A Sister's Promise (Promises) (18 page)

Thank God
. Kate sighed with relief.

“Being here in this house brings back so many memories—good and bad.” He paused. “You know I couldn’t have asked for a more devoted mom. But did I ever tell you that Dad refused to pay my college tuition if I majored in anything but engineering?”

“No.”

“Because he wanted me to work for his company after graduation.”

His dad still hadn’t forgiven him for moving away. Mitch confessed to her once that had he not established his own career, he would’ve felt like his success was because of nepotism and not because of his abilities. Kate thought it would be great to have a family business to go into, so she struggled to understand Mitch’s point of view. How could you not want to be around your dad?

Mitch rubbed the back of his neck. “His money always came with strings attached. And his love conditional.”

“I’m sorry.”

He looked at the unused football resting on the bookshelf next to his high school calculus book. He picked up Kate’s hands. “When I was all alone in that hotel room, I had a lot of time to think. I’d get up every morning and go to work. Then I’d return to that impersonal shoebox of a room and realize I had nothing. There has to be more to life than just work. . . and I have no life at all without you.”

Kate’s pulse quickened. “So. . .you’re coming home?”

“Yes. And if starting a family is that important to you, I’m ready for that, too.”

Kate’s head felt light, what she imagined a runner’s high to be like. She wrapped her arms around Mitch, excited to unite in their goals once again. They hadn’t had something to look forward to in a long time. First came love, then marriage and all of these years later, a baby carriage.

“God,” she said. “I was afraid you wanted a divorce.”

“No way. I love you,” he whispered. “It killed me to leave.”

“Don’t ever leave me again.” Her voice quivered.

Mitch squeezed her tight. “I won’t. I swear.”

Outside the window, snow started to fall in the moonlight. Eventually Kate’s fingers slid down Mitch’s arms so they could hold hands and look at each other. “What about your job—you said they were letting people go.”

“Peter said my job is safe.” Mitch smiled. “So. . .do you want a boy or a girl?”

She thought about how no one would sing Christmas carols with Beverly. “A girl, I think. I wouldn’t know what to do with a boy. But you would be great with a son.”

He was quiet for a while, as if mulling over the idea of a son. “What names do you like?”

“I don’t know. You’ve really caught me off-guard here.” Joely always liked Anna Jo and Thomas, but Kate hadn’t thought much about it. “What about you?”

“I like Ebenezer.”

Kate nudged him. “Don’t be silly.”

He chuckled. “I haven’t had much time to think of names, either. Maybe we should buy one of those baby name books and just point randomly at a page.”

“I don’t think so. Which room should be the nursery? I always thought the office would be a nice girl’s room, but you painted it beige.”

Mitch laughed good-naturedly. “I can paint it again. Whatever you want.”

She turned her head and kissed him. On his cheeks, on his nose and on his lips. . . .

# # #

Later that night, Kate rested her head on Mitch’s chest, doubting their plan. “Are you awake?”

“Yes,” he whispered back.

“I’m scared. Scared that I won’t be a good mom. It’s not like I had much of a role model.”

“Kate, you’ll be a great mom. You have a degree in counseling and several years experience working with families. You’re probably more qualified to be a parent than most everybody else on this planet.”

Kate half smiled.

“I know your mom got sick when you were young, but you have some fond memories of her, don’t you?”

“Mom did neat stuff with us before her hands betrayed her.” Kate embraced the vision that came to her. “For Halloween one year we made tiny ghosts out of lollipops by covering them with white tissue paper and drawing scary faces on them. Mom unwrapped one of the suckers and asked, ‘How many licks
does
it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?’. So the three of us tried to count, seeing who could resist the longest before biting through the sweet shell. Mom was the first to cave, then Joely and then me.”

Then her thoughts turned dark. “It’s hard, though, to separate the woman who spent an entire afternoon decorating my shoes with glitter from the woman who would scream when I wouldn’t get dressed fast enough. Why is it so hard for me to reconcile the two?”

“I’m sorry.” He rubbed her back. “She must have been in a lot of pain.”

Kate nodded. Joely had said sometimes the pain came out as anger. “I guess you had the mom I always wanted and I had the dad you wanted.”

