by cross, kali
“Miss Kennedy.” My aunt smiles shyly as they continue to shake hands. Neither appears to want to end the touch. “Please call me Patty.”
“Patty, it is,” he says, lightly patting her hand. “It’s not often that I have guardians come by to meet me. It’s refreshing to see you take such an interest in Amber’s education.” He smiles, his eyes crinkling at the corners as they discreetly sweep up and down. “Certainly not one as tidy as you, my dear.” Flashing a charming smile, he turns to his small make-shift tea station. “May I offer you some tea?”
“Do you have any Earl Gray?” she asks, smiling and apparently delighting in the fact that he is checking her out.
“A woman after my own heart, Earl Gray is my favorite.”
“I’m good, Professor,” I say dryly. Do they even notice I am still in the room? Uh, hello?
“Of course.” He turns to make the tea.
Aunt Patty turns her face to me, mouthing, “Oh my God…Gorgeous…those eyes,” fanning her face to belabor the point.
As he turns, she smiles graciously, “Thank you,” taking the cup and saucer.
“Where are my manners? Please sit,” he says. He waits for both of us to sit before taking a seat himself. “Now, what I can do for you. Oh, incidentally, Amber, I filled the correction report yesterday with Ms. Chadwick’s office.”
“Thank you, Professor,” I say, wiping my hands down my jeans I take a deep breath and continue, “I actually wanted to discuss that with you. I spoke with all of my professors yesterday and more than one mentioned that they had transmitted the correct grade for me. What is the likelihood that four professors would transmit a grade for a single student correctly and that grade would be posted incorrectly by the Chancellor’s office? I could understand if one grade was incorrectly posted by the professor, but all of them transmitted the correct grade. Have any other students come to you asking for a correction from my class?”
“No, you are the only one who requested a change, so far. The summer break is next week though, so I may see some students the following week who disagree with their grades.” He turns to my aunt, his lips form a gracious smile encased in his salt and pepper beard saying, “That happens all too frequently I am afraid.”
“I’m sure it does. Kids nowadays,” she says. Her sympathetic green eyes and gentle smile garner a sweet smile from the professor.
“That’s my point. Students complain that they didn’t get the grade they deserved. You gave me an A and transmitted an A, correct?”
“Yes, I believe so. Let me look at the transmittal report.” He shuffles through pile after pile mumbling about it being right here and switching to another pile and mumbling “Bloody Hell” and “Bullocks” as he searches. After several minutes, he finds what he’s looking for and studies the page. “Yes, I transmitted an A.”
“Don’t you think that’s a tad suspicious, Professor Stewart?” Aunt Patty suggests.
“Please call me Alec.” His mouth curves into an inviting smile. Considering it for a moment, he says, “Yes, I do think that’s suspicious.”
“We would like to request an investigation. Amber has had some…difficulties, with another student who works in the Chancellor’s office, and it seems suspicious to me that her grades appear to have been changed after they were transmitted to the Chancellor’s office. Is there anything I need to do to get this underway?”
“No, I can file the complaint on Amber’s behalf. May I ask the name of the student that Amber has been having difficulty with?”
“Lily McAllister,” Aunt Patty says, placing her teacup on one of the few available spaces in the room.
Turning to me, he says, “Not to worry, Amber, we’ll sort all this out.”
“Thank you, Professor Stewart. I appreciate your help.” I stand to leave.
He stands and crosses gracefully around his desk, taking my aunt’s hand in both of his, and says, “It was delightful meeting you, Patty. I know you are here to see your niece, but are you by any chance free for dinner tonight?” he asks, still holding her hand.
“I’m sorry, but we have plans tonight.” She smiles shyly.
He nods, releasing her hand. Disappointment flashes across his face briefly.
She glances tentatively at me and says, “But…if you are free tomorrow, I would love to go to dinner with you.”
He grins broadly, “Wonderful. Which hotel did you book?”
“I’m at the Four Seasons.” Aunt Patty smiles, her light green eyes darkening as she adds with a low murmur, “Room 612.”
