by Anne Conley
The gavel banging on the conference table quieted the murmurs that were floating through the crowd of onlookers. Alyssa felt a sense of dread as the President said, “We thank you all for your input. The rest of the meeting will be closed for private discussion among the school board members, so you may all be excused.” He dismissed the crowd of people and waited expectantly while everybody filed out of the room.
Alyssa tried to steer clear of as many people as possible on the way to her car but was unable to completely avoid them. She was bombarded by well-wishers, as she ducked her head and mumbled thanks to each one. Dalton’s words were noticeably absent, the only ones she really wanted to hear. Once in her car, she let out a pent-up breath and drove home.
That night, Dalton replayed the evening’s events in his mind. He was completely overwhelmed by the lack of respect for Alyssa’s privacy these people had in the name of protecting their children’s sensibilities. It was obvious to him Steven had a hand in this, and he couldn’t understand why it wasn’t obvious to everyone else.
He had seen the shock and dismay on her face, when Steven and others stood to speak out against her, just as he could see the relief on it when others stood to speak on her behalf. Luckily, there had been more of the latter than the former, and if the school board were as fickle as they seemed, that would sway them in her favor.
If she lost her job because of him, Dalton didn’t know what he would do. He had pushed her into trying something with him, and it had backfired in a way he hadn’t imagined. The entire community was judging her right now, and it was his fault.
He sent her a text message…
Alyssa, I’m so sorry this has happened. I understand now, why you didn’t want to start anything with me. I’m not good enough for you. After tonight, it has become clear to me how detrimental I am to your life. Please forgive me. I will always love you.
And then, Dalton vowed to himself he would leave her alone.
Chapter 23
The next day Alyssa forced herself out of bed and to work. She taught her students as if her life depended on it, not sure if it did or not. She caught up on all of her paperwork, staying until seven o’clock that night to turn it in. She didn’t want anybody to have any more ammunition against her, still unsure about the school board’s decision. They had decided to make her wait until Monday to learn of her fate.
When she got home, she found Jessie and Summer waiting on her porch with a pizza and a bottle of tequila.
“It’ll be okay, sweetie. We’re not going to let you be alone tonight. It’s girls’ night in.” Summer hugged her hard, as they went inside.
“Thanks, but I don’t really feel...”
Jessie interrupted. “Doesn’t matter what you feel like doing. We’re here, and I brought a pizza with extra cheese, so we’re getting hammered and bloated. It’ll be fun!”
Alyssa managed a wan smile as Jessie and Summer took the liquor and pizza to the living room.
“So, what did they decide?” Jessie asked around a mouthful of cheese.
Alyssa shrugged, “I won’t know until Monday. They’re making me sweat through the weekend.”
Summer was the first to break the silence following Alyssa’s words. “Wow. How cruel.”
Jessie concurred wholeheartedly, and they passed around the tequila bottle. They ate and drank in silence a little while longer.
“I’m sorry. I’m not buying it.” Jessie spoke up. “I hate that Steven still gets his way, when it comes to you. You’re not married anymore. He shouldn’t have a say in what you do. And here he is, not only dictating your personal life, but he’s spreading rumors that are damaging your professional life, too.”
“He shouldn’t, but it’s the kids. They’re his, too. I don’t appreciate how he’s going about it…” Alyssa pushed her pizza away, half-eaten.
“Have you talked to a lawyer, to figure out exactly what you can do? This looks a whole lot like slander to me.”
“No.”
“Stupid.”
Alyssa looked at Summer. “What?”
“I’m sorry, hon. But that’s stupid. You have something really great with Dalton, and you’re throwing it away for Steven. Steven. You’ve lost your marbles.”
Jessie spoke up. “She’s right. I’ve never seen you so emotionally involved as you are with Dalton. You love him. You can’t throw that away.”
“I can if it’s going to hurt my kids and my job. And I don’t love him.” Alyssa said dejectedly.
“Yes, you do. I saw it at the bar, when you tossed back four tequila shots in a row, just because you saw him with Stephanie.”
“That was Stephanie.”
“You’ve seen her there before, and it didn’t drive you to a drunken stupor.”
Alyssa didn’t know what to say to that, and she was afraid her friends were right. “I appreciate you guys coming over and trying to cheer me up, but I just feel worse now. Thanks.” She curled up on the couch.
“Honey, we don’t mean to make you feel worse. We just want you to see what we see. We see Steven continuing to manipulate you out of your happiness, and it pisses us off.” Summer was never one to mince words.
Jessie drew Alyssa into her arms. “Just promise us you’ll think about it. Dalton’s a really great guy, despite his past, which I personally find sexy.” She giggled into Alyssa’s hair.
“I’ll think about it. But no promises. I have to think of my kids.”
“If you’re thinking about your kids, then you need to fight for Dalton. He’s good for them. You told me so, last week, remember? And everybody saw him with them at the homecoming game, coloring with them. Were you listening last night when he stood up for you against the school board? He called them self-important, sanctimonious excuses. That was awesome. Did you see Dr. Cahan’s face when he said that? Classic.” Jessie took another swig of tequila before passing the bottle to Summer.
