“Bother me? No. Maybe in the past it might’ve, but not anymore.”
“How long were you two together?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It wasn’t long. Nothing serious. Well, he didn’t want it to be serious, which is why it ended. But I’m glad it did.” I gave Leo a closer look. “I’m not still interested in him, if that’s what you’re thinking.” It occurred to me that maybe he was jealous, though he didn’t really seem like the jealous type. But he just nodded and seemed satisfied with my answer.
“You just let me know if he bothers you anymore,” he said.
I smiled and gave him a kiss. “I will.”
Later, as I walked to my apartment, my thighs ached; I felt like I was walking bowlegged. But it was a good feeling, and it was hard to keep the smile off of my face. I had a lot of homework that I needed to do tonight, but I felt so good about everything that it didn’t matter. All I needed to do was replay that afternoon in my mind—I didn’t think it was possible to feel so good with someone.
I let myself into the building and checked the mail. I knew there was another letter from the person, even before I turned the envelope over to see the address. Typed, in the same font. I stood there in the lobby and opened it.
Good job on that first paper. Glad that you are up for the challenge. For your next
assignment, you’re going to write an essay on the importance of civic engagement
within a democratic society. Eight to ten pages for this one. MLA citation. Due in
10 days. Your activities with Leo Rochman will remain secret so long as you continue
to turn in quality work. If you choose to ignore this letter, or write a paper that
does not earn at least a B+, we WILL go forward with the information we have on
you two, and the fallout will not be pretty.
I stuffed the letter into my purse and took the stairs up to my apartment, burning with both frustration and anger. I wanted to just rip the fucking thing up. But I knew the danger in that, and that though it might momentarily make me feel good, the consequences of not writing the paper would be far worse.
The next day, my mother called and said that she was in the city and wondered if she could take me out to lunch. I had a long break in between my classes that day, and since I didn’t have feature writing and knew I probably wouldn’t be having any sort of rendezvous with Leo, I told her I would meet with her. She wanted to go to one of her favorite little cafes, which wasn’t too far from the school.
They had us sit at one of the tables on the outdoor patio, which my mother liked because people-watching was one of her favorite things.
“So, things are still going well?” she asked. “With school and everything? We didn’t really talk that much about it that day you stopped by.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve been working pretty hard, actually, and I think that you’ll be able to see that when I get my next grades.”
My mother beamed. “Oh, I’m so happy to hear it. I knew you wouldn’t let things get too out of control. That’s what I was trying to tell your father. He was going on about you possibly getting started down the wrong path or some nonsense like that, but I told him you’ve always had a good head on your shoulders.”
“Thanks for sticking up for me.”
“Of course! I know you’ve got a lot going on, that you must feel like there’s a lot of pressure. It can be hard dealing with that sometimes.”
I nodded. “You’re right—it can be. He did call me the other night, though.”
“Did he?”
“Yes. Basically to say that he was glad I was getting my studies back on track and he knew I was a good kid.”
“Well, good, I’m glad he called. It’s not easy for him, you know.”
“What—talking on the phone?”
“That, and admitting he was wrong.”
“He didn’t actually admit he was wrong.”
“I guess I don’t mean wrong, so much as . . . overly strict sometimes. He can come across a little too harshly. I think he felt that way the day you stopped by. And I want you to know that we don’t expect you to be perfect. I know that’s not realistic. But what we do want is what’s best for you, and sometimes that means being strict. Our hope is that you’ll realize we’re not doing this to make your life difficult, or to try to give you a hard time, but because we want what’s best for you.”