A Sister's Promise (Promises) (22 page)

Right. Kate took shallow breaths and gazed into Joely’s eyes. “Does Jake know you have lupus?”

Joely tucked her hair behind her ear and looked off into the distance. “No, but I’m sure it wouldn’t matter.”

“Then why haven’t you told him?”

Joely furrowed her brow. “Because it hasn’t come up.”

Kate couldn’t stop now. “I think it’s because deep down you’re afraid. Afraid that he doesn’t really love you. Afraid that as far as he’s concerned, you’re damaged goods.”

Now Joely was the one with judgment in her eyes. “What a shitty thing to say, Kate.” She grabbed her purse and stood. “I hate you!”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Rubbing her eyes, Kate logged on to her work computer. The nightmares had returned. Only this time Joely held Jake’s hand as their bodies sank to the bottom of the pool. And Kate found herself locked inside Mrs. Pilo’s house, pounding on the sliding glass door, unable to jump in and save her sister.

Kate had left Joely five voicemail messages. She wondered how she would ever get Joely to speak to her again. This wasn’t like a petty disagreement about going on a vacation together. Joely had spent years remembering Jake the way she wished and not as the self-centered jerk Kate exposed him to be. Perhaps Joely had never stopped loving him.

Kate tapped her fingers on the keyboard until she saw an e-mail message from Mr. Mohr regarding Linda Cochran. Would the principal notify the staff through e-mail that Mrs. B had been let go? Kate couldn’t wait to click “open”.

To:
 
[email protected]

From:
 
[email protected]

Re:
 
Linda Cochran

We would like to congratulate Linda Cochran as the teacher whose students scored the highest in the state on the US History AP test. She will be recognized at Senior Awards Night.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Kate shouted at the screen.

She didn’t have time to deal with her outrage because a parent and student hovered in her doorway. The callous-handed Mrs. Descartes and her husky son took seats across from Kate, barely fitting in their chairs. As Kate looked at a transcript with more C’s and D’s than A’s and B’s, she remembered recently seeing that same young man outside the truancy officer’s door. Kate wondered why he wanted to spend any more time in school than he had to.

“Tell me, Philip, what type of job are you hoping to have some day?” Kate asked.

“I don’t know.” He looked at the candy dish on the desk instead of at Kate.

Kate held out the bowl. “You can have a piece.”

“No thanks,” he said.

Kate suspected that Mrs. Descartes was more interested in higher education than Philip.

He bounced his leg up and down. “I like to work on cars. Can I study that in college?”

“Sure. At a vocational school.”

“If I have to go I’d like some place that has an ice hockey team,” he said.

“Philip is the team captain,” his mom added proudly.

Kate smiled, hiding her mild distress. “Would you be happy playing intramurals?” Finding a school that offered both automotive classes and inter-collegiate sports was not going to be easy. “We have a computer program where you can input what you’re looking for in a school and it suggests options.”

Mrs. Descartes looked at her son. “That sounds good.”

Kate went through the computer inventory regarding housing, majors and athletics. When she was done she was pleased that there were a few schools that offered everything Philip and his mom wanted.

“I’ll print this list out for you, so you can remember their names,” Kate said, pushing the “enter” key. A moment later she handed the printouts to Philip, who looked at them with interest.

He pointed at the list. “They have an awesome team.”

Mrs. Descartes smiled as her eyes filled with tears. “I wanted to go to college, but my senior year my mom got very sick. I ended up staying home and taking care of her for a year. Once she passed away. . .” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I was done with high school. And I didn’t know how to apply to college. I wish I would’ve had a counselor as friendly as you.”

This was a first. A parent had never cried during a college consultation.

Once they left, Kate experienced an incredible feeling of satisfaction. She realized that was something she could offer her own child:
 
starting early, Kate could help him or her see the value of a good education and offer career advice. Assuming, of course, she lived that long.

