Before I can ask Maddie what’s happening in there, the office administrator gets my attention as she pulls her glasses down her pointy nose, “Miss Sikes ?”
“Yes, that’s me, what happened ?”
“Mr. Zale is waiting for you and Maddison in his office .”
“Oh, thank you.” I give Maddie a wave that indicates she should follow me and I head for the principal’s door. I try to put on my professional pants, whatever happened, it was fixable. It had to be .
“Hello, Mr. Zale. I was told something happened ?”
“Have a seat .”
I do, but I keep my head held high. It. Was. Fixable .
He continues, “Maddison would you like to explain what happened today ?”
Again, she shrugs and keeps her ‘matter of fact’ tone, “Left jab, right hook, right uppercut .”
Shit.
My blood runs ice cold. “W-what ?”
The principal suddenly doesn’t seem as upset to me as he should be, “Can you tell Miss Sikes why ?”
Maddie half shrugs again, “Defense.” Her one-word sentences have me on the verge of explosion, I need the whole story, damn it !
Mr. Zale must have felt my urgency because that’s when he decides to take over, “Can I show you the footage from the hallway camera ?”
“Yes! Yes, please, I’m so sorry about this .”
“Just watch .”
When my apology is cut off, I decide not to make a scene if… when he tells me Maddison isn’t welcome back here. After all, this was shaping up to be my fault .
He turns the screen of his desktop to face me and hits play. I try not to wince .
A black and white soundless image shows Maddie walking down the hallway with a large badge around her neck. I recognize it must be this school’s version of a hall-pass. She enters the girl’s bathroom and all is quiet. Then three boys walk down the same hallway with matching badges, I guess they are a few grades above her, judging by their size. One starts to go into the boy’s bathroom when he’s stopped by the others. They huddle and talk – laughter, hesitance, then… they abandon the boy’s room… and head for the girls .
I inhale sharply. What ?!
Agonizing silence and stillness follows .
“What’s happening ?”
“Wait.” Mr. Zale doesn’t break his eyes from the monitor .
I don’t have to wait long. The screen comes alive with movement as the larger of the three boys falls out of the girl’s room holding his nose. Although the screen is colorless, I don’t need to see red to know his nose is pouring blood. Suddenly I have a face to go with the crying coming from the nurse’s room .
The other two boys run out of the bathroom at full speed and back down the way they came without any regard for their fallen comrade holding his busted nose on the hallway floor. And then my princess comes out, cool as a cucumber. She gives the crying boy a wide berth as she puts on her headphones and heads back to class .
The screen freezes in sync with Mr. Zale’s click of the mouse. Before I can open my mouth, he looks at Maddie, “Now tell her the story the way you told it to me .”
“I was going to the bathroom and those boys came in and asked me if it was true that no one could touch me. I said yes. They asked why. I said I don’t like it. Then the big one said he could if he wanted. I said don’t. And he said it was no big deal and he reached out so I moved to the right and left gab, right hook, right uppercut. I remembered about my feet. And the sound. I didn’t like to touch his face, but I just pretended he was the bag. And then I washed my hands .”
Mr. Zale nods as Maddie puts her headphones on and goes back to her book .
My mouth is still in my lap, but all my fear is gone. And although I try not to show it, the fear is replaced by pride .
“I..I ..”
“The young man eventually corroborated her story. But honestly there is nothing he could have said that would have put him in the right, just by following her into the girl’s room they were in violation of policy, and in my opinion she wasn’t wrong to defend herself. Now, according to the district rules, Maddie should also receive a suspension for engaging in an altercation, but I think we can make an exception in this particular case. That being said, it’s important for you to explain at home the special circumstances to Maddison and that physical violence is not usually the way to solve conflict .”
“Oh, yes, yes, of course, thank you .”
“Maddison is welcome to return to class. Thank you for coming up Miss Sikes .”
“Oh, thank you, yes, she will, thanks .”
Despite my relief, I must still be in shock because I find a way to destroy a perfect moment. Maddie is still engrossed in her book, so I reach down and tap her shoulder to get her attention .
And ruin everything .
Rob
A lthough I have been sitting at my desk for hours I have accomplished nothing. My mind is everywhere but on my business .
It’s on Maddie and how she is doing at her first day of public school .
It’s on Amy and whether I finally killed her insecurity even though it was years overdue. It’s on how good it felt to finally be with her… and how badly I want to do it again .
But most of all, it’s on how stupid it was of me to leave my cell phone at home on a day like this. I try to reassure myself that the number for my office line is written on the refrigerator. If Aim needed me, she could reach me. I say that to myself over and over until I finally give up and head home to grab my phone .
Besides, if Aim is up for it, well, it could be a fun afternoon. I start to get really excited on the trip home, but when her car isn’t in the driveway I deflate. Probably at the grocery store. At least now I could give her a call if I need to. Oh, who am I kidding? I want to give her a call, fuck need. It would be nice just to hear her voice .
Right then I see the most terrifying thing I’ve ever faced. And I used to fight for a living. A rabid dog, a bullet, or speeding car headed right for me would have been nothing compared to the words ‘37 MISSED CALLS .’
