All of Me

by Sheryl Lister

  Why couldn’t she have stuck to her promise to stay away from men? They only brought on heartaches and headaches. Karen couldn’t bring herself to throw the picture out and, after much inner debate, had placed it in the nightstand drawer. As much as she wanted to think of Damian as a fling, she knew, in those few short days, he had become more. But she’d never see him again and prayed his memory would fade soon.

  Bringing herself back to the present, she hugged as many students as she could. “Okay. Let’s line up.” The students quickly got in line, and she led them to the classroom.

  Karen took care of attendance and lunch count, then went over the daily schedule.

  “Ms. Morris?” a student called. “Did you take any pictures?”

  “Yes. As soon as everyone is quiet, I’ll show you a few, and then we’ll have journal writing.” She had downloaded some of the pictures onto a flash drive. Once the students settled, she turned the lights off and projected the pictures she’d taken onto the screen. They oohed and aahed as each picture filled the screen. Afterward, she turned the lights back on. “All right. Today in your journals I want you to tell me about your favorite vacation. Remember to do your best writing—letters on the line, spaces between words and correct capitalization and punctuation.”

  The day went by in a blur. She waited until the students were ready to leave before handing out the souvenirs. By the time the last student left, Karen was exhausted but glad to be back doing what she loved. She was putting the last of the books on a shelf when she heard a voice behind her.

  “Hey, Karen.”

  “Hey, Melissa.” Melissa Tucker was the school psychologist. Karen often helped her lead the conflict management group.

  “Girl, I’ve been waiting all day to talk to you. I want to hear about that cruise.” She took a seat on the edge of a desk.

  Karen told her all about the wedding, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

  “That sounds heavenly. So, did you meet any hot guys while you were there?” she asked slyly.

  “I was there to see my best friend get married and relax, not meet guys.” Karen walked over, sat at her desk and shut down her computer. The last thing she wanted was a reminder of the hot guy she had met.

  Melissa came and stood in front of the desk, scrutinizing Karen with an intensity that almost made her squirm in the chair. She braced both hands on the desk. “Oh, my goodness! You met somebody, didn’t you?”

  “I just told you—”

  “Please. It’s written all over your face. Now spill it.”

  Karen sighed heavily. “His name is—well, was Damian.”

  “Ooh, does he look as fine as that name suggests?” Melissa asked with a grin.

  “Finer,” she admitted. She told Melissa how she’d met Damian, about the time they spent in Jamaica and their subsequent night together.

  “Sounds like you had a great time with a great guy.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too...until he stood me up and went MIA.” She shrugged. “Anyway, it’s no big deal. I’ll probably never see him again, and we had fun while it lasted. He was just someone to pass the time with on the cruise, that’s all.”

  “Well, at least you weren’t bored,” Melissa said with a laugh.

  Karen’s mind traveled back to dancing in the club, climbing the falls and snuggling in Damian’s arms. “No, not at all.” She waved a hand. “Enough of that. What’s going on?”

  “I know you heard about Priscilla. It’s such a shame about her husband.” Priscilla Mitchell, the school principal, had been absent the two days before Karen left for Janae’s wedding, and suddenly retired the following week after her husband’s involvement in a head-on collision. He would need full-time care for the foreseeable future.

  “I heard, and it is. I’m going to miss her. She took me under her wing when I first came here.” Karen had a special place in her heart for the woman who had mentored her when Karen started teaching eight years ago. They had developed a natural rapport, and the woman became a surrogate mother to Karen.

  Melissa angled her head thoughtfully and wagged a finger at Karen. “You should think about applying for the position. They’re going to fill it pretty quickly, I’m sure. Until then, we’re sharing a vice principal from one of the middle schools.”

  “What? I don’t know,” Karen said skeptically.

  “Why not? You have your master’s, and your concentration is in administration. You also have your counseling certificate. I think you’d be great.”

  “Hmm. Maybe.” She had been thinking about going the administrative route. This might be the opportunity she was looking for. She unlocked a drawer, pulled out her purse, slung it over her shoulder and stood. “I’ll think about it. Right now I’m going home. It’s been a long day.”

  “I hear you. I’ll be right behind you. Oh, I almost forgot, you and I will be going to a safety training next month.”

  “Is this something new?” Karen asked as they walked toward the front office.

  “It’s a two-day train-the-trainer type of thing. With all the shootings and mess going on in the schools, Priscilla wanted to make sure we have the best emergency preparedness program available. Plus, a lot of our stuff is really outdated. She heard about the company from her sister, who lives in Georgia. So she asked the superintendent about it, and he approved it. There’ll be two people from each school in the district to serve as first responders or points of contact.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Nikki was not happy when she wasn’t chosen. She was even more pissed when Priscilla chose you, especially since you were on the cruise.”

  Karen shook her head. “I don’t know why that woman has it in for me. I’ve never done anything to her.”

  “Except be a great teacher,” Melissa said.

  Karen rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that supposed to be the goal of all teachers?”

  “One would think so.”

