AN: So sorry about the delay in posting. My computer unexpectedly died to the point of no return. Thankfully, I had everything but the most recent writing of this chapter backed up and since I had only just started writing it the night before the crash happened, I was able to reconstruct the chapter and notes pretty easily. However, while I have a back up PC left over from my previous job, it is the same make, model, and age of the deceased one and I can't trust this one to last. I did get a new one that was quite an adventure to actually get to my house but I have it now and I'm working on getting everything transferred over. So unfortunately that's eaten up a lot of my writing time for July. To make up for it, expect two more chapters in the next two weeks. Enjoy!
"If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?"
― T.S. Eliot
Wednesday morning was a chaotic blur for Shawn. Because he was still waiting to hear how his piece on Jon was doing since it had been made public, the writer was throwing himself into his current piece just in case the previous one didn't do well. He was also trying to distract himself from the events of the day before. Shawn did such a good job of constantly pushing for new and unique angles on a very well known NYC neighborhood that by noon he was worn out. He needed to eat and to rest before trying to do any writing, so Shawn head to the one place that he knew would be peaceful no matter how chaotic it might be- he headed home.
Audrey was in the kitchen as usual. She had just fed Bella and was in the middle of trying to feed herself. Bella greeted him with a shriek and a solid five minutes of toddler talk. Shawn didn't understand half of what she said, but he was thrilled that she was talking so much to him. Strangers assumed that she was non-verbal or, at the very least, behind in her speech. They were, however, very wrong. Bella was simply very selective to whom she spoke and if she did not know a person well she would not speak to them. Or even if she did know them she might not speak to them if she wasn't in the mood. However, with her parents and siblings, it was difficult to get her to stop talking. There were even times when she talked herself to sleep. But it was to Shawn that she babbled the most, having fully accepted him as her brother. She felt he was the only one who really listened to her, even if his languages skills were a bit lacking and she had to repeat herself several times before he understood.
After the chat with his sister, Shawn engaged in a two minute argument with Audrey over who was going to fix him lunch. Shawn eventually wore her down and as the victor he gleefully gloated about it. He got several dramatic eye rolls from Audrey who finally relented and ate her own lunch as he fixed his. It was a pleasant change of pace to be able to sit with her. It brought back many beloved memories from his childhood. If only Jon had been there, too.
"Sooo," Shawn drew out the word, trying to find the right ones to go with it. He very much wanted to discuss the events of the past evening with her. He was extremely curious about her take on Katherine now, but at the same time was hesitant to bring it up.
Audrey arched an eyebrow and gave him a knowing smile. "Soooo... about last night?"
Shawn let go of the breath he'd been holding and laughed. "Yeah, about last night. Something felt really off about the way things went down." He had to walk a fine line with what he said about Katherine. He didn't want to tip her off that anything was amiss, but Audrey was very sharp and it was a hard feat to pull off. It always had been.
"I'll say," she harrumph, stabbing a knife into the sandwich she was cutting up for Bella.
Shawn decided to approach the conversation as just a brother concerned about his sister and the injustice done to her. "Julia was really upset by the whole thing," he said, watching for any non-verbal cues from the woman across the table from him. "She came in the playroom and just sat with me. Hardly said a word. I've never seen her like that before."
Audrey shook her head as anger flashed in her eyes. "I cannot stand that woman!"
Neither could he and everyone knew it. To hear Audrey say the same thing out loud validated his feelings and he was delighted hear this proclamation. But he did not let on that this was so.
"Mom?"
Audrey glanced at him and frowned. "She purposely lied about texting Julia. What I don't understand is why. And it's driving me crazy."
Shawn raised his eyebrows in surprised by how strongly Audrey's belief in Julia was. It was a belief that went beyond just a mother siding with her daughter. She knew something.
"Mom," he said again. "What's up?"