The school’s volume level rose instantly when the dismissal bell rang and the halls filled with celebratory teenagers. Lily, her red hair pulled back into a ponytail, stuck her head in Kate’s office. “Is Mrs. Descartes still here?”

“She left a few minutes ago.”

“Damn. Oh—I mean, darn,” she said, looking somewhat remorseful.

“That’s OK.” Kate didn’t believe in writing kids up for what they said in her office. “Why?”

“She’s my new foster mom. I wanted to tell her I’m not going to be home right after school. I’m going to help a teacher grade papers and then to thank me, she’s cooking me dinner.”

Kate’s pulse quickened. Most teachers understood the boundaries between school and personal life, but just in case, Kate asked, “What teacher?”

“Mrs. Cochran.”

Hot adrenaline shot through Kate’s veins.
How dare she! How dare Mrs. B go after my Lily.
“Lily, you had better go straight home.”

Lily didn’t move. “But I don’t want to.”

“The buses are leaving any minute. Hurry up. I’m sure Mrs. Descartes wants you to eat dinner with her tonight.”

“Did she say something?”

Kate hated to lie to students. “Trust me. Go home.”

Lily walked away without answering.

Could that have been Mrs. B that Lily was kissing and holding hands with in that parking lot surveillance video? The hooded wool coat was more sophisticated than the ski jackets most of the kids wore. In fact, she remembered seeing Mrs. B wearing one like it. Kate decided she had to talk to Rhonda.

Kate entered Rhonda’s office and closed the door behind her. She felt her heart beating out of control. She sat down in a wicker chair and took a deep breath, remembering that Mr. Mohr said not to discuss it with anyone.

Rhonda looked up from her computer, her face beaming. “Just the person I wanted to see. I have some good news.”

Kate raised her eyebrows.

“I found a teacher with a counseling license who would be interested in job-sharing with you next year.”

Kate chewed on her lip. That would be perfect except for Mitch’s veto on daycare. They still hadn’t resolved that issue. “Who is it?”

“Yolanda.”

“Really?” Yolanda was the first teacher Kate met on her first day of work. She walked up to Kate, stopped humming “You are my Sunshine” and proclaimed, “Welcome to Foxworth High. We’re so glad to have you on board.” She shook Kate’s hand enthusiastically.

It turned out Kate wasn’t the only one drawn to Yolanda. She was one of those teachers students adored. Kate was surprised once to find out that Yolanda used to be a trouble-maker when she was in school. Her background provided her with an uncanny ability to bond with even the toughest adolescents. And yet the prom queens and valedictorians liked her, too. Kate knew she would be a great counselor. “I didn’t know she had her license.”

“Yes. And she’s looking for a change of pace. She’s very excited about the idea.”

Kate hated to tell Rhonda that she went to all of this effort for nothing. Why did Mitch have to be so determined that having your mom around twenty-four hours a day was the only way to go? “Sounds good.”

“Kate, I’m so excited for you. I just loved making mud pies and playing Chutes & Ladders. It was a wonderful time.”

Kate nodded, forcing a smile.

“You look like you have something else on your mind.”

Kate wasn’t always good at hiding her feelings, but Rhonda definitely had a knack for seeing right through her. “I need your expert opinion.”

“Oooh, I’m an expert, am I?” Rhonda joked.

Fondling her wedding band, Kate considered how to begin. “You know about that former student accusing a teacher of inappropriate conduct?”

She nodded her head hesitantly. “Sure.”

“How much do you know about it?”

“I’m not really at liberty to say. Why?”

“You know it’s Mrs. B, right?” Kate blurted. “I mean, Linda Cochran.”

The expression on her face confirmed Kate’s suspicions. She wondered if the principal was simply seeking her expert opinion on this topic when Kate overheard them a few weeks ago. After all, many of the staff members used Rhonda as their own personal therapist. She helped a secretary a few years ago acknowledge that she had a problem with Ambien and she helped several teachers (including Mrs. B) through painful divorces.

