A Flower for Angela

by Sandra Leesmith

  Angela nodded, wondering why Cathy was talking so loudly. It wasn't like her.

  "Too bad. Subs are so hard on a class. They don't maintain the flow of your program. I'd think Administration would object to all the days you take off."

  So that was it. Another of Cathy's attempts to annoy Angela. What unnerved her, though, was the public display. Why would Cathy overtly showcase her cattiness in front of so many people?

  Angela kept her voice low as she replied, "My leave has been approved by the district office."

  She didn't need this harassment and decided to end the conversation. From the way Maria shifted back and forth on her feet, Angela could tell she wasn't thrilled with the direction of the exchange, either. She sent Maria a knowing glance and together they tried to slip away.

  Fortunately Ricardo reached them just then. Angela didn't appreciate the way Cathy still hung around as if wanting to eavesdrop.

  "I thought she'd never call a break," Ricardo said, referring to the board president.

  Angela could smell his aftershave when he stood close. She forgot about Cathy and tried to keep up her end of the casual talk.

  "Will the meeting go on much longer?" she asked, wishing her voice wasn't so breathy.

  "Not too much longer. I came to tell you that they want to call a closed session. Something came up this afternoon that they need to discuss."

  "Oh." If it meant they could leave sooner, she was all for it.

  "Is Sedona still on?"

  "Yes." How could she refuse when he had just beamed her such a devastating smile?

  "Good. Let's go on in."

  "I thought you said it was a closed session." She held back, but he stopped and turned toward her. A strange look crossed his features. "The session concerns you. They asked me to tell you."

  "Me?" Angela stared, alarm racing through her. Her heart pounded, but this time it wasn’t because of Ricardo's charm.

  "And me. They requested that we both be present. Strange they didn't tell us sooner, but they said they just decided on it tonight."

  She grasped his arm, stopping him. "What is it about?" What can they possibly want? Have they decided on the R.I.F. already?

  "I don't know. We'd better go find out."

  She turned to Maria, whose expression was sympathetic. Behind Maria stood Cathy, obviously curious about what was going on. Angela appreciated the protective way Ricardo guided her, his hand at her back. But it only served to increase her apprehension as they entered the boardroom and sat down.

  The president greeted Angela and then, holding up a letter, said, “We received this late this afternoon."

  Angela took the letter.

  "You understand," the president continued, “we don't approve of this kind of behavior from our staff."

  In a state of shock and disbelief, Angela stared at the words:

  Angela Stuart is having an affair with Ricardo de la Cruz.

  CHAPTER 12

  "WHAT KIND OF LETTER is that?” Ricardo shouted as he stepped forward, took the paper from Angela’s trembling hands and tossed it on the table.

  Angela stood frozen as the board president picked it up and waved it in Ricardo's face. "It's all here,” she declared sternly.

  "And you believe it?

  "Whether I believe it or not isn’t the point. The fact is, this letter came to us. As far as we know, the accusation has gone no further. We prefer to keep it that way."

  "Since when is it against board policy for a teacher to date?"

  The president pressed her fingers to her forehead, obviously uncomfortable with this discussion. The other members of the board were clearly as distressed.

  "Frankly, Ricardo, none of us cares to delve into this sort of personal information. But since you were a board member and are still actively involved in school affairs, and given Miss Stuart's background, we don't want to take any chances that this won't become another full-blown scandal."

  "What ‘background’ are you referring to?" Ricardo’s brow wrinkled in bewilderment.

  "Nevermind. I'll tell you later." Angela stepped forward and put a restraining hand on Ricardo's arm. Bad enough hearing these accusations, she didn't need her past dredged up, too. "What do you recommend we do?"

  "We're not recommending anything. It’ll be up to you to make sure there are no grounds for a slanderous attack."

  "I resent the implication that we need to do anything,” Ricardo said, his temper barely restrained. "Our private lives are of no concern to you."

