Not prepared at all.
They were supposed to belong on opposite sides of her life. Each in a corner, away from one another. But fate had dealt her a new hand of cards. How would she play them out?
Chapter 19
Quickly gathering his belongings as soon as the last bell rang, Lorenzo almost made it to the door when it swung open.
“Hi,” Valeria greeted nervously.
“Hi,” he returned with a tight voice.
“I found this in my purse,” she said, pulling out a pen with the Aztec calendar on it. She hadn’t noticed it when he had handed it to her at Antojitos but when she had accidentally come across it in her purse, she realized its uniqueness. “I forgot to give it back to you the other day.”
He took it carefully, making sure he wouldn’t touch her. “Thanks for returning it.”
“I figured it was a special pen.”
“It is,” he mumbled. “It’s my favorite pen.”
Her almost-black eyes flickered at him. “Lorenzo,” she said nervously, “are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re acting strangely,” Valeria asserted.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’re fine then?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” she said, her eyebrows furrowing.
“Was that you’re fiancée earlier—the guy with the flowers?” he asked, trying to sound casual.
“Yes, that was him. I’m surprised you saw him with the flowers.”
“It’s hard to miss a guy with an armful of roses.”
“Leonel wanted to surprise me.”
“Roses are your favorite?”
She shifted her eyes to the ground. “I like roses.”
“But are they you’re favorite?”
“Well . . .”
“Yes?”
“Wild flowers are actually my favorite.”
“Oh,” he said, nodding solemnly. He had never been able to give Kate flowers. Every time he'd try buying or ordering them, an overwhelming feeling stopped him.
“I love all flowers,” she blurted. “It was considerate of Leonel to bring me some.”
“Is it a good idea for him to be visiting you during work hours?” he asked lightly.
“He never does it,” Valeria assured. “Today was an exception.”
“But if you don’t put a stop to it now, he may be coming to check up on you all the time.”
“He wasn’t here to check up on me,” Valeria blurted, her voice with steely undertones.
“C’mon, Valeria.”
“What do you mean c’mon?” she asked, her eyebrows snapped together.
“It’s pretty obvious that your fiancé was checking up on you.”
“No, he wasn’t.”
“He shows up on a workday out of nowhere and you say he’s never done that before. He’s up to something.”
“You don’t know my fiancé well enough to say that,” Valeria stated, irritated. “In fact, you don’t know him at all, do you?”
“I don’t need to meet him to know what he’s about.” The strange part was that for some kind of reason Valeria's fiancé seemed very familiar to him. Had Lorenzo already met him?
“Really?” she said flippantly. “So now you’re not only a history teacher but you’re also a psychiatrist or maybe even a psychic since you claim you can read my fiancé’s mind?”
“The truth really bugs you, doesn’t it?”
“Truth? What truth?” Valeria questioned.
“That the man you’re going to marry is very jealous of any man that comes near you.”
“He's just a little insecure but not so much that he checks up on me. ”
“I knew it. He's a control freak.”
Valeria shook her head vehemently. “That’s ridiculous.”
“No, it's not.”
“I don’t appreciate you making assumptions about my fiancé. I'm ending this ridiculous conversation,” she snapped, heading to the door. “Bye.”
“Bye,” he called after her.
Lorenzo stared at her straight backed dismissive and angry form as she stepped out. She was till breathtakingly beautiful, maybe even more so with the eclectic vibrancy in her air at the moment. He shook his head.
Chapter 20
Outside the old buildings, Kate waited patiently as she switched channels on her car radio until finding the classical music station she liked. This was one of those rare occasions when she didn’t go straight home from work. After the drunken bout of a few weeks ago, she stayed away from Leonardo’s Bar and Grill and alcohol in general. She had apologized profusely to her receptionist, having been ashamed over her behavior that night. Things were back to normal—where they should’ve been all along.
“Hi, Katie,” Lorenzo greeted, his face looking strained as he stepped into her brand new silver Lexus. A new CD player was being installed in his own car, and she was picking him up at school.
“Hi, sweetheart,” she returned, her eyes narrowing at the odd undertones underneath his even composure. She knew him too well. “How was your day?”
“Fine,” he stated curtly.
“Is everything okay?” asked Kate, becoming more concerned.
“Yes,” he blurted.
“Lorenzo,” she sighed, “what’s wrong? Please tell me.”
“Katie, it’s really nothing. It’s just work stuff, and school is over for today. Let’s just talk about something else, okay?”
“Okay,” she stated.
“How was your day?” he asked as she was about to turn the key.
“Good,” Kate said. “I—” Unable to finish her sentence, one of the biggest surprises she had ever received pummeled her like a punch from a bag filled with heavy rocks.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her. This time it was his turn to be concerned.
“Uh , , ,uh. . .”
“Katie, what’s wrong?” he questioned, more firmly than before. But again, all he got out of her were jagged mutterings. When he turned his face to what she was looking at, he also received a surprise. Valeria was climbing into her car.
“Valeria teaches here?” asked Kate, her voice barely audible.
