Her Imaginary Husband (Contemporary Romance) (13 page)

“Mommy Trouble.” Ms. Black tried to smooth her hair and failed.

“Mommy Trouble?”

Ross cleared his throat. “That girl has been through four—count ’em—
four
stepmothers in the last six years. Some legally wed, others not. But they have a record of being about as nice as they are durable.”

“Ah,” said Nikki, starting to see the light. “And Daddy?”

“Pretty much absent,” said Ms. Black. “As far as we can tell, he’s a real piece of work himself. Good-looking enough to catch the women with the sole purpose of having them be Amanda’s nanny while he goes out with other women.”

Nikki blinked slowly. “Oh. My. That poor kid. Those poor women!”

“Yes, it’s horrendous. Susan’s looking into Child Protective Services,” said Mr. Geoffreys. “When we asked her about school and checked in with her other teachers, we found you were the only one she had conflict with.” Before Nikki could say anything, he added, “You were also the only woman.”

“Amanda doesn’t like female authority figures,” said Ms. Black. “It’s not you. It’s her past. She’s not crazy about me either, but we’ve had very few dealings. Like I said, she hasn’t been a problem.”

Nikki furrowed her brows. “Are you telling me she hasn’t had any other female teachers in her whole high school career?”

Ms. Black shrugged. “She transferred in as a sophomore. She tends to take the more stereotypical boyish classes. Mechanics, Wood Shop…”

“With male teachers.”

“Well, you have a good rapport with most students, and that can be very helpful,” said Mr. Geoffreys. “But in the case of Amanda, it’s not enough.”

“So what do we do?” asked Nikki.

“Well, right now she’s suspended from school for three weeks, during which time she has to take a drug and alcohol counseling course through the district.”

“Okay, about that,” said Nikki. “How is it none of the other teachers have smelled the booze?”

Mr. Geoffreys glanced at Officer Ross, who shook his head. “It must be happening in the class right before yours.”

Nikki stiffened. “That’d be P.E. with Will.”

Ross nodded.

“You don’t think—”

“No, Will’s not giving her beer,” said Mr. Geoffreys.

“But he does let her go down to the locker room a few minutes early sometimes when she begs, and it turns out she’s been stashing things in her gym locker.”

Nikki looked at Ms. Black. “So what happens when she comes back?”

“Amanda will need you and her other teachers to send along assignments for her to work on.”

“She didn’t work in class. Why would she work at home?”

Mr. Geoffreys shrugged. “She might not. But we have to give her the chance. She was maintaining B’s and C’s in the other classes. Not terrible.”

Ms. Black stood. “When she comes back, I suggest we all meet together with her and see if we can’t help her stop painting you with the same brush as her wicked step-mothers.” She slipped out the door, and Nikki could almost imagine her going to an office filled with strange, magical curios.

Mr. Geoffreys glanced at his watch. “You’d better go. Thanks for staying late.”

Ross moved quickly and scooted her chair back for her to stand. She dared a glance up and noticed again how his eyes sparkled with genuine kindness. With a nod, she slipped out of the room.

Katie looked up with curiosity all over her face. “Everything okay?” she said, keeping her voice low.

“Yeah, I guess I got that girl suspended. She’ll hate me even more now.”

Katie was about to answer, but her eyes shifted to see Ross exiting the principal’s office.

He came up behind Nikki and leaned in. “Don’t feel bad. You’re doing a great job. She’s just a troubled kid. It’s not your fault she doesn’t like you.”

Nikki smiled sadly. “I know. I just feel bad that I can’t seem to connect with her.”

He patted her lightly on the arm. “You’ll find a way. Don’t worry.” He moved past the counter with a wave at Katie. “In the meantime, Mrs. Fallon, just remember that the rest of us think you’re wonderful.” He backed out the door with a parting smile, and Nikki couldn’t look away until the door closed.

“Mmmmmm. I’m telling,” sang Katie.

