Thursday arrived and Emma went through her normal routine to get
ready for work, but in the back of her mind was her meeting with Holly's
father and after showering and dressing in a pair of black slacks and grey
Tshirt, she stood in front of the mirror brushing her shoulder length
auburn hair and feeling incredibly unattractive. She envied Rachel for
being so sure of herself around men. Rachel wasn't a raving beauty but had
the confidence which shone through whenever she was in the presence of male
or female. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing. She always
dressed simply, it was her style and black her color. She was tall, about
5'9" and dark colors seemed to suit her stature. Maybe she should wear a
skirt today she thought. She had been told before her legs were probably
her best feature. She tried to remember who had said that to her, some old
boyfriend in high school probably. She hadn't had many. She sighed and as
she applied her makeup decided this was who she was. She could hardly be
Rachel or anyone else. At least at 37, she still had a decent figure and
was often regarded as younger than age, so many people had a hard time
believing she had a son of 15. That brought a smile to her face. All of
a sudden Melody walked into the bathroom and gave her a hug from behind.
"You look beautiful, Mom."
"You really think so." She looked at her 13 year old daughter in the mirror smiling at her. She was nearly as tall as her with dark brown hair cropped at the chin, and striking blue eyes and fair complexion. Emma thought how much she looked like her father. She felt a tear come to her eye and Melody hugged her tighter.
"Of course, you are the most beautiful woman I know." She noticed the tears in her eyes. "Are you okay, you have seemed different lately. Is it Daddy and his new girlfriend?"
"Why should I care about Daddy's new girlfriend?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I think it still bugs you."
"I am better off without him, we have talked about this before."
"I know, but I also know sometimes you are lonely."
Emma turned around and gave her daughter a proper hug, "I don't have time to be lonely. Don't worry about me."
"But you were about ready to cry."
"It's nothing. Just having one of those days." She took a tissue and wiped her eyes, "Come on, we better fly. Are you ready for school?"
"Yeah."
"I might be a little late, I have a meeting today with a parent."
"Not that guy we saw the other day at the street fair?"
Emma was amazed she remembered that. "Well, yes, actually it is."
"I don't like him, Mom. Just don't let him get to you."
She smiled, "I will try not to." But it was too late, he already had.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stanley had lunch at the neighborhood pub he frequented. He always closed his shop from 1-2pm and he enjoyed a sandwich and a beer with a few of the locals. He usually shot a game of pool with some of the old boys. Joe was the bartender and he and Stanley had hit it off right away. Joe was close to 50, it was hard to tell, greying hair and quite the beach bum. Very laid back. He liked Stanley, he made a nice addition to the community, the previous owner had been a bit of weasel and Stanley was honest, he liked that. As he sat at the bar he noticed Stan a bit in a daze.
"Rough day at work, Stanley?"
Stanley snapped out of his daze, "No, slow actually. I have a meeting with Holly's teacher today."
"Is she having problems at school? She seems like such a bright kid."
"Academically, no problems...she isn't socializing. I am worried about her, Joe. She hangs out at the shop after school or with our neighbor Mary, who is at least 70. This is not how a 10 year old should be socializing."
"So the meeting with her teacher is to see what you can do about it?"
"Precisely. I really don't have a clue."
"What is her teacher like? does Holly like her?"
He took a swig of his beer, "Adores her. They get a long great. There's nothing not to like." As he said that he kind of raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"Really?" Joe smiled. "Do I sense a little more than a concern for your daughter?"
He laughed nervously, "I am not in a position right now to even contemplate anything more that a concern for my daughter."
"Oh, come on, Stanley, all work and no play..."
"makes Stan a dull boy...well, I gues Stan is a dull boy then."
"I can't imagine you having a problem with the ladies, my friend."
Stan thought back to 6 months ago, and how desperate he had been and the events that had lead up to his association with Gabriel. He closed his eyes trying to block the images out of his mind, but they were forever popping up...one in particular. He hadn't been with a woman since. He looked down at his watch and saw the time, quickly finished his beer, and stood up, "got to run, Joe. We will have to finish that conversation another time."
