by Zuri Day
“Wait a minute, Gwen. I don’t know what you’ve heard but—”
“And on top of that, you have a baby that you’re probably not taking care of and God only knows if there aren’t a whole slew of baby mamas out there. You’ve got every female in town breathing heavy at the mention of your name and you probably think I’m on that list. Well, think again, Ransom. Because while you may be fine and everything, your obvious disregard for women in general and your child in particular are not attractive. So I want you to take your suave one-liners and try and hit on the next skirt you see swishing. Because I am not the one!”
Ransom’s retort was interrupted.
“Daddy!”
Daddy? Gwen’s mouth dropped open.
Isis came running over to her dad and grabbed him around the knee. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Ransom!” Kari ran over and grabbed Ransom’s other leg. “Where’s mom?”
Ransom picked up his daughter and mussed Kari’s curls. He spoke to the children, but his answer was obviously meant for Gwen. “She had to stay late at work and asked me to come get you. Is that all right? For me to come into the classroom and pick up my daughter and her friend?”
“Of course it’s all right, Daddy. Will you take us to Tastee Treat?”
“Yes, Ransom. Can you get us a snack like always?”
Ransom kissed his daughter on the cheek before he put her down. Grabbing Isis’s hand on one side and Kari’s on the other, he began walking from the room. “Well now, that’s going to depend on how much you can tell me about what you’ve learned today.”
Isis and Kari started talking at once, each trying to best the other with their been-in-first-grade-a-week wealth of knowledge.
They were almost to the door and still Gwen hadn’t moved. She had barely remembered to close her mouth. She was not only shocked speechless, but she was paralyzed. Ransom was the father of Isis—the adorable, intelligent student that she’d secretly coveted, believing that if she had a daughter, she’d want her to be like? Where was the mother? Why hadn’t she come to pick up her daughter and Carol’s child? A zillion thoughts fought for dominance as Gwen sought to connect her mind to her mouth and deliver a sound.
“Ransom!”
Ransom and the girls were halfway down the hall.
“Ransom! Wait!” He didn’t turn around. Gwen hurried to catch him, all the time wishing the floor could swallow her up and she could take back the last five minutes. If only Isis and Kari had come back sooner. “Ransom, please, I was way out of line.”
“Yes,” Ransom said, without turning around. “You were. But it doesn’t matter, not now.”
“I’m sorry, Ransom.”
He turned then, pulling Isis closer to his side. “I got what I came for, and then some. Good-bye, Gwen.”
Gwen swallowed hard, watching the strong, proud retreating back as it exited the building, as she’d asked. And he’d called her Gwen, not Butterfly, as she’d asked. So why didn’t it feel good to get what she said she wanted?
17
Gwen’s heart sank as she walked back to her classroom. She’d put more than a foot in her mouth. She’d put her foot, shin, thigh, and half her ass in there! And what could she do about it? There was no use calling him. To say what? she thought. Whoops, my bad? Gwen’s got jokes? I didn’t mean it, really? No, Gwen knew she’d made a horrible mistake, said things that were inappropriate to a man who obviously didn’t deserve it. She didn’t know the story behind the glee in Isis’s voice when she saw her dad, or the light that shone in his eyes when he looked at her, but she was sure it stood in marked contrast to the picture of him she’d painted. As she’d watched him exit the building, her mother’s voice echoed in her mind. Be careful what you ask for. “You just might get it,” Gwen said aloud. For she was certain that Ransom would now most definitely leave her alone.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think I just overheard a lovers’ quarrel.” Adam spoke softly as he walked into Gwen’s classroom. “But since I know you’re still married, and only interested in helping your mother and your students…” He placed a hand on her shoulder.
Gwen quickly put her desk between them and began shuffling papers.
Undeterred, Adam leaned on the desk, at the same spot Ransom had recently occupied. “You want to talk about it?”
“No, I don’t.” Gwen hurriedly placed the papers, folders, notebooks, and teacher aids into her tote bag.
“Fraternizing with the parents is frowned upon,” Adam continued. “It’s a small town, you know…. People talk.”
“Yes I do know, Adam. And I know something else. You and I go way back, it’s true. And I appreciate this special time you’re taking to check on a friend. Things have been cool this week, and I think I’m going to enjoy working here. But as I said at our first meeting, I’d like to keep our discussions professional and let my private life stay that way.”
“Oh, so you are fucking my brother?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Uh-huh, must be true. Not here a month and already spreading your legs for the locals. You were trying to act all goody-goody in the interview, so morally righteous. His game ain’t half good as mine and it only took my brother”—Adam snapped his fingers—“this long to get that pussy. My baby brother, at that.”
“Adam, this conversation is highly inappropriate and if you don’t leave right now, I’m going to have to report you.”
Adam laughed. “To who?” He laughed again. “Do you think things have changed that much since we left here? Girl, I still own this town. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll realize the advantages of playing on my team, and running all the way into the end zone to score that goal. You understand what I’m saying?”
Gwen was almost shaking with anger, but her mind was too confused to argue. She needed time to think, to regroup, to get her head together. That definitely wasn’t going to happen with Adam around.
