Difficult Lessons (11 page)

“Sara, you might want to consider staying with Cynthia or one of your parents until this blows over. Most of those calls are probably just people blowing hot air, but you never know when some nut job actually means what they say. If you don’t want to do that, I have a spare room that you are welcome to stay in if you want,” Karen offered.

“Thanks for the offer Karen, but I am not going to let them run me out of my home and into hiding. I am not fighting this battle to hide more. I am fighting it to be me. I will continue my life as it is. Occasionally I will spend the night with Cynthia or she might come to my house, but I refuse to leave because of them.”

“I can’t blame you for your feelings. Just make sure that you keep your doors and windows locked and a phone handy at all times, Sara.” Karen was truly concerned. “Call me if you change your mind about the room or if you need anything. I am always available for you”

Chapter 17

Almost three weeks passed before Sara heard anything at all. One Tuesday afternoon, as she pulled into her drive she saw Karen’s SUV parked on the street in front of her house. Karen was standing by Sara’s car before she could get out of it, holding an envelope.  Sara was not sure if she was ready to hear it. She definitely knew that she did not want to hear it standing in her front yard.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Sara was trying to read Karen’s face to determine what the news was, but she was unable. That is what made her a good lawyer.

“I would love some water, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Okay, let’s get this over with. What was the decision?” Sara said as she returned from the kitchen with a couple of glasses of water and sat down in a chair across from Karen.

“Sara,” Karen began quietly. “When we went into this, I told you that we might not have an easy time of this.”

Sara’s stomach twisted as the words touched her ears.

“It isn’t good, is it?” 

Sara knew what was in the envelope, but she did not want to admit it to herself. She had to hear it from Karen.

“Well, it isn’t what I was hoping for, but it could be a lot worse than it is.”

“Okay. Karen, just tell me straight up. What did they say?”

“Well,” Karen paused and took a sip of her water. “They are not going to ask you to clean out your desk tomorrow.”

“But they want me gone,” Sara interrupted.

“They are willing to let you finish out your contract for this year. They are upholding the decision by Mr. Michael’s to not renew your contract for next year. The vote was four to two against you. You know who the two are that supported you.”

The words hit her like a freight train.

“Those bastards!” Sara was so angry that she was shaking. “How can they do this? This is not right and they know it. Lyons and Caine seem to be the only ones with any damn sense at all on that board. I guess they just do not have enough pull to sway the rest of them.”

“We can continue to fight this, Sara. We can carry on with our plans for the discrimination suit, if that is what you want. We can take it as far as we have to. I will represent you and I am pretty sure we can win, even if it takes a while.” Karen’s demeanor was confident. “On the bright side of their decision, they are willing to give you a great recommendation to potential employers.”

“I’m sure they are.” The sarcasm flowed from Sara before she could stop it.  “How could they not? I had every student in my class pass the state assessment. I have been more than dedicated to those students and that school the entire time that I have taught there. I can’t believe they are still going to do this to me.” Sara was beginning to cry.

Karen got up from the sofa and placed her arm around Sara. “Should I call Cynthia or your parents to come over while we talk about our next move?”

“Please.” Sara could barely get the words out. “Call both for me.”

While Karen made the calls, Sara broke down completely. She really had thought that they would reconsider and renew her contract. This was a blow that she did not expect. 

***

Sara’s parents and Cynthia arrived at the same time. Karen met them at the door and briefly told them what had happened. Sara had moved to the sofa and was still crying.

“Honey, we are not going to sit still for this,” Cynthia said as she knelt down beside Sara. She stroked Sara’s hair and wiped her eyes with a tissue that was on the coffee table. “I’ve never had any reason to want to fight for anything. I do now, and I’ll fight right along with you. This is wrong and they know it. You’re not going to go through this alone.”

“No, you aren’t,” Sara’s mother had made her way to the sofa and was sitting on the edge beside Sara. “I can’t believe that after all you have done for that school they are going to go through with this.” 

“Well Mom, evidently they don’t care what I or anyone else has done or will do.  It seems that all they care about is keeping up a certain appearance.  Hell, we all know that gay people can’t be trusted to work with children. We have our agenda that we have to instill on the impressionable young minds. We have to meet our quota of recruits.”

Karen could not stop the chuckle that came out. Everyone in the room turned towards her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, still giggling. “I have heard those things so many times from people who seriously believe it. To actually hear it come from one of us just amused me. I should not have laughed. This is serious.” 

Sara started laughing along with Karen. Cynthia smiled at Sara. That was the Sara that she loved; the happy one, the one that nothing bothered, and the one that loves everyone. She did not like seeing the Sara that was curled up on the sofa crying. Soon they were all laughing and making jokes. They were trying to take Sara’s mind off of the problem at hand.   

When Sara had stopped sobbing completely, Karen spoke up. “I hate to kill the atmosphere here, but we really do need to discuss our next move. We do not have to do it now, but we at least need to set up a time that we can. I have nothing scheduled for the next week in the afternoons. You can stop by the office any time that you wish, Sara.” 

“I want to get started as soon as possible on this. Will it be all right if I come by the office tomorrow afternoon when I leave the school?” 

“That will be fine. I will make sure that I keep the afternoon open. I don’t expect anything to come up.” 