“This is our chance to do things right. To raise a child the way we wish we had been raised.”

She nodded again, her eyes wet. They lay like that, listening to each other breathe, for a long time.

Mitch lightly touched her hair. “If we’re serious about this, I think you should get tested first. To make sure you don’t have lupus.”

An anchor dropped in Kate’s stomach.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Who really wants to know how they’re going to die? Or even worse—that they’ll live a long time, only in excruciating pain? To Mitch, it seemed obvious that Kate should find out if lupus lingered inside of her. But Kate didn’t really want to know.

Part of her struggled to share Mitch’s enthusiasm about starting a family because having a baby would force her to face her own mortality. Now that she’d won him over, she’d unintentionally created even more stress for herself. She actually welcomed the end of Winter Break so she could focus on other people’s troubles.

The first day after vacation Kate awoke early, curious to see who replaced Mrs. B. On the way to school, she slowed to take what would probably be her last look at Foxworth’s Christmas lights. She noticed the plaid-shirted homeless woman walking down the center of the road toward her. Her exposed hands were pink and her tennis shoes discolored from the salty slush. When she came near enough for Kate to see her angular face, Kate realized something. Something familiar. Kate knew her. It was Renee Teagarten, a former student.

Two years ago Kate thought Renee was one of those adolescents she didn’t need to worry about. Everything indicated that she was headed for a better life than the one her single mother had. Renee was in National Honor Society and served as the Student Council secretary. Until suddenly her grades started slipping and she quit attending club meetings. Noticing dark circles under her eyes, Kate spoke to her every week, trying to get through to her but she kept holding back. Finally Renee admitted she got lonely while her mom worked at night so she hung out with some older guys. The guys introduced her to crystal meth. And she loved it. She loved it so much she didn’t care any more about school, her future, anything. After Kate facilitated a confession to Renee’s mom in her office, Renee started seeing an addictions counselor, but it didn’t help. Eventually she dropped out of school and Kate hadn’t seen her until now.

Kate stopped the car and lowered her window, feeling the icy air waft in. “Renee.” The woman ignored Kate. Kate took off her new fur-lined gloves and held them out the window to her. “Renee, it’s me. Mrs. Hopper.” Renee’s pupils dilated like a cornered alley cat. “Take these.” Instead, the thin woman turned and ran up the hill. “Please, Renee. . . please. . . .” Kate stayed there for a minute watching her flee.

Maybe if Kate had figured out sooner that Renee was on drugs, Renee’s treatment could have succeeded. Kate let the doubt and guilt twist inside of her like a grapevine. The price of some mistakes was just too high.

Kate dropped her gloves in the gray snow.

# # #

Still bundled in her coat and scarf, Kate headed to Mrs. B’s former classroom. As the river of students parted around her, a member of her careers group walked up to her. His gait seemed labored and Kate wondered if his electricity had been shut-off again. Last time it had been a week of temperatures in the teens before he finally asked for help. His family had been using a gas stove as a heater.

“Mrs. Hopper,” he began. “I hate to ask you this, but could I borrow some money for lunch?”

Loaning money to students could become an expensive habit, but Kate didn’t mind. This young man took better care of his three brothers than his alcoholic mother. Kate reported the neglect to CPS, but they only stepped in temporarily and then closed the file. Apparently they were too swamped with more visibly wounded children to spend much time on a self-sufficient teenager.

“Didn’t your mom fill out the forms for free lunches?” Kate asked.

He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and shifted his weight. “I brought the papers home, but she lost them.”

Kate opened her purse and pulled out a five.

“I’ll pay you back as soon as I can,” he promised, looking happier already.

Kate shook her head no. “That’s OK. Don’t worry about it. Stop by the office to get another set of forms.”

He nodded and waved as he walked away.

Why was it that irresponsible people had children—usually multiple children—while she and Mitch had agonized over the decision to have just one?

When Kate approached Mrs. B’s door she heard a raspy voice ask, “What did you think of yesterday’s sermon?” Surely not. Kate quickened her pace and peered in as she walked by. There she was. Mrs. B. And she was talking to Yolanda. How could they go to the same church? Somehow it just didn’t seem right that someone as wonderful as Yolanda would talk to Mrs. B as if she enjoyed her company. To Kate, Yolanda was like Godiva chocolate and Mrs. B was a forkful of sauerkraut.

