Lessons From a Younger Lover (8 page)

Robert saw her at the exact same time. A broad smile appeared on his face as he walked toward her car parked curbside. Gwen turned into his embrace as a child would a parent's. “Robert,” she said, her voice cracking, “I'm so glad you're here.”

“Of course, big sis. You know I'd come.”

Gwen nodded, not trusting herself to speak lest she melt into an all-out boohoo. When Robert suggested he'd drive, she gratefully threw him the keys. She was working to keep it together, but knew that the time would come when she'd have to give in to the fear and pain that was hurting her heart. A good old-fashioned cry would make her feel better.
Later, maybe
, she thought as Robert eased into the heavy airport traffic.
But not now
.

As Robert changed lanes to hit the highway, he and Gwen chatted briefly about their mother and then switched the topic to life in Seattle. It was good for her to escape the pressing issues of the moment and hear about her nephew, Robert Jr., and the daughter Robert and Denise were expecting in six months.

“Any names yet?” Gwen asked.

Robert's voice was soft and thoughtful as he answered. “Yes…Lorraina.”

Gwen immediately teared up at the unexpected answer. “That's beautiful, bro,” she whispered.

“So, what exactly is happening with Mama?”

“They have to conduct more extensive tests before they know for sure. The doctor said there could be several reasons why she fainted, from low blood sugar to a severe sinus infection. He doesn't think it's related to her dementia, though. Which in a way is good news, because that correlation would mean her condition was worsening more rapidly. On the other hand, she doesn't need to be battling something physical along with the mental right now.”

“But she's cool now, right?”

“Yes, thank goodness. I called her just before leaving the house. She's glad you're coming. She still sounds pretty weak and groggy, but the doctor believes something as simple as antibiotics may cure whatever ailed her.”

“Then why are they transferring her to LA?”

“To be absolutely sure, Robert.” Gwen knew her brother kept asking because he was scared. Out of all the children, his and Lorraine's had always been the closest relationship, even closer than hers. She put a hand on his shoulder. “They're just wanting to be on the safe side, eliminate all other possibilities. But our mama is going to be fine. I mean, they're still working to slow the progression of the dementia, but these tests will even help in how to deal with that.”

Robert nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. “I can't wait to see her, that's all. Then I'll feel better.” After another moment, she saw his shoulders visibly relax. “So how's my old girl Chantay doing? You called her last night, right?”

“This morning. And what can I say, Chantay is still Chantay.”

“I told you to call her last night, Gwen. You know she would have driven down so you could have some support. You can be so bullheaded sometimes.”

“It's all good, little brother. I ended up talking to Ransom and then afterward I fell asleep.” Gwen probably wouldn't have shared this information with anyone else, but with Robert she felt safe, free to let her guard down.

Robert took his eyes off the road to glance at Gwen. “How'd you and he hook up anyway?”

“We're not
hooked up
, as you say,” Gwen retorted, surprised to find that her guard was down but not all the way gone. “He helps out Miss Mary with odd jobs around her house, and was there when Mama passed out. I told you this when we talked last night.”

They were silent for several miles before Robert spoke again. “We are talking about Adam Johnson's half-brother, right?”

Now it was Gwen's turn to stare at Robert. “Why didn't you tell me you knew him when I mentioned him last night?”

Robert cast a questioning glance at his sister. “Because I don't, not really.”

Gwen never considered Robert a source of information. Now she was all ears. “Tell me what you know about him.”

“Just that he's a product of their mother's second marriage. His father is Native American, and I'm pretty sure the parents are still together. Phillip told me.”

“Phillip Burns? Not the Phillip Burns who got caught screwing y'all's art teacher his senior year!”

Robert laughed. “The one and only.”

Gwen shook her head. “I didn't know you and Phillip stayed in touch.”

“We lost touch for a while, but reconnected at the fifteen-year reunion.”

“So how does he know Ransom?”

“His niece and Ransom went to school together.”

“Niece? How old is she?”

“Twenty-five, six, something like that.”

Gwen's mind whirled. Yet one more reason any romantic thoughts about Ransom were inappropriate: she was almost old enough to be his mother!

“So Ransom and Phillip's niece dated?” Gwen asked.

“That's why his niece was all upset during that weekend I was back here. She secretly liked Ransom and hoped he would break up with his girlfriend. That's how his name came up. Instead, she found out the girl was pregnant.”

Will the surprises about this man ever end?
“Ransom has a child?”

Robert shrugged. “Far as I know. But that's about all I know, sis, that and the fact that there's not too much love lost between Ransom and his brother. Phillip says the dude's all suave and what not, getting the type of attention from the Sienna ladies that at one time only Adam enjoyed.” Robert eyed his sister again. “You're asking a lot of questions. Is he getting that type of attention from you?”

“Of course not. He's just a kid. But like I said, he spends a lot of time next door, at Miss Mary's. It's good to know about the people hanging out in the neighborhood.”

“Where's Joe?” Robert asked, once again changing the subject.

“Who cares?” Gwen retorted before she had time to mask her disgust.