Rhonda looked her in the eye. “How do you know?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad you know because I need to be able to talk to someone about this. Ever since I found out my stomach has been in knots. I can hardly think about anything except how to get rid of her.”

Rhonda started shuffling papers on her desk. “What do you mean ‘get rid of her’?”

Kate resisted the urge to say how much she disliked the woman. “I mean, how can I place students in her classroom knowing that she might take advantage of them?”

“Do you think maybe you are anxious to get rid of her not because you think she’s a danger to the students, but because you don’t like her?”

“No,” Kate said. She couldn’t believe Rhonda was trying to turn this around on her. “It’s not so much that I don’t like her, more that she has never liked me.”

Rhonda studied Kate’s face. “I think I might know what it is. You look a lot like the girl her husband left her for.”

“Really?”

She nodded her head emphatically.

“When did that happen?”

“Oh, a long time ago.”

Kate allowed this new insight to seep into her brain. Could it be as simple as that? Kate reminded her of her past? Her disdain really had nothing to do with Kate at all. Not yet anyway.

Kate twisted her ring some more. “I just spoke to a student who was going over to Mrs. Cochran’s house for dinner.” Kate felt as if she had said all she needed to say, yet Rhonda didn’t react.

“Did the student say anything inappropriate had happened?” Rhonda asked.

“Well, no. Not yet. But it sounds to me like it’s heading in that direction. I don’t understand how Foxworth Community Schools can keep a predator on the payroll.”

“The people with power have decided to just wait for her to retire.”

“Can’t they do something more?”

Crossing her arms, Rhonda leaned back. “I’ve been told they can’t.”

Kate moved forward, placing her hands on the desk. “But how can you stand it? Doesn’t it bug you knowing what she did?”

“No one really knows what happened.”

“Do you think she’s innocent? I mean, why would this former student make something like this up?”

“It’s hard to say. I’ve known Linda for many years and I barely remember Jennifer. She seemed like a nice enough girl. Never got into trouble. Her grades weren’t that great, but I remember her family was rather neglectful.”

“And Mrs. B took advantage of that,” Kate said.

Rhonda didn’t say anything.

Kate took a moment to consider things. “Don’t you think there have been other victims?”

Rhonda let out a sigh. “
If
Linda really did this back in ’93 then she probably has done it since.”

“There has to be something we can do,” Kate added.

Rhonda looked Kate in the eye and said, “I don’t think there is.”

Disappointment overwhelmed Kate. How could it be? Rhonda, her mentor, didn’t have an answer.

That night in bed, Kate worried about what might have happened to Lily if she had gone to Mrs. B’s house. Kate may have stopped it today, but what about tomorrow?

Kate heard the barely audible sound of Mitch’s snoring and she envied his ability to sleep. After switching from her left side to her right and back again, she told her mind to settle down, but it wouldn’t listen.

She couldn’t believe how calm Rhonda was about the possibility of girls being fondled by Mrs. B. Unlike Kate, Rhonda had tenure. She could actually retire if she wanted to. She had nothing to lose by taking a stand. Instead she was on Mrs. B’s side.

Thoughts swirled around and around in Kate’s head, torturing her. How was she going to convince Lily to stay away from Mrs. B without telling what she had been forbidden to talk about? How was Kate going to protect Lily and every other girl at FHS?

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

“What am I going to do if I don’t like Trish’s fiancé?” Kate asked, zipping her black cocktail dress.

Mitch stepped out of their walk-in closet wearing a crisp button-down shirt and dress pants. “It doesn’t matter if you like him. You’re not the one marrying him.”

She caught her breath. “Wow—you look amazing.” He walked closer and she inhaled the scent of her favorite cologne, Polo.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” He winked.

“Thank you.” Then she remembered her worries. “I just wish I hadn’t waited until Trish’s engagement party to meet Sean for the first time.”