“Yeah, Alyssa. He’s got it bad for you. And he said all the right things last night. Doesn’t that count for something?” Summer added.
Alyssa took the bottle and felt the tequila burn a hot fire in her belly as she swigged. “I can’t see him anymore. Steven’s got me over a barrel here. But I will go talk to a lawyer. I’m going to have to.”
After the girls left, Alyssa stayed on the couch and thought about what they had said. She stared at her phone for a long while, wondering what would happen if she did call Dalton. But she just couldn’t bring herself to dial his number. So she went to bed, where she spent the entire weekend.
Steven didn’t drop the kids off on Sunday night, calling instead to tell her to get a lawyer, that he would see her in court.
Monday morning saw Alyssa sitting outside the principal’s office when he arrived at the school. Her stomach was tied in knots, wondering what the school board’s decision had been. When Dr. Cahan arrived, he looked at her and shook his head. Tears welled in her eyes.
“I don’t know anything, yet, Alyssa. I’m sorry. I’ll shoot you an email as soon as I find out. For what it’s worth, I’m on your side here. I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong.”
Slightly mollified, she went to class. Between first and second periods, she went to the lounge and called a lawyer Summer had recommended to make an appointment. His secretary was nice and set the appointment for later in the week.
At lunch, she checked her email and found one from Dr. Cahan, asking that she take her lunch in his office. She boogied down there for his news. When she arrived, she was surprised to see him talking to both the Superintendent, and the President of the school board. After closing the door behind her, she sat in the only remaining chair.
The President spoke first. “We are terribly sorry, Alyssa. Thursday night’s meeting was a mistake. You are a valued member of our staff, and we shouldn’t have put you through that.”
Alyssa let out a relieved breath. “So, I’m not fired?”
The Superintendent spoke, “No, Ms. Fuller, you’re not. We understa
nd this is a small town, and word gets out about certain things, and whether they are true or not, damage can be done. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused.”
She nodded, afraid of what she might say. Her first inclination was to stand up and shout about inconveniences, but the relief was too great. She felt her shoulders lift, and something vague inside her brightened, just a bit.
She left, after they gave her more apologies and hollow platitudes, and went back to class to finish her day. She wondered what had been the deciding factor? Was it the students, who sang her praises during the meeting? Was it her friends? Was it Dalton’s words? She would never know.
She found out soon enough. At her desk, she found a newspaper clipping from that day’s paper on the school board meeting. Somebody had left it there for her. She realized she had neglected to lock her door and checked to make sure her purse was still where it was supposed to be before looking at the paper. On top of it was a bright yellow sticky note with the words, “Way to go! Look at letter to editor. – Cody.”
The headline read, “Area teacher on the chopping block for personal relationship.” Alyssa groaned aloud as she read a play-by-play of the meeting published in the newspaper for everyone in town to see. Turning to the letters to the editor, she was pleasantly surprised to see someone had stood up for her.
I am appalled at the behavior of our school board members tonight. They have shamed us all by their actions. A highly respected member of the high school’s teaching staff has been called before them to answer for her personal choices, which have absolutely nothing to do with teaching, and a member of our community, as well as his family, have been slandered in an only slightly disguised agenda of one man with a grudge. Listening to the members of the board, as well as the community tonight, I have seen some great things and some sorry things. The students Ms. Fuller teaches are eloquent in their praises of her. One girl in particular astutely comparing the charade tonight to the Salem witch trials. The man in question, is an old family friend, and I must say, I would be proud to call him my own son. When his father fell ill, Dalton Colt left his life in Dallas to take care of the family ranch. My own son hasn’t done as much for me. I think this town needs to get its judgmental head out of its rear and pay attention to what’s important. It is obvious to me, this woman teaches her students with love. She seems to be a good mother, and as far as Dalton goes, I think she should be allowed to have a relationship with whomever she chooses. If the school board fires this woman, I will start a personal campaign against each and every one of them to make sure they aren’t re-elected to the position that they are so proud of. It was clear to me this was all an elaborate hoax by Steven Fuller in an attempt to ruin Ms. Fuller’s chances of custody of their children, which begs the question. Why all the smoke and mirrors, Steven? What are you trying to hide?
Sincerely,
Ed Hodges
Alyssa didn’t know Mr. Ed Hodges, but she sure did appreciate his letter. She wondered if this was what had tipped the school board in her favor.
As her next class filed in, her insides filled with elation. Her job was secure. Let Steven say whatever he wanted. Now the whole town knew what was happening.
After school was over, she went home. Now she knew her job was okay. She just had to worry about her children. The letter to the editor brought up a question that she wanted answered. Why was Steven doing all of this? Was he trying to hide something? Was this an attempt to deflect attention from himself?
She began gathering all of the documents from the school board meeting, the newspaper article, letter to the editor, and then sat down to write down all of their recent conversations. She wasn’t sure what the lawyer would need, but she wanted to have everything ready for him on Thursday.
