by Hart, Lane
I showered and suited up, then went to my parents' house looking for my mom. I found her working out in their several acre backyard garden. The woman had nothing but free time and charity events to organize, and it showed.
"Hey, Mom," I called out when I started towards her. It looked like she was kneeling down pulling weeds. Her blonde hair was slicked back in her normal ponytail, and she had on her usual black yoga pants and oversized t-shirt. Looking at her or my dad you'd never guess the amount of money they were sitting on. I was glad they'd never become pretentious, or acted like they were better than anyone else, because of a number in a bank account. And I'm thankful that they raised me to value more in life than money.
"Dylan? Well, look at you! What are you all dressed up for? Wait, don’t you have classes on Monday mornings?"
"Yeah, but I wanted to see if you'd like to help me clean up our mess first."
"What mess?" she asked.
"Jules found out."
She hung her head. "Oh no. Those sons of bitches swore she'd never … oh gosh, how'd she take it?"
"Not good. She moved out of her dorm and refuses to go back to Madison."
"Damn. Sandy and Ben are probably pissed too. I'll have to call them and try to explain."
"Yeah, so I thought you might want to go bitch at the school with me, since they broke the promise they made you."
"Abso-fucking-lutley. Let me just get a quick shower," she said, as she rose to her feet and brushed the dirt off of her. I loved how my mom cursed like a sailor when she was mad. I think my dad sometimes provoked her just to get her all wound up. My parents were awesome.
"Did Dad tell you he walked in on us last week?" I asked, wondering if he'd kept his promise. I knew he hated keeping anything from my mom.
"Walked in on who? You and Jules? Like … together, together?" she asked, and a smile spread across her face.
"Yeah, when he came to drop off the tickets for the football game we were, um, in the hot tub."
"How the hell did you get a hot tub in your apartment?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way," I shrugged. Paying an exorbitant amount of money for several men to roll it up eighteen flights of stairs helped too. Regardless of the cost, it's been worth every penny to enjoy it with Jules.
"You and Jules," she said, shaking her head. "About time you both came to your senses. I'd give you a hug but I don't want to get you dirty. After my shower," she promised.
"Yeah, and she's agreed to a trial run at living with me," I grinned.
"Oh my goodness! I've got to call Sandy. We've got to start planning a wedding!" Our parents had been inseparable ever since Will and I started playing GI Joe's together.
"Mom, take it back a notch. No one said anything about getting married."
"Oh, but you will! Sandy and I've always known you two should be together. In fact, we used to think you were such good friends with Will just to have an excuse to be near Jules. And well, she's looked at you with lovey-dovey puppy dog eyes for as long as I've known her. Such a sweet girl. I've got to start going through photo albums and digging up pictures of the two of you together when you were little. Oh, and you'll have absolutely adorable babies for me and Sandy to share and spoil!"
"Oh my God, Mom," I said, covering my face. "You're getting way ahead of us here. Maybe you should think about taking up a few new hobbies instead of planning weddings and grandkids for at least a few years. She's only nineteen for Christ's sake."
"Age doesn't matter when you finally find, or finally give into, your soulmate."
"Soulmates?" I laughed. "I think you’ve read one too many romance novels," I told her.
"Deny it all you want, but is she your best friend in a way that not even Will ever came close to filling? Does the thought of not being with her make you physically ache? Does your happiness depend on hers?"
"Well damn. How'd you ..."
"I've felt the same way about your father for twenty-five years," she said with a smile.
...
"Mr. Jacobs, what happened to your promise?" my mom grilled the agitated administrator.
"I'm so sorry Mrs. Daughtry and Mr. Daughtry. Someone must have discovered the scholarship by accessing Ms. Reavis's confidential student record. Our IT team has been looking into it ever since you called this morning," the middle-aged, dark haired man told us. "Whoever it was will be reprimanded, especially if it was someone that did not have restricted access. What can we do in the meantime to make this right?" he asked.