  Not wanting to discuss Nikki Fleming further, Karen returned to their previous conversation. “When is the training again?”

  “Monday and Tuesday of the week before Thanksgiving. But they’ll be coming back to spend about a week here doing assemblies for the kids and parents, checking out our current plan and helping to revamp it if necessary. You and I will work with them.”

  “What about my class?”

  “From what I understand, most of the meetings will be before or after school.”

  “Great. There goes my free time.”

  “Hey, if we’re lucky, at least one of the trainers from DKT Safety Consultants will be fine and sexy, as opposed to old and wrinkled and smelling like Bengay.” Melissa wrinkled her nose.

  Karen laughed. “Only you, Melissa. Only you.” In her mind, old was safer. She didn’t need fine and sexy.

  “What? I need some male stimulation in my life. It’s been too long. And you never know, one of them might help you get over your cruise-ship fling.”

  She grunted. “No, thanks. I’ll pass.” Besides, it would take some man to help her get over Damian.

  * * *

  Damian sat in his office staring out the window. He had been back to work a week, and memories of Karen plagued him day and night. No matter who he was talking to or what he was doing, visions of her danced around the edges of his mind. At night when he closed his eyes, he could see her face and hear her laughter. And sometimes he’d swear he could smell her intoxicating fragrance. He tried working out at the gym—pushing himself far beyond his limits—thinking if he were tired enough, he’d be able to sleep. Damian’s old sleeping patterns had returned, and he found himself up prowling half the night.

  Several times over the week he asked himself why he hadn’t camped out at her door instead of leaving a note. But he knew the answer. He didn’t want to risk her rejection. More than once, he wondered wh
ether they kept missing each other or if she had chosen not to answer her door, as well as not to respond to his note. What if she hadn’t felt the connection as deeply as he had, or worse, she’d moved on? Somehow, in those few short days, Karen had made an impact on him. On his heart. And he had no idea how to deal with that, especially since there was the possibility that he would never see her again. Again he asked himself, why her? Why now? And would their paths ever cross again? Damian rotated his chair toward the door upon hearing a knock.

  “What’s up, Kyle?”

  Kyle handed him a sheet of paper. “Here’s the schedule for November and December. There’s going to be a little more back-and-forth because of the holidays.”

  Damian accepted and scanned the sheet. “California?”

  Kyle smiled. “Yep. West Coast. We’re branching out. The first week and a half we’ll be in LA and San Diego—just a couple of schools and a company wanting emergency preparedness training.”

  Damian glanced back at the sheet. “Looks like we’re going to be spending more time in the Bay Area.” There were schools in Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose. Some wanted one-or two-day train-the-trainer workshops, and others wanted that in addition to a full-scale school site overhaul. “We start there before Thanksgiving and go back in December,” he murmured.

  “I haven’t been to Cali in a while. We’ll have to schedule some fun time.”

  “I’m all for a change of scenery.” Damian was tired of looking at the same walls every day. Although they wouldn’t leave for another three weeks, maybe the trip would help him forget Karen.

  “How’ve you been since we’ve been back? Are you still thinking about Karen?”

  “Yeah, man. I can’t get her off my mind. I don’t know...there’s just something about her.”

  “What’s her last name?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Kyle gave a shout of laughter. “What do you mean you don’t know? You spent what...two, three days together, and you don’t know her last name?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but we seemed to talk about everything except ourselves. I don’t even know where she’s from or where she lives.” He gave Kyle a sidelong glance. “You used to be a detective. Can’t you use some of that legendary expertise I keep hearing about to help me out?”

  Kyle leaned against the door frame and folded his arms across his chest. “A detective...yes. God...no. Last time I checked, He was the only one who’s all-knowing. Now, if you had a last name, and possibly the state, I may have been able to help you out.” He chuckled. “Man, how could you not get the woman’s last name? That’s like Dating 101.”

  “At first, it didn’t matter—you know, dinner and nice conversation.” He hadn’t planned on anything past the first night, didn’t count on the explosive chemistry between them or the passion she ignited in him.

  “Obviously, you didn’t count on falling for Karen,” Kyle said, reading Damian’s mind.

  “No. I didn’t.”

  “Maybe this was a sign that you’re ready for love again.” He pushed off the wall. “See you later.”

  “Later.”

  Damian stayed way past closing. He made it home in record time, parked in the garage and entered the house, not bothering to turn on the lights. He knew every square inch with his eyes closed. His footsteps echoed loudly on the wooden floors in the otherwise silent space. In his upstairs bedroom, Damian shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it on a chair. He dropped down heavily on the side of the bed and removed his shoes.

  His gaze strayed to the nightstand, where he had placed the photo of him and Karen taken in front of the falls. They looked good together. He picked it up, and his body automatically reacted as he remembered the heated kisses they’d shared while they climbed, opening a floodgate of memories. This time, instead of fighting them, he let them come—the texture of her velvety smooth skin beneath his hands, the sweetness of her kiss as their tongues danced and the scorching passion they shared that left him wanting more.