Disbelief raged inside Kate. Automatically she turned the corner and went to Trish’s room.

As soon as she saw Trish, she pulled her by the arm into her office and closed the door. “She’s still here,” Kate said in a loud whisper.

“Who? Oh, right.”

“You knew?”

Trish nodded. “I tried calling you several times over break, but you didn’t answer. I was starting to worry about you.”

Kate shook her head in frustration. “My cell phone battery died and I forgot to pack the charger. So what’s the deal?”

“My dad met with the superintendent and the lawyer about her.”

“Aren’t they going to fire her?”

Trish held up her palms in defeat. “I guess they can’t.”

Kate put her hands on her hips. “That’s ridiculous. If she fooled around with a student, she obviously should be gone.”

“It’s not that simple, I guess.” Trish reached for the bottle of echinacea on her desk and washed two capsules down with a swig of coffee.

“Do you know if Mr. Mohr talked to her? What does she say about it?”

“I guess she refuses to say anything.”

Kate’s hands gestured in emphasis as she spoke. “Well, that makes her sound guilty.”

Trish didn’t reply.

“Even
you
think she did it, right? And you like her.”

“It doesn’t matter what I think.” Trish shuffled through the piles of student papers on her desk and placed her attendance book on top. She reached for her coffee again.

Kate leaned forward. “Of course it does. She touched your thigh and made you feel weird, remember? Who knows where that could’ve led if you hadn’t left?”

Trish raised her eyebrows with a helpless look in her eye.

Kate’s voice rose and her hands continued flailing about. “Who knows how many more there have been? It’s a crime to let her continue working here.”

“What can we do? The statute of limitations is up and the superintendent has decided to just let it go.”

“And Mr. Mohr?” Kate’s movements ceased, waiting for the answer.

Trish stared at the blackness inside her mug. “His hands are tied.”

Shaking her head, Kate tried to deal with the news. “Maybe Jennifer will go to the newspaper then.”

Trish took a deep breath. “Actually, Mr. Darrin tried calling to offer her a settlement, but her phone is disconnected. And she won’t respond to e-mail, either.”

Kate remembered how Jennifer’s voice trembled as she told what happened. She didn’t strike Kate as a person making up a story. She seemed genuinely hurt. “Didn’t she say she knew someone else victimized by Mrs. B?”

Trish nodded. Just then the bell rang and students rushed into the classroom like horses at the Kentucky Derby.

“Do you still have the copy of Jennifer’s e-mail?” Kate asked.

Trish pulled a Physician’s Desk Reference off of her bookshelf. She opened it and handed Kate a piece of paper folded in half.

“Thanks.” Kate folded it even smaller and hid it in her hand.

“Wait. How are things with you and Mitch?”

Kate smiled. “Better. We’ll have to talk more later.”

Trish agreed. They exited her office and walked into the classroom, only Trish stopped at the podium while Kate continued out the door.

When she arrived at her office she hung up her coat then unfolded the paper. She logged onto her e-mail account and typed in Jennifer’s address.

Dear Jennifer,

I believe you. The problem isn’t solved. Please contact me.

Kate

Kate leaned back in her chair. She didn’t know how she could make it through the rest of the day, knowing what she now knew; Foxworth High was no longer a safe haven for her students.

A minute later her inbox dinged.

I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following address:
 
[email protected]. This is a permanent error; I've given up.

Kate pounded her fist on her desk.

Why did Jennifer disappear? Maybe she didn’t feel strong enough to keep fighting this battle all by herself. Kate scowled remembering when the lawyer made the comment that Jennifer wasn’t exactly a child when it happened. The administration was against her and the law was against her. Kate couldn’t even imagine how frustrated Jennifer felt.

She thought about making a to-do list, but her mind whirled. She couldn’t ignore the fact that there was a wolf in the building.

If Mrs. B did it before, she would do it again. Nothing else mattered. Kate started writing passes for a few of the at-risk girls in Mrs. B’s class. One by one she would interview them until she uncovered more of Mrs. B’s dirty secrets. Then the administration couldn’t hide behind the statute of limitations.

