Page 42 of In Her Own Way
“Oh, no. I just got saddled with something that no one seems to want to help me with or give me much advice on. It’s all ‘not it,’ and I guess I got taggedit.So, there you go.”
“Bummer,” KC said. She snapped her fingers at a student and gestured for him to pick up the napkin he’d dropped. He did.
“Wow, there’s some power in that snap,” Jessica said. It reminded her of Cazadora Catalina’s snaps in the private room at Dominique’s.
“You have to have control in the art room. Otherwise, it’s madness and mayhem.”
“Exactly,” Jessica said, turning her head to scan the students. She wasn’t used to talking with anyone during her duty period. It was refreshing.
“What’s the project?”
“Literary magazine,” Jessica said with a long sigh.
“I have experience with that,” KC said. “I collaborated with another teacher in my old school. I mean, it was about six years ago, and things have probably changed, but she wanted artwork included, so I got the call.”
“OMG, will you help me figure out how to get started?”
“I’ll do more than that,” KC said. “This is only my second year here and I’ve been looking for more ways to connect. The art room is so isolated that I can go all day without speaking to another grown-up.”
Jessica put her hand on KC’s arm, closed her eyes, and exhaled the relief she felt. “I would love to collaborate with you, KC. Thank you for offering. Art pieces sound like a perfect addition to a literary mag. Oh, God. Thank you. Thank you.” The universe really did put people in your life when you needed them most, didn’t it?
“I have an idea,” KC said. “As you know, there is no spare time around here during the school day for much of anything.”
“Truth.”
“I’m chaperoning a girls’ varsity volleyball match tomorrow afternoon at four o’clock in the gym. Big playoff game or something. Why don’t you chaperone with me, and we can talk then?”
KC went on to say that chaperoning simply meant sitting with the students to make sure they behaved. The security team takes care of the parents and the visiting team’s people.
“So, we basically sit there and watch the game?”
“Exactly. And here’s the best part. It’s paid.”
Jessica’s eyes grew wide. “Sold.”
Upon KC’s suggestion, Jessica emailed the athletic director from her phone and got an instant reply. He was ecstatic that she wanted to volunteer. He outlined the duties and said he’d make sure to get this in her next paycheck.
“I am so glad I met you,” Jessica said. A ruckus on the other side of the cafeteria near the back doors got her attention. “I’ll go.”
“I’ll walk the tables,” KC said, and they parted ways.
Later on that afternoon, as she drove home from school, she thought about the volleyball game the next day. She was excited about it. Anytime she could support women or girls, she was in. She had absolutely no PUA swag, but she had an appropriate green-colored sweater she’d wear to school tomorrow. Once inside the apartment, she put her stuff down, petted the furred wonder, and went to her bedroom to pull out the sweater so she wouldn’t forget it in her groggy state the next morning.
She knew she should go outside for a walk to exercise, but late October in Denton Heights was cold. And she truly didn’t want to be cold, and besides, she was also anxious to see if Daddy Vic had messaged her back. So, she fed the feline, pulled out some leftover lasagna, and heated it up. She really should have a salad with this, but that would take work. All that chopping and slicing. She should buy bags of salad. She pulled out her phone and added salad to her ongoing shopping list.
Once settled on the couch, she took a few bites of the savory lasagna with meat sauce and powered up her tablet. She’d been tempted to check herKinksmessages at school, but she had a very strict rule not to mix business with pleasure. She kept the two strictly separated.
She bounced on the couch like a little kid when she saw the number hanging off the message icon. She bounced even more when she saw that every single message was from Daddy Vic.
Daddy Vic: Daddy Cheese here again. How’s the forced-upon-you project coming? Were you able to get help or guidance? Don’t keep a person in the dark. It’s not nice. LOL. Anyway, I hope you’re owning your worth and stepping into your strengths. This job is so boring, but it’s paying my meager bills. Truck insurance and health insurance are the big hits to my bank account. My cousin isn’t asking for much rent since I couch-surf at her place, but maybe not for much longer. Things just aren’t feeling right here. I don’t know why I ever came back. But I couldn’t stay THERE. I’m nowhere, I guess.
Jessica’s heart clenched. Daddy Vic was so sad and confused. She’d said in an earlier message that she was used to being the strong one and not needing help. Clearly, she was asking for something. Maybe just a listening ear. And Jessica could be that ear. She wanted to respond immediately to that first message, but decided to read the other two first.
Daddy_Vic:I’ll unload a little here. If it’s too much for your sensibilities, just ignore me, but hopefully I can get some of this heaviness out. I went to dinner this afternoon at my aunt and uncle’s. It wasn’t fun, JB. You know how some people should use a glue stick instead of Chapstick?
Jessica burst out laughing mid-message. “Oh, my God. That was hilarious.” She shook her head and said, “Glue stick,” again. Once composed, she resumed reading.
Daddy_Vic:Yeah, well, that’s my aunt. She wanted to fix everything about my appearance and set me up with some divorced guy. Just way overstepping. The woman has no filters and no boundaries. I didn’t stay for dessert (I’m not much of a dessert person anyway) and just drove around visiting some of my old haunts and reminiscing. I’m lost, JB. I don’t know what to do. I can’t stay on Erin’s couch much longer. I thought maybe there was a life for me here, but now I don’t know.