  But it wasn’t only about the physical connection. She stimulated him intellectually and enjoyed some of the same things he did. He studied the picture. He thought keeping busy would help him forget her, but Karen wasn’t the type of woman a man could easily forget. Truth be told, he didn’t want to. Although he had no idea how he would accomplish it, Damian hoped to find her again.

  * * *

  The next three weeks seemed to crawl by, and Damian was more than ready for the trip when the day came. As he packed, the phone rang and he activated the speaker on the cordless phone.

  “Do you have me on that speaker, Damian?” his mother asked when he answered.

  He sighed. “Yes, Mom. I have to pack, and it’s easier than me trying to hold the phone.”

  “I hate that thing,” she muttered.

  He stifled a groan. He loved his mother, but he didn’t have time for this today. He needed to be at the airport in two hours. “I know, Mom. What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. You’ve been back from that cruise over three weeks. I thought you would’ve called me by now to tell me about it. Well?”

  “Well, what?” he asked as he stuffed socks and underwear in the suitcase.

  “Did you enjoy yourself?” she asked with an impatient sigh.

  Loaded question. “It was fine.” He went to the closet, took down four suits and put them in his garment bag.

  “Damian, are you still there?”

  “I’m here, Mom.”

  “I didn’t hear you.”

  “I said it was fine. Great music and food, beautiful islands.” And one extraordinary woman.

  “Sounds like fun. Did you meet any nice girls? I’m sure there were plenty available.”

  Before he could fix his mouth to lie, “yes” tumbled out. He slapped a hand across his forehead.

  “Really?” she asked excitedly. “What’s her name, and when will I get to meet her?”

  Damian sat down on the bed and picked up the phone, deactivating the speaker. “Her name is Karen, and probably never.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad. I was hoping you’d find someone. I want you to be happy. You deserve to fall in love.”

  “What does that mean?” When she hesitated, he said, “Mom, what are you saying?”

  “I’m simply saying I want you to find someone special.”

  “What about Joyce? Are you saying I wasn’t in love?”

  “No, honey. Joyce was a wonderful girl. I loved her like a daughter, but I just want you to be happy.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” First his friends, and now his mother.

  She hesitated. “Sweetheart, I know all about that promise you made to Joyce’s grandmother.”

  His stomach dropped. He had never told anyone about that.

  “If she wanted to interfere in her granddaughter’s life, that was her prerogative, but I made sure Lillian knew, in explicit detail, how I felt about her interfering in my son’s life. Meddling old biddy,” she grumbled. “I was two seconds from stopping that wedding. You and Joyce both deserved to find that special someone, and Lillian, with her selfish and manipulative ways, messed that up.”

  Joyce’s grandmother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and only had a few months to live. She extracted a promise from Damian to look out for Joyce, saying she could go to her grave a happy woman knowing her granddaughter would be taken care of. He knew what the woman was asking. Initially, he had no intention of being manipulated into marriage, but her rapid decline and the sadness in Joyce’s eyes pushed him over the edge. It wasn’t as if he and Joyce didn’t get along. They were best friends, and he loved her. “I can’t believe you knew all this time and never said anything. So what made you change your mind about stopping the wedding?”

  “Your father. He reminded me that you were a grown man
and could make your own decisions. That we raised you to be God-fearing, respectful and honorable, and you were all of those things.”

  “Remind me to give Dad a big hug the next time I come to visit. Mom, I don’t want you to think that I wasn’t happy with Joyce. I was. I loved her.”

  “I know, and I’m glad. Do you think you’ll ever want to try marriage again?”

  “For a long time I didn’t, but now...”

  “Does this have anything to do with the woman you met on the cruise?”

  “Yes.” He told her about the days he spent with Karen, how much he enjoyed being with her and about the mishap. “She probably thinks I stood her up, and I didn’t get a chance to tell her what happened.”

  “Well, I’m sure if you gave her a call, she’d be willing to listen.”

  “I don’t have her number. We sort of never got around to last names and exchanging personal information. I had planned to do all that at dinner.”

  She laughed. “No last name and no phone number? That must have been some attraction.”

  He cleared his throat. “Um...Mom, I need to get going.”

  Still chuckling, she said, “Okay. Keep me posted on any potential daughters-in-law. I need some grandchildren. How long are you going to be gone?”

  It was definitely time to hang up. “Close to three weeks. I’ll be home for Thanksgiving, then head west again for another two or three weeks. I’ll call you when I get back.”

  “All right. Give my love to Kyle and Troy, and you boys be safe. Love you, baby.”

  “Love you, too, Mom.”

  Three hours later, he was on his way to California.

  * * *

  They spent the first half of the week in San Diego conducting workshops on emergency preparedness in the workplace, and the remainder of that week and the following one in LA schools. Last night they had flown to San Jose and were now setting up in the hotel’s conference room for the school training that would begin in two hours. Troy came in as Damian filled a cup with coffee from a table at the back of the room. The hotel had also provided bagels, muffins and fruit.