"It's too late to fix," I told him. "But I do have a request. I'd like for you to submit Ms. Reavis's application for every possible scholarship she may qualify for, without any preferential treatment. Then if she's selected for one, provide her with all the details of the selection process, judging panel and whatever else you can."
"Of course. I've gone over her academic record and she's ranked third in her class. She could very likely receive one."
"Thank you."
"While you're both here let me call up to IT and see if they've made any progress," he said, picking up the phone on his desk and dialing.
"Tim, how's it going? Do you have any leads? Mike Grogan accessed it over the weekend? There's no reason he'd need it in admissions. I'll call him in," he said, then hung up the phone before dialing again. He looked genuinely upset. "Mr. Grogan? Could you please come to my office? No, now's a very good time." He hung up the phone and shook his head. "Mike Grogan accessed Ms. Reavis's file, and yours Mr. Daughtry. But he's an admission counselor, so that doesn't really make any sense."
We waited for a few minutes until the man finally arrived. He was probably in his early thirties, medium height and sort of pudgy. His face was red and sweat was pouring off of him. He looked over at me and my mom, then back to Mr. Jacobs.
"Mr. Grogan, I hope you can shed some light on a serious situation we're investigating. Did you access the records of students Julie Reavis and Dylan Daughtry this past weekend?" he asked. The man flinched at our names, giving away his guilt in my opinion.
"No."
"No? Really? Because Tim Lemmons in IT said it was your computer and password that accessed both files at around eleven a.m. on Sunday. Why would an admission counselor need to review the files of two current students on the weekend?"
"I … well, um."
"Unless you have a valid reason you're terminated effective immediately, and Tim will be contacting campus police to file a report and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
The man paled and then started ratting.
"It was a favor for Megan. She said she was the president of Tri Sig and needed to check their academic standing." I fucking knew it.
"Megan?" Mr. Jacobs asked.
"Megan Sigmon."
"She needed the academic standing of a male student for a sorority? Come on, Mr. Grogan. Every lie you tell is just digging you deeper."
"She wanted them for her own personal use. I didn't ask why, she just agreed to, well she just said she needed them and I was stupid."
"Sounds like it," Mr. Jacobs agreed. "Your stupid decision just landed you unemployed and in criminal court. Now, I'm sure if you agreed to testify against Ms. Sigmon, they might reduce the charges."
"I'll do it," he said immediately.
I had a question for him. "What was in it for you?" I asked. His face turned bright red. "Did Ms. Sigmon offer you money for the records?" No response. "Sexual favors?" I asked, and his face went almost purple. I was starting to worry he might have a stroke. "I'll take that as a yes."
"Mr. Sigmon, aren't you a married man, or do you just wear a wedding band as a fashion statement?" Mr. Jacobs asked. I had to hold back my "burn" acknowledgment.
"We didn't … I didn't …"
"Are you sure? Because I wouldn't put it past Megan to claim you sexually harassed her or touched her inappropriately to try and get out of this mess," I told him.
"She called me and told me to meet her at the school, and said that
if I'd look up the records she'd have sex with me. So I did it, then I went to the sorority house Sunday morning and we, well, you know…in her room. Wait, I have her text messages!" he exclaimed. This just got better and better.
He pulled out his phone then started reading. "Print them out and bring them to the Tri Sig house. Call me when you're on your way and I'll come down and let you in." Then I texted, "I don't know about this. The records are confidential and if I get caught and my wife finds out I'll be ruined." And she said, "No one will find out, and you'll get an hour to fuck me any way you want, as many times as possible."
I choked back a laugh, and thanked God I'd never screwed the whore.
Mr. Jacobs cleared his throat, and even my mom (who could tell dirty jokes with the best of them) looked uncomfortable.
"Mr. Grogan, I'm going to need you to forward those messages to our IT team. Let me call and get them over here. Please go wait out in the lobby," Mr. Jacobs said, dismissing the man who looked like he was now crying.