"Good luck with the teacher." He smiled as Stanley walked out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emma was so relieved when the bell rang at 2:45. It had been a horrible day. Her princiapal had made a surprise visit and some of the kids had been acting up. She was so nervous when someone was observing her, even though she did a good job for the most part. Then Meg had made some comment about Stanley Jobson again. Noticed he was penciled in on her calender for this afternoon, Emma had no idea when she had been in room to even see her calender. And now she had this horrible feeling that Meg was going to stick around til 4:00 just to make a move. What a horrible thought. She slumped in her seat and tried to grade a few papers and Rachel popped in.
"Are you okay?"
"No, I just want to go home."
"And cancel your appointment with Stan the computer man?"
"will you stop calling him that? It is really annoying."
Rachel pulled up a chair and sat opposite her, "You are in one foul mood. Should make an interesting conference."
"You aren't helping matters."
Rachel held up her hands, "Sorry. Is there something I can do?"
"Make sure Meg is out of the building when he shows up."
Rachel laughed, "Like you need to worry about Meg. Come on, Emma."
"I don't need her hanging around drooling, if you know what I mean."
"Because you want to drool on your own."
"Don't be ridiculous."
Rachel sighed, "I think you have it bad, and you need to relax. He is just a guy."
"Easy for you to say."
"You know, both of you are concerned about Holly. You already have a connection, more than a lot of people thrown together do."
"You make is sound like, he is going to ask me out or something. It isn't going to happen, Rachel."
"But you want it to, don't you?"
She put her head in her hands, "I don't know what I want. I don't want to be like Meg and seem desperate for attention from anyone."
"He's not anyone. He is the first person you have looked sideways at since Gary left you." Rachel reached out and patted Emma's hand, "You will do fine. Stop thinking about it."
"I look a mess." she felt she was going to cry.
"Now that has got to stop right away, Em. You are a professional. He is coming here to talk to you about his daughter and you have to hold yourself together. Be confident. You can do this."
"I don't think I can." About then Meg walked into the room, and saw Emma flustered.
"So what's going on, you two?" she asked nonchalantly.
Rachel wanted to tell her where to go but instead, smiled, "Hey, Meg, want to go get a cup of coffee at the Grindz? I hear there is a new employee there, pretty nice looking...very single."
"Probably very gay, Rachel. No go. I am sticking around here, I have a lot of work to do."
"A lot of work to do on Stanley Jobson? Something you accused Emma of doing just the other day."
"Well, if she isn't interested, I am. And I am not ashamed to say so."
Emma slumped back in her chair...all she needed was these two going at each other to give her a headache.
"I have every attention of talking to the principle about this, Meg. Emma has a conference with him in less than a half hour and she doesnt need you to interupt and cause a scene."
"I wouldn't cause a scene. I realize the seriousness of the problem and I am a professional." Meg said confidently.
"You could have fooled me."
Emma finally had had it, "Enough both of you. Meg, you set one foot near my classroom once he arrives and I will report you to the principal. And I will have no problem stating all the other occasions you have made yourself a nuisance to available single fathers in the past. Rachel I am sure could help me with the details."
"How dare you?"
"Get out, Meg...now." She pointed towards the door. Meg looked angry but not yet defeated. She was a big woman, not fat but large frame. Dark curly hair, too much makeup. Emma couldn't understand why she kept throwing herself at these men who were not interested and she still had the balls to do it over and over again. Even Meg had more confidence than Emma, which was very discouraging.
After Meg left, Rachel stood up and clapped her hands, "Bravo, Em. That was brilliant. See you have it in you. Confidence that is all it takes."
Emma wasn't so sure. It was one thing being able to stand up to Meg, but another when the sight of Stanley Jobson set her weak in the knees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was close to 4 and Emma quickly tidied up her desk, and looked in a mirror to see if she really did look as bad as she felt, but it wasn't as bad as she thought. She tried to force a smile and said to herself...I am going to be okay. I am a professional. I can do this, with out becoming like a bowl full of jello. There was a knock at the door, it was open but Stanley didnt' want to interupt. She looked up and saw his 6 foot + frame fill the doorway. He was in his standard attire, jeans with a black button up the front long sleeve shirt, a few buttons undone in front showing a bit of chest hair. He was clean shaven, a difference from the last two meetings. His hair still a bit of a mess, which EMma found extremely attractive about him. She realized she was staring, stood up and walked towards the door reaching out her hand towards him, "Mr. Jobson, come in."
