Shark Out of Water

by DelSheree Gladden

  He had no idea how to convince her that his friends truly cared about her and Warren. She needed to get to know them to understand how closely knit they all were. They were Guy’s family here, and when one of the group needed help, everyone stepped forward. She could only understand if she allowed them to help her, yet he knew she was not ready to face her fears. “Charlotte,” he whispered, “s'il vous plaît, ne pleure pas. Do not cry, ma chérie. Everything will be okay.”

  Chapter 22

  Aidez-Moi

  Startled awake by the buzz of his phone in his hand, Guy dropped the device as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. It took him a few seconds to realize it was still buzzing at him. He snapped up the phone and slid his finger across the screen. “Bonjour?”

  “Uh, is this the parent of Warren Brooks?”

  Guy almost told the caller that it wasn’t, thinking they were looking for Charlotte, but they had called Guy’s cell phone. He had forgotten that he had given the school his number after Charlotte began chemo since he was the one doing a good portion of the picking up and dropping off.

  “Oui, well, I mean, this is Guy Saint Laurent.”

  “Mr. Saint Laurent,” the caller said, garbling his name terribly, “my name is Elizabeth Roberts. I’m the principal at Warren’s school.”

  Guy sat up immediately, shaking off his remaining sleepiness. “Warren is all right, yes?”

  “Physically, he’s perfectly fine. He’s in a bit of trouble, though. Could you or Mrs. Brooks please come down to the school?”

  Hesitating, Guy wondered what he should say. Charlotte had only been napping for an hour after her chemo treatment. He did not want to wake her, but he was also unsure of stepping in for her on something like this. Sighing, Guy doubted Charlotte would be well enough to make the trip to the school anyway. “Oui, I will be there shortly.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Saint Laurent.”

  He was too tired to care much that she mispronounced his name again. Guy struggled up from the sofa and looked around for his keys. He could not remember where he left them when he brought Charlotte home. As exhausted as he was, he was lucky he remembered where his head was. Unable to locate them, Guy reached for his coat as a last resort and discovered them in one of the pockets.

  There was little chance Charlotte would wake before he returned, but Guy left a note on her nightstand just in case. He woke up the more he walked around, and by the time he made it down to his car, his head was clear enough to drive and begin wondering what on earth Warren had done to warrant a trip to the principal’s office. The answer was not immediately clear when he found his little friend sitting on a chair in the main office. He certainly did not seem upset when he jumped off the chair and launched himself at Guy.

  Squatting down to his level, Guy gave Warren a brief hug before pushing him back to see his face. “Warren, what is going on?”

  “It wasn’t my fault. That stupid girl started it!”

  Guy knew from experience that Warren was not allowed to say stupid. Before he could chastise him, a tall, professional looking woman strode up next to them with her arms crossed and her eyes leveled at Warren menacingly. “Young man, is that appropriate language for school?”

  “No, Mrs. Roberts,” Warren replied, yet he was clearly not repentant.

  “Please take your seat, Warren. I want to speak to your stepfather first.”

  Guy’s eyebrows rose at her mistake, but she gave him no chance to object until they were both seated in her office. Once they were settled, Guy did his best to set things straight. “Mrs. Roberts…”

  She seemed to find it amusing that he had trouble pronouncing her name. It came out sounding more like “roh bear.” Well, Guy thought, she did not pronounce my name correctly either.

  “Mrs. Roberts, first of all, I think you should know that Warren is not my stepson. Charlotte and I are dating, not yet married.”

  “Oh,” she said, seeming genuinely surprised. “I apologize for the mistake. Where is Mrs. Brooks?”

  Unsure of whether or not Charlotte had explained her situation to the school, Guy struggled to answer. “Uh, she is not feeling well today. I came in her place as she was not able to leave the apartment.”

  “Well, I trust you’ll fill Mrs. Brooks in on our chat when she is feeling better then.” She waited for Guy to nod before continuing. “Warren is in my office today for fighting. He and a girl in his class got into an argument during lunch recess and he pushed her to the ground.”

