Difficult Lessons (12 page)

As soon as she could get away she made her way to the parking lot and headed straight for Karen’s office. She was waiting on Sara, as she had said she would.

“Well Sara, do you want to go on with the suit?” Karen got right to the point.

Sara took a deep breath before she spoke. “I don’t know exactly. I want them to pay for all of this crap. My car was vandalized last night after everyone left. It never would have happened if it weren’t for all of this. I know that I can’t go back to work there when this is over. It would be a hostile environment if I sued them and actually got my job back. I have dealt with that environment enough over the past several weeks. One solitary man has succeeded in ruining my career. Anywhere that I try to go to work, they are going to know me as the lesbian teacher who was fired. I want Griffin to pay for this as much as the school board. None of this would have ever happened if he had not made it his personal mission to have me fired. I would bet he is behind the vandalism of my car last night, but I can’t prove it.”

“I’ll be honest with you. This is not going to be easy. The state has no laws on the books protecting the LGBT community from discrimination. There really is no clause in the certification board’s policy to protect against it either.  They could quote immoral behavior as a reason, as Michaels has already done. A conservative judge might lean their way. Let’s try this to begin with. Let’s ahead and inform them of our intent to sue. We will cite mental anguish, damage to your reputation, possible loss of wages due to being essentially fired at the last minute, and also the discrimination. How does that sound?”

“Sounds great as far as the school board and Michaels are concerned, but what about Griffin?”

“He will not escape this one. He started all of this, like you said. We will include him as a party in the suit. Shall I get started on this tomorrow?”

“The sooner the better for me.” Sara was anxious to settle the matter. The longer things went on, the angrier she got. “I want them to know that they have crossed the wrong person. A person that will not sit still and be bullied.”

“Great. I am also going to add in there that they will also be responsible for attorney and court fees, if that is suitable for you.”

“Sure, make them pay. I don’t even mind if you up your fees for them.” Sara laughed as she spoke.

“Now that might be a little unethical if I did that,” Karen laughed. “I am expensive enough as it is. I think I will just leave my fees as they are.  Can I take you to dinner tonight? You can call Cynthia and we can all get together.”

“I better not. I need to update my resume. I will have to start job-hunting immediately. I have bills to pay. I don’t think anyone is going to take me in and take care of me and I am too old to move in with either one of my parents.”

“I guess you should get on that. Sara, there is one more thing. No matter what happens between now and the end of the school year, remember what I told you. Do not resign your position. They are more likely to ask you to do so now. If they want to get rid of you that badly, let them place you on leave. They have to continue to pay you if they do that.”

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“That’s what a good attorney does. She keeps her client informed.” Karen smiled a sly smile at Sara. “You get on home. Let the important ones know what is going on, try to relax, work on your resume, and I will take care of everything else. I will let you know when something happens.”

Chapter 19

Sara thought about Cynthia’s arms around her while she drove through town. She imagined Cynthia’s soft lips lightly touching hers. The scent of her perfume engulfed Sara’s thoughts. 

Before she realized it, she was sitting in Cynthia’s driveway. Sara looked up and saw Cynthia in the door. She was wearing an olive green t-shirt and khaki shorts.  The shirt hugged her body just enough to tease anyone who dared to look at her. Sara smiled, took a deep breath, and opened the car door. 

“It’s about time you got here,” Cynthia teased from the steps.

“I was not aware that you knew I was coming,” Sara retorted playfully

“Well, I hoped you would since you had my car and I had yours.

“Good point,” Sara laughed.

“Come on inside.  I have been on edge waiting to find out what happened with Karen today.”

Cynthia grabbed a couple of beers from the kitchen as Sara began to explain everything to her. When she finished, she chugged the beer that Cynthia had brought to her.

“Well it seems that she feels pretty confident about all of this. How do you feel about it?”

“I am not sure. I thought I was up for the fight, but I was thinking on the way over here. It is going to be rough. You know I don’t want to have to look for another job. I don’t want to commute back and forth to another town, and I definitely don’t want to move. I probably would not mind the move all that much if I had not met you. I am not even sure if I can find a job anywhere close by after all of this. What kind of reputation am I going to have?”

“Darling, your reputation as a teacher is spotless. You have nothing to worry about as far as that is concerned. I am sure if you apply somewhere close by, they will be more than happy to hire you.”

Sara wondered how Cynthia could always be so positive. That was something that had drawn her closer to Cynthia. 

Sara put her beer down on the table and pulled Cynthia to her. “Do you know that I love you?” Sara looked deeply into Cynthia’s eyes.