Those words teach me what real fear is .
I hit the screen in a panic, most of them are from Amy. SHIT! I call back and pace the living room as it rings. The sound of her voicemail makes me shout out loud in frustration, if I didn’t need my phone to figure out what was happening I would have certainly smashed it .
I’m about to check the voicemail when I see some missed calls are from Marcy and I try her, cussing as I listen to ring after ring until finally – “Rob ?!”
“What happened ?!”
“Everything’s okay! She’s okay! She just got hurt a little, but she’s going to be just fine !”
“Where are you ?”
“St. David’s, but she’s fine, I promise. She just has a little cut, that’s all !”
That’s all I need to hear. I don’t even lock the house behind me, flying straight to my car. “I’m coming !”
“Don’t drive crazy Rob, the last thing she needs is for something to happen to you, she’s FINE, okay ?!”
My sister knows me too well. I try to listen to her and not put anyone else in danger while making it to the hospital in record time .
My Maddie needs me .
Amy
W hy won’t he answer the phone ?!
And why didn’t I put his office number into my contacts? I try to picture the paper stuck to the fridge with a Hello Kitty magnet, but the numbers are just a blur .
I rub my temples as I slouch over in the waiting room chair, if he ever answers my call I don’t want him to hear poor Maddie’s screams. To be honest I can’t tell if they are from the pain of the stitches, or because the doctor can’t do them without touching her once in a while. For a while, I had cried right along with her outside the door. I manage not to scream out loud, but on the inside, I was wailing .
This was all my fault. She was doing fine her first day of school, she might have had an incident, but it wasn’t her fault. They should
have never asked me to come up there, I’m not her mother. It’s a good thing too, because I’m obviously terrible at all this .
Thinking the words, ‘I’m not her mother’ makes me sob again because I realize that’s exactly what I wish I was, and then I sob even harder as I remind myself that even if I was I’d probably fail at it just like I’m doing now .
When I accidently tapped her arm in the principal’s office she flew out of her chair screaming. My first reaction was to hold out my hands in an apologetic gesture, but I’m pretty sure that was the reason she moved away even faster, falling right into a side table that contained a big ugly yellow lamp. A lamp that broke like fine china against Maddie’s little body, cutting open her poor arm .
I almost fainted. I didn’t know I had a problem with blood. Maybe I don’t, maybe it’s just blood coming out of someone I love that’s the problem. I start to rub my temples again .
Right then Marcy busts around the corner, her pointy heels clicking furiously on the linoleum .
“Did you reach him ?”
“No, you ?”
“No. Can you stay with her, Marce? I have to try and find him .”
“Sure, sure, I’ve got her .”
As much as I didn’t want to go to Club Avenue all those weeks ago, now I’m grateful I know exactly how to get there. After another way-too-fast drive I finally park and run full speed through the parking garage and up to the locked doors of the empty club. Then I start to yell and knock like a mad woman .
A young man finally looks at me through the glass. I can tell he’s trying to discern if I’m about to be killed, or just a looney, so I articulate Rob’s name as clearly as possible while making a cradle motion with my arms. When he registers I’m talking about Mr. Walsh’s kid, the door unlocks and flies open .
“Where’s Rob ?”
“He just left !”
“Where?!”
“He forgot his cell phone at home, so he went to grab it .”
I don’t even let the poor kid, who I now recognize as the sweaty bartender from that first night, finish his sentence before I’m running back down the street. At least I know Rob’ll see his phone soon and will be on his way to the hospital. I want to be there when he arrives so I can explain what happened .
Turning the corner into the garage I run right into a body. A body with a very familiar and unsettling smell that sends a sharp pain between my eyes .
“Hey sexy, where’s the fire !”
I don’t have time for this, I run past Cologne man as I try to dig my keys out of my purse .
“Hey, wait !”
Once again, the jerk grabs me by the arm. Some people just don’t learn lessons .
“Let me go! There’s an emergency!” I pull my arm away sharply and keep moving to my car .
“What’s the matter, baby?” I can’t lose him, he’s faster than me and now he’s between me and the Nissan .
“Move!”
“You shouldn’t be driving, I’ll take you.” He grabs both my arms now - way harder this time .
“No, stop !!”
“Where’s your boyfriend, huh ?”
“STOP!!”
Although he is scrawny compared to Rob, he is much stronger than me, and he’s pulling me .
Dragging me somewhere I don’t want to go. I hear Rob’s voice in my head. “What would you do ?”
I would hit him .
But I need a good angle, I need my arms. I dig deep and fake my fake laugh better than I’ve ever faked it before .
“Oh, okay sure, where’s your car ?”
It works. He lets one of my arms go and eases his grip on the other, “Yeah, I got you baby. Right over here .”
“Oh, real quick first- Agh!” POW! “Agh!” POW! “Agh!” POW !
The blows to his face shock him enough to make him back up, giving me a perfect opportunity to do exactly what Rob told me to do at this point .