"I checked our mobile carrier's account last night. Apparently, Katherine forgot that you can see incoming and outgoing texts on there." A disgusted looked settled on her face. "She must not monitor her sons' phone habits at all or else you would think she would know that those messages can be seen online and not pull such a stupid stunt."
Shawn's heart rate quickened as he wondered his she took a look at Jon's log. "Oh?" he asked innocently.
Audrey nodded. As if she read his thoughts, she said, "I see she's been texting Jon a lot, too. Or she was anyway."
Shawn began to sweat but he played dumb. "What's she texting Dad about?"
"Trying to get her kid over here. She's so desperate to get our kids together, but then turns around and lies about texting Julia to go home." Audrey picked up her sandwich but rather than eat it she began to pull it apart, shredding it into pieces. " If my kid gets hurt because of her she's gonna regret the day she met me."
This reaction surprised Shawn as much as it pleased him. Audrey could be a spitfire when she wanted to be and he loved that side of her. A part of him really wanted to see Audrey put the woman in her place, but the more rational side knew that if it came to that, then they'd failed their mission to keep Jon and Audrey safe from Katherine.
"You know, everyone thought I was the problem because I didn't like Miss Tompkins," he said, slowly. Audrey's reaction had opened the door for a question he had been dying to ask for some time.
"You were always very perceptive, Shawn," she said, getting up to throw away her decimated lunch.
Shawn turned in his chair so he could maintain eye contact with her. "Did you tell Dad about there being no text from her?"
She shook her head, grabbed an orange from the fruit basket before returning to the table. "No, I didn't. He's been in the kind of mood where once he's made a decision he's done discussing it. I don't want to upset him any more than he already is. But I did download the history so if this come up again, I can show him Julia's been telling us the truth."
Clever, mama, clever, he thought in admiration. Out loud he said, "You don't have any idea why she'd lie?"
A strange look settled over Audrey's face as she studied him for a long moment. Then she said quietly, "I dunno, Shawn, why'd she lie about the things you did as a kid?"
Audrey was as unpredictable as Jon was predictable. It never crossed his mind that she would make the connection so quickly. But it did warm his heart in a way he couldn't explain that she remembered. At the same time, the answer to her question sent ice running through his vein, chilling him to his core. What was he supposed to say to this without giving anything away? Carefully, Shawn said, "Well, back then she wanted to get Dad away from us. Especially me. But now...?" He shrugged as though he hadn't given it any thought recently.
"I don't think her MO has changed much." Audrey turned her attention to Bella and did not see Shawn nearly fall off his chair at this.
"What?!" he croaked in sincere surprise.
It was Audrey's turn to shrug. "She made her motives pretty clear when she just happened to run into us at the Park."
"Oh boy," he whispered under his breath. This was not good. Not good at all.
Audrey looked at him quizzically.
Shawn rubbed the back of his neck anxiously and said quickly, "I thought maybe I was reading into things too much since I still kinda have issues with her."
"Like I said, Shawn, you've always been very perceptive."
"Are you worried about her working with Dad now? Before you said you weren't."
Audrey was quiet as she cleaned up Bella and her high chair from the aftermath of lunch. "I'm not concerned about anything happening between her and Jon if that's what you're asking and, " she gave him a playful squeeze on the shoulder, "I think that is."
Shawn couldn't hide his true thoughts on this, not to her, so he merely nodded, keeping his mouth shut to avoid saying anything he would regret.
"I trust Jon. Shawn, I've been through the ex-girlfriends coming back so many times; it's tedious and annoying, but nothing's ever come of it. What concerns me is that she's going after my daughter." She paused, then said, "When you were a kid, I could understand her wanting to ruin your relationship with Jon because you were a big part of why he didn't want to be with her. But it doesn't make sense that she's going after Julia. Even if she was somehow successful in ruining Jon's relationship with her- what's the point? She isn't an only child; there are three other kids after her, one on the way, and you. Is she going to try to take on and ruin his relationship with all of his kids one by one? You know, eventually summer break will be here and Jon will see what's going on. What she thinks she'll gain by doing this is what I can't figure out."
