Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Monday afternoon, Ivy pulled out a chair and straddled it, leaning her forearms on the back. “My dad played guitar with me last night.”
Happiness swam through Nora. Blaze had taken her advice.
“How was it?”
“Good. We started writing a song together.”
Nora took a seat in another chair, facing Ivy. “That’s exciting. I didn’t know you wrote songs.”
“It’s something I started after my mom died.” Ivy dug around in her bag that was in a lump on the floor. She pulled out a black, leather-bound notebook and handed it to Nora.
Nora opened it, revealing lines of scratchy handwriting in ballpoint pen. She read the first few.
Sometimes I pretend you’re still here.
Sometimes I pretend you didn’t leave me.
I walk our old haunts and hear our old songs
And everything’s just as it should be.
“Is that about your mom?” Nora handed the book back to Ivy.
“Yeah. Dad’s helping me with the tempo.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“He told me that once we get the song arranged and the notes all good, he’d introduce me to some people at a couple of the labels.”
“Is that what you want?”
Ivy shrugged. “Maybe. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“It could be a promising prospect. Especially if songwriting is something you’re interested in. And, either way, it sounds like a great opportunity to get to know your dad a little better.”
Ivy shrugged again.
“He wants to be there for you,” Nora said gently.
“He could’ve been there for me for the last seventeen years, but he barely was.” Ivy returned the notebook to her backpack and resumed leaning on the back of the chair.
“Have you voiced your feelings about that to him?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s weird.” Ivy huffed. “What do you want me to do, say, ‘Hey, Dad. I’m kind of angry with you for never showing up in my life and only being there because you had to when my mom died.’?”
“You could ask him why he wasn’t there. He might have an explanation.”
“I can’t imagine what else it could be besides the fact that he put work over me and my mom.”
“I encourage you to talk to him, Ivy.”
Ivy cut her eyes at Nora. “Why are you so persistent? Did he tell you something? What did you all talk about over coffee the other day?”
“I’m sure he’d tell you, if you asked him. He’s your family, so it might make more sense to get him to answer your questions. I’m just the middleman.”
“So, what—you and my dad are friendly now? Is he trying to get on your good side, schmooze you so you side with him and not me?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Then what?”
Nora went over to her desk to collect a few sheets she’d pulled out on alternative coping strategies to manage school bullying, in case they needed them, and Ivy’s checklist. On one side of the checklist, she’d included some of the things Ivy had done to get in trouble. On the other side, she and Ivy had come up with coping strategies that might have helped that circumstance work out better for Ivy. Beside each coping strategy, she’d included check boxes for Ivy to document which strategies she’d used that day. From the list, they were able to get a “Top Three” group of strategies Ivy used most. Those were her go-to strategies in times of stress. Once they’d collected enough data, Nora planned to pass the sheet along to Ivy’s family counselor.
“I don’t like that you talk to my dad without me there. It’s like you’re going behind my back,” Ivy said.
“I’m doing nothing of the sort, I can assure you.”
Nora set down the papers on her back table and gestured for Ivy to come over. Ivy came, seemingly begrudgingly, and Nora slid the checklist toward her.
“Then give me the gist. What did you talk about with him?” Ivy folded her arms on the table, ignoring the checklist completely.
Nora offered her a pencil, but Ivy didn’t take it, so Nora set it down in front of her.
“You’re my counselor. You have to tell me.”
“Ultimately, as I said, if you want to know what your dad and I spoke about, you need to ask him. But I promise you, it wasn’t anything terrible or life-shattering.”
“Do you always see your students’ parents outside of school hours? Like a date?”
Ivy was clearly trying to push Nora’s buttons. Nora didn’t get ruffled, but the girl was hitting a nerve. Nora willed her face not to flush as her thoughts of Blaze’s sideways grin fluttered into her mind.
“It was definitely not a date. And it was entirely in your best interest.”
“It wouldn’t be the end of the world if it was a date,” Ivy said, eyeing Nora.
Nora tapped the checklist. “It wasn’t a date,” she said again. “I simply discussed with your dad the best way to help you. Now, can we get back to business?”
Ivy tipped her head to the side and all but tuned out for the rest of the session. When they finished, the teen left the office sulking.
Nora quickly pulled out her phone and texted Blaze to give him a very quick recap of what had happened. He replied and told her he’d give her a call when he was free tonight.
She stared at the screen. He’d give her a call tonight? What would Ivy think of that?
* * *
Gram had already turned in for the night, and Nora was sitting in her bed, with her end-of-school forms strewn around her, when her phone went off on her bedside table. She’d forgotten all about Blaze’s text saying he was going to call her when he got a chance. She checked the time: 10:08. That’s late .
“Hello?”
“Hey, sorry to call at this hour, but I was waiting until Ivy went to her room for the night.”
Nora piled her papers into a stack on her bed. “No problem.”
“How are you?”
She peered down at the stack, but the view didn’t register. Blaze Ryman had just asked how she was as if they’d known each other for years.
“I’m fine.”
“Did I disturb you?”
“No, I was just finishing up a little work, but it’s getting late and I needed to stop anyway.” She got up and put the papers in her bag.
“Ivy’s not happy with me,” he said, his smooth Southern accent sliding into her ear.
“I tried to encourage her to talk to you, but she thinks you abandoned her and her mother, and she doesn’t want to ask you anything.”
“I don’t know how to approach her. How do you talk to teenage girls?”
“Just be honest with her, and see if she’ll listen.”
“You make it all sound so easy.”
“It’s nothing you can’t handle, I’m sure.”
Nora felt his smile in the tick of silence on the other end and she had to fight a plume of happiness that she’d flattered him.
“Ivy did mention that you played guitar with her and you were working on a song together. That’s a step in the right direction.”
“We’ve got a long way to go.”
“She wanted to know why you’d asked me to have coffee. Use her curiosity to bait her into a chat.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“I think she feels betrayed by me for meeting you, so she sees the two of you on different sides. You want to try to become her ally.”
“How do I do that?”
“Well, she felt an alliance with me, and I formed that with her by listening and by treating her as an individual. Do you have any opportunities of forced proximity to get her to open up?”
“Her car will be done Friday. Maybe I can bring the topic up on the drive to the mechanic when we go to get it.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Nora crossed her legs on the bed, the ten o’clock call and her socked feet making her feel a bit like a teenager on the phone with her crush. She had to admit it was easier than expected to imagine having a crush on Blaze.
“What will you do?” he asked. “Ivy’s not happy with you either, and it’s my fault for asking you to coffee.”
“I think she’ll come back around. You telling her your side will hopefully help.”
“Thank you for taking time out of your night to talk to me. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
She ended the call and fell back onto her pillow. Thank goodness she only had a week to go, and then they’d have a long break. Ivy would hopefully build a rapport with her new counselor, and Blaze wouldn’t require any more help. He was too easy to like, and she didn’t need to like him as much as she already did. She had enough to figure out about herself without bringing unnecessary feelings into the mix.