“Wonderful.” Professor Stewart replies, “Seven o’clock?”
“Yes, I’ll look forward to it.” She smiles coyly.
As we walk into the hall, she says to me, “I hope that was ok. You don’t mind that I accepted, do you?”
“Not at all. If you like him, you should go out with him.”
Glancing down, smiling shyly, she muses, “Wow, that accent. Imagine hearing that all night. Incredibly hot.”
“Eww, stop…TMI, Aunt Patty.” My hands up to stop her.
“Just warning you kiddo, I may have to jump his bones after dinner. He’s positively gorgeous. And so gallant, hmmm,” she says fanning herself again, “Yum-my.”
“TMI, TMI, TMI.” I laugh. In a pleading tone, I say, “Please stop talking.”
Chapter 20
“I love convertibles, don’t you?” Aunt Patty says, her ponytail flapping around in the wind as we head down ranch road 620 toward the lake. The sun is beaming down and it’s already warm as we cruise down the two lane stretch of road.
“Yeah, this is awesome,” I say.
“So, keep going down this road until you get to Comanche Trail, and I’ll let you know when the Oasis is coming up. They have good Mexican food and decent margs. It’s a few more miles.” Sally leans back and continues to partially recline in the back seat. Her long tan legs can’t quite fit flat on the seat so she has her feet propped up on the side of the car.
My aunt rented a blue mustang convertible for the entire week, and we are stylin’. The wind blows a nice breeze. The sun is shining, and there’s a ting of summer heat. Not a cloud in the sky. Tunes waft on the breeze. The radio is set to some old rock station that plays bands like the Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Boston. The radio blasts some classic Allman Brothers and we’re on our way down to the lake in cutoffs and bikinis ready to catch some rays.
“Ok, here’s the turn. It’s Comanche Trail. Go down this road and turn in.” The parking lot drops us at a huge stone three-story building that looks like someone’s house. Trees and flowers decorate the front of the brown stone house.
When we walk in, to the right and left are private party rooms. Ahead is an expansive open area with hundreds of tables. The main dining room contains stone pillars reaching from floor to the top of the three story building framing the edge of the room. Straight ahead is a wall of windows.
“How many?” the hostess asks.
“Three. Can we get a table outside please?” Sally flashes her broadest smile.
“Sure. Lower deck, ok?” Sally nods. “Right this way.” The hostess leads us down a corridor to the farthest part of the house and out onto a deck looking out over the water. The lake is clear and blue. Peaceful. The place isn’t too busy even though it’s summer. We keep our sun umbrella down so we can catch some rays, even though the sun is beating down, a cool breeze is blowing.
My aunt points to a statue hanging from the highest deck of a woman mid swan dive her arms outstretched. “Wow, look at that.”
The bats are still the coolest thing I’ve ever seen here, but that statue? It’s amazing.
“What can I get you ladies?” our waiter asks.
Sally looks at us and giggles, “Pitcher of margaritas, por favor. Can you make it top shelf and keep ‘em comin’, sweetie? If the pitcher is getting low, don’t be shy, bring us another one, ok?” Her eyes glitter with mischief, and her smile is something akin to a Cheshire cat. “And, let’s get some guac a
nd chips for now.” Reaching into her purse, she pulls out some plastic and her ID, handing it to the waiter saying, “As far as food, goes, I think we’re going to need a few more minutes, but feel free to bring a pitcher as soon as that’s ready.” She smiles with a wink.
The star struck waiter checks her ID – barely – and grins. “Can I see your IDs?” He smiles expectantly at Aunt Patty and me.
Aunt Patty giggles and hands him hers. I hand him mine after digging it out of my purse. He checks them both and returns them with a smile. “I’ll be right back with your pitcher and those chips.”
“Thanks, Darlin’,” she calls to his back.
“You are such a flirt, Westin.” I smile, rolling my eyes and studying my menu.
“Jealous?” Sally teases.
“No.” I snort. “Not happenin’…nada.”
