She smacked her gums and rolled her eyes, then sashayed out. I could smell her pussy as the draft from the outer office door hit it. Either she had just crawled up out of some funky dick’s bed or she hadn’t washed in days. Yet, she was worried about Virgil Adkins who had been in a loving, committed, same-sex relationship for nearly thirty years.
Lilibeth looked on as I stood there fuming. “I considered alerting security for a moment. Glad she’s gone.”
“She needs to get a life.”
Lilibeth giggled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. It’s just the way that you use the teen terminology sometimes. You know, they get all of that from the Internet and reality shows.”
“I’m sure. My life is a reality show, so no time to watch someone else’s drama. But listening to a gaggle of kids daily roaming the halls talking like that rubs off on a sister.”
She and I shared a laugh.
“Do you think she’ll be back?” Lilibeth asked.
“I doubt it. She’ll talk junk about me, tell Brian that she’s going to go over my head and get me fired, and then drop it once she realizes that she can’t run this school. She acts stupid, but she’s not dumb. She probably just discovered that Mr. Adkins is with another man and freaked out. She tried me, and failed, and knows her issues won’t hold any muster. Still, it’s no excuse for her behavior.”
“Brian seems like a great kid.”
“He is, and he’s going to be fine. He’s done well in spite of his mother’s attitude. I’m sure she means well, and only wants the best for him. But everyone’s not cut out for parenting. We both know that from experience.”
Lilibeth was nodding in agreement when a deliveryman walked in with another vase of roses for me.
“Hmm, he must really like you,” Lilibeth said. “Roses every week. What did you say his name is again?”
I laughed. “I never told you his name.” I signed for the flowers. “Since you’re dying to know, his name is Tevin Harris. Dr. Tevin Harris.”
“Oh, a doctor! What kind?”
“A vascular surgeon.”
It felt like I was bragging about a man that I was not prepared to claim. Not a good look.
“When do we all get to meet him?”
“Lilibeth, I am not in a relationship, so there’s no reason for you to meet him.”
“Why can’t he come up here and have lunch with you one day?”
“In the teacher’s lounge? Not going to happen.” I giggled. “Besides, he’s so fine that I would have to beat Ms. Landry and Ms. Jacobs off of him.”
“It would make for an interesting afternoon. If I wasn’t married, I might have to throw my hat into the ring.”
“Yeah, right. Your husband cherishes you. We all know that.”
Lilibeth blushed. “He does indeed, and he brings me lunch twice a week. You should have Dr. Harris do the same.”
“A, the man is a surgeon and has no time to bring me lunch, and B, you snatched up a good man when good men still existed. My generation and the generations after us are screwed. Men only want to play a bunch of games.”
“Not that I know much about your business, Jemistry, but can I offer you a little motherly advice, being that I am old enough to be your mother?”
I didn’t respond, but I’m sure she read the curiosity on my face.
“Don’t push a good man away trying to prove a point that you can have a cold heart. We’ve shared a few things and I understand that you’ve been hurt in the past, but most women have been. Most men have been as well, truth be told. It doesn’t mean you have to become some kind of stone statue for the rest of your life.”
“It doesn’t mean that I have to become some kind of sacrificial lamb and breakdance into the slaughterhouse either.”