“Yes. Do you know that I love you too?” 

No sooner than the words were out of Cynthia’s mouth, Sara kissed her. Sara held her tightly through the kiss. Cynthia wrapped her arms around Sara’s waist and ran her hands up her back. Sara broke the kiss and moved her lips to Cynthia’s neck. Cynthia tilted her head back slightly and smiled. Sara’s lips explored both sides of Cynthia’s neck and down to her collarbone. Her hands found Cynthia’s hips and pulled her even closer.

Sara slowly removed Cynthia’s t-shirt. Her mouth found Cynthia’s breasts and teased through the cloth as her fingers worked to unhook the restraint holding them. In her excitement, she had a little trouble, but finally set them free. Cynthia took her hand and led her to the bedroom. 

Sitting down on the bed, Cynthia pulled Sara on top of her. Sara continued her exploration of Cynthia’s body as she unbuttoned her shorts. Her hand slid between the material and Cynthia’s soft skin. Cynthia raised her hips to meet Sara’s fingers. Sara’s fingers probed expertly until she found the warmth between those firm thighs.  Cynthia gasped as Sara’s fingers went inside. Cynthia excitement grew with every movement of Sara’s fingers. She made a move to take her shorts off. 

Sara rested back on her knees and unbuttoned her own shirt and took it off. As Sara removed her bra, Cynthia rose to meet her bare chest with her mouth. Sara gently pushed her back down onto the bed and ran her index finger the length of Cynthia’s torso, teasing and taunting.

Sara moved between Cynthia’s legs and gently spread her thighs apart. Sara’s tongue expertly went to work pleasing Cynthia. Cynthia moaned and moved from the sheer pleasure that she was receiving. It was not long before her body shook from the orgasm. Sara only stopped because of Cynthia’s begging. The sensitivity was excruciating. Positioning herself beside Cynthia, she wrapped her arms around her and kissed her shoulder. 

“Damn! That was incredible!” Cynthia exclaimed when she caught her breath enough to speak.  “Now let me see if I can even come close to returning the favor for you.” 

Cynthia quickly removed Sara’s pants. She wasted no time in finding the moistness between Sara’s thighs. Her tongue probed as Sara’s hips moved in perfect rhythm until the orgasm shook her body. Sleep overtook them almost immediately afterward. 

Sara woke up and looked at the clock beside the bed. It was midnight. She gently shook Cynthia. “Honey, wake up.”

“What is it? Is something wrong?”

“No. I just need to go home.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” Cynthia said pouting a little.

“I don’t want to leave either, but I need to go. I don’t have any clothes here.”

“I know, but can’t I be a little selfish?”

“Of course you can,” Sara said kissing Cynthia on the forehead. I will call you as soon as I get off work tomorrow. We will go out to dinner if you want.”

“Mmmmm. That sounds good.” Cynthia sat up and kissed Sara passionately.

It depressed Sara to leave Cynthia alone in that bed. She knew her house would seem lonely, even though Meg would be there to nuzzle her and keep her company. Sara had never minded being home alone until she met Cynthia. Now all she wanted to do was spend time with her. 

Chapter 20

“Damn!  Here we go again,” Sara mumbled to herself. Sara saw the van from the television station as soon as she turned onto the street that the school was on. There was a camera crew and several other people standing just outside the gate.

Is this ever going to end?

She tried to get out quickly without them seeing her, but she heard one of them call to her. 

“I have no comment,” Sara called out as she quickly made her way into the building.

After grabbing the papers from her mailbox, she went directly to her classroom. This was going to be another long day. 

Approaching her room, Sara saw Mrs. Dixon standing in front of her door.

“Good Morning, Mrs. Dixon.” She managed a smile as she spoke.

“Morning, Sara. How are you this morning?”

“I’m all right I guess. You?”

“I’m good. I need a favor from you. Would you mind proof-reading something for me?” Mrs. Dixon asked extending a folded paper.

Sara looked confused. “I don’t mind, but shouldn’t you get someone from the English department to proof-read for you?”

“Nope. I need you to do it.”

Sara took the paper and opened it. It was a letter to Mr. Michaels. Mrs. Dixon was resigning. Actually she was retiring, but since she had signed a contract for the upcoming year, she had to officially resign. She stated the reason for resigning was that she “could no longer work in an environment where people were treated unfairly”. 

“Mrs. Dixon, you can’t do this.” The shock in Sara’s voice could not be masked.  “You love what you do and everyone loves you. Please do not let what I am going through influence you into something you don’t want to do.”

