Chapter 8
T he next morning, Alissa woke late. She went to the window and looked out at the snowy landscape, thinking through her next move.
After the talk with her mother, she knew it was up to her to reach out to Jed and apologize for the way she’d reacted.
Would he even want to talk to her? Regardless, she had to try.
She and her family had all kinds of activities planned, but she would call him first to see if he would come out to talk through their problems. If he didn’t want her anymore, it was best to know that now.
Taking a deep breath, she punched in his number. Jed answered on the first ring.
“It’s me,” Alissa said.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Are you?”
“No. I’m miserable,” he said.
“I mean, I’m physically okay,” she said. “But I’m miserable too. I don’t want to live without you.”
“Me either.”
“I’m at the lodge. My family convinced me to come anyway. I was thinking you should come out here. We can talk through things.” She took in another shaky breath. “I was wrong to react the way I did. I love you.”
“What’re you saying?”
“We can’t let your mother ruin what we have. I made a mistake blaming you. A terrible mistake, and I’m sorry. Come here. Let’s talk through this and come up with a plan. Together.”
“What do I have to offer you now?”
“You. That’s all I’ve ever wanted anyway. We’ll both get new jobs. All the contacts you’ve made over the years will lead you to a new position. You’ll be on your own without having to answer to your family. Think of how free you’ll be.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds. “Do you mean it? You want me even after my mother ruined your life?”
“She didn’t ruin my life. My life is you and my family, not my job.
I shouldn’t have hidden a part of myself or been ashamed that I needed an extra job to make ends meet.
If anything, the world should be ashamed that a teacher can’t make enough to live without an extra job.
My mother didn’t raise me to be ashamed of being a survivor.
If the school fires me, so what? There are other schools, other jobs. ”
“My bag’s still packed,” he said. “I didn’t have the heart to put everything away.”
“Pick it up and get to the airport.”
“I won’t be able to get a flight today, but I’ll be on the first one out on the twenty-first.”
“I’ll be here.”
“I love you,” he said.
“Wait, Jed, do you still want to marry me?”
“It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted.”
She called her principal next. He picked up after a few rings.
“Alissa, hi. What’s up? Aren’t you supposed to be getting married about now?”
“Um, yeah. I was calling about the photographs,” she said.
“What about them?”
She gulped back a nervous breath. “I wondered if I still have a job.”
“What? Of course you do. I wouldn’t fire you for having another job. You’re not the only staff member moonlighting for extra cash.”
“Oh, well, yes, but I thought given the nature of my other job that you’d have to fire me to please the parents.”
“Alissa, what you do outside of school is no one’s business.”
“What about the conservative parents? They won’t be happy. She sent them to the PTA president.”
“Calista Wells doesn’t run this school. I do.”
“She’s contacted you, hasn’t she?” Alissa asked.
“Yes. She contacted me almost immediately. Just as she did when Jacob Munro came out. I told her the same thing I told her when she demanded I fire him for being gay. No, thank you.”
“What about enrollment?” she asked. “Will this cause problems?”
“There’s a long waiting list. If families leave, there are others to take their places. We’re good at what we do here, Alissa. People know that. If they don’t like that my teachers are not all the same, then too bad. I know the kind of teacher you are, and that’s all I care about.”
Alissa let out a long sigh of relief. “Really?”
“Jesus is quite clear about who’s to do the judging. And it’s not us. Now, you put this out of your mind, and enjoy your wedding and honeymoon. I’ll see you in January.”
She hung up as happy tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. Principal Hughes was a good man and a great boss .
Jed would be here tomorrow. Dare she hope that they would get married after all? Please, God, help us work through this .