Page 33 of The PTA President
“It’s okay. Don’t mind me, forget I even saw anything,” she says with a smile, moving towards an open stall.
Candace looks like a deer in headlights, as she chews the hell out of her lip, clearly panicking. “Hey, settle down,” I whisper, trying to calm her.
We stay at the bathroom sink, impatiently waiting for her to be done, which couldn’t be more awkward, waiting for someone to finish peeing.
“Whoa,” Denise says, surprised, shutting the stall door behind her. “I was serious, don’t mind me. You’ve seemed really happy lately, Candace, and if this is why, I’m really happy for you.”
“You don’t think it’s weird because we’re two women?” Candace asks hesitantly.
“No, I don’t think it’s weird. You two look really great together, but I don’t recommend making out in the school bathroom, unless you’re trying to get the attention of the other ladies.” She finishes drying her hands and heads towards the door. Before exiting, she turns towards us, “I hope you know you have at least one supporter in there. This life is too short to worry about what unhappy people think of you. If you’ve found someone who brings you any kind of happiness in a world that’s so messy, then I encourage you to hold on to them and never let go. It doesn't and shouldn’t matter whether they’re a man or a woman.”
The air is thick when the door shuts behind her, leaving us alone once again. Candace refrains from looking at me. “We should probably get inside before someone comes looking for us,” she says into the mirror, fixing her lipstick.
I grab her hand and interlace our fingers. “This changes nothing. I'll be more careful, and we can keep it under wraps. Whatever you need, I can do it.”
When she doesn’t look up at me, I gently grip her chin, bringing her towards me. “Hey, pretty girl, it’s you and me, nobody else.”
She nods, but I don’t miss the small quiver of her lip. “We should probably go in,” she smiles, and squeezes my arm before we both leave the bathroom, hands to ourselves this time.
Betty’s ear-splintering voice is the first I hear when we walk in. We’re not late, she’s just already bitching about something. “Kelly, this is no laughing matter. How will we be taken seriously if theparentsof these children don’t even respect our rules?”
“What happened?” Candace asks as we take our seats.
I couldn’t care less what happened, that woman has a new grievance every week. Last week, she was pissed at a dad who didn’t get his car washed before dropping his kid off. I kid you not, filed an actual complaint with the school board about the dirt on Mr. Hanson's white Lexus.
“Judith Anderson, Dorine’s mother, brought store-bought brownies to the bake sale today.” Her lips press together as she throws the plastic container on the table.
The laugh that barrels out of me is so uncontrollable I forget how to breathe. “You’re joking? Maybe she didn’t have time to bake brownies from scratch. Be grateful she didn’t add in anything extra. Although, to be honest, you could use a brownie, or two.”
“What are you insinuating? Do you think parents are putting drugs in the brownies?” Betty hollers, her face is beet red and hair a wild mane as she digs her French manicured nails into her scalp.
“One time in college, Joshua had me try one of those special brownies. I had diarrhea for days, and hallucinated a goat in my bed,” Denise, our sweet secretary mumbles.
“Denise, enough! Am I the only one taking this seriously? Judith bought these at a local Stop and Shop. She didn’t even bother going into Whole Foods. The brownies probably contain plastic and toenail clippings,” she huffs
“Speaking of toenail clippings, does anyone have a metal nail file I could jab into my eyeball right now?” I roll my eyes, waiting for the impending explosion.
Betty roars out like a fire-breathing dragon, "How on God’s green earth have you not been fired yet?"
“Dude, I have no clue. I’m sure you’ve tried your absolute best to get it done, but something ain’t working. Better luck next time.” I blink, and she slaps her hands on the table, standing back up again before Candace jumps in to referee.
“Okay, ladies.” She glares down at me. “Let’s back burner the bake sale discussion. I’ll work it out with Judith, and from here on out, make sure the flyers clearly state that desserts need to be made fromscratch.”
ChaptEr 23
Candace
“Iwant you both to know that my love for you is unconditional. Having a new person around doesn't change that.” Madison sits in my lap while we finish our first dating discussion. We’ve gone through every question and concern for over an hour, and Nat’s due here any minute. After our bathroom run-in I figured it was time to come clean with them.
My stomach was in knots the entire time. How does one explain to their children that they were once with a man, their father, and now they’re with a woman? A woman who is significantly younger and teaches at their school, might I add. I tossed and turned for nights, contemplating every way to do it, what to leave out, what to make sure they understood. It’s a relationship I’m still coming to terms with and still have my own questions about.
Hearing about Nat’s past with her parents made me eager to explain things to my girls. I was torn up hearing how unfair they were because my kids are my entire world. My love for them knows no bounds, and whatever gender they bring home is irrelevant as long as they’re a good person and treat them right. The hardest part of this talk was asking them to keep it quiet from the outside world. I hate secrets, but it’s something I’m not ready for everyone to know about just yet.
“So it’ll be like ourownlittle world,” Kate asked, excited to have her new bestie around more.
“Kind of, for now. Aunty Court knows, but other than that, I’d like us to stay between us. It’s still very new, does that work?”
Madison nods. She’s my protector, and took the news of the divorce the hardest. “Is she your girlfriend?” Her face is scrunched up as she pieces this together.