Nikki snapped her focus to the secretary, hoping that the inexplicable longing she felt didn’t show on her face. “What? What’d I do now?”

“For a newlywed, you sure have wandering eyes.”

Nikki blanched. “What? I’m not scoping out his bod!”

“Nope,” said Katie. “You’re scoping out his soul.” She looked at Nikki pointedly. “And he’s got the sweetest one in town. No wife to keep him busy, so he spends all his time volunteering for stuff.”

Nikki gazed over at the door where he’d left and could envision his smile. She looked down at the fake wedding ring on her finger with disdain before meeting Katie’s eyes. “I’m not a cheater.”

“I know, hon. I’m just teasing you.”



“You have druggies in your class?”

“Ma, it’s one girl.” Nikki had opted to put her mother on speaker phone. It had the advantage of leaving her hands free to unload the dishwasher, but it meant there was no protection from the shrill nagging.

“I don’t like it. It’s not safe. You should quit and come back up here.”

“Ma, the tri-city area has way more crime than Eastmont. This is small town stuff.”

“Then why are you hiding away in a small town? You should come up here where there are more prospects.”

“I have a great job, Ma. I like it. I work with nice people and they pay me more than I need.”

“Why do you sound like you’re shouting at me?”

“You’re on speaker phone, Ma. This is my teacher voice. I’m projecting.”

“I don’t like it. It makes you sound bossy.”

Nikki flipped the switch for the garbage disposal and screamed down the drain into the noise. She turned it off. “Sorry, Ma. What did you say?”

Ma sniffed. “Charlie has a new girlfriend.”

No, he doesn’t. He’s lying to you so you’ll get off his back.
“Really? Have you met her? Tell me all about her!”

Nikki slid the phone a little further down the counter and resumed chopping, tuning out Ma’s delighted praise of Cindy Camelhopper and how good she was for Charlie. Instead, Nikki pondered her dilemma. She needed to take back the big lie without losing face and all credibility, but how? Having let it get this far, she’d have to be creative in her reasoning, or all her new friends would hate her. She knew her fear was irrational, and yet she let it take her by the hand and lead her away from her duty to the truth.

She pictured the faces of her colleagues as she scraped the diced tomatoes into a huge mixing bowl.
Gayle will likely laugh it off. Kristin and Dusty? I don’t think they care. Does Mr. Geoffreys know? Katie! Oh, how am I going to tell her?
She stopped chopping and looked down at her ring.
Will, this is all your fault. Or is it? Is it Gayle’s fault for meddling in the flirtations and making me feel like I shouldn’t date Will?

But do I really want to date Will? More than once? What do I want?

Nikki sighed. “Officer Ross.”

“What? Who’s Officer Ross?” Ma’s voice chirped enthusiastically.

Wiping her hands on a dish towel, Nikki leaned closer to the phone so she wouldn’t have to “shout”. A wry smile twisted her lips.
Okay, Charlie. I’ll try it.
“Um, he’s the campus cop I told you about.” She took a deep breath. “We’ve gone out twice now.”

Ma reacted with immediate ebullience, despite condemning his career during the last call.
I guess Ma doesn’t really care as long as I have prospects.
For the next half hour, Nikki made a massive vat of salsa and let Ma grill her about Ross. The beauty of it was that she didn’t have to lie at all when she explained all the reasons she liked him.



The next day, Justin walked in without Amanda, and Nikki instantly felt a pang of guilt. He looked so forlorn.

“Hi Justin,” she called, trying to sound cheerful.

He looked up without answering, his face an emotionless pincushion. Nikki winced, assuming he was angry with her for getting his girlfriend suspended.

Rather than pass the exam out by rows, she decided to pass them out one by one and say a word of encouragement to each student as she did so. She began the idea thinking solely of a chance to check on Justin, but after going through two rows, she realized she wanted to make this a regular practice. The students looked up with such gratitude, or at least hope, that she thought maybe they’d do just that much better.

When she reached Justin, the last in the room, she whispered, “I’m sorry about Amanda.”