“You know Val—“
“Does she teach here?” Kate repeated with a much stronger tone.
“Yes, she—“
“I thought she taught at Marshall,” Kate stated, panic bubbling in her voice.
“She transferred over here this semester,” he informed, mumbling. Just at that precise moment, he realized with a tremendous jolt where he knew Valeria's fiancé from. Small world. Very small world. "Her fiancé is that guy from the movie theater! Is that how you know her?—through your patient?”
“Do you speak to her?” Kate asked abruptly, ignoring his question.
“Why do you ask?”
“Do. You. Speak. To. Her?”
Her tone puzzled him. “Yes, I’ve spoken to her,” he said, his voice still sharp as he thought about earlier.
“And?”
“And what?” he returned.
“What do you talk about?”
“Why are you asking me all this?”
“I’ve got my reasons,” Kate stated, her voice strange.
“What reasons?”
“What do you talk about?” she demanded.
“School stuff and. . . about her fiancé.”
“She’s really in love with him, right?”
“I guess. I don’t know her that well. Of the little I know about her, she tends to be a real volcano,” he grumbled.
Kate relaxed a bit. “You don’t get along with her?”
“No,” he stated.
“Good.”
“Would you mind telling me what this conversation is about?” he asked impatiently. “If Leonel was your patient, why does Valeria seem to make you nervous?”
“He wasn’t my patient,” Kate blurted.
&
nbsp; His eyebrows shot up. “No?”
“She was,” Kate stated quietly. “Enzo, would you drive? I’m not feeling too well.”
As they switched seats, he didn’t ask her any more questions. Kate breathed out a deep sigh of relief, grateful that he knew when to give her space. She abruptly gave him a swift kiss on the lips, marking her territory. On the way home, they were both quiet.
For the rest of the evening, neither mentioned the strange happening earlier. Kate acted as if it was a normal evening and so did Lorenzo but when they were in bed and about to turn off the light, Kate put her hand on Lorenzo’s arm.
“Please stay away from Valeria,” she pleaded.
“Why?”
“Don’t ask me why. Just do it, please.”
Chapter 21
Walking swiftly and aggressively, Valeria reached her car. The scene earlier with Lorenzo about her fiancé still sharp in her mind. After yanking the door open, she plopped into the front seat and automatically reached for her seat belt. Then she noticed Lorenzo stepping out of a car she’d never seen before and exchange seats with the driver—a woman.
As Valeria focused her sight to get a better look at the woman, she let out an exploding gasp from deep inside her throat. Were her eyes playing a trick on her? It was Dr. O’Leary in the seat next to Lorenzo! Valeria rubbed her eyes and refocused her eyesight. Yes, it was Dr. O’Leary. And she had given him a kiss. Could the world be this tiny? What were the odds of a new co-worker being the companion of her former therapist? What a coincidence.
Was the fact that he lived with a psychiatrist why he had made those ugly assumptions about her fiancé? Was he so arrogant that he thought his relationship to a therapist gave him the right to say anything he wanted?
Did it?
As the bright morning light hit the windows, Kate went about her routine unnaturally quiet. Lorenzo eyed her with furrowed eyebrows. He waited for her to start chatting since morning was her favorite time of the day, but she sat in front of him with a mug of coffee and took tiny sips, lost in thought.
“What’s wrong?” he finally asked.
“Nothing,” she muttered.
“What is it?” he insisted.
“Nothing.”
“It’s Lindsey, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“I know that Lindsey’s death is still very difficult for you,” he stated.
“Lorenzo,” she said solemnly, “Do you think Lindsey is out there somewhere?”
“Are you talking about reincarnation again?”
“Yes.”
“No, I don’t think there’s such a thing,” he said lightly.
Kate sighed deeply while staring at him with an exhausted look.
Chapter 22
Valeria stayed in her classroom, and Lorenzo stayed in his. She brought her own lunch, eating in the teacher’s lounge while he returned to eating in the cafeteria when he realized she wasn’t having her meals there. Occasionally they would bump into each other and would have no choice but to say a quick hello or nod at one another.
Each belied the fact that they couldn’t cover the glass slats on their doors. Having windows to someone else's life created too many problems.
Chapter 23
Valeria could only think of a few things she liked doing least—getting a root canal was one and forcing herself to go with Leonel to his office parties was another. Having to go check her mail in her box where the principal’s office was located caused her nearly as much pain as a trip to the dentist. She avoided it as much as she could and was grateful that technology had brought email because hard copies were rare now. Yet, she did need to check her box once in a while for that rare paperwork.
As she walked past the principal’s office, he unfortunately had his door wide open as he spoke strongly to a trembling boy. Valeria’s heart automatically went to the frightened student having to deal with an egotistical idiot who unfortunately had too much power.
“Hello, Ms. Loya,” Bleaker chirped, his smile widening as his eyes swept over her.
“Principal Bleaker,” she said as she nodded her head and rushed to the mail boxes, turning her back to him to snatch her paperwork.
As she turned around and readied herself to sprint to the door, she heard Bleaker’s sardonic voice.