  "I agree,” the board president concurred. "But the fact remains, the report is here. Something needs to be done before you, Miss Stuart, and our school district are discredited in public."

  "Don't worry,” Ricardo grabbed Angela’s hand and tugged her away. "Miss Stuart and I will get to the bottom of this," he called over his shoulder.

  Angela numbly followed Ricardo out of the adjourned meeting. She noticed the stares they received from stragglers outside the boardroom—not unexpected, given Ricardo's fierce expression.

  Maria came over and led them to her car. She unlocked the doors and slipped into the driver's seat. Ricardo gripped Angela's elbow in a painful grasp, halting her entry on the passenger side.

  "I'll find out who’s behind this,” he promised, unaware that he was hurting her.

  Angela looked into his livid face and realized that Ricardo didn't regard the problem as unsolvable and felt a glimmer of hope.

  "What are you going to do?"

  "I have some ideas. Remember, investigating rumors is my business. I'm good at it."

  "How would anybody know we've been together? We haven't run into anyone from school, have we?

  "No, I'm sure of it."

  "I can't believe anyone would report such rumors about me."

  "I'll take care of it, querida."

  His reassurance eased her anxiety.

  "Can you come over?"

  "No." He shook his head in regret. "I want to, but I have to head for Nogales. When I return, I plan to research these accusations."

  His sinister tones sent chills down Angela’s spine. She let him seat her in Maria's car and watched as he went over to his black Ferrari.

  "What's going on?" Maria inquired as she started the engine to her sedan. "From the sounds of things, I would guess another war."

  After filling her in on the closed session, Angela asked, “Who would say such things about me?"

  "How did Ricardo become interested in you in the first place?" Maria answered with an arch look.

  "He heard rumors about my poor teaching methods… Oh, my God." Alarm raced through her. "Someone's out to get me, Maria."

  "Sounds like it. I wonder if Cathy and Lupe have anything to do with this?"

  "What makes you think that? Those two are the last people in the world I'd tell about my relationship with Ricardo."

  "Remember the sound we heard while we were in the lounge yesterday?"

  "They must’ve been listening in. But what would they have to gain by such viciousness?"

  "You know they're jealous. You're successful and you work hard. That threatens them."

  "We've gone over that. Surely by now they can see I'm not doing anything to upstage them."

  "No. But your strategies work. They might be worried that they'll have to change their methods—or worse, work hard like you."

  "It wouldn't hurt either of them to put out more effort." Angela sniffed in disgust. "But I'm not pressuring anyone to adopt my methods. You can't force change like that."

  "You're more astute than our administration. You know for a fact that if they see something that works, they'll try to make all of us do the same thing."

  "But each of us has to teach our own way. Even those of us in the same whole language program teach differently."

  "Hey, you don't have to convince me."

  "Sorry. This has me so upset I'm arguing my case to my friend."

  "Just remember that I am your friend." Maria pulled her car int
o the circular drive in front of Angela's apartment complex. "And so is Ricardo, judging by his defense of you tonight."

  "I can see that now." Angela leaned her head back against the headrest and sighed.

  "Sometimes emotions cloud our logic." Maria reached over and patted her friend's knee. "I know you're crazy in love with the guy. Just try to keep a level head."

  "Advice is so easy to give." Angela cast Maria a rueful glance. She had been all muddled up since the day Ricardo walked into her classroom. Now the threat from her school board added to the chaos of her emotions.

  "I wish I didn't have to go to Tucson. I should be here, defending myself."

  "Just go. You have too much to contribute. The rest of the profession needs to know what you've accomplished here."

  "But who's going to believe it? When word gets out that I've been fired, no one will be interested in what I've done." Angela's throat constricted and tears threatened.

  "Didn't you hear a word Ricardo said to you? He's the best investigative reporter in the city. He'll find out what's going on."

  “But Lupe and Cathy—”

  "Leave them to me. While you're gone, I'll do some snooping around myself."

