Tenure Track (36 page)

Jane’s face flushed as she slammed her fork down. “What is it with you men? First the principal, then you! What, you think this is just some game? Boys will be boys? What about Dana? All the things that kid said about her?”

“
I agree, that was out of line,” her husband said defensively. “But that’s part of the reason I don’t think we should be too hard on Dennis. He was just sticking up for his sister. If you want the truth, I’m kind of proud of him.”

Jane agreed with him there. After reading Mitchell’s invective, she wanted to do much worse than just mess up his car. “So you don’t think we should punish him?”

“
Well, he’s already gotten beaten up for it,” Mark noted. “How about if we limit his computer use, monitor it more closely, and make him pay part of the cost of getting Mitchell’s car fixed?”

Jane agreed, with the proviso that Dennis would have to work off their share of the costs through sweat equity around the house. She could think up quite a few remodeling and landscaping jobs that needed completion before her son left for college. Mark seemed satisfied with the verdict, but Jane was not finished.

“
What about Dana?”

“
What about her?” he responded obtusely. “She didn’t do anything wrong. Why punish her?”

“
I’m not talking about punishing her,” she clarified. “But there’s definitely something wrong. I think she’s depressed.”

Mark dismissed her again. “Oh, she’s a teenage girl worried about getting a basketball scholarship. She’s moody. God, everybody in this country thinks every moody teenager is depressed or hyper. Put ‘em all on pills and send them on their way!
Sieg Heil
, Prozac Nation!” He gave a mock Nazi salute.

“
That’s not what I’m saying,” Jane gritted through her teeth. “I think there’s something specific bothering her. Maybe it’s just the mean gossip, or maybe it’s something else, I don’t know.”

“
Look,” he responded. “I know you don’t trust her coach, but I don’t believe any of that crap that Mitchell wrote. It’s just stupid lies that kids tell. Dana said it wasn’t true. We need to trust her a little bit.” He took a forkful of noodles and chewed slowly.

Jane contemplated his words, tapping her fingernails nervously on the side of a water glass. “I think maybe we need to consult with a specialist on this.”

“
You mean a therapist?” He leaned back, then acquiesced much more easily than she had expected. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

Chapter 18

Submission

Upon returning to campus, Lewis and Mandy each tried to act as if nothing had occurred during Spring Break. Neither ever mentioned that night on the town. In fact, Mandy seemed to go out of her way to avoid him. He noticed that she was more abrupt in picking up and dropping off his materials, no longer lingering to chat as she usually did. He was afraid he might have offended her, but he was not sure how to apologize without making things even more awkward between them.

The truth was, she had hardly been offended. In fact, ever since the night of the Music Fest she had been using all of her strength to remain businesslike. He was married and her boss. She tried to recall her mother’s advice that guys going through a divorce just wanted rebound sex. In contrast, her friends were pushing her to go for it, even if it was just a fling. “Enjoy the ride while it lasts,” Blanca pressed. Pragmatic Julie advised at least waiting until he was no longer her boss, to avoid the impression that she was trying to sleep her way to the top.

Her head told her to follow her mother’s advice, but her body told her to follow her friends’. Yes, Lewis was her not-yet-divorced boss. He was also sincere, sweet and cute. She was relieved to notice his missing wedding band after Spring Break, which she took as some sign of emotional progress, though she never acknowledged that she noticed it.

After a few uneasy weeks of this behavior, Lewis decided that he needed to say something. He casually asked if she could discuss their project over a quick lunch. It was a beautiful temperate day, so they decided to sit outside to eat their deli sandwiches. At first they focused on work, discussing the final stages of her research.

His mind went blank as he tried to recall exactly how he had planned to apologize. “You haven’t said much the past few weeks. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

She assured him that it was, but refused to elaborate as she took a big bite out of her tuna on rye.

Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “I miss you,” sounding more emotional than he intended. Collecting himself, he went on, “I . . . I mean, I miss our talks, you know, how we used to just talk. I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to make you feel uncomfortable.”