“I'm sure he does, about Mama that is. I figured you'd called him, and that he would be flying out.”

“Yeah, well, you figured wrong. He ‘has things going on,' as he put it. My guess, she's blond, about five-two, and answers to the name Mitzi. And probably a few others, like tramp, whore…”

“I still can't believe Joe cheated on you. He never seemed the type.”

“What man ever does?”

“Adam!” they both said together, and laughed. This answer relieved some of the tension in the car.

“So there's no chance for y'all to get back together? The divorce is definitely going through?”

“You even have to ask? Absolutely.”

“C'mon now, sis. Cheating doesn't always mean the end of a marriage.”

“It means the end of this one. But truth be told, it was probably over long before he violated our marriage vows.”

Robert didn't ask his sister to elaborate. They'd always been close; if she wanted to explain the comment he was sure she would when she was ready.

“When will it be final?”

“In about three months. The docket was backed up and that was the first date we could get for our hearing. If you ask me, the end can't come soon enough.”

Robert snuck another peek at the sister he loved. “Because of Ransom?” he asked, only half joking.

“No!” Gwen answered. “Why would you think Ransom has anything to do with it? I barely know him.” She then crossed her arms, turned her back toward Robert, and gazed out the window.

I'm not buying it
, Robert thought. He wisely turned on the radio and allowed the sounds of smooth jazz to fill the rest of the miles to the hospital in Sienna.

Unfortunately, the turmoil in Gwen's mind didn't match the soothing, slow jam coming from the radio. Her mind was abuzz with the news about Ransom: that he was Adam's half brother, that he was too young for her to even think about thinking about, and that he had a baby, which meant somewhere…a baby's mama.

Gwen ignored the twinge of her heart and determined she was glad for the information. Now she had the ammunition she needed to put any romantic notions of anything ever happening between her and Ransom behind her. Not that she'd ever really considered it, she reminded herself. But now, even if she had, there was absolutely, positively, no way she would ever think about so much as a date with Adam's kid brother. And the next time he came on to her with his searing eyes and wicked smile, she planned to make sure he got the message that she was not interested.

“Miss Gwen, I have to use the restroom.”

“Okay, Isis. But remember the buddy system. Ask Kari if she'll go with you.”

“Really, Miss Gwen,” Isis answered in a tone of measured patience, “I think I'm old enough to pee on my own.”

Before Gwen could formulate an answer besides “oh no she didn't,” Isis held up five tiny fingers.
Did she just tell me to talk to the hand?

“Kari, can you go to the restroom with me so Miss Gwen will feel better?”

Kari nodded, closed her coloring book, and soon bouncing blond and black curls skipped out of the classroom.

Gwen shook her head and hid a smile from her face. She knew she should rein in the little Miss Bossy child that was Isis Blake, but the truth of the matter was Gwen simply adored her. It had been love at first sight when on the first day of school, Isis had shushed the class and commanded they give the new teacher their attention. Even more intriguing than seeing a six-year-old with all the confidence and poise of someone much older was the fact that everyone not only listened but also obeyed.

Isis was a very intelligent child. This fact was also readily apparent within the first hour Gwen had arrived in the classroom at Sienna. She finished her lessons quickly and possessed a highly developed vocabulary for someone her age. Gwen thought she should probably be in an advanced class or at least be tutored at a level where she didn't become bored with school. She intended to discuss this with Isis's parents next week, at the Back to School Blast.

Gwen continued to organize papers for the next day's assignment while waiting for Kari's mother, Carol, to pick up the girls. Carol was one of several mothers who showed real interest in their children's education. She'd wanted to ask her about Isis's mother, but Adam, who seemed to know every female in town, had come up and interrupted them. That was at the ice cream social held the day before school started, when neither Isis nor her mother had shown up.

Gwen felt calm for the first time in weeks. Her brother's visit had helped a lot. Robert stayed a week, and during that time helped with the Herculean undertaking of making their mother's new home a place where she'd feel comfortable. They transferred as much of her old home as they could to the new, roomy, two-bedroom apartment at Sunrise Place, the assisted-living complex in Lancaster, less than thirty minutes away from Sienna.

Once her mother was settled, Gwen had immersed herself in teaching preparation: lesson prep, orientations, and supply and clothes shopping. She was blissfully busy. On the first day of class, she'd instructed her students to take the desks from their orderly rows and place them wherever they wanted to sit. Not used to such freedom, the children had hesitated. But when she explained that their desks could go anywhere and be positioned in any direction, really, they'd virtually screeched with happiness. Now kids scampered to desks turned forward and backward, in rows and circles, and one in the lone formerly empty corner. To others it may have appeared as chaos. For her, it was sheer ecstasy and her first of many steps toward teaching her students to think outside the box and color outside the lines.

Gwen stood, stretched, and walked over to erase the day's lesson from the whiteboard. This simple act, one she'd done a thousand times, made her smile. Because of their district's stair-step calendar, Sienna Elementary classes had started mid-August, and not a moment too soon. Finally, she was in a place where she felt she truly belonged. She was beginning to experience and like this “new normal.”