Chapter 18

Sara’s alarm clock sounded Wednesday morning at its usual time. She pressed the button and crawled out of bed. Sounds of Cynthia in the kitchen drew her on down the hall while she put on her robe. How she had gotten lucky enough to end up with a woman like this, she did not know. 

Cynthia was busy putting breakfast on the table. She had to have been up a while to prepare ham, eggs, biscuits, gravy, and hash browns. 

“Wow! That smells awesome. How long have you been awake?”

Cynthia turned around and smiled. “Long enough to fix a fantastic woman a fantastic Alabama-style breakfast. You hungry?”

“After smelling this, how could anyone not be hungry? Should I pour the coffee?”

“Nope. Have a seat. I’ll get your coffee.” Cynthia kissed Sara lightly on the cheek as she turned to get the cups from the cabinet. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“I’m all right I think.” Sara spoke as she took a bite of her breakfast. “This is great. I need to make sure you don’t go anywhere. I could get used to eating like this.” 

“Oh, I ain’t going anywhere, sweetheart.” Cynthia smiled over her coffee cup.

***

Sara dressed reluctantly for work and kissed Cynthia as she headed out the door.  She was brought to a halt as soon as she saw her car.

“Son of a…” Sara stopped short of finishing the exclamation.

“What honey?” Cynthia called as she was making her way to the door. “Oh shit!” She saw what Sara was looking at.

Sara put her briefcase down on the steps and walked out to look at the damage.  The eggshells were still on the ground beside the car. The word “DYKE” down the side and across the back glowed in the morning sunlight.

“How in the hell did this happen without us knowing someone was out here?” Sara looked at Cynthia with tears welling up in her eyes.

“They must have done it early this morning. It was almost midnight when your parents and Karen left last night. It was not done then. I got up about five. I would have heard someone if they had been out here while I was in the kitchen. Go in and call the police and let’s get a report written on it. If anything is damaged you will need a police report for your insurance.”

“I don’t have time for this crap this morning.” Sara was visibly angry as she went into make the call.

Cynthia refilled Sara’s coffee cup while they waited on the officer to get there. 

“As soon as he gets the report written, you can take my car and go on to work. I will take yours and clean it up while you are at work.” 

“I should drive it just like it is just to show people that they cannot scare me with their bullshit.”

“No honey. It needs to be cleaned so it doesn’t damage the paint. I’ll do it for you.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“When will you get the point that I don’t mind doing something if I offer to do it?”

“I hope they don’t send that bastard out here to do the report.”

“I guess we will know soon enough.” Cynthia nodded at the patrol car pulling up to the curb. 

“Thank God. It isn’t him.” Sara was relieved to see the female officer step out of the car.

“I guess I do not have to ask what the problem is,” the officer said as she approached Sara and Cynthia. “I am Officer Pierce. Which one of you is the owner of the car?”

“I am. My name is Sara Carson.”

“Oh yeah. You are the teacher from the high school. It is nice to meet you. I have been following your story.” Officer Pierce extended her hand to shake Sara’s. 

“I’ve had a little more public exposure lately than I ever wanted.”

“I have to tell you, I am so glad you are fighting what they are trying to do to you.  There is no way that I would sit still for it myself. I have had my share of discrimination from some of the officers in the department. They have finally figured out that they can’t run me off.”

“I bet I can guess who is behind it. I would bet money that it is probably the same person that has been behind my situation.”

“You lost me.”

“It was one the boys in blue that started all of my troubles at the high school. I probably should not say who though since this is on-going.”

“If it was one of our officers, I know exactly who it is. You don’t have to say. Let’s get this report done so that you can get on to work.” Officer Pierce opened up her pad and got Sara’s information. She walked over to the car and began writing a description of the damage. While she worked, Sara called the school and told them that she would be a little late and that she needed someone to cover her first period class for a few minutes 

“Well, I think I have everything I need. I hate to say it, but there isn’t much chance of finding out who did this. Unless someone was seen, it is pretty much a given that they will get away with it. I will file the report though.”     

“I know. I wouldn’t have even called except for the fact that there might be damages that cannot be seen until it is cleaned up.”

“You might want to take some pictures of it. Your insurance will want them if you have to file a claim. I will get the report in today. You should be able to get a copy of it tomorrow. I hope that there is not any permanent damage to your car.”

“I don’t think there will be. Cynthia is going to take it and clean it up while I am at work. I think if we go ahead and get this off of it, it will be okay.”

“It should be. Here is my card. If you have any more problems, just give us a call.”

“We will. Thanks for coming out so quickly this morning.”

“Just doing my job,” Officer Pierce said with a smile as she turned toward her car.  She stopped and turned back toward Sara. “One more thing, Ms. Carson. Good luck with your situation at work. I hope everything works out for you.”

“Thanks. I am sure it will in the end.”

***

The day seemed to linger, not wanting to end. Sara could not wait to get away from the school and the questions. Everyone knew now that the school board had upheld Mr. Michaels’ decision and that she would not be returning the next year. The students had many questions for her. Some of them expressed their dislike of Mr. Michaels and the decision to not renew her contract. Several students told her that their parents were equally upset with the decision. A couple of her students even mentioned that their parents were considering moving them to another school district, even if it meant selling their homes and moving to other towns.