He shook her hand and eyed her from head to foot, something was different about her but he couldn't pinpoint it at all. She wasn't as relaxed, more on guard or something. They moved over to her desk and sat down.
He noticed her uneasiness, she wasn't pulling off this professional thing very well. "Is everything alright, Ms. Heyward?"
"Fine..I am sorry, I have had a rough day. Nothing to do with you."
"If this is a bad time..."
"No,no, it's fine. Actually, I have been looking forward to out meeting." AFter she said that she realized it didn't come out right. And he looked at her and smiled.
"I have as well." he stopped and their eyes locked for a brief second. Feeling awkward he quickly moved on." I have been thinking alot about what we could do for Holly and I have come up with some ideas. I wanted to toss around to you."
"Sounds great. Fire away." She awkwardly smiled. Why did he have this effect on her.
"I know how much she worries about me, and when she is at school, all she thinks about is coming home to me. I am sure this has to do with the loss of her mother. " he paused and then continued, "Do you think if I volunteered in the classroom, it might help her. I suppose it could be a hinderance...too much of me, may not be good."
"I think it's a good idea. If you were working with the other kids. I wouldn't want her to be clinging to you."
"She isn't clingy. She is more...how can I say this without sounding ridiculous. She acts like my parent. She grew up too fast and I am desperately trying to do everything in my power to slow her down." Emma saw his concern and frustration, "I just want her to be a kid again."
Emma wanted to ask him about Holly's mother but felt a bit awkward, so she treaded lightly..."About Holly's mother, if you would prefer not talking about her I will understand, but it does sound like that Holly's concern about you stems from her losing her mother."
"No, I can talk about Melissa. We were divorced when Holly was 4." He leaned on to the desk and rubbed his hand through his hair. "Not much of a mother, I am afraid. An alcoholic, drug addict...you name it she did it."
"But I can't imagine any court allowing her custody, under those circumstances."
"Oh, there you are wrong, when step daddy has money and the means, you can get anything you want and she did. Holly had to grow up fast. And I wasn't there for her. I screwed up so now I am trying to make it up to her."
Emma sensed he was leaving a lot more out, but this wasn't about him, it was about Holly. She looked down at Holly's records, "Her grades were excellent at her old school and it says she was involved in soccer. Maybe she would like to be on a team here, I could find out some information for you, if you would like."
"Soccer was an escape from her mom. Every day after school she practiced, every Saturday there was a game. The less time she was at home the better." He looked up at Emma, "No, soccer is something she isn't interested in now."
"Okay, then let's go back to the idea of you coming in to volunteer. You know I would love to get the kids involved with something on the computers. I am pretty hopeless I am afraid."
"I would love to do something like that. Possibly start a web page for the classroom, just an idea..the kids could post their work, what they are doing..."
"I like that. Also great for the parents, to see what they are doing. Brilliant and maybe the other kids will see Holly differently when you are here with her."
"They think she's a freak, don't they?"
"No, not at all. She just closes herself off, Mr. Jobson. She likes her school work, but she acts like playing and socializing are a waste of time. She sits and waits for the bell to ring. Her mothers death must have been horrible for her, have you thought about her seeing a child psychologist. Sometimes it helps kids, get through a difficult time."
Stanley wanted to open up to her but felt something holding him back, he didn't want everyone to know about Melissa's murder, his being in prison...how could he and Holly ever have a normal life with that hanging over their heads. "Holly and I are getting through it together."
"But Mr. Jobson, you said you needed help...I just thought..."
He stood up angry and frustrated, "I do need help, your help...not some doctor who is going to make Holly feel even worse than she already does. You can't even begin to understand what she has been through."
":Then tell me, Mr. Jobson. Tell me what she has been through so I can help her."
He headed towards the door, and Emma felt she had blown the whole afternoon, just when she was getting somewhere. He turned around, "Her mother was murdered, Ms. Heyward. Murdered in her own home with Holly there."
Emma was shocked. "Please don't leave, Mr. Jobson. This is important."
"I need to go." He couldn't look at her, "I will be in contact with you. Maybe after the holidays I can start coming into the class."
Emma knew she couldn't push it, "That will be fine. You can call me anytime."
"Thanks." He started to walk down the hall way and she closed her eyes and sighed. This was much more than she had ever dreamed of. No wonder Holly was concerned about her Dad. She probably thought she would lose him as well. And then her dad...well, there were definitly issues there. Who knows what he was leaving out of this story. She was surprised when she saw his head peak around the door, "I am sorry, I didn't think I would react like this."