When the fourth girl sat down in Kate’s office, she looked out from under mascara-clumped eyelashes.

“Lana, how are things going in World History?”

“Fine. Why? Did my probation officer call you or something? Geez! It was only one assignment that I didn’t do. She needs to get a life. I can’t believe she called the counselor on me.”

“Your probation officer didn’t call me,” Kate said. “I was just curious how you get along with Mrs. Cochran.” It took effort to pronounce the teacher’s proper name rather than using Kate’s favorite nickname for her.

“Oh,” she said, slumping in her chair and examining her French-tipped fingernails. “She’s cool.”

Kate’s ears tingled. Cool? “In what way?”

“She showed us how to keep track of all of our scores on homework and tests so that we can calculate what grade we need to get on the final in order to get the grade we want in the class. I only have to get a D in order to pass.” Lana took a piece of gum out of her backpack and started chewing it without asking permission.

“Does Mrs. Cochran have a rule about gum?”

“No. In fact, she gives it to kids if they earn an A or a B on a test. I, of course, just bring my own. She said as long as we chew with our mouths closed and she doesn’t find any stuck under our desks, it’s OK.”

Not exactly a radical rule. Some teachers couldn’t stand the kids chomping away like cows and others said this wasn’t middle school any more. Considering her smoking addiction, Mrs. B must have been sympathetic to others with oral fixations. “Have you ever gone to Mrs. Cochran’s house after school?” Kate asked, trying to guide her along.

“No way!” she said, as if she were repulsed at the thought. “Why would I do that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. To help grade papers or something.” Kate smelled a strong fruit aroma and heard the saliva smack every time Lana opened then closed her jaw.

She shook her head no, the microscopic diamond in her nose twinkling as it caught the light. “I’m pretty much the last person a teacher would ask to help grade papers.”

Kate felt desperate to get a name. “Have you ever heard of anybody else helping Mrs. Cochran out after school?”

“No. Can I go now?”

Kate squeezed her hands into fists under her desk. “Yes.” After she left, Kate let out a sigh. She didn’t want to raise suspicion by talking to any more of Mrs. B’s current students. Maybe she should look at Mrs. B’s class rosters from last year. She started changing the settings in her computer to locate the data when Antonio told her Rhonda wanted to see her.

Knowing Rhonda probably just wanted to share about their vacations, Kate kept working. A minute later Antonio asked her if she had heard him. This was taking longer than she thought it would. Finally, she hit the print button and walked over to Rhonda’s office.

Kate looked at the glowing cream-colored candle and took a seat.

“How was your Christmas?” Rhonda asked with a smile.

Kate didn’t want to chat. “OK.” She tried crossing her legs, as usual, but uncrossed them and sat on the edge of her seat. “I found out my mother-in-law used to be an artist.”

“Really? So you two have something in common.”

Kate blushed. For Rhonda’s last birthday Kate gave her a pen and ink drawing of her pet cocker spaniel. Rhonda showed it to everybody in the teacher’s lounge saying how talented Kate was.

“Mitch’s mom was going to go to art school, but she never did,” Kate continued. “Instead she had a baby.”

“You act as if she made a mistake.” Rhonda tilted her head to the side.

“Well, yeah. I don’t understand women who sacrifice what they want for their husbands and children.” She looked at the picture of Rhonda’s kids at the beach. Rhonda managed to have a career and raise a family.

“Everybody makes sacrifices when they have kids, Kate. Did you ever think that Mitch wouldn’t be who he is today if his mom hadn’t done what she did?”

“I guess so.”

“You have to admit, you got a pretty great husband. He works hard, he cooks,” she smiled enviously, “and he cares about you. Good character comes from good parenting. What would it matter if Mrs. Hopper were a successful artist if her son were messed up?”

Kate nodded her head.

“I still feel guilty because when my kids were in junior high, I taught all day and then went to school for my Master’s in counseling in the evenings. For those few years I just didn’t have the time or energy to devote to them.” Rhonda looked away. “That’s probably why Ellen got mixed up with drugs.”

Kate felt honored that Rhonda revealed something so personal. Kate knew Rhonda’s daughter didn’t make the best grades while in high school, but Kate didn’t know why. Somehow Ellen got into college. They would have to wait and see how that worked out.