For the first time in weeks, she looked into his sweet blue eyes, once again hidden by his glasses. She wanted to hold his hand, touch his face or do something to indicate how she felt, but she remembered where they were. Instead, she balled up a fist and gave his shoulder a friendly punch. “S’okay. Ya didn’t offend me,” she said.

“
Still friends?” he asked.

“
Friends!” she declared. They both knew it was a lie, but at least the luncheon had broken the impasse. For the next few weeks they went back to exchanging friendly banter, when secretly they both wanted more. As if to offset the electrical charge between them, they always maintained a proper physical distance, much more pronounced than during the first semester when he had been the “safe,” happily married professor.

One Friday afternoon near the end of the semester, Lewis caught up with Blanca and Mandy standing outside of Hammond talking about big end-of-year projects coming due. Suddenly, Blanca piped up, “Hey, Lew, we’re doin’ some research tonight for a paper I’m writin’ about racial themes in zombie movies. Wanna come over and watch?” Mandy glared at her roommate, who pretended to ignore her.

“
Uh, zombie movies?” Lewis queried.

“
Yeah, we gotta bunch rented for the whole weekend, but I think tonight we’re gonna watch both Romero versions of
Night of the Living Dead.
You in?”

Though not much of a zombie movie fan, Lewis did recall seeing the original
Living Dead
when he was in college.
Of course, the main attraction would be the company, not the film. As much as he wanted to be there, he also did not want to risk making Mandy feel uncomfortable. “Would that be alright with you, Mandy? I really had no plans beyond a boring bachelor Friday night with Clint.”

“
Sure. Bring pizza money,” she said.

“
And beer,” Blanca added. Later that afternoon she texted him with instructions to arrive by 7 p.m.

That evening, Lewis showed up as instructed with two six-packs of expensive German longnecks. Blanca answered the door wearing a pair of coke bottle glasses he had never seen, quickly grabbed the beers and handed one to Gus, who was sitting on the floor sorting through a batch of DVDs. Today he was wearing a more conventional C-Leg prosthesis. “Dude! You brought the good stuff!” he beamed. “I knew I liked ya.”

Then he noticed Lewis’s attire. “Dude! Nice shirt!” The professor had searched through several boxes to find a
Night of the Living Dead
T-shirt his college roommate had given him. The shirt was faded, but still fit, if a bit snugly. Luckily he had been hitting the gym a lot more since Spring Break, so the snug fit actually served to accentuate his improved tone.

He wanted to ask where Mandy was, but feared coming across as too eager to see her. After all, Blanca was the one who had actually invited him. The two men examined the trove of zombie films. Lewis lost count after ten. “How long is this paper supposed to be?” he queried.

“
I think it’s only like, ten pages, but Blanca always does too much research. She’s such a suck up,” Gus said. “Hey, at least it’s a good excuse to watch some cool movies.”

Cool
was not exactly the term Lewis would have applied to some of this garbage, noticing that at least Blanca seemed to have limited her research to films that contained the word “dead” in the title.

Julie came home shortly thereafter, dressed in her Navy uniform. She greeted Gus with a kiss and threw her backpack on the floor. “Hey Lew!” She soon returned in a sweatshirt and shorts, beer in hand, followed by Blanca with a fistful of pizza coupons. “Good beer, Lew!” they all agreed. He wondered when he had picked up a new nickname. Only people with whom he shared DNA ever called him “Lew.”

As the threesome sat in front of him, he kept trying to figure out where Mandy was. Surely if she was changing clothes she should be done by now. As the trio figured out what toppings they wanted and how many pizzas to order, Lewis’s patience finally wore out. “Where’s Mandy?”

The three students exchanged knowing glances, then Julie explained, “She had to work until 7:30. She’ll be home soon.”

Once the pizza order was placed, the intention of his timed entrance became clear. The threesome put away all distractions and sat in front of him like an inquisition.

“
So,” Julie began. “What do ya think of Mandy?”

He was a bit taken aback by their directness. “Uh, I . . . I’m very fond of her. She’s a great person.”