He nodded.

“What if all Sean talks about is his BMW and enormous earning potential? What do I say to Trish?”

Mitch tightened the Windsor knot in his burgundy tie. “I grew up with money. Do you think I’m superficial?”

“Of course not. But remember that time we went out to eat with your lawyer friend, Don? He kept pulling back his sleeve to look at his watch, hoping we’d notice it was a Rolex. Then he seemed to enjoy making the waiter work for his tip—requesting special ingredients and sending his steak back twice.”

“So Don is a bit of a jerk. I don’t think that has anything to do with finances.”

“Sure it does.”

“Are you saying our kid doesn’t have a chance of growing into a decent person?”

Kate had never considered how their comfortable, upper middle-class lifestyle would impact a child. Deep down she still thought of herself as a neglected orphan. “I just believe if you have to work for something, you appreciate it more. You probably turned out OK because your parents made you do chores and earn your spending money rather than giving you whatever you wanted.”

“Speaking of children—have you heard back from the doctor?”

Kate felt herself stiffen. “No.”

“They said the lab results would only take a couple of days. Maybe you should call.”

“Maybe.” If she didn’t, she could live in denial just a while longer.

“I’m serious, Kate. Give them a call.” Mitch pierced his tie with his gold tie tack.

Kate returned to her original point. “Did I tell you Sean is a lawyer too? They’re not exactly known for being warm, compassionate people. I heard of a case where due to privileged communication, two lawyers let a man sit in prison sentenced to life for murder. They knew without a doubt that he was innocent because another man had confessed to them. They only went to the authorities to save the poor man once their guilty client died. Even then the lawyers claimed they couldn’t have said anything except that their homicidal client had given them permission. I’ve heard the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but I personally think it’s paved with good lawyers.”

Mitch grinned, showing off his dimple. “Well, as long as you have an open mind.” He tucked his wallet in his back pocket. “Can I say something without your taking offense?”

“Sure.” Leaning down, Kate slipped on her black satin pumps.

He hesitated. “I would think, considering what happened with your sister’s engagement, that you would realize sometimes it’s better not to interfere.”

“That’s not fair. I didn’t mean to break them up. . . .”

“Are you sure?”

Kate’s jaw dropped. “Yes! How could you say that?”

“Sometimes you act like you know better than Joely. I’m not sure if it’s because you’re her older sister or what.”

“I’m just trying to protect her.”

“She’s a grown woman. It’s time you realize she doesn’t need your protection any more.”

“You can’t possibly understand.” Kate rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. She leaned against the vanity, trembling.

Every day she waited for and dreaded her sister’s call. She feared Joely would forgive her only when Jake hurt her again.

Would Joely have been better off if Kate had kept quiet all of those years ago? If she had denied the ugly details of her mother’s condition? But Joely said she wanted the whole package—husband and children. Now at age thirty-two she had neither.

# # #

Walking into the dimly lit banquet room of Chez David twenty minutes later, Kate struggled to identify the earthy, woodsy aroma infused with the air. Thyme. Maybe rosemary.

As she looked around, she realized that she and Mitch were over-dressed. It was as if the invitation read “Attire:
 
business casual”. Kate almost felt bad for insisting Mitch wear a suit when most of the men in the room looked like they were in a Dockers commercial. Mitch gave Kate a look that indicated he was thinking the same thing. He left her side and headed to the bar.

Feeling self-conscious, Kate smiled and nodded at several teachers and school board members while she searched the crowd for Trish. She walked past a wall full of sepia-colored Parisian landmarks toward the sound of Trish’s laughter. Seeing Mrs. B out of the corner of her eye, Kate stiffened. Kate had been so worried about meeting Sean that she forgot her nemesis would be there. When Kate finally found Trish talking to Nancy, she rushed over to join them.

“Hi!” Trish said with the enthusiasm of a nineteen-year old aerobics teacher. They gave each other a one-armed hug since Trish had a glass of wine in one hand.