"It's okay."
"Do you think we could try this again, next week?"
"Of course."
"I'll call you."
"I think we can help Holly, Mr. Jobson. I really do."
"I knew that the minute I met you." He smiled, "Thanks again." and then he was gone. She sat there taking this whole scene in. She always knew dealing with parents were going to be her biggest challenge. But never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that it would be like this.
"You look beautiful, Mom."
"You really think so." She looked at her 13 year old daughter in the mirror smiling at her. She was nearly as tall as her with dark brown hair cropped at the chin, and striking blue eyes and fair complexion. Emma thought how much she looked like her father. She felt a tear come to her eye and Melody hugged her tighter.
"Of course, you are the most beautiful woman I know." She noticed the tears in her eyes. "Are you okay, you have seemed different lately. Is it Daddy and his new girlfriend?"
"Why should I care about Daddy's new girlfriend?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I think it still bugs you."
"I am better off without him, we have talked about this before."
"I know, but I also know sometimes you are lonely."
Emma turned around and gave her daughter a proper hug, "I don't have time to be lonely. Don't worry about me."
"But you were about ready to cry."
"It's nothing. Just having one of those days." She took a tissue and wiped her eyes, "Come on, we better fly. Are you ready for school?"
"Yeah."
"I might be a little late, I have a meeting today with a parent."
"Not that guy we saw the other day at the street fair?"
Emma was amazed she remembered that. "Well, yes, actually it is."
"I don't like him, Mom. Just don't let him get to you."
She smiled, "I will try not to." But it was too late, he already had.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stanley had lunch at the neighborhood pub he frequented. He always closed his shop from 1-2pm and he enjoyed a sandwich and a beer with a few of the locals. He usually shot a game of pool with some of the old boys. Joe was the bartender and he and Stanley had hit it off right away. Joe was close to 50, it was hard to tell, greying hair and quite the beach bum. Very laid back. He liked Stanley, he made a nice addition to the community, the previous owner had been a bit of weasel and Stanley was honest, he liked that. As he sat at the bar he noticed Stan a bit in a daze.
"Rough day at work, Stanley?"
Stanley snapped out of his daze, "No, slow actually. I have a meeting with Holly's teacher today."
"Is she having problems at school? She seems like such a bright kid."
"Academically, no problems...she isn't socializing. I am worried about her, Joe. She hangs out at the shop after school or with our neighbor Mary, who is at least 70. This is not how a 10 year old should be socializing."
"So the meeting with her teacher is to see what you can do about it?"
"Precisely. I really don't have a clue."
"What is her teacher like? does Holly like her?"
He took a swig of his beer, "Adores her. They get a long great. There's nothing not to like." As he said that he kind of raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"Really?" Joe smiled. "Do I sense a little more than a concern for your daughter?"
He laughed nervously, "I am not in a position right now to even contemplate anything more that a concern for my daughter."
"Oh, come on, Stanley, all work and no play..."
"makes Stan a dull boy...well, I gues Stan is a dull boy then."
"I can't imagine you having a problem with the ladies, my friend."
Stan thought back to 6 months ago, and how desperate he had been and the events that had lead up to his association with Gabriel. He closed his eyes trying to block the images out of his mind, but they were forever popping up...one in particular. He hadn't been with a woman since. He looked down at his watch and saw the time, quickly finished his beer, and stood up, "got to run, Joe. We will have to finish that conversation another time."
"Good luck with the teacher." He smiled as Stanley walked out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emma was so relieved when the bell rang at 2:45. It had been a horrible day. Her princiapal had made a surprise visit and some of the kids had been acting up. She was so nervous when someone was observing her, even though she did a good job for the most part. Then Meg had made some comment about Stanley Jobson again. Noticed he was penciled in on her calender for this afternoon, Emma had no idea when she had been in room to even see her calender. And now she had this horrible feeling that Meg was going to stick around til 4:00 just to make a move. What a horrible thought. She slumped in her seat and tried to grade a few papers and Rachel popped in.
"Are you okay?"
"No, I just want to go home."
"And cancel your appointment with Stan the computer man?"
"will you stop calling him that? It is really annoying."
