“No, but if I continue receiving phone calls, we’ll have to discuss it again.”
I managed to make it through the rest of the school day. I’m not sure how, though. I felt as if I were under a microscope. Thankfully, Dana and Kara, who I’m sure knew all about it, didn’t say a word, but they didn’t treat me any differently either.
As soon as I figured Mom was off work, I picked up the phone to call her, but a knock on my door stopped me.
“Hi sweetie.” She knew. I could tell by the look on her face. She’d probably had to endure an entire day at the Dairy, hearing all about it.
So I did all I could at the moment and started crying. It was like high school all over again. Me crying my heart out as Mom held me.
“Listen, Lily. You’ve done nothing wrong. Hold your head high.” Rubbing my back, while pushing hair from my eyes, I knew she was right, but still. “Just be more careful in the future. You don’t want to jeopardize your career over this.”
Over what? I hadn’t done anything wrong dammit! In fact, all I’d done since the storm last April was work toward saving Dutch and Tulip. I don’t mean to whine, but come on!
Not long after Mom left, Kelly called to check up on me. After telling her about what happened at school, she was ticked.
“You should contact the union. That’s total BS!” Kelly growled.
“I know, but what am I supposed to do? Calling the union would only make things worse.” If that was possible.
After assuring Kelly I was fine, she tried to cheer me up by suggesting we go Christmas shopping soon. She was dating a doctor and they were in that awkward early stage. She didn’t know what an appropriate gift would be or if she should even get him something after only three dates.
Jonas called too, but I was too bummed out to talk to him, but he left a very nice message. I had trouble sleeping that night. Worry about my job, my reputation and personal safety clouded my thoughts.
And the kiss.
What had it meant? To me it meant the world, but did it mean anything to Jay?
~~~~~
Things just keep getting better and better. First thing Tuesday morning, when I arrived at school—early—I was trying to show Principal Kyser how responsible I was, Britni was there waiting to ambush me.
“You bitch!” Standing in front of school, Britni was not too embarrassed to chew me a new one, no matter who was watching.
My hands were full or I would have used them to gesture in surrender. “Britni, listen, it’s not what you think. I…”
But she cut me off before I could finish. “This is for trying to steal my boyfriend,” she yelled, slapping me with enough force that I stumbled back.
Too stunned from the first slap, like an idiot I didn’t see the second one coming either. “And that’s for being a bitch! Stay away from Jay. He’s mine.” With what I hoped was her final slap, she huffed her way to her car and drove off.
So there I stood, looking like a fool as tears welled in my eyes. It hurts being slapped. I mean big time hurts. My cheeks stung, she’d gotten me on both sides and I was sure they were bright red. Lucky she hadn’t gone for my hair, which I was wearing down.
“Oh my God! Are you all right?” Kara took my bags from me and helped me to a bench. “What in the world was that all about?” As if she didn’t know.
“Miss Mein. In my office please.” Principal Bertman was standing in the doorway, with a look I hoped never to see again.
Great. This was it, wasn’t it? He was gonna can me for sure now. Several students had witnessed the scene, along with parents dropping off their kids early for Math Bowl practice. I mustered as much pride as I could, which wasn’t much, and followed Principal Kyser to his office, my home away from home.
Mrs. Bass just shook her head at me as if I were a home wrecker when I passed by her desk.
After rifling through some files, Principal Kyser looked at me and frowned. “It looks like you’ve got several personal days. You will be taking them starting now. Go home and straighten this out. When you come back Monday, you had better figure out a way to leave your personal business at home.” Rising from his desk, Principal Kyser left the room, shutting the door behind him.
I guess he thought I was gonna break down and he didn’t want to watch. I thought about rifling through his files and finding the pack of cigarettes he kept hidden and lighting up myself.
Isn’t nicotine a depressant? Not exactly what I needed at the moment. I could feel a good case of the blues coming on anyway.
Thirty minutes later, after composing myself and hiding his cigarettes somewhere else, I left the principal’s office, hoping no one saw me, and drove straight home.