"I am stunned," he said, once the door shut again. "Never in all my years. Well, Ms. Sigmon's going to be charged, as well. She'll be suspended from the University, effective immediately, and pending a disciplinary hearing, will likely be prohibited from ever returning. The black mark on her record, including the affair and bribing a staff member, will follow her around and be reported to any other school she attends."
"That seems to be an appropriate punishment for her not only violating another student's confidentiality but sharing it with the entire Tri Sig sorority," I told him.
"I agree," my mom said.
Chapter Eighteen
Jules
"Where are we going?" I asked Dylan, as he drove us around in his Porsche.
"Ah, please hear me out before you have a fit and say no. I just got the call I've been waiting on from Tyler. We're heading to campus."
"Campus? Why? I told you I don't want to ever step foot on their grass again."
"Please. It'll be worth it. I promise you," he said.
"Fine, but what's with the popcorn?" I asked, still confused.
"We're going to watch a show," he laughed.
Parking in the commuter lot, he led me toward the Tri Sig house, and I dug my heels in to stop. "No. No fucking way, Dylan!"
"We're not going in. We can stay right here, actually," he said, sitting down on one of the benches and offering me the popcorn bag. I grabbed a handful and looked at him like he was crazy. He seemed … too happy.
"Ooh, ooh! It's starting," he said, pointing to the police car that pulled up in front of the sorority house. Huh. This did just get interesting. Two policemen got out and headed inside. One of them was big and blonde, and looked familiar, but it was hard to tell from this distance.
"Tyler?" I asked and Dylan nodded.
After the officers went inside you could hear a feminine voice yell and then start crying loudly.
Finally the front door opened again, and out walked Tyler and the other cop, with Megan between them.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"She's getting arrested," he said and then laughed.
They put her in the back of the police car as all the girls in the house came outside to gawk. The other students walking around campus stopped on the sidewalk and did the same. Then the police car pulled away.
"What was all that about?" I asked Dylan.
He shoved another handful of popcorn in his mouth. "After I came over here Sunday and saw you were gone I went and warned Megan she was going to go down. That was her going down."
"Be-because of me?" I asked, feeling bad that she'd been arrested just because she hurt my feelings.
"Don't you dare feel bad," Dylan said, reading my mood. "She bribed an admission counselor with sexual favors to access your record and mine. Our confidential, private, and federally protected records. Then she blabbed about them to a room full of people. Did I mention the admission counselor she slept with was a married man?"
I gasped and covered my mouth before bugs flew in. "No!"
Dylan laughed and nodded. "Yes. What the admission counselor and she did is illegal. Felonies actually. She's also been suspended from the University until they have a hearing, where they'll officially kick her out. Then, all this," he said waving his hands, "Will follow her to every school she tries to get into."
"Damn. That's kind of harsh."
"Harsh? Are you kidding? The bitch is getting exactly what she deserved for not minding her own goddamn business. Oh and for having an affair with a known married man. Maybe his wife will sue her in civil court for alienation of affection for luring him into her bed."
"Holy shit." I looked back at the house still in shock. Dylan sat down his popcorn bag and wrapped his arms around me.
"I'm sorry Jules, and I know this doesn’t make up for everything, but I hope it's a start. I also asked the school to submit your application for scholarships. Real ones that have selection processes. The administrator we talked to said you were ranked third in your entire class, and he thought you'd be a shoo-in for one."
"Of course he'd tell you that. He'll probably make sure they offer me one to get on your good side, before you and your parents pull your millions."
He shook his head. "He guaranteed us no preferential treatment. So just promise me you'll think about going back if it works out."
I sighed. "I'll think about thinking about it."
"I'll take it," he said, brushing his lips against mine.
Chapter Nineteen
One month later ...
Jules
I woke up on October thirteenth and didn't feel any older. At least I was officially out of the teens and in the twenties now.