She took a breath and calmly spoke to Adam. “Did you come here as the principal, in a professional capacity, or as my friend?”
Adam smiled and licked his lips. “I’m here as your friend, baby,” he said huskily.
“Well, in that case,” Gwen answered, “please let the door hit ’cha where the good Lord split ’cha. I’ve got work to do. Bye-bye.”
When he refused to budge, Gwen reached in the bottom desk drawer for her purse and took her keys out of the side pocket. She walked around her desk and toward the door.
“Adam, I respect you as the principal of this school, and when you approach me in that capacity, you will get my full cooperation.”
There, she thought. I guess I told him. Her sandal heels clicked along the floor as she walked a little taller out of the room, proud of the parting jab she’d delivered. Adam didn’t scare her, and she was looking for a job when she got this one. He’d better recognize!
But he had a parting gift for her too, one he delivered when he caught up to her in the hallway.
“As of this moment, you’re on a ninety-day probation,” he said, strolling casually next to her.
“What?” Gwen stopped. “Why? Because I’m your friend?” she hissed in a low voice.
“Because as of this moment you’re simply an employee,” Adam answered in an equally low tone. “That’s how you want to play this, correct?
“Look, it was a decision left up to me because of the strong recommendation I gave you, a report which heavily swayed the board. I wasn’t going to implement the probation because, well, you know, because I thought we were friends. But you’ve made it clear that is not what we are. So over the next three months, you need to show me how much you really want this job.”
Gwen’s blood was reaching the boiling point—again. “Don’t you mean I need to make sure to perform my duties in an exemplary manner, based on the parameters set for each teacher?”
“I think you understand exactly what I mean, Gwen Andrews Smith. I can make or break your employment here.
The choice is yours.”
With that, Adam turned on his heel and walked toward his office.
Well, now you’ve gone and done it, Gwen thought, as a shaky hand placed the key in her car’s ignition. She’d killed two proverbial birds with one “leave me alone” stone. She could justify Ransom’s assured absence. She didn’t need a lover. But Adam? Not so easy. Because she definitely needed a job.
18
Even though it was a weeknight, Gwen drove the two hours necessary to find common sense. For it seemed that no one in Sienna was in possession of any right now, especially her. She pulled into the complex parking lot and before she could knock on Chantay’s front door, it opened.
“Girl, get in here and tell me what the bump is going on in Sienna!”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m here.”
“Well, it must be something since you didn’t even want to talk about it over the phone.”
It was true. Gwen had called Chantay as soon as she left the school and asked about her plans for the night. When Chantay said her only plans were to take Sharonna to Target for additional school supplies, Gwen told her she’d be right over, as if LA wasn’t two hours away from where she was.
Gwen walked past Chantay and plopped down on the couch in the living room. Then she jumped back up and started pacing the room.
“Girl, you need a drink.”
“What I need is for both Adam and Ransom to move out of Sienna!”
“Uh-oh, dick drama.”
Gwen stopped pacing, looked at Chantay, and rolled her eyes.
“Girl, please, don’t give me attitude. I’m going to keep it as real as the hair under Tyra’s weave.”
This elicited the smile from Gwen that Chantay had hoped for, but didn’t stop the pacing.
Chantay watched in silence for a moment, before walking over and grabbing Gwen by the arm. “If you don’t come over here, sit your butt down and tell me what’s the matter, then you’re going to have to leave my house.”
Gwen allowed herself to be led over to the couch. Chantay put a finger in her face as if Gwen were her third child. “Don’t move.”
She went into the kitchen, and after Gwen listened to the opening of the refrigerator door, the clink of plates and glasses, a cork being pulled from its tight enclosure, and the sound of pouring liquid, Chantay came back into the room with two glasses of wine.
“You know I don’t drink and drive,” Gwen said.
“You’re not drinking and driving, you’re drinking and sitting. Just one glass. It will calm your nerves. I’ll make sure you’re sober before you leave. Now, here.”
Gwen took a tentative sip of the wine, and then another larger one before placing the glass on the black lacquer coffee table. After taking a deep breath, she began. “I did something really horrible today.”
Chantay nodded, encouraging her to go on.
“I made some assumptions about Ransom that were way off base, said some horrible things to and about him, and made a fool of myself in the process.”
Gwen stopped, took another sip of wine and then proceeded to tell Chantay about the afternoon’s encounter. She ended with her newfound knowledge that Isis was Ransom’s child.
“No! Not the one who you said if given the choice for a daughter, it would be her?”
“Can you believe it?”
Chantay took a sip of wine as she pondered what Gwen had told her. “It might not be as bad as you think,” she said finally. “I mean, everybody makes mistakes. Plus, you showed him you are not to be messed with. Now, just apologize profusely, give him some, and let bygones be bygones.”
Gwen’s brow furrowed as she looked at Chantay. “Give him some what?”
Chantay sat back on the couch. She looked at her friend and shook her head slowly. “Child, I can’t believe you’re forty. Pussy,” she added, after Gwen continued to look confused. “P-u-s-s-y, give him some. That’s a sorry that works for most of the male species any day of the week.”