I kick him square in the nuts as hard as I can. Cologne man hits the concrete and as much as I’d love to watch him writhe in pain, I don’t have time. I make it to my car and lock the door as he’s pulling himself off the ground. His raging blows on the side of my car and string of profanity don’t bother me a bit, I rip out of the parking space at full speed making him jump back to avoid getting run over .
I leave him waving and shouting in my rearview mirror and speed back to the hospital .
Rob
B y the time I bust into Maddison’s room in the ER there is sweat pouring off my beard and I’m swallowing panic. Which is totally out of place in the serene and chill atmosphere inside .
Marce is reading to Maddie as she looks at the pictures in an oversized book. There’s a little bandage on her arm covered in cats or dogs or something else little girls like .
“Hey hon, are you okay ?!”
“Yes.”
“What happened?!” I know at this point, I should calm the fuck down, the crisis is obviously over. But I can’t chill until I know how this happened. The question at the forefront of my mind is simple, who was responsible for this ?
“I cut my arm .”
“How?”
Marcy decides to step in, pushing me towards the door, “Let’s go talk to the doctor, Rob. Maddie, we’ll be right back okay ?”
“Okay.”
I want to argue, but Marce’s grip is tight as she backs me into the hall .
“What the fuck happened? Tell me now.” I keep my volume controlled but the intensity is the same .
“It was an accident, Robert. Accidents happen .”
“Did someone touch her ?”
“It was an accident .”
“Who fucking touched her?!” My volume is rising back up, “WHO ?!”
A tiny voice comes from the hall behind me, “I did .”
I spin around and find Aim, she’s fighting the tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. My heart sinks and she continues .
“I…I.. didn’t mean to. They asked me to come up to talk at the school…but not because she did anything wrong… she did great. But I messed up and touched her shoulder and she hit a lamp and…and- and- I’m so sorry. I better go. I’m just so sorry .”
I have to half run to catch her, “Aim, wait. Aim, please .”
She stops, but she doesn’t turn around. I want to reach out and grab her, but I don’t want to make her stay if she really wants to go, so I just beg .
“Aim, hon, it’s okay. I do it all the time still. It’s a miracle she hasn’t hurt herself before now. Please, Aim. Don’t go. She would want you here… I want you here .”
When she finally turns, the tears she was holding back have started to fall, “I’m so sorry .”
Now I hold her. “It’s okay. I swear it’s okay .”
I feel her arms raise as she places her hands on my back and I take the cue to hold her tighter, “It’s okay, honey .”
Then I don’t even give her a chance to wipe her nose before I tilt her head back and kiss her mouth .
Amy
“W HOA!”
Marcy has never been good at hiding how she feels, and seeing her brother plant one on my sobbing face in the hallway of the ER makes her shriek .
When I pull back to look, I see it’s not just Marce’s wide eyes looking at us, a few doors down, Maddie is peering out of her room .
“Oh!”
Rob hasn’t stopped looking at me despite the commotion, and I have to get his attention to turn to the right by moving his head with my hand. When he sees Maddison, he lets me go fast .
I wipe my eyes quickly so she doesn’t think I’m upset. Rob, makes his best attempt at damage control as he heads for her room, “Oh, hey, um, Aim is here! I was really happy to see her .”
Maddison’s face has an expression on it I haven’t seen before, I’ve seen her angry, confused, happy, but this was a totally new face that I couldn’t read. It suddenly dawns on me I should have checked with her before falling so hard for her Dad. I don’t wa
nt to do anything she doesn’t want .
I try to follow Rob, but Marcy grabs my wrist and slows me down. I watch father and daughter disappear in the room as my best friend hisses in my ear .
“What was that ?”
“We, we’re.. sort of …”
“Shut the fuck up !”
As mean as it sounded, Marce was elated. I don’t know why Rob always thought she’d feel like he was taking her friend. She knew how great it felt to be wanted, and she wanted it for me our whole lives. Now I think she’s as thrilled as I am...or as thrilled as I used to be. I try not to burst her bubble too hard .
“But we haven’t said anything to Maddie yet. Do you think she’s upset about it?” I turn my worried eyes back to the empty open doorway .
Marce’s laugh is way too loud for the hall of a hospital, “PLEASE! All she’s done is ask where you are for the last thirty minutes .”
“Really?”
“Go.”
Marce is pointing to Maddie’s room like an overly strict teacher, I half expect her toe to start tapping. I obey and slink into the doorway. Maddison is back in bed, her Dad’s orders, no doubt. I give her a little wave, “Hey princess, how’s your arm feel ?”
“Better.”
There’s that expression I can’t read again. It makes my stomach sink .
“Oh, good. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, you know that right ?”
“I know .”
A nurse bustles into the room and saves me, she has papers in her hand, “Okay, you folks are free to go .”
Rob steps up and fires off his signature on each page. Maddison jumps off the metal bed, obviously more than ready to go, “Where are my headphones ?”
I look around until I spot them on a back counter and hand them over, her next question stumps me for a bit, “I can’t raise this arm, will you put them in for me ?”
I stare at the tiny earbuds and then back at her. I practice holding them with the tips of my fingers – trying to figure out how this was going to work .
Then I remember what’s in my purse .
His Christmas Baby: A Friends to Lovers Romance Page 35