Julie gave Blanca a furtive glance, as if to signal that it was her turn to talk. “Well, she likes ya, Dude,” the New Orleanian announced.

He sat dumbfounded.
She likes you.
It should have sounded so childish, so seventh grade. But the words made his heart skip a beat. He knew exactly what they meant.
She likes me!

“
Do you like her?” Blanca grilled. “Ya know, like, LIKE?”

As the threesome waited for his response, Lewis considered asking to have his attorney present.

“
See, Dude, here’s the thing,” Gus chimed in. “Mandy likes you. Like, a LOT, knowwhatImsayin’? But she don’t wanna get ya in trouble.”

“
Plus, she doesn’t think you’re over your wife,” Julie added.

“
So,” Blanca
explained, “we just wanted ya to know that she likes ya, and if you like her, we’re cool with it. We won’t say nuthin’ to nobody.”

“
But,” Gus leaned forward aggressively, “if you’re just looking for some rebound cootchie, don’t bother. Mandy ain’t that kinda girl.”

“
So don’t screw her over, okay?” Julie ordered.

“
Or we’ll all three have to take ya down and beat ya with Gus’s leg. Got it?” Blanca summed up, with a tone that indicated she was only half-kidding.

Sensing that the roommates wanted to be on his side, Lewis decided to bare his soul.

“
The truth is,” he admitted. “I do like Mandy. I like her a lot. But I know it’d be inappropriate for me to act on those feelings right now. I think I already offended her with my behavior over Spring Break.”

“
Oh, you didn’t offend her,” Gus offered. “Dude, she wanted you bad!”

“
Gus!” Julie chastised, putting a finger to her lips to indicate that he was revealing too much confidential information.

“
Go on,” Blanca ordered the professor.

“
Well, as I said, I really like her, but I know it’s not appropriate for us to see each other. So I’m not sure what to do.” He felt small pellets of sweat forming on the back of his neck.

“
Well,” Julie pointed out. “In a few weeks she won’t be workin’ for you anymore, right?”

“
And she’ll be here all summer,” Blanca informed him. “She’s workin’, not takin’ any classes.”

Lewis smiled. They were giving him the greenlight to act as soon as Mandy was neither his employee nor, technically, a student. More importantly, they were granting their approval.

Mandy arrived home around the same time as the pizza, blissfully unaware of the alliance that had been formed in her absence. Lewis paid in full for the food, sealing the four-nation treaty.

As they prepared to watch the first movie, the roommates not-so-subtly positioned themselves so that Mandy had to sit on the couch right next to Lewis. As they started the DVD, she apologized in case he had a problem watching zombies devour other people’s intestines while he was trying to eat dinner. “We’re startin’ out with the black and white one, so it won’t be as bad,” Blanca assured him, which did not stop Gus from pointing out how various pizza toppings resembled internal organs. Julie accused him of trying to make the rest of them lose their appetites just so that he could scarf down more of the pizza himself.

Once again, Mandy apologized for her friends, not realizing that Lewis now considered them allies. Mandy seemed much more nervous than she had been that night over Spring Break. Every time her leg bumped Lewis’s, she jumped back and apologized. By the time a little girl zombie ate her parents onscreen, Lewis had lost track of the number of times Mandy had apologized. He need not have worried about being too grossed out by the films, since he spent much of the time staring at her, only half-listening as Gus offered commentary on how certain shots had to have been set up, and Blanca theorized about the racial and socioeconomic implications of the plots.

Once the food was devoured, they turned down the lights so that only the television screen illuminated the room. Blanca put her feet up on the couch, wrapping herself in a pillow, with notebook and pencil in hand. Whether by accident or intention, she began gently pushing Mandy in Lewis’s direction with her feet. Like a teenager on his first date, Lewis subtly put his arm around Mandy in the dark. By the time the second movie’s opening gross-outs started, she was leaning towards him, half shielding her eyes. He leaned a little closer, gently rubbing her shoulder.