“You know what? If you weren’t my best friend, I’d be offended. Contrary to popular belief and obviously yours too, sex is not the end-all, be-all, cure-all for life’s ailments.”
“Well, baby, it can handle about ninety-nine point nine, nine—”
“Furthermore,” Gwen said firmly, rising from the couch to pace again but this time taking the wineglass with her, “I have no plans to start anything romantic with anybody in that town, or anybody anywhere in the near future.”
“Yeah, I know…you’re married. Even though you’re the only one acting like it,” Chantay added after a beat.
“That’s not the point and that was not where I was headed. You know how it is in Sienna, with everybody knowing everybody’s business. How many times did we hear some rumor about who I supposedly slept with? It’s one of the reasons I was a virgin when I left high school, because I was determined not to be the notch on somebody’s belt or the prize of some fool’s wager. And because I didn’t want to end up on the front page of the—”
“Sienna Sun,” Chantay said with Gwen.
“Coming back as a teacher makes my position on this all the more important,” Gwen continued. “I’m responsible for my neighbors’ children, and a role model for others.” Gwen paused, remembering the conversations she and Chantay had had after telling her that Phillip Burns was how Robert knew Ransom.
“You mean the red-haired cutie who was sexing up the teacher?” Chantay had laughingly asked.
Gwen didn’t intend to be the butt of a joke about the teacher who sexed up her student’s dad. “As teachers,” she continued, “we’re held to a different standard, and the last thing I want is to have folks whispering behind my back about whose house I tipped out of in the middle of the night.”
“Well, if you’d leave in the daytime like respectable folk, you wouldn’t have that problem.”
Gwen returned to the couch. “The truth is, being broadsided by Joe wanting out of the marriage didn’t do wonders for my self-esteem or my trust in men. I think it’s best right now to concentrate on my work and Mama. Wait a minute. How did the conversation go from my horrible run-in with Sienna’s heartthrob to me and relationships?”
“Girl, I don’t even know. You hungry?” Chantay got up and walked toward the kitchen. “And where does Adam fit in to the scenario? Why does he have to leave town?”
“Because he’s trying to get into my panties, but what else is new with Adam Johnson?”
“Figures. What I can’t figure out though, is why you’re saying no. After all these years? You should do it for old times’ sake, if nothing else.”
“Chantay…”
“Girl, I’m just kidding.” Chantay laughed, as the smell of frying hamburgers wafted into the living room.
“He all but threatened me,” Gwen continued. She walked into the kitchen, took a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water. “Saying that it was his recommendation that got me the job.” She drank almost half the glass and refilled it. “And that’s not all. He put me on a ninety-day probation.”
“Uh-uh, stop it, girl. He can do that?”
“I need to re-examine my contract, but I wouldn’t doubt it. Not that I’m worried. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I am an excellent teacher, if I must say so myself. I’ll be the epitome of excellence until Christmas and beyond. I’ll even switch schools if I have to. I thought this was the dream job, but now that Mama is in Lancaster…”
“Hmph. Trust, you don’t want to deal with those bad-ass kids.”
“And he thinks I’m screwing Ransom.”
“Of course he does. Adam always thinks the only reason a woman isn’t with him is because she’s with someone else. It’s better for his fragile male ego.”
Chantay placed slices of pepper jack cheese on the well-done patties and placed a lid over the skillet. “You want grilled onions?”
“However you’re having yours,” Gwen replied.
A few minutes later, the women sat at Chan
tay’s well-worn dining room table with plates of burgers and potato salad. After eating silently for a few minutes, Chantay put down her fork.
“Here’s the deal, Gwen. And I’m going to give it to you straight. You’re wound as tight as a cork, and you need to lighten up.” She put her hand up when Gwen got ready to protest. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, and I’m definitely not taking sides with Adam. All I am saying is that your experience with Joe, asshole that he is, has you lashing out at the entire male species and it’s making life miserable for you. You’re a beautiful, talented woman. You’ve got the tools…use them! There’s nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting. You don’t have to be slutty, just be nice! Apologize to Ransom, throw a smile or two at Adam. Make a man think he might get some, even in the distant future, and you’ll tame him quick.
“You don’t need to add any more stress to your life than is already there. And you’ve repeatedly said how bad you need this job—not that you can’t get one elsewhere, but do you really want to do that right now? There are not many areas in life where I can be an example. But if I know anything, I know men. And I know how you can make your life a lot easier…. Let somebody hit that pom-pom so you can chill the bump out!”
19
A kaleidoscope of five- and six-year-old sights and sounds swirled around Gwen’s rambunctious first-grade classroom.
“Okay, class, I need your attention for a moment.”
The cacophony continued. Gwen walked from behind her desk and rested her hip against the front of it. “I have another really big surprise for you, but until everybody is quiet, no one will hear what it is.”
That’s all she needed to say. The leaders of the class were promptly shushing those who dared speak, and one particularly saucy six-year-old seemed to have all of them, boy and girl, eating out of her hand.
