Chapter 30 Good About It
GOOD ABOUT IT
“There is the woman I want to speak with.”
Meredith looked up from the papers she was reviewing to see Cassidy come into her room.
Mid-October was beautiful out and the kids were running on the playground after lunch. She’d eaten her lunch and was ready to get some work done with a few minutes of peace.
“I’m always here,” she said. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Your boyfriend,” Cassidy said. “And the ex. Anything else going on to keep me up to date?”
“Nope,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “Fredrick is a thing of the past in my mind. Nothing to say or do.”
“You’re positive he had nothing to do with the rock through your window?”
“Yep. He and Lana were both cleared. It’s not them.”
Cassidy pulled up a chair and sat. “Do they know who it could have been?”
“No,” she said. “Ford said there was no way to get a clean set of prints off the rock. They tried, but I expected that response. It’s not like it’s this big crime they are going to put a lot of energy into. I’m positive they only did what they had because of my relationship to Clay.”
It’d be wasteful anyway when it could have just been kids playing a prank.
Karl had told her that someone in another building had marks on their car last week too. Guess he’d been walking around talking to people when he saw them outside.
It made her feel better to know that.
The landlords even offered to put some cameras around the parking lot in the future.
“Are you nervous about any of it?” Cassidy asked. “I mean I know you’re always happy and cheerful, but this is taking it far in my mind.”
She sighed. “I’m trying to keep it in. I’ll admit I really thought it was Fredrick and as much as he and Lana were a nuisance, it wasn’t dangerous to me.”
“You don’t know what pushes anyone,” Cassidy said.
Her shoulders dropped. “I know. But it wasn’t them and they are gone now. So end of story. We know if it wasn’t for bad luck I’d have none. It’s probably just two random things and I’m trying to think of it that way.” It was better for her peace of mind.
“I suppose that is a good way to go about it. Tell me about Clay,” Cassidy said.
“He’s great,” she said, her voice drifting into a melody that had her friend laughing.
“I bet he is. Are you in love?”
“It’s crazy to say I think I am. He’s nothing like who I am normally attracted to or end up with.”
“Which could be why it’s working or is so fast. What makes you think you are though?”
She leaned back in her chair. No way she’d talk about the camera and all the other things Clay did to make her feel safe.
Walking in her place and looking around for signs. Checking in on her each night.
“I’m in this cloud of wonder,” she said. “As if I’m walking in a haze. One minute I go to do something and the next it’s done and I don’t even remember doing it. My mind is always on him. I’ve never been this way with anyone.”
Cassidy was fanning her hand in front of her face. “That’s awesome. You deserve it.”
“I never thought I deserved things before, but this time, I do. He’s such a great guy that few get to see sides of I am.”
“Are you going to share those sides?” Cassidy asked.
She sighed romantically. “He’s caring and protective, but I would have never guessed that months ago when I ran into him again. He’s always saving me from myself.”
“Which is a full-time job in itself.”
She laughed. “It is, but he’s good about it. I’ve been going to his place on Friday night and we will stay for two nights. Saturday he had an event to work and I came to town and did my thing, then he came to my place when he was done.”
“So you can’t stay in his house without him?”
“I can and I have. It’s not that. But I had things to do, got some shopping done. Did some wedding planning work. Things like that. We had dinner with my parents yesterday.”
“Wow. Moving fast. How did that go?”
“Great.”
Her parents told one too many stories about her klutzy childhood than she wanted shared, but it wasn’t as if it was a secret either.
“What does he think about you shrieking every time a bug comes near you? I’m assuming there are a lot on his property.”
“There are, but I’m actually not too crazy about it now. I told him why I had that fear.”
“You did?” Cassidy said. “You don’t tell many that.”
She wouldn’t tell a soul the reason she shared it. To get Clay to open up with her.
“I know. I wanted him to understand. But now that he knows, he’s almost slowly getting me to realize that if I don’t react, the bugs don’t react. I mean, he can’t go around killing everything in front of me so I don’t jump.”
“He could,” Cassidy laughed. “But again, it’s a full-time job if you’re on his grounds.”
“Very true,” she said. “But when I’m around him, I just feel so safe. I don’t want him to feel that burden, but it’s this internal thought in my brain. He’s by me, nothing can harm me. Not even a bee.”
“That’s kind of sweet,” Cassidy said, her voice sappy. “I’m happy for you. Are you going to tell him how you feel?”