She giggles and says, “So, should I call you Patty, or would you prefer Ms. Kennedy? Or as my mama would say, ‘Sally Westin, do not be so sassy. Always address adults as either Mrs. Whatever or Mrs. with their first name.’ Would you prefer Ms. Patty?”
“Patty is fine. I’m not that formal.” She points at me chuckling. “Now, this one would never dream of calling me Patty.”
“You’re Aunt Patty, always will be. I can’t help it.” I smile at Patty. A glimmer of a smile is there, but there’s something else. Her shades hide her eyes, but her mouth has a strange twist to it. “Anyway, since when have you ever wanted me to call you Patty?”
Her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Honey, call me whatever you want, either Aunt Patty or Patty works for me.”
The waiter is back with a pitcher of margs and the chips and guac. We study the menu while he pours us each a margarita.
“So, Sally, where are you from?” My aunt asks.
“Alabama. Birmingham, born and raised,” she says with a proud grin.
“So, what brought you to Austin, Texas?” Aunt Patty closes her menu and leans back in her metal chair.
“I went to my first year of college at the University of Alabama, but that didn’t work out so well so I transferred.” Sally glances at me and continues, “This is my second term here.”
“What happened at the University of Alabama? Did you party too much?” My aunt says with an understanding look on her face. “I know it’s easy to forget about classes and want to party all the time the first year you’re away from home.”
“Nope, it wasn’t grades, or partying.” Sally hesitates and then launches in with her head held high. “I had an affair with a teacher, and her husband walked in on us. He kinda lost his shit, really. He was a teacher at the university, too, so he complained to the dean.” She shrugged. “Everyone,” using air quotes, “thought it was in the best interest of all concerned if I left rather than launching an investigation into a fraternization charge.” Sally reaches for the pitcher and pours another for herself looking at my aunt impassively.
I guess part of what the girl in the liquor store said was true. I wonder if it was all true. Taking a sip from my drink, I realized it didn’t matter. I didn’t give two shits what Sally has done. Ever.
Aunt Patty pats her hand. “Well, I hope if nothing else, your teacher was good in bed for all the grief you went through.” She takes a sip of her margarita, giving Sally a wicked grin.
“One of my top ten, actually.” Sally leans in, her lips stretch into a leer. “If I had it to do all over again, I most definitely would.” Scoffing, she flips her hand in the air. “Why in God’s green earth she was married is still a mystery to me.”
“People do strange things when they’re young.” She looks across the lake. Her voice trails off, softening as she says, “Pressure from family, conformity with social standards. My generation was not as free is yours.” She sighs, pouring herself another marg.
Sally shakes her head and looks out over the deck. Her voice has a tinge of sadness to it as she says, “My parents expect me to get married so I guess things haven’t changed that much.”
“When they heard about you, and the professor was that when they realized you were gay?”
She says with a smirk, “Nah, my mom caught me in high school. They’ve known for quite some time.”
“Did they give you a hard time?” Aunt Patty ventures a look my way.
“Nah, we’re WASPs.” She sighs with a soft giggle. “We prefer to ignore diversity within the family.”
“My sister takes it one step further,” Aunt Patty looks at me with a sneer. “She tends to ignore anything that does not directly affect her.”
“Yeah, when she found out I was seeing Angela she ripped me a new one.” I sigh with a frown. “Not for my sexual orientation but because it would take the spotlight off of her if I came out. I would become the focus of her campaign instead of her.” I turn to Aunt Patty, I lean toward her. “I think she knew something was up between Angela and me. I would catch her staring at us when she was at campaign headquarters, and she would ask these completely innocent questions about Angela. I bet that’s how she got the story out of you.” I smile a lopsided smile. Yeah, I’m finally giving you an opportunity to tell your side of the story.
“Yeah, she did her homework. She acted like she already knew, and we were merely talking about something we both knew all about.” She grits her teeth. “And I was so gullible, I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I thought my sister was happy, like I was. Happy that you had found someone. Someone who would make you happy. You were always so sad while you were growing up. I guess when your parents ship you off to boarding school, you had to get pretty lonely.”