The last few weeks I'd been gradually moving in with Dylan, and couldn't be happier. Hanging out with him also came with the added benefit of seeing my brother more too. Even if he did still bitch when we kissed or barely touched each other in front of him.
I'd enrolled in the online social worker degree program at State, and looked forward to classes starting in January. I'd even accepted Dylan's offer to help me with tuition. It was either the tuition, or he swore he'd start buying me all sorts of crazy shit like cars.
"Happy Birthday," Dylan said groggily underneath me, when he realized I was awake.
"Thanks. It's already turning out to be one of my best ones," I told him, snuggling even closer to his warm chest.
"But you haven't even seen your presents yet," he said, and I froze. Oh Jesus.
"Please tell me you were reasonable in your spending."
"I was reasonable in my spending," he repeated unconvincingly.
"Yeah, I'm not buying it. I hope wherever you shopped accepts returns."
"All sales are final. Come on," he said, pulling me out of bed then putting on sleep pants. It must be serious if he couldn’t give me my present in the nude. I was wearing one of my favorite purple and white Hello Kitty shirts he'd bought for me a weeks ago.
"It's so freaking early. Let's just stay in bed for a few more hours," I teased, not intending to sleep during those hours. Even that didn't sway him.
"Come on birthday girl," he said, and it was obvious he wasn't giving up. I reluctantly climbed out of bed and followed him down the hall. Instead of going to the living room, he took me to the guest bedroom. Was he kicking me out of his bed? The door was usually kept closed, and I never wandered in even after I'd moved into the apartment. But when he pushed it open there was no longer a bed. There was a big ass table with a miniature, but very detailed, version of what appeared to be almost a replica of the Hogwarts castle from Harry Potter.
"Oh wow, this is amazing."
"Now imagine it like … three times bigger!"
"What?" I asked, laughing at his ridiculous Zoolander reference.
"This," he said, gesturing to the model, "Is being built for life size people on the outskirts of the city."
"You're building all this?" I asked in disbelief. It was huge even in miniature form.
"Yeah. It's going to be a place for runaways called Safe Haven, unless you think of a better name. See here are the dorms, which of course are divided into the four choices of houses and separated by gender. There's going to be a big dining room, library, game room, movie theater, gymnasium, indoor pool, then there's a medical facility, classrooms, counselor offices. Oh and it’s going to have a huge store here that has nothing but new clothes and shoes in all sizes. It's laid out on about two hundred acres, and will be completely surrounded by a gated, guarded entrance."
"You're kidding," I asked in shock.
"Nope. Oh and there's a fifty million dollar budget for you to hire staff and do whatever else needs to be done."
"Me? Fifty … million?"
"Yeah. And you can hire people to run it and just hang out with the kids, or finish your degree and be a social worker. Hell, you can work in the library or the kitchen if you want. Totally up to you."
"Oh my God," I muttered. The man was building one of the largest, most awesome places I could imagine for children. Kids whose lives are falling apart, and offering them a place with everything they'd need or want to try and make it better. "This is incredible," I told him, unable to hold back the tears as I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Hopefully it’ll help a lot of kids and make you happy too. But there's one more little present left," he said against my ear as he swayed us back and forth.
"Well of course, because you clearly haven't done enough already," I told him, swiping away the moisture from under my eyes.
Letting me go he reached and popped open the roof of the replica clock tower, and pulled out a small, black velvet box. Oh my God! That couldn't be what I thought it was. It was probably just a necklace or earrings, and I was overreacting. Then Dylan went down on one knee and smiled up at me.
"I know we haven't officially been together that long, but I'm never going to want anyone but you, Jules. So, I tried to figure out what I should say to you when I asked you to marry me, other than I love you more than anything, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. There was only one thing that came to mind that I thought would seal the deal to convince you - I'm going bankrupt. Now will you marry me?"