  "Don't put yourself on the line." Teaching was all Maria had. She couldn't afford to lose her job with no family and no other means of support. While getting riffed would devastate Angela, she had her parents to rely on until she got back on her feet.

  "Don't worry about me. I'm tough."

  "You are. But seriously, don't let them find out what you're doing."

  "It's late. Get out of here,” Maria huffed, obviously embarrassed by Angela's concern. "You have a big day tomorrow."

  Angela sighed. There didn't appear to be anything more she could say or do. "Thanks for the ride."

  "Go get `em and good luck."

  "Remember what I said,” Angela called out before her friend rolled up the window and drove off into the night.

  The phone was ringing inside her apartment as Angela reached her door. She scrambled in her purse, her fingers clumsy. Ricardo. She didn't want to miss his call. Finally, she found her key and unlocked the door.

  "Hello,” she snatched up the receiver and answered, breathless and worried.

  "You all right?" The concern in Ricardo's voice immediately soothed her nerves. Thank goodness she had gotten the door open in time.

  "I couldn't find my keys. I thought you'd be on the road to Nogales."

  "I had to stop by the station to take care of some last minute details. I'll be on my way as soon as I hang up, but first let me give you Ken's number and my cell phone number. I'll be in touch with him, so call him if you find out anything or need me."

  Angela wrote down the numbers.

  "Also, I need to ask you a couple of questions,” he said, unnecessarily rationalizing his call. Angela would have welcomed his voice if he had nothing to say. "I want you to think back on all of your dealings with the university. Would anyone there want to sabotage your project for political reasons?"

  His question astounded her. She knew from talking to the professors that competition existed for financial support of projects among the university staff, but she doubted they would involve her.

  "I’m not sure… I'll think about it,” she promised. She couldn't afford to discount any possible factor. "I'll be with them for the rest of this week and will do some probing."

  "And Sedona—are you still planning to go?"

  "Do you think it's wise? Maybe we shouldn't."

  "We'll be less likely to be seen together in Sedona than we would around here."

  "True, but I don't like to think we have to sneak off."

  "We're not sneaking off. We have to talk this whole thing through. It'll be easier if we get away from here where we’ll have some privacy. Don't you agree?"

  "Yes. I'll be finished Friday afternoon, in time to go."

  "Angela, I…” he started to speak and then hesitated.

  She held her breath. Was he having second thoughts about their weekend, after all?

  "Later,” he finally said in a husky voice. "We'll talk this weekend. I have something I need to tell you."

  What did he have to tell her? Afraid he might be about to hang up, Angela stalled him, just so she could keep him on the line. "Maria and I did think of another possibility for tonight's fiasco," she said.

  "Oh?"

  She explained about Lupe and Cathy, and Maria's speculation that the two teachers might be acting out of jealousy. Angela still found that inconceivable, but all possibilities had to be considered.

  "That's another lead to look into. Keep thinking like that—any small clue. You never know what might turn up."

  "Do you think it's as preconceived as that?" The fact that anyone wanted to discredit her still seemed unbelievable.

  "We'll check out every possibility.”

  His reassurance eased some of her anxiety. They talked for a few more minutes about nothing in particular. Angela had the feeling he didn't want the conversation to end any more than she did. The knowledge heartened her.

  "DID YOU FIND OUT anything about those two teachers?" Ricardo looked up from his notes as Ken came into his cubicle. In frustration, he rubbed his fingers against his temples. He was tired. He'd investigated the story in Nogales in record time and then driven back Wednesday night. Two late nights in a row, the long drive and concern for Angela were taking their toll.

  "Maria helped me out. We didn't find much." Ken tossed a single sheet of paper onto his desk. "These women aren't too active."

  "Another dead end." Ricardo rocked his chair back on two legs in disgust.

  "What did you discover at the university?"

  “Plenty.” Ricardo snorted as he brought his chair down with a bang. "But none of it pertains to Angela. We ought to do a story someday about the political intrigue that goes on over there."

  Ken laughed. "And spoil everyone's belief in the purity of the ivory halls of wisdom?"