“It has influenced me, Sara. I think the world of you and I cannot continue to come in here and do my job knowing what those people are doing to you. I can retire from here and maybe go to work somewhere else part-time. It’s time I took it easy. I have done this for a long time.”

Sara hugged Mrs. Dixon. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

“I know you need friends and lots of support right now, sweetie, and I am behind you all the way. Now, what are you going to do to these assholes?”

“They will be receiving a letter in a day or so informing them of my intentions to carry out the suit. I really do not want to drag this out in court and make a huge fuss, but I have no other option really. I can’t let them get away with this and since I am already in it knee deep, I might as well do my dead level best to try to make things better for other people. My attorney thinks that once they get the letter, they will want to make a settlement to keep it out of court. I hope she is right.”

“Well honey, you know if you need me in court, I’ll be there.”

“I know, Mrs. Dixon.” 

Sara was almost in tears from talking and Mrs. Dixon sensed it. “I will let you go so that you can get ready for your classes. You know I am right next door if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” Sara said as she opened the door to her classroom.

She needed to clear her mind before the students flooded the halls. That would not be an easy task. It had not been easy for some time now. 

Sara’s students all came in rather somber when the bell sounded. There were a few who had not returned since all of this had started. Sara guessed that their parents had pulled them out to home school them or send them somewhere else so “the lesbian would not be influencing them”. 

Many of her students expressed their concern for what would happen to her at the end of the year. She explained to them that she was going to look for a job close by so that she would not have to move and she could keep in touch with them well after graduation, as she always had with her students. 

Sara fielded questions all day regarding her future plans. She answered all of them the same way she had in the first class. Most everyone was satisfied.  Several teachers had also asked her the same thing. She gave the same answer to them as well. What else could she say?

As the wave of students flowed down the hall at the end of the day, Sara noticed someone making her way through the crowd towards her. It was Shelly. Sara was surprised to see her, but also happy.

“How are you Shelly?” Sara asked, sensing that there was something wrong. 

“Ms. Carson, I need to talk with you about something.”

“Are you sure you should be here talking to me? I don’t want you to be seen by someone and it get back to your father. I’m sure that he would have something to say about it.”

“I don’t care what he thinks at this point. He has caused enough people problems because of his stupidity.”

“Shelly, don’t talk about your father like that. He is you dad.”

“I don’t care, Ms. Carson. There is a lot about him that you don’t know. Actually there is a lot about me you do not know. I need to apologize to you also. I can never apologize to you enough for all of this. If it were not for me, none of this would be happening right now. It is all my fault.”

“No it isn’t, Shelly. You had nothing to do with this. You can’t blame yourself.”

“Like I said, there is a part to all this that you don’t know, Ms. Carson. As a matter of fact, only a few other people know about it. I need to tell you. I need to tell everyone why all of this has really happened.”

“I don’t think you had anything at all to do with this, but if you need to talk, we can.”

They walked inside Sara’s classroom. She started to close the door but stopped. She realized that it might not be a good idea to be in the room with Shelly with the door closed. “I think we might better leave the door open, just in case someone tries to say there was something inappropriate going on here. Is that all right with you, Shelly?”

“That’s fine. If you want to bring in a witness, that’s okay too, Ms. Carson.”

“No. I don’t think that will be necessary. Now, why do you think you caused all of this?” Sara leaned on the edge of her desk as Shelly took a seat in a student desk.

***

“Kat, I want to tell you something,” Shelly said quietly.

“Okay. You look serious all of a sudden.”

“We have known each other a long time. We have played sports together, gone shopping together, and spent a lot of time together over the years. We are almost grown now. There is something about me that I have never told you.”

“What? Are you in witness protection or something?” Kat laughed.

“Come on, Kat. I really want to get this out.”

“I’m sorry. Go ahead.” Kat was not sure how react.

“Kat, you know that I never date. It’s not because I don’t want to date anyone. There is someone really special that I want to go out with. I have been in love with this person for a long time. I really don’t know how to express it. I’m scared to express my feelings.”

“That’s easy, Shelly. You just walk right up to them, look them deep into their eyes, plant a kiss right on the lips, and say whatever comes to mind. Hopefully it won’t be filled with stutters.” Kat laughed.

“You really think that will work?”

“I know it will. I have done it before. It doesn’t insure that it will be a lasting relationship. As you well know, I am currently single. It will however, get that person’s attention.”

“I think I will try it. Can I practice on you?”

“That’s a little odd, but sure.”

Both girls stood up from the bed where they were sitting. The radio was playing in the background. Shelly’s mind was racing.