Rachel pulled up a chair and sat opposite her, "You are in one foul mood. Should make an interesting conference."
"You aren't helping matters."
Rachel held up her hands, "Sorry. Is there something I can do?"
"Make sure Meg is out of the building when he shows up."
Rachel laughed, "Like you need to worry about Meg. Come on, Emma."
"I don't need her hanging around drooling, if you know what I mean."
"Because you want to drool on your own."
"Don't be ridiculous."
Rachel sighed, "I think you have it bad, and you need to relax. He is just a guy."
"Easy for you to say."
"You know, both of you are concerned about Holly. You already have a connection, more than a lot of people thrown together do."
"You make is sound like, he is going to ask me out or something. It isn't going to happen, Rachel."
"But you want it to, don't you?"
She put her head in her hands, "I don't know what I want. I don't want to be like Meg and seem desperate for attention from anyone."
"He's not anyone. He is the first person you have looked sideways at since Gary left you." Rachel reached out and patted Emma's hand, "You will do fine. Stop thinking about it."
"I look a mess." she felt she was going to cry.
"Now that has got to stop right away, Em. You are a professional. He is coming here to talk to you about his daughter and you have to hold yourself together. Be confident. You can do this."
"I don't think I can." About then Meg walked into the room, and saw Emma flustered.
"So what's going on, you two?" she asked nonchalantly.
Rachel wanted to tell her where to go but instead, smiled, "Hey, Meg, want to go get a cup of coffee at the Grindz? I hear there is a new employee there, pretty nice looking...very single."
"Probably very gay, Rachel. No go. I am sticking around here, I have a lot of work to do."
"A lot of work to do on Stanley Jobson? Something you accused Emma of doing just the other day."
"Well, if she isn't interested, I am. And I am not ashamed to say so."
Emma slumped back in her chair...all she needed was these two going at each other to give her a headache.
"I have every attention of talking to the principle about this, Meg. Emma has a conference with him in less than a half hour and she doesnt need you to interupt and cause a scene."
"I wouldn't cause a scene. I realize the seriousness of the problem and I am a professional." Meg said confidently.
"You could have fooled me."
Emma finally had had it, "Enough both of you. Meg, you set one foot near my classroom once he arrives and I will report you to the principal. And I will have no problem stating all the other occasions you have made yourself a nuisance to available single fathers in the past. Rachel I am sure could help me with the details."
"How dare you?"
"Get out, Meg...now." She pointed towards the door. Meg looked angry but not yet defeated. She was a big woman, not fat but large frame. Dark curly hair, too much makeup. Emma couldn't understand why she kept throwing herself at these men who were not interested and she still had the balls to do it over and over again. Even Meg had more confidence than Emma, which was very discouraging.
After Meg left, Rachel stood up and clapped her hands, "Bravo, Em. That was brilliant. See you have it in you. Confidence that is all it takes."
Emma wasn't so sure. It was one thing being able to stand up to Meg, but another when the sight of Stanley Jobson set her weak in the knees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was close to 4 and Emma quickly tidied up her desk, and looked in a mirror to see if she really did look as bad as she felt, but it wasn't as bad as she thought. She tried to force a smile and said to herself...I am going to be okay. I am a professional. I can do this, with out becoming like a bowl full of jello. There was a knock at the door, it was open but Stanley didnt' want to interupt. She looked up and saw his 6 foot + frame fill the doorway. He was in his standard attire, jeans with a black button up the front long sleeve shirt, a few buttons undone in front showing a bit of chest hair. He was clean shaven, a difference from the last two meetings. His hair still a bit of a mess, which EMma found extremely attractive about him. She realized she was staring, stood up and walked towards the door reaching out her hand towards him, "Mr. Jobson, come in."
He shook her hand and eyed her from head to foot, something was different about her but he couldn't pinpoint it at all. She wasn't as relaxed, more on guard or something. They moved over to her desk and sat down.
He noticed her uneasiness, she wasn't pulling off this professional thing very well. "Is everything alright, Ms. Heyward?"
"Fine..I am sorry, I have had a rough day. Nothing to do with you."
"If this is a bad time..."
"No,no, it's fine. Actually, I have been looking forward to out meeting." AFter she said that she realized it didn't come out right. And he looked at her and smiled.
