started with your math,” she told Lex. “I’ll be up in the office for a while, but I’ll come down and see how you’re getting along when I make dinner.”
“This is a cool place,” Alexa breathed as she put her backpack on the floor. “I really like it.”
Ted smiled. Lex seemed pretty damn sweet and down-to-earth for being Skip’s only child.
She sent him a shy glance. “You’re the author, right? I’ve seen your name. My mom reads your books all the time. She loves them.”
Sophia tried to duck out of the room and head upstairs, but Ted cut her off before she could reach the door. “Oh, no, you don’t.” He pointed at her waiting sandwich. “You might want to throw that away since it’s been sitting out for so long, but you need to eat something before you return to work.”
“I’m sure my sandwich is fine,” she said and nuked it before taking it up with her.
Ted sat at the table across from Alexa, who was busy getting out her books. “What kind of homework do you have? Just math?”
“I wish,” she said. “I’ve got social studies and English, too. Tons of English.” She made a face. “I have to write a persuasive essay.”
“Believe it or not, I hated English homework when I was a kid, too.”
“And you turned out to be a writer?”
“It’s a lot more fun when you get to decide what to write.” Sophia hadn’t offered her daughter an after-school snack; she was probably worried that would make her appear too free with his food. “Would you like some cookies and milk before you get to work?”
“Sure, if...if that’s okay.” She checked the doorway as if she expected her mother to pop in and tell her whether she was allowed to accept his offer.
“It’s okay,” he assured her and got some Oreo cookies out of the cupboard.
“Oh, my favorite,” she said when she saw them.
“We have that in common.”
“Do you ever put them in ice cream?”
“All the time.” He peered more closely at her. “I have some ice cream. Would you rather I made you a shake?”
“Oh, no. I was just saying they’re good that way, too.”
“I’ve got plenty of ice cream,” he said, tempting her.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. As far as I’m concerned, you deserve ice cream after a day like today.”
“It was one of the worst,” she agreed. “But lots of days have been bad lately.”
“I can imagine.” He could feel her watching him as he worked. “I’m sorry about that.”
“You didn’t invest with my dad,” she said as if that was a given.
“No.”
“That explains it.”
He crushed several cookies. “Explains what?”
“Why you’re so nice.”
“What happened wasn’t your fault. I certainly wouldn’t take it out on you.”
She prodded her sore lip with her tongue. “I wish everyone felt that way.”
“They’re hurt and angry, and that makes them want to place blame. Things will get better.”
“We’re going to move, anyway,” she said.
Sophia hadn’t mentioned anything about leaving town. “When?” he asked.
“As soon as we get the money.” She took her shake with a smile. “My mom says we need to start over.”
“Where will you go?”
“Anywhere but here,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
He could tell she was repeating the words and sentiments of her mother. “I see.” But, somehow, he didn’t like the idea of their leaving, despite all the reasons he’d been hoping for just that.
“How many books have you written?” she asked while she shoveled ice cream into her mouth.
“Fifteen so far.”
“Maybe I could read one.”
He finished mixing his own shake. “You’re a little young.”
“So they have sex in them?”
He hadn’t expected her to be quite so blunt—not at thirteen. But now that he was faced with that question, he had to be equally honest. “Sometimes.”
“That’s why my mom had to hide them!” Her laugh suggested she finally understood a great mystery.
“From you?” Ted asked.
“No, from my dad.”
Ted was pretty sure there were other reasons. His name on the cover, for one. But it was good to know she’d been interested in his work. He’d often wondered. “Was it just my books or other people’s, too?”
“I don’t know. But once he found your book on the nightstand and got so mad. After that, Mom could only read books he approved of. He’d give her a list.”
Ted felt his jaw tighten. “Really!”
“Yep.”
“What types of books would be on that list?”
“Books about God and cookbooks mostly.”
He jammed the spoon through another cookie to break it up. “Hard for those kinds of books to lead you astray.”
Again, she missed his sarcasm. “Except the cookbooks.”
“How can cookbooks be harmful?”
“They can make you fat if you cook and eat all the food!”
“Did she get in trouble for eating too much?” He was being facetious but Alexa took the question at face value.
“If it was dessert.”
“Your mother’s never been fat.”
She was scraping the sides of the glass when she answered. “Because she didn’t want to get in trouble.”
“Would you get in trouble if you gained weight?”
“Probably,” she said. “My dad hated fat women.”
Ted remembered Skip as having a paunch. He longed to point out the double standard but bit his tongue. “You and your mom are going to get by just fine
. You know that, right?” He wanted to add that at least they didn’t have anyone policing what they ate or what they read these days, but that would be out of line.
“My mom’s doing better than she was at first,” she conceded. “I think it’s because you gave her a job. So...thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Sophia appeared as he was carrying their empty glasses to the sink. She seemed surprised to find him still in the kitchen, but she spoke to her daughter. “You haven’t started your homework?”
“Not yet. Mr. Dixon made me an Oreo shake. It was delicious.”
Alexa’s smile made him glad he’d taken the time.
“That’s very nice of him,” Sophia said, “but Mr. Dixon has a book to write. I hope...I hope you didn’t detain him by asking for anything.”
“I didn’t!” she said. “I promise!”
He put their glasses in the dishwasher. “I offered.”
Sophia rubbed her hands on her thighs. “I’m sorry if you felt you had to look after her.”
“Calm down,” he responded. “I’m not criticizing you.”
He thought she might ask what he meant by that, but she didn’t. She waited for him to head to his office. Then, a few minutes later, she joined him and worked silently at her own desk.
Somehow, he managed to write a few pages—a marvel considering how distracted he was. “It’s five,” he told her when he noticed the time. “You can quit.”
She kept working. “I have a few more names.”
“You can enter them tomorrow.” He scowled, hoping she’d hear the firmness in his voice. He was ready for her to leave. He’d been so conscious of her sitting behind him for the past couple of hours. It was almost as if he could hear her breathe. And if he wasn’t focusing on that, he was thinking about the fact that she was planning to move.
But Sophia was so determined to finish, she didn’t even glance up. “It’ll just take a minute.”
Once she returned the mailing-list additions to his desk, he thought that was that. But no. She went to the kitchen and prepared dinner. If he listened carefully, he could hear her downstairs. He knew she had to be tired, with everything she’d done today. He considered going down and ordering her to go home. But he refrained because he knew she was struggling to feel good about herself, and she’d indicated that her work here was part of that.