“Is that smile for me?”

The tranquility Gwen basked in flew out the open window welcoming in a slight September breeze. She knew that voice, had heard it in her head almost nonstop since the last words it had uttered:
I'll be hugging you all night long
. But she'd heard other voices since that fateful day, namely that of her brother with the sobering news that Ransom was a father and perhaps, in her opinion, a player too.

She'd succeeded in avoiding him for the past two weeks, and after leaving two voice mails on her cell phone, he'd stopped calling. Now she was thinking that maybe it would have been better to take the call and deliver her sayonara speech over the phone.

“She ignores my calls and now thinks she will ignore me in person.” Ransom swaggered up to the desk and leaned a hip on it. “I know you've been busy, Butterfly, getting ready for school and all. Apology accepted.”

The smell of his citrus and sandalwood cologne tickled her abdomen. As always, her body was reacting to his mere presence. She was not amused.

“Would you kindly leave my class and this building before I call security?” Finally, she looked up. “And stop calling me Butterfly. Ransom, I'm flattered that you're interested, but there is absolutely no chance that I'm going on a date with you, and while I'm sure that bruises your ego, it is the truth. Now granted, this is a small town and we're sure to bump into each other from time to time. I agree to be cordial, if you agree to leave me alone.”

There, it was out. She'd said it. And she hadn't even stuttered. Proud of herself, she waited for him to get up and leave.

Instead, he irritated her with a smile that oozed confidence…and charm. “What makes you think I was coming here to see you?”

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, Ransom. I don't have the time or energy to play childish games. You have absolutely no business coming here and really, stalking doesn't become you. So I'm going to ask you nicely. Would you please leave?”

Ransom laughed in a way that made Gwen smolder, from both anger and desire. “It's a good thing my ego isn't fragile,” he said as he lazily slid off the desk and began walking around the classroom. “Because otherwise…you would have definitely hurt my feelings.”

“I'm not playing, Ransom. Get out of here.”

Ransom turned around slowly, burning her with his coal black eyes. “I'm not leaving until I get what I came for.”

“What you came for? You know what? I've tried to be nice to you because of a couple gestures on your part that suggested a heart inside that hard”—
oh, shoot, I didn't mean to say that—
“chest of yours. But just so you know, I've heard some things that make me know otherwise. Here you are trying to hit on me when you've got another woman somewhere who not only probably needs but definitely deserves your attention.”

“Wait a minute, Gwen. I don't know what you've heard but—”

“And on top of that, you have a baby that you're probably not taking care of and God only knows if there aren't a whole slew of baby mamas out there. You've got every female in town breathing heavy at the mention of your name and you probably think I'm on that list. Well, think again, Ransom. Because while you may be fine and everything, your obvious disregard for women in general and your child in particular are not attractive. So I want you to take your suave one-liners and try and hit on the next skirt you see swishing. Because I am not the one!”

Ransom's retort was interrupted.

“Daddy!”

Daddy?
Gwen's mouth dropped open.

Isis came running over to her dad and grabbed him around the knee. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Ransom!” Kari ran over and grabbed Ransom's other leg. “Where's mom?”

Ransom picked up his daughter and mussed Kari's curls. He spoke to the children, but his answer was obviously meant for Gwen. “She had to stay late at work and asked me to come get you. Is that all right? For me to come into the classroom and pick up my daughter and her friend?”

“Of course it's all right, Daddy. Will you take us to Tastee Treat?”

“Yes, Ransom. Can you get us a snack like always?”

Ransom kissed his daughter on the cheek before he put her down. Grabbing Isis's hand on one side and Kari's on the other, he began walking from the room. “Well now, that's going to depend on how much you can tell me about what you've learned today.”

Isis and Kari started talking at once, each trying to best the other with their been-in-first-grade-a-week wealth of knowledge.

They were almost to the door and still Gwen hadn't moved. She had barely remembered to close her mouth. She was not only shocked speechless, but she was paralyzed. Ransom was the father of Isis—the adorable, intelligent student that she'd secretly coveted, believing that if she had a daughter, she'd want her to be like? Where was the mother? Why hadn't she come to pick up her daughter and Carol's child? A zillion thoughts fought for dominance as Gwen sought to connect her mind to her mouth and deliver a sound.

“Ransom!”

Ransom and the girls were halfway down the hall.

“Ransom! Wait!” He didn't turn around. Gwen hurried to catch him, all the time wishing the floor could swallow her up and she could take back the last five minutes.
If only Isis and Kari had come back sooner
. “Ransom, please, I was way out of line.”

“Yes,” Ransom said, without turning around. “You were. But it doesn't matter, not now.”

“I'm sorry, Ransom.”

He turned then, pulling Isis closer to his side. “I got what I came for, and then some. Good-bye, Gwen.”

Gwen swallowed hard, watching the strong, proud retreating back as it exited the building, as she'd asked. And he'd called her Gwen, not Butterfly, as she'd asked. So why didn't it feel good to get what she said she wanted?