“You look great.” She wore a dress too, thank God. It was cream with buttons down the front. Kate recognized it as the one they bought at the Anne Taylor outlet store.

Kate turned and hugged Nancy, trying not to step on Sammy who was crawling back and forth between his mom’s legs. “It’s been a long time. How have you been?” Nancy caressed her protruding belly and told Kate she was pregnant, confessing that last time she was barely showing at three months.

The three of them together reminded Kate of old times. Nancy, Trish and Kate used to have a ball rolling their eyes at each other during faculty meetings and teacher in-services. By Winter Break of her first year, though, Nancy announced that she was pregnant. She finished out the year and never came back. It seemed a lot of young female teachers followed that path and Kate didn’t understand it. Why did they bother to get an education if they were just going to quit and stay at home?

“How did you know you were ready, you know, to be a mom?” Trish asked Nancy, as if reading Kate’s mind.

Nancy rested her right hand on her watermelon stomach. “To be honest, teaching wasn’t what I thought it would be like. So I decided it was time to start a family.”

That didn’t sound like much of a reason to bring a child into the world, Kate thought.

Nancy shared a few stories about how precious and wonderful her little Sammy was before Trish saved Kate by saying she wanted to introduce her to Sean.

As they crossed the room, Kate recognized him from Trish’s description. He had dark curly hair and was wearing a suit coat over his broad shoulders. At least Mitch wasn’t the only man dressed up. After shaking Sean’s hand, Kate commented that she liked his cream-colored tie with blue curly-Q’s on it. She wondered if he purposely color-coordinated his outfit with Trish’s.

Looking down, he gently pulled at the end of the tie. “Thanks. I won’t have too many other chances to wear it because I’m limited to nothing more radical than stripes or paisley in my field of work. Even those can’t be worn too often or I hear they put your name on a list.”

Kate smiled at his sarcasm.

Just then Trish’s father suggested everyone take a seat. Kate waved for Mitch so they could sit next to the bride and groom-to-be. As Kate lowered herself onto the cushioned chair, she faintly heard someone humming a familiar tune. Looking to her right, Kate saw Yolanda taking the seat next to her. Kate smiled and said hello, recognizing the melody from “You are my Sunshine”. Trish, Sean and Kate sat along one side of the table and since Yolanda occupied the chair next to Kate, Mitch sat across the table, forming a conversational triangle. Kate couldn’t help but squirm when she noticed Mrs. B just two seats away.

Sean leaned toward Kate. “I hear you speak French.”

“
Oui
,” Kate said obligingly.

“Could you help me decipher this menu? I’d like something that used to say either ‘moo’ or ‘oink’”.

Kate pointed to the
boeuf bourguignon
and the
paupiette
. “How do you feel about ‘baa’?”

“Certainly not. How could you even ask?” he teased. While they waited to be served, he proceeded to ask about Kate’s trip to Paris in what Kate perceived as an attempt to charm her. Even though she enjoyed the opportunity to relive the thrill of seeing the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, she kept her guard up.

Mitch’s eyes landed on the full plate placed in front of him and he reached for his steak knife. “I had the best
steak au poivre
of my life at a restaurant in Paris.” He had been trying ever since to recreate the peppercorn rub at home.

Kate took a drink of water. “How’s the steak here?”

“Pretty good. Want a bite?” He offered her the piece on his fork and Kate gladly took it. She agreed that while delicious it couldn’t compare to the one in Paris. Boy, did she sound pretentious, she realized. Mitch had a point. She
was
going to have to make an effort to raise a down-to-earth child.

Throughout the meal Kate asked Sean questions, trying to decide if he was good enough for her friend Trish. Last she’d heard he still hadn’t found a job. Maybe he wasn’t trying that hard. Maybe he was so spoiled he had no intention of actually working full-time.