  "Yeah.” Ricardo grinned, loving the idea. Intrigue was his kind of story. But not now. A frown replaced his grin.

  "You look tired,” Ken remarked. "Why don't you ease up a bit and get some rest? You've been working all day—and that’s after pulling the long drive last night."

  "I know." Ricardo rubbed the stubble on his chin. A soak in the Jacuzzi sounded good, but Angela's situation took precedence. He had to find out who was out to get her.

  Looking at his cameraman, he noticed the lines of fatigue around Ken's eyes. "You look tired yourself." Appreciation welled up inside him for his friend. Ken didn't have to work on the investigation, but he had fallen under Angela's spell, too. He admired and wanted to help the dedicated teacher. Plus, Ricardo had a sneaking suspicion that Ken hadn't minded the extra opportunity to see Maria again.

  "Let's go have a beer,” Ricardo suggested on impulse. He shoved back his chair as he rose and picked up Ken’s report to take with them.

  "You buying?"

  "You bet." Ricardo slapped Ken on the back.

  As they headed out the door and down the block to a nearby bar, Ricardo eyed Ken. They had been through it all together, climbing through the ranks of television news, exposing more corruption with each investigative story.

  They had met in Los Angeles, but when Ricardo had accepted the offer to report for Channel Four in Phoenix, he'd demanded that Ken be hired, too. To his knowledge, the station had never regretted the decision. Both men had won awards over the course of their careers.

  In fact, it was their growing popularity that had prompted Ricardo's editor to recommend that Ricardo not run again for the school board. His name was becoming too big and his stories too controversial for him to remain in public office. Ricardo wanted to serve the community but had to make a choice about his course of action. Ken understood Ricardo's frustration surrounding that decision.

  After seating themselves in their usual booth, Ken again demonstrated his astute understanding of his friend. "There're some
rumblings at the station about your personal involvement in this case,” he commented after taking a large swig of beer.

  "I know." Ricardo sipped on the ice-cold brew. "You know my motto. ‘You Can't Hide the Truth.’"

  "Then there definitely is something personal going on between you?" Ken quirked one rusty red eyebrow.

  "You might put it that way." Ricardo grinned wryly, knowing there was more to it than that. Unwilling to admit it, even to himself, he changed the subject. "So what did you find out about those two teachers?"

  "They were hired the same day as Angela."

  "What has that got to do with anything?" Ricardo sipped his beer. Maybe, if he drank enough, he could drown his disappointment. So far, they had found nothing, and this angle didn't look any more promising.

  "Maria thinks it has a lot to do with the letter. Did you know the district is considering a R.I.F.?"

  "No. Since when?"

  "The teachers were notified last Monday, but I asked some questions in the district office. It's been under consideration for six weeks, ever since they got notice from the Department of Education. Evidently, Valley of the Sun isn't in compliance with certain regulations."

  Ricardo knew about the noncompliance. He'd warned the board three years ago that the program would be coming up for evaluation. Obviously, they hadn't followed his advice.

  "So, how does this affect Angela?"

  "Lupe, Cathy and Angela are all close to the cutoff line, seniority-wise. Maybe they think they can bump off some of the competition and insure their own place on the list."

  "That's it!" Ricardo slammed his fist on the table. For the first time since this ugly business had started, he felt as if he had a clue. "I knew those letters I received back at the beginning of all this sounded too premeditated to be crank complaints about a teacher."

  "What do you mean?" Ken asked, his curiosity aroused.

  "Charges about a teacher aren’t usually sent to a board member (or in my case, former board member). They go to the administration." Ricardo jotted down notes as he talked.

  "So?"

  "Angela's administration supports her; her test scores are high, parents like her; so why did I get the complaints?" Ricardo raked his fingers through his hair as he explained the letters that had spurred him to investigate Angela in the first place. "I thought they were in response to the special we aired. From parents. But they could have been a setup. This last letter to the board about our ‘affair’ was also designed to get her fired."