  Guy knew he was inexperienced at caring for children, but this did not seem to be something he would judge as unusual behavior for a kindergartener. Children frequently argued and fought. He and Sabine certainly did at that age.

  “Now, I know that may not seem like much,” Mrs. Roberts said, no doubt in response to Guy’s puzzled expression, “but district policy requires me to notify both parents when there is an altercation where a child is knocked to the ground. To be honest, though, the bigger problem is Warren’s ongoing poor behavior.”

  “Warren has not been behaving?” Guy asked in surprise. If this was not the first instance, he was curious as to why nothing had been said before. “What has been happening?”

  Mrs. Roberts frowned, though Guy was not sure if she was judging him for not being aware, or simply displeased with the situation. “Over the last several weeks, ever since he got back from his vacation, Warren has been acting out. We had hoped the winter break would solve the problem, but this week hasn’t been any better. His teacher is having a hard time getting him to focus in class, and he gets into arguments with the other students quite often. She thought he would calm back down after a while, but today’s events landed him in my office.”

  “I am very sorry to learn this.”

  “Has Warren been acting out at home?”

  Guy considered her question. Warren was frequently impatient and had to be asked to do his chores several times before they were completed, but he was not sure it had been any worse than usual. He had only a little more than a month with Warren, and it had been a difficult time for all of them. “I have not noticed any large changes in his behavior,” Guy said cautiously, “but I am not always there to see how he is acting.”

  Again, Mrs. Roberts seemed surprised. “I was under the impression that you lived with Warren.”

  “Well…” Guy had barely seen his own flat in the past several weeks, but he did not want to tell her he and Charlotte were living together only to have Charlotte disagree later on. Guy hedged, half-answering the question. “I have been working night shifts more often lately. I am not with him as much as I would prefer.”

  The stern principal seemed to know he was not being completely honest. Guy was sure that was a handy talent for someone in her line of work, but it made him rather uncomfortable as she sat staring at him. “Uh, what exactly was the fight about?” Guy asked in an attempt to distract her.

  She narrowed he eyes a bit, but answered the question. “Apparently, Warren saw you talking with the girl’s mother today before school. When he told the little girl that her mom had to leave you alone, the girl told him her mom could do whatever she wanted. That made Warren very upset. He said you were his dad and Caroline, the little girl, couldn’t have you.”

  Guy rubbed his face, confused, tired, and not sure what to say about the fact that Warren was telling everyone he was his father. “Mrs. Roberts, I am sorry for the trouble Warren caused today. His mother and I will discuss this with him tonight. He knows better than to do such things.”

  “Thank you,” she said, looking very pleased.

  It was tempting to end it there and walk away, but Guy was beginning to think the problem was not going to dissolve so easily. He knew Charlotte might be upset with him later, given how much she did not like to rely on other people, but he felt it was necessary.

  “Mrs. Roberts, I think you and Warren’s teacher should know that Charlotte is very ill right now. She is undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia and it is very hard o
n her physically. She is not able to spend as much time with Warren as she usually would and I am a poor replacement. That is no doubt the reason behind Warren’s behavior lately. I will work with him, but I do ask that you and his teacher are patient, and that you keep in contact with us about his behavior.”

  For a moment, Mrs. Roberts sat in her chair, too stunned to say anything. “Charlotte has cancer? Why didn’t she tell us? Of course we understand how devastating that would be for Warren!”

  “Warren does not know,” Guy said quickly. “He knows she has been sick, obviously, but he does not know how serious it is. I think that is making it harder on him, but Charlotte feels it will only frighten him if he knew.”

  Mrs. Roberts did not seem to know what to say to that. It took her several false starts before she was able to collect her thoughts. “Is there anything we can do for Charlotte and Warren? We have a school counselor if it would be helpful for Warren to speak with him.”