I thought about calling Ruth and seeing if she had any more whiskey, but that would probably backfire on me if Junior caught me walking home and arrested me for public intoxication. I turned the ringer on my phone off, before calling dad for advice.
“Resign and come to Indy.” Dad was upset, but also eager for the chance it gave him to convince me to leave Holland.
“Stop it Dad. You know I can’t leave now. Dutch and Tulip aren’t saved yet.” Lying on the floor in the living room, tissues in hand, I was trying to get Dad to tell me something useful.
“What do you want me to say then? If you’re determined to stay, you’re going to have to deal with this.”
“I know, but what are my rights as a teacher? Could they fire me for this?” I should know my rights, but couldn’t remember if there was moral clause in my contract.
“I’ll do some checking around, but maybe you should call your union rep. Just in case. We wouldn’t want this to prevent you from getting a job somewhere else.” Dad had a friend on the school board in Indy and was sure I could get a job, but not if baggage was weighing down my once spotless record.
“I’m still not sure that’s what I want. Holland is my home.”
“Indy could be your home too. How about if you came and stayed with me for a few days? You’ve got the time now.” Dad suggested.
Ouch. The reminder of having time off made me feel bad. It’s not like I was on vacation. “I’ll think about it,” I said dismally.
“Good. You do that. And think about what I said. There are a lot of advantages to living in a bigger city. Museums, theatre, hell we even have these things called grocery stores and restaurants.” Now he was just trying to be funny, but still I wasn’t feeling it.
“Maybe, but Holland has advantages too.” We may not have all the things a bigger city had, but we had wide open spaces, fields of wheat that turned golden in the late afternoon sun and clean air. Life here was simpler and unspoiled.
It had been for me one time at least, but somehow in the last few days, my simple, unspoiled life had turned on me and a city that had an actual crime rate was almost appealing.
~~~~~
When Junior had called early Wednesday morning, he informed me about the progress on the case. The excited tone in which he spoke made me smile. I had a case. Or was I the case? Whatever the case may be, Junior had nothing to tell me. There were no fingerprints, so the police had nothing to go on.
I thought about taking Dad up on his offer and ditching Holland, but running from my problems wouldn’t solve anything. No. I would stay, besides I had a committee meeting tomorrow night. Now that the money was almost raised, we had to move forward with plans for the celebration in July.
I knew if I spent today at home, I’d feel worse. If that was possible. I’d cried earlier, after making a list of potential couples to marry under Dutch and Tulip. Jay and Britni were at the top of my list.
The weather was decent, cool but sunny so I ventured out of the house, riding my bike, to the bank, where I received less than welcoming service. All the while wondering if the bank teller was the one responsible for my broken window.
I stopped by the park and visited with Dutch and Tulip. “Am I a bad person?” I asked them.
“No. Of course not, Lily. You’re an angel sent straight down
from heaven.” They replied in unison, smiling down at me as they spoke.
“I know, but I just feel…I don’t know, off I guess. This whole thing with my window, my job and Jay has got me out of sorts. Know what I mean?” I was leaning against Dutch’s clog, looking up at Tulip.
“It’s perfectly normal to feel down sweetheart, but we love you. Don’t worry yourself so. Things will be fine. You’ll see.” Tulip had the sweetest sounding voice. Like the angel she thought I was.
Dutch’s deep baritone chimed in words of encouragement as well. “That’s right. And this thing with Jay will work itself out. Listen to Tulip. She’s always right you know.” Dutch laughed and I imagined what Tulip would say to him about that after I left.
After telling them my troubles, I felt better. I knew they’d understand and support me through the trials and tribulations that had become my life.
If only life could be so simple and I could really talk to Dutch and Tulip.
When I got home from my ride, I did nothing. I sat on the floor, where my couch had been and stared at the newly cleaned walls. I was doodling a broken heart on the con side of my pro/con list when Ruth called, inviting me to lunch.
It was exactly what I needed. Someone who didn’t hate me.
After lunch, I was at a loss. Not used to having free time, especially not in the middle of the week, I could’ve worked on school stuff, but my heart wasn’t in it. So now I was back to staring at the walls, only now I was full.