“You’re a joke, young man. A joke! You’ll never amount to anything. You’ll be lucky to get a job as a ditch digger. I don’t know why we’re forced to give kids like you an education—it’s a waste of tax dollars! A complete waste!”
Valeria froze where she was at—unable to move. Had she heard correctly? Was the Principal completely humiliating a student and with the door open nonetheless?
“Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
The young man’s eyes had turned from shock to anger. “Yes,” he retorted.
Bleaker glanced at Valeria with a twinkle in his eye and then his haughty sight returned to the student. “Why do you even bother to come to school?”
“Why are you the principal?” The student spoke up.
“Listen, boy—“
“My name is Gerardo,” he stated, venom in his voice.
“I don’t care what your name i—“
“Then I don’t care that you’re the principal.”
Bleaker, feeling acutely embarrassed at how the student was talking to him, scurried to the door and shut it. Valeria shook her head, acid from disgust pulling in her throat. Even cockroaches have more manners than him. She hastily stopped at the administrative assistant’s desk before leaving.
“Does he always speak to students like that?” Valeria asked, trying to control the sharpness in her voice.
“What do you expect?” Arlene asked defensively.
“What do you mean?”
“Did you hear how that boy was talking to him?”
“Did you hear how he was talking to that young man?”
“We’ve got a lot of lowlifes here. He has to talk to them that way.”
Valeria combusted into long, red flames. “No, he doesn't.”
“What?” asked Arlene, astonished.
“There’s a difference between talking with authority and humiliating someone,” Valeria blurted.
“You don’t understand. You—“
“And another thing, him humiliating that boy with the door open was beyond unprofessional.”
“I guess you’ve been fortunate enough not to have any lowlifes in your classrooms,” Arlene retorted. “You’ve just started teaching here, right?”
“Stop using the term lowlife,” Valeria demanded, snapping. “You’ve got no business in this school if that’s what these students are to you. And another thing, I’ve had many types of students in my classes. Yes, some are more challenging than others, but I would never humiliate them to satisfy my ego.”
“Well, I guess you’re a special teacher,” she said, snickering.
“I just know how to treat people,” Valeria stated as she eyed her with a steely glare. Arlene averted her eyes.
"How nice for you," retorted Arlene.
Valeria sighed with frustration. "It's about being a decent human being."
Deciding that she needed to leave or suffocate like an animal held under water, Valeria strode to the door. As she swiftly pulled it open, Lorenzo stepped in. She rushed past him, not wanting to be rude but in too much of a hurry to get out of there to offer him even a small hello.
Great! Valeria thought. First, she had to put up with the principal and then his administrative assistant and last but not least, she ran into Lorenzo as her insides wanted to go off with the blast of an atomic bomb.
Great!
When arriving at the main office, Lorenzo never imagined that the door would abruptly open and Valeria would fly past him. Her rudeness made him angrily shake his head. She hadn’t acknowledged him in any way but whatever he was feeling was replaced with concern because she loo
ked very upset. Having almost forgotten that he had forced himself to go there to pick up any paperwork from his box and be as swift as possible, he went straight to Arlene. She immediately changed the harsh grimace she wore into a smiling welcome sign.
“Hi, Lorenzo,” she gushed, grateful that she had applied her lipstick a short while ago.
“Hello, Arlene.”
“This is a surprise. You don’t get over here as much as you should.”
Lorenzo cleared his throat. “I’m just here to check my box.”
“Can I help you with something?” she asked, her eyes twinkling with friendliness only reserved for a select few.
“I . . . uh . . . I was just wondering why Valeria ran out of here in such a rush.”
Arlene's grin turned into a deep frown. “She almost mowed you down, right?”
“Do you know why she was so upset?”
“She flew off the handle because Mr. Bleaker, doing his job as a principal, had to discipline a student. She’s one of those people who think we should treat lowlifes with kit gloves. I’m not sure she should be teaching.”
“She’s a good teacher,” he stated, annoyed.
“But you should’ve seen the way she spoke to me,” Arlene declared. “It’s not good to be a teacher with such a short fuse. She’s kind of crazy if you ask me.”
Lorenzo’s eyes turned into slats. “Don’t call her crazy,” he demanded.
“I . . . I didn’t mean to—“
“I’ve got to go,” he said, heading out the door without looking back and without checking his box.
Throughout the day, he caught glimpses of Valeria from the door window. Even though she looked much more composed than earlier, her face had a hardened stance and her eyes a fiery glint.
When the last bell rang, he rushed to her room before she had a chance to leave.
“Hi,” he said simply.
She looked at him with curiosity. “Can I help you with something?” she asked her voice shaky.
“What’s wrong?”
“What?”
“You looked very upset when you rushed out of the main office.”
“It was nothing.”
“Arlene told me you didn’t like how Mr. Bleaker was disciplining a student,” Lorenzo commented quietly.
“Were you gossiping about me?” Valeria asked, her eyes narrowing.
“I was worried so I asked.”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” she asserted.
“Talk to me, Valeria.”