The Final Lesson Plan (14 page)

Once inside, I began to run the water to pre-rinse the dishes. I unhooked my bracelet and put it on the counter, as not to get it wet. "Oh. My. God. You still have that? Still wear it?" Leo's mom asked, excitedly.

"This bracelet?" I asked, as I started rinsing the dishes. "I don't wear it much, only when I wear gold. I'm usually a silver girl, but today, gold was on my shirt and shoes," I explained. "My students got me this my first year teaching; they all put in money and bought this as a 'thank you' gift. It was so sweet."

"Your students?" she asked. "Pulled their money and bought that for you?"

"Yes, Leo was in that class," I said. "It's really the only gift I've ever gotten from my students. You don't tend to get a lot of gifts from students when you teach high school seniors," I lamented. "I was so excited though. It really does mean a lot to me."

She smiled, nodding, "I'm sure it does, honey." Then she grabbed a few dessert plates and desserts and went back out on the patio.

"You're so fucking dumb," Megan said from behind me.

I turned around and looked at her. "Me?" I asked.

"You're the only other person in the room, Miss Garrity." Megan spat at me. When she said my name it was filled with disgust and hatred.

"Okay, Megan, I get it. You don't want me with your brother," I said turning back around to the sink.

"Oh no, that's not at all what I have a problem with," she said. "My problem is that he's tag-teaming with some other guy. How could you do that to him? My brother is the greatest guy in this world; to string him along is a fucking sin," she argued. "Just cut him loose, let him get on with his life." She started to back up, hitting the counter with her wheelchair.

"Let me—"

"Touch this chair, and I will snap your fingers in two," she threatened. "He's in love with you, ya know that? And I'm not gonna be around when you break his heart. I won't be there to help him pick up the pieces of his shattered heart," she said, her voice cracking.

"I'm not going to break his heart," I said quietly, not able to look her in the eye as I said so. Could I really look a dying woman in the eyes and make that promise?

"Don't you see how he looks at you? Has always looked at you? You don't have that look," she declared as she finally turned her chair and was able to get to the sliding glass door. "Oh and Miss Garrity, that bracelet that all your students bought you, that was our other grandmother's. It was the only piece of jewelry she left to Leo," she said, before she wheeled out the sliding glass door, leaving it open after she left.

It was Teacher Appreciation Week my first year at my school. After school that Friday, I went to the restroom, and when I returned, there was a small gift-wrapped box on my desk with a thank you card. The card merely read, "Thank you for a great senior year. From: Your first set of seniors." I opened the box and found a small, delicate gold bracelet with a four-leaf clover charm on it.

On Monday, I asked my classes, and they all just said "You're welcome." I wore the bracelet so proudly for the rest of the year, thanking my students every day. I even threw them a pizza party to show my gratitude. Nobody ever said that they hadn't chipped in to buy it. Granted, I never really fished for who the "organizer" of the gift was; I was just so touched by the gesture that I spent my days boasting about how kind and thoughtful my students were. Never, not once, had I thought the gift came from one specific student. I'd worn the bracelet one other time around Leo last month, and he never said a word. Not once. What the fuck?

"Mmmmm, there you are," Leo said, coming through the door that Megan had left open. "They're devouring that dessert out there. I came in to get you, so you didn't miss out…But, you're looking much tastier," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist, nuzzling the back of my neck. I turned off the water and turned to face him, rubbing my wet hands up and down the back of his shirt to dry them.

"Leo, can we talk?" I asked.

Leo nodded and dropped his eyes. "I know; I'm sorry. I should've told you everything about Meg. I shouldn't have let you find out this way," he said, pulling me closer, resting his chin on the top of my head. "It was just so much easier not telling you. You never gave me that look of pity or sympathy that everyone seems to walk around with after they know you have a sister who's dying from skin cancer."

"Skin? She has skin cancer?" I asked incredulously, finally realizing why Leo was so freaking neurotic about sunscreen.

"Yep, advanced stages of melanoma," he admitted, shaking his head. "Do you know how many times when we were growing up that I watched her as she lathered up her body with baby oil or dark-tanning accelerator?" he asked. "If I would've known then—"

I kissed him, cutting him off. Leo carried too much guilt and self-blame around. I couldn't let him blame himself for his sister's illness too. Leo Cling was a saint, beautiful inside and certainly out.

"Hey you two, Mimi's leaving," Leo's dad announced at the door. "Come say 'goodbye,' and Leon, help me carry some stuff to her car."

"Sure dad," Leo said as he led me to the door. "Janelle, I think it's funny that my family also has a thing with alliteration—just like yours." Wow. Now, that was the mother of all subject changes. I guess we weren't going to talk about the bracelet or Megan. They were off the table; alliteration was on.

"Yeah, I thought we were bad with Janelle, Jasper, and Jocelyn, and then Jocelyn named her kids Darren and Donavan and Carlee and Kara," I said giggling. "But y'all are pretty bad too with Lonnie and LeON and Avery and Austin," I joked as I emphasized his real name. "I still think we have you beat though."

Once Mimi was in the car and all of the leftovers were packed inside with her, Leo leaned in and kissed her goodbye. "I love ya, Mimi," he said before she backed out of the driveway. "That woman is gonna outlive us all." I couldn't believe that less than five hours ago I was planning on fighting with Leo, because he wanted to spend time with his family. I needed to go to church, or confession, or help in a soup kitchen. My soul needed some serious cleansing, complete with bleach and ammonia. I sucked. Christ, what could Leo see in me? I was certainly not worthy of him; he was too pure and genuine for me.

