Page 4 of Say He's Ready
Malone had her curly, charcoal black hair, dark eyes, and tiny frame. The only thing that didn’t hold her memories was the home we lived in. After her death, I sold our old house and found us something to start over with. It was hard to do but I couldn’t sleep in that bed, I couldn’t walk in that closet, and I couldn’t cook in that kitchen. The home we dwelled in now was nowhere near what we had back then, but it was still home. Even with the move she still managed to creep in every now and again.
In front of the school, I gave it my best shot at calming my raging nerves and fighting back the tears. I missed her so much. Bringing her back would be my only wish until the day I saw her lovely face again. However, it wasn’t even about me anymore. It was about how much Malone needed her. I needed her leniency and understanding. Moms went above and beyond with patience. They carried this peace and calmness men had no way to tap into it. The kind words, gentle touches, and faces that allowed kids to trust them. My patience was running thin, my words were few with Malone’s lack of chill.
‘Ok, you can do this,’ I coached.
Most of the time when I showed up I had a hard time keeping my cool with the staff. Well, with Ms. Norwood in particular. Everyone else wasn’t that bad and loved Malone. It was her bitch ass that had it out to make Malone a statistic. I had to set a better example for Mal. I refused to go in throwing the bitch word around like I wanted to. It would for sure get him kicked out. I was a collected individual, cool, not easy to rouse and not with the rah-rah bullshit but she brought something out of me that I couldn’t describe. Her demeaning looks made me want to air the building out and put it at ground zero, minus the kids. Ms.Norwood didn’t want Malone to be great, but he deserved to be there without all this bullshit.
“She’s waiting on you,” the receptionist advised as I stepped in the grand front office. Orchids sat in the corner, the walls had fancy wallpaper, and the carpet had the school mascot in the middle. All too damn elaborate for an elementary school if you asked me.
“Head up son,” I corrected as I made my way to Ms. Norwood’s office. Malone sat in the seat closest to the door with his curly head hanging down. Tightening my fist, I proceeded. Making him feel bad wasn’t the way to go with me. That would be the start of world war three. Malone was still a damn child and my thoughts were shifting from calm to pissed off quickly. I would be sure to let her know that the minute I stepped into her office.
Ms. Norwood was going to quit fucking with me and Malone once and for all. When I stepped through the double doors I felt her judgment and that condemnatory smirk. It was as if she took great pleasure in seeing Malone in trouble. Never in my life had I felt like someone was being racist, but her bitch ass was prejudiced, to say the least.“Ms. Norwood, I suggest you get that smirk off your face. I came to play nice, but you got me fucked up,” I said easily. I was still on my feet wishing the bitch would continue the disrespect in my face. Before I could sit, my eyes found hers. Someone new, someone fresh with bright eyes and the skin the color of sweet tea. She was a new face that I hadn’t seen before. My breath was snatched like a girl’s edges after a bad perm. Mind no longer on shutting the school down, it was now shuffled to her but, who was she?
Teaghan
“Ms. Norwood, can you explain the smirk you have on your face? I’ve found myself also intrigued.” I caught the smirk myself the minute he stepped in. Seconds ago, she had me convinced that she was concerned for the wellbeing of her students. But her current smirk showed something different. And that concerned me tremendously.
My job as the state pediatrician wasn’t always nice, and it wasn’t always fair. However, I hadn’t thrived in the position without calling a spade a spade. All morning I listened to Ms. Norwood’s concerns and it seemed genuine but with her latest look, I wasn’t so sure she hadn’t fed me lies on top of lies. I didn’t have time to focus on this planned attack as I laid eyes on the midnight storm that walked in ready to shut the school down.
“Ms. LeJune, oh no it’s just always good to see Mr. McGraw,” she smiled. I winked because I knew bullshit when I saw it. Ms. Norwood was happy about this conversation and apparently taking great pleasure in seeing another student struggle. I was brushed wrong by her enjoyment of what could possibly come from this. I was all for making the lives of teachers and those dealing with kids easy but if Ms. Norwood thought for one second I would allow her to target and mistreat a child in my face she was dead damn wrong. “Mr. McGraw, this is TeaghanLeJune - she is the state child pediatrician. She’s only here to sit in and help us reach common ground. Is that ok?”
“I guess so she already here. See this what I be saying about you. You tell and repeat what you want, what’s convenient. You can’t be trusted,” he fussed in the smoothest southern voice I had the pleasure of hearing. His cool voice matched his cool look. Tall, with yellow skin that looked much like the filter of a cigarette. Honestly, I would like to chain smoke the cigarette fuck the possibility of the side effects. Mr. McGraw was fione with a capital damnF, but his cute ears are what caught my focus the most. They stuck out a little further from his head than normal, but he looked so much like Malone. I caught myself smiling an infectious smile. Clearing my throat, I realized my stupid smitten face and stood to greet him properly.
“Nice to meet you, sir. By no means was this meant to be an ambush. So please don’t feel that way.”
“Call me Houston, and it’s nice to meet you also. For the record, this is an ambush. She didn’t tell me you would be here, nor did she say this was happening whether Malone cut up today or not,” he spoke with a firm handshake. I loved a man that knew how to shake a woman’s hand. Most men always shook a woman’s hand lazily or gently. Not him, his handshake was firm and forceful. His hands were rough and kind of dirty. By the paint on his shirt, I assumed he was in the construction field. The coarseness of his large, ring free hands gave that away. “And I don’t understand what you mean by common ground. You know what it is,” he spoke to Ms. Norwood not making eye contact but eyes still on me. His hand was still in mine and I was enjoying the contrast of our touch way too much to end it.