Remember earlier when I mentioned the one good thing did happen this week? Well it came in the form of Gloria knocking on my front door. Which is weird. No one ever comes to the front door, unless it’s a salesman. Cautiously, I looked to see who it was before opening. The window incident had taught me to be more careful if nothing else.
“These are for you.” Handing me a bouquet of yellow tulips, Gloria smiled. “I tried to take them to school, but they said you were taking a few days off. Everything okay?” Apparently, Gloria hadn’t heard the details of my life or if she did, she didn’t let on.
“Yes. Everything’s fine. The tulips are beautiful.” I smelled them and they made me truly happy for the first time in days.
“Good, well I gotta run. I have to deliver an order to the funeral home.” Gloria said, smiling. Then her smile got wider. “So, you’ll you be off tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Unfortunately, I would be busy staring at the walls again.
“I was thinking since you’re off, and if you don’t have anything else to do, you should come quilt with us. Your mom would love that.” Gloria had that hopeful look in her eye. The same one Mom always got when trying to convince me to quilt.
“Maybe. I’ll bring Ruth too.” Ruth quilted at one time, but she’d lost interest and quit years ago. Or maybe she just realized how boring it was.
Okay. Getting to the good part. The flowers were from Jay. In his messy hand, he’d written one word.
Sorry.
Chapter 16
“I’m bored.” Now that Tulip knew they weren’t leaving, she decided that she did want to go somewhere. The park was nice, but after all these years she longed to see the rest of Holland.
“What would you like to do, flower? We could play a game?” Dutch was thinking Spin the Bottle.
“No, Let’s go for a walk. Maybe go to my flower haus? We could buy some flowers, then walk to Lily’s house.” Tulip was worried about Lily. The last time she’d visited, she’d been so sad. Flowers would cheer her up.
A walked sounded like just the thing. Dutch could hold Tulip’s hand and know that he’d be the envy of every man in town with such a pretty girl on his arm. “Maybe after our walk, we can kiss.” Dutch said with a note of hope in his voice.
~~~~~
I called Ruth early Thursday morning. I knew if she agreed to go with me, she’d want to have time to cook something for the potluck. “I can’t stay for the supper Ruth, but I’m sure Mom will bring you home if you want to stay,” I told her.
“I’ll have to dig out my needle and thimble, but I’ll be ready when you pick me up.” Ruth hung up on me then, well not exactly. I think she forgot we were on the phone and just laid it down. I screamed into the phone for several minutes, trying to tell her to hang it up, but I guess she was too busy hunting for her sewing box to hear me.
The quilting ladies were happy to see us. I hadn’t told Mom, so she was extra happy. You’d have thought I told her I’d won the lottery by the look on her face. This is probably going to backfire on me. Now she’ll think I’ve seen the light and be expecting me every Thursday.
We worked on the Dutch and Tulip themed quilt. It was a scrap quilt and someone had appliqued Dutch and Tulip in varying materials. Twenty-four blocks, and in the center was a large block with Dutch and Tulip. Happy 50th anniversary, it said.
It was so pretty that I didn’t mind seeing the kissing couple in something other than red. The constant in all the blocks were Tulip’s bows. They, at least were red.
The quilt was going to be an amazing work of art. The ladies weren’t sure yet if they wanted to raffle it off or donate it to the town for display at the windmill. Personally, I wanted it for myself, but I’m pretty sure if I offer to help, Mom will make me one of my own for Lucy’s bedroom. Mom would do anything for her unborn grandchild.
I was glad when Gloria and I had to leave for the meeting. My fingertips were throbbing and I know Mom is going to rip out all my stiches after I leave. Hard as I tried, I couldn’t get the hang of it. One stitch would be acceptable in length and the next an inch long.
And the gossip. It’s a wonder they got anything done between solving the world’s problems and talking about people I’d known my whole life. I couldn’t decide what to focus on most of the afternoon. My poor stitches or the talk. I may be able to multi-task, but this was a whole other level.