Placing her hands on Kat’s shoulders, she looked her in the eyes.

“Kat, I have had a huge crush on you since we were twelve. My feelings have never changed. I have not had the nerve to tell you this before because I didn’t know how you would react. I love you, Kat.”

“That was pretty good. It would probably be even better if you used the person’s name instead of mine, though.”

“The truth is, Kat, you are that person. I am gay. You are my best friend and I love you more than you know. I have always loved you.”

Shelly moved closer and kissed Kat on the lips. Kat responded by putting her arms around Shelly and holding her tightly.

At that moment the door to Shelly’s bedroom flew open.

“What the hell is going on here?”

“Dad! Have you ever heard of knocking?” Shelly shrieked.

“I shouldn’t have to know in my own house. I am glad I didn’t. I would have never known what was going on in here. Kat, it’s time for you to leave. Get out now.”

Frank Griffin’s face was blood red.

Shelly backed up in the corner of her room and Kat ran out of the room almost in tears.

“What kind of filth has that girl talked you into doing? Are you sleeping with her?”

“No, Dad. We are not sleeping together. We were just talking and I…”

“You what? You thought you would experiment?”

“No. I was not experimenting, Dad.”

“So you have done this before? What kind of vile filth have you been exposed to? Who did this to you?”

“No one has done anything to me, Dad. I am gay. That’s just the way it is.”

Tears were streaming down Shelly’s face and it was hard for her to breathe.

“Someone has influenced you to think that you can do things like this. Who is it?”

“No one, Dad. I just am! Please leave me alone.”

“I will not leave you alone. I cannot and will not tolerate this kind of behavior in my house right under my nose. I swear to you, I will find out who is responsible for this and I will see to it that they never do this to another child. You can bet on that.”

Frank stormed out of the room slamming the door. Shelly collapsed on the bed.

***

“I guess when he saw you at that bar with your friend; he assumed you were the one that had made me gay.” Shelly was wiping tears from her face as she finished recounting the events of that night to Sara.

“God, Shelly. I am so sorry that you feel that you are the cause of my problems.  You’re not. Please know that. This is all purely coincidental. I hate to say this, but people like your father have their own agenda. They are homophobic and want to rid the world of homosexual people. I cannot give you any advice on what to do as far as your dad is concerned, but I can tell you that you are not responsible for any of this with me, and you need to stop feeling like you are. Why don’t you go talk to one of the counselors? I can talk to one of them for you and explain what’s going on. They can call you out of class and maybe you can try to get some of this worked out. If they can’t help you, they can tell you who can.”

“Thanks Ms. Carson. I’ve been talking to someone that’s trying to help me sort things out. It is helping a little, but I still feel responsible.”

Sara walked over to Shelly and patted her on the back. “You’re not. Stop feeling that way. You are a brilliant young lady. You are smart enough to know that you are not the cause of your father’s actions toward me. How is he reacting to you at home now?”

“He hates me. He only speaks to me when he has to. He will occasionally tell me that if he ever catches me in a position like that again, he will throw me out of the house.  He won’t even listen to my mother.”

“How does your mother feel?” Sara’s concern for Shelly grew stronger.

“Mom is okay with it. They are not on really good terms at the moment. She is threatening to move out. I wish she would so I could go with her. She thinks he has lost his mind over all of this.”

“Shelly, I am glad you felt like you could come to me and tell me all of this. I wish I could do more for you than try to assure you that this is not your fault.” Sara looked at her watch. “You probably should go now. You don’t want to give him any reason to suspect anything. If you go home late, he might think you are up to something. That wouldn’t be good. Talk with your mom. You and her sit down together alone and try to figure out what you can do.” 

“Okay, Ms. Carson. Can I give you a hug or would that be a bad thing?”

“You certainly can, Shelly. I would not turn down a hug from one of my best students.” Shelly hugged Sara tightly and Sara patted her on the back. “You better go now. Remember what I said.”

“Thanks for talking with me. It has made me feel a lot better to get it off my chest, Ms. Carson.”

“You are very welcome sweetie. I am glad that I could help a little. I will always be available if you need to talk. Be careful.”

“I will,” Shelly said as she walked out of the room. “Take care of yourself too, Ms. Carson.”

Sara sat back down at her desk feeling stunned. “This all makes sense now,” she muttered. “He has issues with gay people at work. He finds his daughter in a kiss with another girl. He sees me in a gay bar. Everything is put together in some twisted equation in his own mind. I am the enemy, even though I have done nothing to him.  This guy needs some help. People like that are ticking time bombs.”