I know I said I was done dating, but I would jump back in head first for a little bit of his time. I was so warm it felt as if I was sitting directly on the sun. With all my college education, I still fell at the feet of a man that spoke with broken dialect but with such authority. He didn’t come in pretending or kissing ass. Inside I was praying he got her bogus ass together. She deserved it.
“Houston, please don’t take this the wrong way, but Malone is struggling and that makes it hard for everyone else,” my head whippedwhen she made that statement. He chuckled but not for long. That divine moment when you felt yourself getting lightheaded at the mere glance of a fine man didn’t last long as I started to sense his apprehension and irritation. This meeting wasn’t going well, and I knew my opinion of Ms. Norwood was correct. I was fed up with the situation just the same. Malone’s troubles were mild compared to others I had seen. He wasn’t destroying property, he wasn’t beating other kids to a pulp. Malone's issue to me was that he wasn’t challenged but again I felt like I didn’t know the entire story.
“Listen, I’m not sure what the hell the other parents allow you to do but you not about to keeping fucking with mine. It’s gone too far. It ain’t nothing for me to switch him somewhere else. Malone got it in his blood to succeed. Proceed with caution.”
“Houston-,”
“It’s Mr. McGraw,” he snapped, correcting Ms. Norwood who obviously wasn’t extended the courtesy of addressing him on a first name basis. For a brief moment, I hung on to that, feeling slightly special. His name was unique and him extending me the courtesy of using it had to mean something, right?
“Mr. McGraw we have spoken about this several times. Please understand that any child that disrupts the learning of others gets the same treatment,” she responded. I sat back watching back and forth as my future husband stood up for my future stepchild. Boy, I was on my way to intervene but seeing him say fuck the bullshit was getting me worked up in the wrong setting. Straddling him in this office was soon to happen. It was also making me think about the type of head I would reward my husband with if he stood his ground for our little ones. His voice wasn’t raised but his red skin showed signs of fury. Thinking with my brain I decided I couldn’t let it go further than it already had.
“Ms. Norwood, let me try to speak with him. I know you’ve explained your concerns, but we aren’t really getting anywhere, considering the history. Do you mind?” I asked hinting at the door behind us. She wasn’t making this easier. We would be here all day him not hearing her out and her not budging. With her in the room, the air was tight, damn near nonexistent. Houston stood on his large feet with his hat in his hand tightly, it would only be seconds before heyoked her up and made her a memory. Ms. Norwood nodded and didn’t give any push back and now it was just me and my future, I mean Mr. McGraw.
I couldn’t stop turning my head to smile or laugh at my silly thoughts. He was uncomfortable as he stood scratching his scruffy beard. I felt bad for him a little. It was never easy having these conversations with parents. Parents always thought of their kids as little angels and I wasn’t in the profession to change their
minds. The words I was about to say had to be executed properly or he would shut me down like he did Ms. Norwood. Him shutting down would only make my job harder and delay the process.
“Please, have a seat.”
“I’m straight right here. I know the drill,” he replied, still standing and looking back as if he had somewhere else to be.
“And what’s the drill?” The job wasn’t just the pediatrician for the state. My job included ensuring the well-being of the children attending the schools. It didn’t take a lot to understand that he was at his wit’s end. What I wasn’t sure of was if it was with the school or his son’s behavior? Either way, both were understandable, and both had to be investigated. Ms. Norwood felt like Malone’s issue were home issues. I was here to determine the root and assist.
“You sit in your fancy pretty outfit, then you tell me that my son going to this school is a blessing and should be treated as such. I explain that right now we are having a hard time. That blows over your head because truthfully no one gives a flying fuck that he lost his mother. Y’all only care about my check clearing. Then you pretend that you really care what he has going on when you truly don’t. Then I promise to handle it. You thank me for coming to save y’all weak asses and then we leave. Does that sound about right to you Ms. LeJune or am I missing the reason why you here?”
I wanted to erupt into laughter at his facial expression when he switched point of views, but I needed to stay professional. Nothing he said bothered me because he wasn’t lying about the meeting. Ms. Norwood’s intentions were clear, she was ready to put Malone out the school. I was here and this one would be different. Because I was coming to bring a different option and removing him from school wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t there to ridicule or judge his situation. But again he had to want to hear me out to understand my angle.
“Call me Teaghan. I know this is frustrating, and please understand that I’ve only been called in to help. Will you let me do that?” I asked, looking into his beautiful brown eyes. They were mysterious, yet full of something I couldn’t pinpoint. The whirls of green and browns twinkling in his eyes churned making me dizzy. Those eyes now had me curious as to what his story was and if I could somehow help him too. I knew better because I had to learn the hard way I couldn’t help everyone. This would be another moment that could leave me burnt as if I didn’t know better. Helping provided a rush I couldn’t explain or put into words.
“Lady, we’ve been over this shit a million and one times. I wish they would just kick him out and get it over with. Coming in this bitch,” he whispered and looked around, “is fucking with me, and I know it’s fucking with Malone. I don’t appreciate feeling like my son is under attack, and that’s how I feel right now. That’s my son, and I know more about him than anyone. Just know I ain’t taking this shit lightly.”