"I have as well." he stopped and their eyes locked for a brief second. Feeling awkward he quickly moved on." I have been thinking alot about what we could do for Holly and I have come up with some ideas. I wanted to toss around to you."
"Sounds great. Fire away." She awkwardly smiled. Why did he have this effect on her.
"I know how much she worries about me, and when she is at school, all she thinks about is coming home to me. I am sure this has to do with the loss of her mother. " he paused and then continued, "Do you think if I volunteered in the classroom, it might help her. I suppose it could be a hinderance...too much of me, may not be good."
"I think it's a good idea. If you were working with the other kids. I wouldn't want her to be clinging to you."
"She isn't clingy. She is more...how can I say this without sounding ridiculous. She acts like my parent. She grew up too fast and I am desperately trying to do everything in my power to slow her down." Emma saw his concern and frustration, "I just want her to be a kid again."
Emma wanted to ask him about Holly's mother but felt a bit awkward, so she treaded lightly..."About Holly's mother, if you would prefer not talking about her I will understand, but it does sound like that Holly's concern about you stems from her losing her mother."
"No, I can talk about Melissa. We were divorced when Holly was 4." He leaned on to the desk and rubbed his hand through his hair. "Not much of a mother, I am afraid. An alcoholic, drug addict...you name it she did it."
"But I can't imagine any court allowing her custody, under those circumstances."
"Oh, there you are wrong, when step daddy has money and the means, you can get anything you want and she did. Holly had to grow up fast. And I wasn't there for her. I screwed up so now I am trying to make it up to her."
Emma sensed he was leaving a lot more out, but this wasn't about him, it was about Holly. She looked down at Holly's records, "Her grades were excellent at her old school and it says she was involved in soccer. Maybe she would like to be on a team here, I could find out some information for you, if you would like."
"Soccer was an escape from her mom. Every day after school she practiced, every Saturday there was a game. The less time she was at home the better." He looked up at Emma, "No, soccer is something she isn't interested in now."
"Okay, then let's go back to the idea of you coming in to volunteer. You know I would love to get the kids involved with something on the computers. I am pretty hopeless I am afraid."
"I would love to do something like that. Possibly start a web page for the classroom, just an idea..the kids could post their work, what they are doing..."
"I like that. Also great for the parents, to see what they are doing. Brilliant and maybe the other kids will see Holly differently when you are here with her."
"They think she's a freak, don't they?"
"No, not at all. She just closes herself off, Mr. Jobson. She likes her school work, but she acts like playing and socializing are a waste of time. She sits and waits for the bell to ring. Her mothers death must have been horrible for her, have you thought about her seeing a child psychologist. Sometimes it helps kids, get through a difficult time."
Stanley wanted to open up to her but felt something holding him back, he didn't want everyone to know about Melissa's murder, his being in prison...how could he and Holly ever have a normal life with that hanging over their heads. "Holly and I are getting through it together."
"But Mr. Jobson, you said you needed help...I just thought..."
He stood up angry and frustrated, "I do need help, your help...not some doctor who is going to make Holly feel even worse than she already does. You can't even begin to understand what she has been through."
":Then tell me, Mr. Jobson. Tell me what she has been through so I can help her."
He headed towards the door, and Emma felt she had blown the whole afternoon, just when she was getting somewhere. He turned around, "Her mother was murdered, Ms. Heyward. Murdered in her own home with Holly there."
Emma was shocked. "Please don't leave, Mr. Jobson. This is important."
"I need to go." He couldn't look at her, "I will be in contact with you. Maybe after the holidays I can start coming into the class."
Emma knew she couldn't push it, "That will be fine. You can call me anytime."
"Thanks." He started to walk down the hall way and she closed her eyes and sighed. This was much more than she had ever dreamed of. No wonder Holly was concerned about her Dad. She probably thought she would lose him as well. And then her dad...well, there were definitly issues there. Who knows what he was leaving out of this story. She was surprised when she saw his head peak around the door, "I am sorry, I didn't think I would react like this."
"It's okay."
"Do you think we could try this again, next week?"
"Of course."
"I'll call you."
"I think we can help Holly, Mr. Jobson. I really do."
"I knew that the minute I met you." He smiled, "Thanks again." and then he was gone. She sat there taking this whole scene in. She always knew dealing with parents were going to be her biggest challenge. But never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that it would be like this.