He grunted without looking at her. “That’s just the start of it.”

Nikki heard the catch in his voice and crouched beside his desk to get a better look at his face. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing much. Just the worst day of my life.”

Nikki watched with surprise as a teardrop fell onto his test paper. Standing quickly to block the view, she put her hand on his shoulder. “Justin, why don’t you take this out into the hall? I’ll come join you in a minute.”

He looked up, tears welling. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, no. I just thought maybe you’d like to be alone while you take this test.”

His tears spilled down his cheeks, but he gave her a half smile and grabbed the paper up quickly. Nikki boosted her volume and she moved to the front of the class, effectively distracting any kids who might have seen Justin leave.

“Okay, it’s the test you’ve all been waiting for. Your chance to prove you know it all. If you read the questions carefully, you’ll see there really aren’t any right or wrong answers. It’s about proving your position from the text. You have every reason to succeed if you’ve read the story and paid any attention whatsoever in class. Good luck.”

She returned to her desk and grabbed the Kleenex box off the end. At the door, she called, “I’ll be right back. No cheating. It’ll be way obvious on this test.”

In the hall, she was glad to find Justin had not just left. He sat slumped against the wall with the heels of his hands pushed into his eyes. Nikki scanned the vacant corridor and tapped him with her foot. “C’mon, Justin. Why don’t you come across to the teacher lounge?” His eyes widened, and she laughed. “I assure you it’s not glamorous. The jacuzzi’s been busted for two weeks now.”

Justin rose to his feet and followed her across the hall. She found the room empty, and indicated he should sit down. Sitting kitty corner to him in the cramped space, she leaned her elbows on the table. “All right, Justin. What’s going on? Even your Mohawk is wilting.”

Nikki thought she’d get a chuckle, but instead she got a fountain of tears as Justin poured out all his sorrows. His girlfriend had dumped him that morning, his father had threatened to kick him out last night, he’d already flunked a test in math today, and someone had stolen his phone.

“Sometimes it’s just too much, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” she said, sliding the Kleenex to him. “It’s okay. Let it out. High school’s not for wimps. That’s why they have you do it while you’re still young and strong.”

Justin tried to laugh, but instead folded himself forward and cried into the table top. Nikki, hoping she hadn’t left her class alone for too long, gently rubbed circles on his shoulder, trying to calm him. Before she realized what she’d done, he reached over and wrapped his arms around her neck, sobbing into her hair.

I’ve left my class. I’m alone with a teenage boy. We’re hugging. If someone walks in right now, I am so fired
. Squeezing the miserable boy tighter, she set her lips in a flat line.
I don’t care. This kid needs a hug.

They stayed like that for a moment longer, and then Justin pulled back. “Oh man, I’m sorry, Ms. F. I snotted on your shirt.”

Nikki glanced at it and quickly snatched a few tissues to undo the damage. Standing, she said, “Do you want to stay here, or go back?”

He wiped his eyes and stood. “I’m better now.”

She opened the door for him. “I’m sorry Amanda broke up with you. She’s had a rough week, too, I guess.”

“Amanda’s not my girlfriend.”

“She’s not?” Nikki retrieved the test he’d left on the table and followed him out the door into the hall. “But I thought…”

“My girlfriend Tiffany broke up with me because she’s jealous of Amanda. Amanda’s my best friend.”

Nikki furrowed her brows. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think it’s time for you to date your best friend. I’ve heard that’s the best way.”

“Is that what you did?” asked Justin hopefully.

Nikki shook her head and flicked his Mohawk. “I’m not that far along yet,” she said. “Do what I say, not what I do on this one, okay?”

Justin hugged her impetuously. “Thanks, Ms. F. You’re the best.”

With wide eyes, Nikki registered Ross standing at the intersection of the halls.
How long has he been there?
Giving the cop an awkward smile, she opened her classroom door and shoved Justin playfully in. “Go ace this test,” she whispered.