Leo and I spent the rest of my time there, playing yard games with Avery and Austin. Avery was a diva; Austin was an inappropriate trip. I kept thinking about how much fun Carlee and Kara would have with them if they ever got to meet them. Then, I felt sad as I realized that I didn't know if I'd ever see them again. If Megan…Would they visit the area again without her? Would Leo's family just visit them? Cliff's family lived in Arizona, so he wouldn't have a reason to come to Ohio. I felt terribly for the Clings, all of them. Glancing over at Megan, she stared at us, teary-eyed. Catching her eye, she wiped her cheeks and looked away.

I didn't know how to rectify this mess with his sister, but I also knew that if someone were stringing Jasper along, I'd roast her tits over an open flame on a tit-kabob without feeling an inkling of remorse. And I was Jasper's younger sister; I know I'd feel much more protective if I were his older sister and knew I wouldn't be around to see how the rest of it all panned out. The Megan and Janelle "Best Friends Forever" banners were obviously not going to be ordered any time soon.

When it was time for me to go, I stood up and started saying all of my "Thank Yous" and "Goodbyes." Megan watched my every move as I hugged each of her kids and shook her husband's hand. Leo's mom and dad both hugged me and told me to stop over any time for dinner and drinks.

Just as I was about to approach her, Megan said, "It's still early. We're gonna roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories around the fire. Sure you don't wanna stay?"

I was surprised by her hospitality and pleasantries. "I'd love to, really I would, but I've—"

"Got other plans? Right, Briggs gets you at night," she said, staring me down. "See ya around Miss Garrity…or not." Then, she wheeled herself up the ramp of the deck and into the house as all eyes watched her go.

Fan-fucking-tastic. Apparently, Leo told his family everything…everything. I couldn't get out of there and into my car fast enough to dial Jocelyn's number. She had no time to talk since the soccer soiree was still going strong. I couldn't call Char. She'd just say that it was one more reason to kick dump Leo and focus only on Briggs, Briggs who was picking me up in exactly one hour to go to Cleveland to watch fireworks when all I really wanted to do was go straight to bed and sleep this horrific day away. How could Leo be so open and upfront with his family? Did my privacy, my feelings, mean nothing to him? Was I being selfish for wanting to keep him a secret, keep us a secret? I wish I had the luxury of calling my mom and talking to her about this. She'd know exactly what to say. But she was in some crazy country, giving to those less fortunate. I decided that I'd just wait and talk to Jocelyn tomorrow and focus on Briggs and the fireworks tonight.

"Babe, is everything okay?" Briggs asked. "You've barely said two words since I picked you up." We'd been in the car for nearly 45 minutes, almost to Cleveland, and he was right. I'd been distracted since he got to my house. I'd quickly changed when I'd gotten home, feeling sticky and sweaty in my peasant shirt and shorts. I was flattered when he whistled and clapped when he saw me in my red and white striped sexy (not parentally-approved) sundress. Briggs was always able to make me feel good about myself and relax me. But once we'd gotten into the car and started driving north, my mind wandered back to the day's events and everything that had happened earlier with Megan and with the bracelet.

"I'm sorry; it's just been a long day out in the sun all day," I lied.

"Right. With Leo," Briggs said with a hitch in his voice. "I guess I didn't know he had it in him...to wear you out, I mean." Briggs glanced over at me. I looked away, rolling my eyes. I certainly was in no mood for a jealous, territorial talk.

"We spent the day playing outside yard games with his whole family, Briggs," I said, annoyed with his assumptions. "We had a grand total of 12 seconds alone together. And for your information, we had about 12 seconds of alone time yesterday too. So if you're keeping score, and I know you are. It's you 3 or 4; Leo nada," I snapped. Then, I put my sunglasses over my eyes, something I never did, and reclined my chair all the way back in his car. I stayed that way for the rest of the ride.

I must have dozed off, because I startled when he touched my thigh, and said, "Babe, we're here." As I sat up, I realized we were at a marina with houseboats all around.

"Where's 'here,' Briggs?" I asked, looking at all the boats.

"We're taking a boat out on the lake to watch the fireworks," he explained.

"You have a boat?" I asked. He'd never mentioned it before.

"Nah, I know a guy," he stated.

"You know a guy with a boat? He just so happened to let you use it today?" I pried more.

"This dude's been all over me to buy a boat; I've been thinking about it. We're taking it for a test drive tonight," he said.

"Do you know how to drive a boat?" I asked.

"Do I know how to drive a boat?" he repeated, laughing.

"Do you?" I asked again.

"Nah, but it'll be fun figuring it out," he said, cracking up as he leaned over to kiss me on the cheek before getting out of his sleek black sports car.

Briggs' "boat man" was one scary-ass piece of work. I wouldn't buy a boat off of him, rent a boat from him, or take nautical instruction from him. But yet, we were doing just that. He was nearly impossible to understand. It took a lot of self-control from both of us to not lose it laughing in his face as he ever-so-eloquently butchered the English language.

Out on the water, before the fireworks started, I felt peaceful, serene, like the day and all the turmoil that accompanied it had vanished. There was something about being with Briggs that could calm even the stickiest situations. The night that I'd walked in on Lauren and Marcus would've been unbearable and downright freak-diculous if I hadn't run into Briggs at the bar. It seemed like he always came along whenever my heart was about to shatter from the explosion of my deteriorating self-esteem.

"Thank you," I said, sipping my beer, looking out at the water.

"For what?" he asked from the captain's chair.

"For this. For bringing me out here," I responded. "For everything."