Feeling something brush past her leg, Kate lifted up the tablecloth to see Sammy crawling down the length of the table, bumping into knees and feet as he went. Kate looked toward Nancy who was sitting next to an empty booster seat busily talking to Lance. Kate realized that Nancy either hadn’t noticed that her son was being a nuisance or she didn’t care. She was one of
those
moms.

Kate turned to Sean. “So tell me your story.” She learned that he went to Cornell for undergrad, but had to return to the Midwest for law school since no one out east would play euchre with him. Kate smirked a little.

He wiped the corner of his mouth with his cloth napkin. “I have been devoting most of my time to the job hunt, but I also run free estate planning workshops at the YWCA.”

“Really?”

“People think estate planning is only something rich people need to do, but the truth is anyone who has children needs a will. Did you know almost seventy-five percent of parents with minor children don’t have one? That means if both parents die, a judge decides with whom the children will live. If nothing else, parents need to put in writing who they want their children’s guardian to be.”

Momentarily Kate’s thoughts clouded over, wondering if a judge could’ve found her and her sister better guardians than Aunt Suzy and Uncle Burt. Then she thought about how Joely didn’t want to complain about Aunt Suzy any more. Maybe it was time to quit dwelling on the negative and focus on what she could control. After all, Kate’s childhood ended years ago. Granted, it was unfairly cut short, but that was how it happened. She would never be a daughter again, but she could do her best to become the kind of mom for whom she always longed.

Sean sipped his wine. “I’m sorry. I’ll get off my soapbox now.”

How could she hate a lawyer who did volunteer work in his spare time? Kate started to fantasize about Trish and Sean meeting with Mitch and her every Friday night to go out to eat and see a movie. She would have snagged the ever-elusive “couple friends”. God knew the only thing harder than finding your soulmate was finding an equally well-matched couple. The older Kate got, the more challenging it became because most everyone she knew had kids and they either wanted to bring them along or they wanted to rush home to relieve the babysitter.

They experienced so many false starts that Kate had actually quit trying to choreograph foursome events. First Kate invited Nancy and Lance. At the time, Kate and Nancy were such good friends they babbled endlessly about the teachers and kids at work while the guys hung back in the shadows drinking beer and noticing how slowly the hands were moving on the clock. As they loaded the dishwasher later that night, Kate asked Mitch if he would want to get together with them again and he informed her that the only thing he and Lance had in common was that Lance loved soccer and Mitch knew what a soccer ball looked like.

Then she invited a neighbor couple over to play Pictionary. After a few glasses of wine, the normally reserved woman actually cursed at her husband when he didn’t recognize that a circle with two curvy lines was a monkey. Personally Kate preferred game night to be more laughter and a lot less tension than what they brought to the table.

Trish’s dad stood up and waited for the buzz of conversations to dissipate. He raised his glass. “I am so glad all of you could make it here tonight. Please join me in a toast to the happy couple, to my lovely daughter Trish and the man who stole her heart, Sean.” Everyone clinked their goblets together while Trish smiled and mouthed “Thank you.” As other people stood up and offered kind words for the couple, Kate wished she would’ve thought to prepare something to say. She played with some phrases in her head, but chickened out.

Sean then stood to his full 6’2” height and said, “It’s hard to put into words the way I feel about Trish. I love the way she laughs at my corny jokes, I love the way she cares about her students and I love the way she knows that when she sneezes she has pneumonia.”

Everyone laughed.

“But most of all,” he continued. “I love that when I’m with her I want to strive to be good enough to be with her. Trish, I love everything about you.” Everyone raised a glass in agreement.

Not only did Kate determine that she liked Sean, she wished she would’ve met him sooner so she could’ve set him up with Joely. She laughed to herself.

When it was evident the toasts were over, Kate headed to the restroom, which was also decorated with Parisian photographs. Contrasting with the beautiful scenes was the stench of lingering cigarette smoke.