I pick up my glass in a toast laughing, “So it’s agreed, my mom is a total bitch. Here’s to saying fuck off to your parents.”
Aunt Patty snickers with a devilish grin. “I couldn’t agree more. I wish I had the same courage when I was your age.”
“Yeah, but she still holds her money over my head,” I say, taking a swig for courage and glancing at Sally.
She grins at me and nods her head at Aunt Patty saying, “Go ahead. Ask.”
“What?” Aunt Patty says.
“I want to get a job, at a recording studio. I - ”
“ – You want to drop out of school?” she asks, clearly alarmed.
“No. Hear me out….I want to start learning the ends and outs of being a producer. The best way to do that while I go to school is to get a job, or an internship at one of the recording studios.” I glance at Sally for some reassurance. Time to jump in with both feet. “I’m lucky I’m here in Austin. They have a ton of studios. The competition is hardcore, I’m sure. I have to be able to work when they need me, and I don’t relish trying to get there by taking the bus. Most of them are downtown and it wouldn’t be the safest way to get back to school.” Straightening my back, “I’d like to get a Harley. Do you think you can persuade mom to let me get one?”
I wait in anticipation as my aunt pulls her phone out and sends a text. “Ok, done,” she says with a smile. “Your mom made me your guardian. She put the decision making in my hands.” Giggling to herself, she says, “I don’t think she realized what that would entail…and this may successfully push her over the edge if she puts two and two together.” Looking at both of us with a flippant shrug of her shoulders, “I guess that’s tough shit for her, huh? She told me to e-mail her accountant for anything you needed. As long as you get good grades, and you did,” She squeezes my hand wiggling with excitement, “that we could get a loan in your name and get you transportation. What was your GPA this term again?”
“Three point seven five,” I say with pride, surprising even myself.
“Great job. I’m proud of you, sweetie.” She smiled with sincerity. “I’m also proud of you for wanting to get a job. You could be satisfied with just going to school. You don’t have to work, but I admire you getting out there and trying to learn the industry. I think that’s great. We’ll get something this week. We can go tomorrow, but I plan on being indisposed the next day,” she says with a win
k.
“Aunt Patty!”
“What?” Sally asks, her eyes looking from me to Aunt Patty.
I roll my eyes, take a swig of margarita and say, “Aunt Patty has a date with Professor Stewart tomorrow night, and she plans to jump his bones.”
“Damn straight.” Aunt Patty’s mouth curves into a wicked grin as she pours herself another margarita.
“Way to go, darlin’.” Sally says, raising her hand for a high five.
Aunt Patty laughs and gives Sally’s hand a firm slap saying, “It’s been too long. That man will have no idea what hit him. I plan to keep him talking all night long.” She giggles. “I love an English accent, don’t you?”
We all crack up, and the waiter arrives holding a fresh pitcher. I look out on the lake and think about him, again. Damn it. I need to get over him. Tommy obviously has, or he would have called by now.
“What’s that look about?” Aunt Patty asks, her face filled with concern.
“Tommy?” Sally asks, pensively.
“Yeah,” I say looking away.
“No. You don’t get to do that to me anymore. Spill it,” Sally says with a frown.
“I miss him. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. He had a way of getting under my skin. It seemed like he really wanted to know me,” I say looking at my margarita. “I know I’m completely lame. It’s not like I knew him that well after such a short time. How could you know a person after such a short period of time? I feel like such an idiot.”
“No you’re not.” Aunt Patty’s sea green eyes narrow. “Sometimes it only takes a few dates to make a connection with someone. Some couples date for years and never have that kind of a connection. Others have just a few dates and run off and get married.” Aunt Patty’s eyes are filled with concern. “Don’t minimize the time you had with him and waste time beating yourself up about it. You obviously cared about him.”
“I did. I have to face facts. I wasn’t up front, and it bit me in the ass. It’s just…I thought he would at least tell me he was done. He tells me he needs time, and I never hear from him? The very least he could have done was to text me that he was done. Who does that anyway?” I ask my voice rising.