Dalton’s mother showed him the letter. He was proud of Mr. Hodges, a friend of his father’s, for saying what needed to be said on Alyssa’s behalf. The newspaper article itself hadn’t been slanted either way, but the information it gave had the tendency to make a person lean toward the negative, like newspaper articles tend to do. He had been disappointed the writer hadn’t waited to publish the piece after the school board announced its decision, afraid the decision to keep Alyssa would be diluted by the scandal.
In the weeks that followed, he paid attention to the uproar in the community surrounding him and Alyssa.
And there was an uproar.
After the newspaper article, he was stopped at the feed store by a high school kid who worked there after school.
“So, you and Ms. Fuller aren’t going out anymore?” The young man asked shyly.
He grimaced. “No, we’re not.”
Seeming to gain a little courage, the boy said, “That’s a shame. She seemed real happy while you guys were. Going out, I mean.”
“You knew we were going out?”
“Well, I’m in Kelly’s English class, and we talked about it once. I think it was y’all’s first date. We were all talking about how pretty she looked that day. She seemed real happy, there, for awhile.”
“She doesn’t seem happy, now?”
“Naw…She’s not. You can tell, you know? She’s quiet. Real quiet.” The boy started hefting Dalton’s feed sacks into the back of the pick-up truck.
Dalton watched him quietly, for a few minutes, contemplating whether or not he should send Alyssa a message through this kid. He decided against it. She would get on with her life, and it would be better without him in it.
He called Kelly that evening.
“Hey Kels, how’s it going?”
She muttered at him, noncommittally.
“Have you noticed Ms. Fuller acting…different?”
“Lord, Uncle Dobby, she misses you bad. All this ruckus with the school board messed her up, you know? I personally think you guys should just ignore what every body has to say and get back together. She barely combs her hair anymore.”
“I’m not sure about all that. Just let me know if anything changes. Will you do that?”
“Changes, like how?” She asked.
“Like, if she gets worse or anything.”
“Okay. I will. Although, honestly, I don’t see how she could get worse.”
Dalton’s gut clenched with a pang of guilt. He had done this to her, and it was killing him. Trying to change the subject, he asked, “Hey. Do you have anything going on with the boy at the feed store?”
“Johnny? No. He’s just a friend. Why?”
“He’s a nice kid. I was just wondering, that’s all.”
Kelly giggled, “Whatever, Uncle Dobby. Bye.”
“Love you, kiddo.”
After hanging up the phone, Dalton almost called Alyssa, but again decided against contacting her. It hurt like hell to leave her alone like this, but he knew she wouldn’t appreciate him trying to call her. She didn’t need him in her life.
Dalton was the recipient of winks and nudges in the days and weeks that followed, supporters of his who believed that he and Alyssa needed to get back together. They were like Serendipity’s very own live soap opera. At the grocery store, the checkers would nod at him , and ask if he’d talked to her, yet. When he shook his head no, they would look at him sorrowfully and shake their head in pity. At the gas station, the attendants would ask, and when he responded, they would cluck their tongues , or whistle low in disbelief.
He had his share of nay-sayers too. There were plenty of people who believed he needed to take his debauchery back to Dallas , and stop sullying Serendipity. One lady at Walmart told him so.
“I wish you would just go back to Dallas, and stop trying to corrupt our young folks here. Ms. Fuller was a perfectly respectable woman before you came along.” She sniffed as she spoke to him down the end of her long.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, ma’am, but I can assure you, I didn’t corrupt Ms. Fuller. We never did anything inappropriate.”
She made noise in the back of her throat before turning her back on him and waddling down the aisle.<
br />
He lost track of the weeks, as lost as he was in his own self-pity. He woke up and tended the ranch until time to go to bed, trying to lose himself in his work. The only problem was, Alyssa was never far from his mind.
Then the dreams started again.
It had been a normal day, nothing exceptional had happened. After a quick shower to wash off the day’s grime, he’d gone to bed and fallen asleep rather quickly.
Then he was in her classroom. He watched himself teach about identifying themes in stories, and then he read the beginning of a post-apocalyptical short story, written during the Cold War. He assigned the remainder of the story for homework , before the bell rang, and then he did it all over again. Six times. After his classes were over, he went home and got ready to go to the Gin with Jessie and Summer. He drank tequila and beer, chatting with his girlfriends, feeling as if he were putting on a show. When Summer asked about lawyers, he felt his façade slipping.
In the knowledge that comes only in dreams, he knew Alyssa was having a hard time staying upbeat around her friends. When the subject of lawyers came up, he could hear the fatigue in her/his voice.
“Michael wants to fight fire with fire. He says Steven never had a case, and now with the school board’s decision, it’s even weaker. I agree, but the thing is, Michael says we can’t let the furor that the school board meeting incited die down. He’s going to have all of his cronies on the square down town put signs in their windows. He says the more people support me and Dalton, the better for the children.”