  “I would have to discuss that with Charlotte first. I am a psychiatrist by profession, and I will work with Warren now that I know he is acting out, but speaking to the counselor may be helpful as well. I will discuss it with Charlotte this evening.” Guy was beginning to get anxious about leaving Charlotte alone and stood. “I do not mean to rush away, but Charlotte is at home resting.”

  “Oh, of course!” Mrs. Roberts said. “Please let us know what we can do, and I will have his teacher keep you updated on his behavior from now on.”

  “Thank you,” Guy said as he shook her hand. He was quick to excuse himself after that and collect Warren. They were outside the school before either of them spoke.

  “You told Mrs. Roberts it wasn’t my fault, right?” Warren asked. “I knew you would tell her. Caroline is dumb! She shouldn’t have been mean to me.”

  Feeling more than a little out of his depth, Guy sighed. “No, Warren, I did not tell Mrs. Roberts the fight was Caroline’s fault. You should not have pushed her down.”

  Warren yanked his hand out of Guy’s and stared up at him in outrage. “You said it was my fault, too?” he shouted.

  In front of the school was not the place for such a discussion. Guy took Warren’s arm again and kept walking toward his car. “Warren, you know better than to push, and boys should never strike girls.”

  “But it was her fault! Caroline is the worst!”

  “It is not Caroline’s fault her maman was speaking to me this morning. It is no one’s fault.”

  “Yes it is!” Warren yelled, crossing his arms over his chest angrily.

  Guy shook his head in confusion. “Why were you so angry that I spoke to her maman? She was only asking how your maman was doing. She was being nice.”

  Warren’s whole body bristled. “No she wasn’t! Caroline’s mom wanted to take you away.”

  “What? Warren, what are you talking about?”

  His little red face was so filled with emotion, it was ready to burst. “Caroline doesn’t have a dad either!”

  Suddenly, the fight began to make sense. It still did not make it right for Warren to have hurt the little girl, but Guy at least saw the reason behind Warren’s frustration. To his perspective, Guy had dropped into his life suddenly and filled the role of his father without any discussion. He could not know their situation was far from normal. His fears that Guy talking to another woman could lead to him developing a relationship and abandoning him were too great for him to deal with.

  Guy pulled to a stop in front of Charlotte’s building, but as he turned to speak to Warren, the little boy had already jumped out of the car and run for the entrance. The conversation was far from over, but Guy understood that Warren needed some space. A neighbor coming out of the building nearly knocked the boy over, but after Guy waved them on, they let him inside. Guy followed a little behind, hoping Warren would calm down by the time they reached the flat.

  That did not happen. By the time Guy caught up to Warren, the little boy was more red-faced than ever, lying on the ground in front of the door and kicking his feet against the wall. “Warren, stop that!” Guy snapped. “You will wake your maman!”

  “All she does is sleep! Who cares if I wake her up?” He started kicking harder and Guy was forced to yank him up from the floor, only to have Warren begin stomping.

  Guy unlocked the door and hurried Warren inside. “Be quiet, Warren,” Guy said in a harsh whisper. “Go wash your hands and change your clothes.”

  “No!” Warren shouted. “This is my favorite shirt! I don’t wanna change it! You can’t make me!”

  “Do not yell, and do not argue with me!” Guy snapped. “Go wash your hands and change your clothes.”

  “I! Don’t! Want! To!” Warren took off running down the hallway, slamming the door when he got to his room.

  Guy was at a total loss for how to handle Warren. He did the only thing he could think of. “Carmody,” he said after dialing, “S'il vous plaît aidez-moi.” If Carmody did not know how to help him, he had no idea what to do next.

  Chapter 23

  Ayez Foi

  Dragging his hands through his hair, Guy struggled to keep himself together after hanging up with Carmody. He was exhausted from working night shifts then going straight to Charlotte, only getting sleep while she napped. He was out of his depth with Warren, and worried sick about Charlotte, who was still having a very difficult time with the chemo. It was beginning to be too much and he had no idea what to do about it.