“No way,” she said. Talk about a load to carry! “He’s not ready for it. I’m not sure what is going through his mind.”
“Yikes. Do you think this is just sex for him?”
Her head went back and forth.
Thoughts of his tender kisses on the forehead.
Gentle touches in bed on her cheek or arm when he didn’t know she was awake.
There were many layers to Clay that she wasn’t supposed to see but did.
“No. I’m not sure what else there is. More than him feeling as if he has to protect me. More than sex. How much, that is a good question.”
The bell rang, the kids were gathering outside. They’d be back in her room in a minute.
“Back to the grind,” Cassidy said.
“Yep.” She stood up to gather her kids from the aides that were walking them down the hall.
When her classroom turned the corner, the line looked a little light.
“You’re missing three kids,” Wendy said. “Ethan, Macy, and Sophie were running in circles and all ran into each other and fell down. They are in with the nurse.”
“Oh,” she said. “Anyone really hurt?”
“I don’t think so,” Wendy said. “But Macy was crying pretty hard and grabbing her butt. Maybe she sat on a rock. Sophie scratched her palm, and Ethan said he was hurt, but there was nothing I could see.”
“The nurse will let me know,” she said.
She gathered her kids that returned to the room and started on her lessons.
A few minutes later, Ethan returned with Sophie.
“Macy isn’t coming back,” Sophie said. “They are calling her parents.”
“Oh no,” she said. “Is she okay?”
“She hurt her butt,” Sophie said. “She won’t stop crying either.”
Her shoulders dropped. She had a soft spot for the little girl and hated that she didn’t know what was going on.
She’d find out in a few hours but had to put her attention on the rest of her students.
At the end of the day, she walked her kids down to the front, got those on the bus that were scheduled for it and the rest waited for their rides.
When the last child was on their way, she walked to the nurse’s office to see if she could get an update on Macy. She was shocked to see the little girl lying on the bed off to the side as if she was sleeping.
“I was just coming to get you,” Nadine said. Nadine had been the nurse here for years. She was great with the kids.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Nadine nodded her head to go into the office and shut the door. There was a big window where they could see Macy lying down.
“Macy has some bruising on her backside.”
“I heard she fell today on the playground.”
“This bruising is older. Like a strap or belt across her butt.”
Her shoulders dropped. “Seriously? She didn’t seem like she was having issues sitting today.”
At least she didn’t think so and hoped that she hadn’t missed it.
“It’s higher up. Closer to her back. So she could sit fine, but maybe not lean back,” Nadine said.
“I hadn’t noticed if she was leaning closer to her desk or not. I should have paid more attention.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Nadine said. “Has she said anything to you about her home life?”
“No. Nothing more than a month ago when she spoke to you and the counselor. I was worried about how skinny she was and eating, but her grandmother said she eats. That she’s just picky.”
Though she never noticed Macy being picky with food in the classroom.
That food was snacks though, cookies and crackers, and not necessarily a meal a child might not like.
“What did she say about her bruising?”
“Andrea got her to talk some. She said her father did it.”
Andrea was the counselor. “Did she say why?”
“I guess she was upset over food. She was hungry and her father told her she had to wait for her grandmother to get out of work and she was crying.”
Her eyes filled some in sympathy. “Now what?”
“We called her grandmother, who should be here in thirty minutes. We had to call social services again. They will have some explaining to do, but not enough to take her from the home. But we won’t release Macy to her father either.”
“He lives in the same house,” she argued.
“Our hands are tied. Sorry,” Nadine said.
“Can I go talk to her?”
“Sure. She wanted to go back to class, but we weren’t sure when her grandmother would come in. I think it was just best to keep her here. I’ve given her some snacks and juice. She was tired and slept some.”
“It breaks my heart,” Meredith said. “But we see this way too much.”
“We do,” Nadine said. “I’ll keep you posted. With any luck, she’ll be here tomorrow, but it’s hard to say.”
She walked out of Nadine’s office and moved to the bed Macy was lying on.
She was clean today, her hair washed and combed, her clothes wrinkled and a little small but not horrible.
The last time a call was made to her home, there were improvements. Maybe Macy only was bathed once a week and on the weekends, but it was better than nothing.
Which meant Macy’s grandmother had to have seen the bruises on the little girl.
“Hey there,” she said and sat on the bed next to Macy. Macy stayed on her side, but propped herself on her elbow.