I was frustrated from having worked my fingers to the bone, literally, and for what? For them to just rip out all my hard work? Nope. Never coming back here again.
Unless, of course, Ruth wants to or Mom makes me.
When Gloria and I entered the meeting, I felt better. Today had been good, even if my bleeding fingers didn’t agree. All I needed to do was focus on the positives. Dutch and Tulip.
Most of the committee was present, looking over sketches of the park trying to decide where to place the various stands. Tiny was reviewing the schedule of events, trying to spice it up from previous years.
“Surprised to see you here,” Glen said when he looked up and saw me.
“Why? The meetings not cancelled, is it?” I asked. Remember, I’m slow on the uptake sometimes. Naiveté or sheer stupidity? Maybe both, but I didn’t understand Glen’s statement.
“I think we,” nodding to the rest of the committee, “can handle everything from here on out,” Glen said.
“Come again? What are you talking about? I’ve worked my butt off for them.” I was going to see this through. Why would I stop now?
“What are you going on about, Glen?” Faye asked suspiciously.
“I would think that Lily has enough on her plate right now.”
Remember when I wanted to take back what I said about Glen being an asshole? I take that back now too.
“Glen, stop. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Gloria scolded.
“Really? I should be ashamed? Why? I’m not the one stealing another woman’s boyfriend while dating another man. My home’s not been targeted, I’m not losing my job and I haven’t had the tar beaten out of me in front of the entire school.” Glen was frowning and shaking his head, as if embarrassed by me.
I couldn’t take it any longer. I’d been nice, even when others hadn’t been nice to me. Plus let’s not forget I haven’t done anything wrong! “What are you talking about? I’m not stealing anyone’s boyfriend.” Even though I wanted to. “The window thing was far from my fault, I didn’t lose my job and what other boyfriend?”
“Jay and Jonas Heimerschmitt ring any bells? Th
e whole town knows how you’re bouncing between the two. What? You can’t decide which Heimerschmitt you want?”
“That’s enough, Glen,” Jay, arriving late, was coming to my rescue.
Only I didn’t want to be rescued, not by anyone. “Glen, I am not even going to attempt to explain any of this to you. It’s none of your business,” I said.
“I disagree. You are hardly the type of person we want representing Holland. Your services,” he said with a sneer, “are no longer needed.” I didn’t realize that Glen and Principal Kyser were best friends.
“Well guess what? Too bad. I started this and I’m finishing it.” Whoa. I felt a head rush coming on, but continued anyway. Looking each member in the eye, I was glad Rev. Koeln wasn’t present to see this and be further shamed by my wicked ways. “Is that what you want? Does the committee want me gone? Oh wait, let’s take a vote,” I added sarcastically.
“I don’t think that’s what any of us wants. I don’t know what all the fuss is about anyway. Lily can sleep with whoever she wants. What this has to do with Dutch and Tulip is beyond me.” Tiny was such an honest man, it was painful. “The money’s almost raised. The rest is a piece of cake. Now can we move on please?”
“Tiny’s right. Let’s get down to business.” Faye said, and Gloria nodded in agreement.
~~~~~
If I could have, I would have called in sick on Friday. What I needed was a vacation from my life. How the hell had I gone from being Dutch and Tulip’s savior to the town pariah?
This entire week has been a bust. Nothing’s gone right.
I could soon be unemployed, the whole town thought I was a loose woman, those were Ruth’s words, I didn’t have a couch or a man’s shoulder to cry on.
I’ve had it! I’m done!
Not done with Dutch and Tulip. I needed them to get married. No. I was done worrying about what people thought. All I’ve done for the past seven months is work toward a commendable goal and this is the thanks I get.
Yeah, yeah. Holland is a small town. This kind of gossip will blow over, it always does. By next week someone or something else will be more important to talk about than me. Until then, well….Well I’d take Mom’s advice and hold my head high.
Head held high, I dialed Jay’s number.
“Hello,” Jay’s voice was like hearing a choir of angels singing. The very same lips that were now speaking, had kissed me only days ago. I felt better already.
A Holland Kiss Page 13