  “Guy?” Charlotte’s weak voice asked. “What’s going on? Why is Warren home from school already?”

  Startled by her appearance, it took Guy a few seconds to rush over to her. “What are you doing out of bed? You must rest.”

  He started to reach for her, but held off, worried about not having washed his hands. The way she was hanging onto the doorframe worried him, and he reached for her anyway. He was careful to only contact her clothing and not her bare skin as he tried to lead her back into her bedroom.

  Charlotte shook her head at him. “Help me to the couch. You need to tell me what’s going on with Warren.”

  Despite his reluctance, Guy guided her over to the sofa and helped her sit down. She looked over at him expectantly. “Warren got into a fight with a girl at school today,” Guy explained.

  “What? Why?”

  Hesitation tied Guy’s tongue. It was such a small thing, but explaining it would lead to him telling her what Warren told his classmates about him and what Guy told the principal.

  “Guy, what is it?”

  “I was speaking to Marilyn Finch this morning and it upset Warren. He argued with her daughter about it and pushed her down.”

  Charlotte’s face screwed up in confusion. “Clearly, there’s more to the story than that.”

  As much as Guy wanted to avoid the conversation, Charlotte was not giving in. “Warren mentioned that Caroline’s father no longer lives with them and he was concerned Ms. Finch was trying to… steal me.”

  “What?”

  Guy sighed, scrubbing his hands through his hair. “She was only asking how you were since she had not seen you lately. You asked me not to be so casual with other women, so I was only polite, nothing more. Warren was bothered, regardless, and told Caroline her mom could not talk to me anymore. Caroline argued, and apparently Warren felt threatened by the idea of her mother speaking to me again and pushed her.”

  Shaking her head as she tried to process everything, Charlotte was even more frustrated than before. “Why didn’t you wake me up when the school called?”

  “I was worried about disturbing you.”

  Charlotte gestured at herself sitting on the sofa and Guy flinched. Clearly his plan had not worked out as he expected. “Guy, you should have woken me. I’m the one who should be dealing with any problems Warren is having at school. Why were they even discussing this with you?”

  Guy looked down, knowing Charlotte would not like his answer. Her reaction and refusal of his suggestion that she move to a more accessible apartment made
him certain what he had to say would upset her. He said it anyway and braced himself for her response. “Apparently, Warren led his teacher and the principal to believe we were married and I was his stepfather.”

  “What?” Charlotte demanded. “Why would he do that? Why would the school not check with me? I’m the one they should be talking to, not you.”

  “Why not me?” Guy asked, suddenly frustrated. He had spent the last three weeks doing everything he could for Charlotte, and he was happy to do so, but his friends wanted to help and Charlotte kept refusing. They needed their help, but Charlotte would not allow it. “I am the one who has been taking him to and from school, helping him with his homework, being involved in his life! Why not me?”

  “Because he’s my son, Guy, not yours,” Charlotte argued. It was the most strength he had heard in her voice in weeks, yet he was not heartened by it.

  Bristling, Guy crossed his arms. “I am capable of speaking to his principal. I dealt with the situation.”

  “Dealt with it?” Charlotte asked in disbelief. “If you dealt with it, then why is Warren hiding in his room after storming in here like a steam train? Did you say something to upset him?”

  “I said the only thing I could say, that he was wrong for arguing with Caroline and pushing her!” Guy shook his head. “What should I have said, that it was okay?”

  “No, of course not, but you should have let me handle it,” Charlotte snapped.

  “You cannot handle everything, Charlotte. I cannot handle everything. There is too much, and Warren is feeling it just as much as we are. He has been causing trouble since we returned from France.” Guy stood up, too agitated to stay seated. “You are not well enough to do everything you want to do, and I am trying to help as much as I can, but I cannot keep up with everything, Charlotte.”