"I'm not sure you can," he said honestly. Under the table he wrung his hands, very worried that Audrey was fully aware of Katherine's intent even if she didn't know everything that was going on. "I've always thought she was a little warped."
"Make it a lot and you're right."
Shawn stood up and took Bella from her so she could finishing cleaning up and get off of her feet. "So what are you going to do?"
"Nothing," she said as she wiped the table off. "My job is to get your dad through this school year with his health intact and then get this one," she laid a hand on her belly, "into the world with our health intact. She's a small fish- I can't be bothered with her."
That came as a relief to Shawn that she wasn't going to pursuing anything or try to confront Katherine. But his relief was short lived.
"Do something for me, Shawn."
Audrey was staring him with those great gray eyes. Her face was so sweet and so endearing that Shawn knew he would do, without question, whatever it was that she wanted. He had a feeling that he was about to be in serious trouble, but he couldn't help but promise, "Anything."
"Keep an eye on things when you're at the District Office. Let me know if you see anything at all of concern with her and Jon or her and Julia. No matter how inconsequential you think it is. Let me know."
She put her hand on his cheek and gave him a sweet smile while holding his gaze in an inescapable grip. Shawn gulped. "Sure, Mom," he said helplessly.
Audrey kissed his cheek and went to load the dishwasher. Shawn turned to take Bella to the playroom but found that his knees betrayed him and dropped him into the seat Audrey had been sitting in earlier.
Bella's eyes shone with wide-eyed concern. "Shaw, k?"
No, he thought somberly. Shaw is not 'k.
Julia watched as the clock ticked down. She gripped the edge of her desk in a half-seated posture, ready to run. The moment the second hand hit 2:15 she was out of her seat and dashing for the door. Just as quickly, her teacher was barring access to her escape route.
"Julia," Mr. Howard had to shout to be heard over the screaming of the dismissal bell, "just because your father is the superintendent doesn't mean you can leave early."
"Who's leavin' early?" she shouted back as she slipped around him, propelled forward by the surge of bodies behind her who were all equally desperate to get away from the school building.
Julia ducked and weaved her way through the crowded hallway. Suddenly, a hand reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her though an open side door. She spun around gasping for breath as her book bag hit the guard rail of the staircase and dangled precariously over the edge.
"Oh, Dre!" she exclaimed and grabbed onto him nearly dropping her book bag.
"Sorry, Princess," he grinned with sunny smile. "I thought you forgot about meeting me after school."
"No, I didn't. I thought I'd circle 'round the back. I forgot about this side exit."
The duo marched down the stairs, hand in hand while discussing their day. Once out in the chilly February air, Dre turned to her and said, "I can only walked you about halfway to Topanga's then I gotta get to practice."
Julia was disappointed but said, "That's okay. At least you can go that far."
They reached the half-way point a little too quickly for their liking, but there was no delaying it as both had schedules to keep.
"After dinner tonight," he told her, "I'll really check into this Jovani dude and see what I can find."
Julia had given Dre her password so he could snoop without needing her phone. He was the only person in the world she would trust with this information other than her parents. Not even to Shawn would she give her Facebook password.
As Dre said goodbye he surprised himself and Julia by giving her a kiss on the cheek that came very close to her mouth. Embarrassed by this public display of affection, Dre quickly darted down the street and out of sight. Julia's cheeks burned and the side of her face where he kissed her tingled. She almost forgot why she was heading to her aunt's bakery. Almost. She took off in the direction opposite that Dre had gone in.
Having grown up in New York City, Julia had had it drummed into her from a very young age about the potential dangers of such a large city with so many people. Neither of her parents liked the idea of her on her own in the City and usually she wasn't allowed to go out by herself, but they made the exception for her to go to the District Office. Most days Dre went with her; sometimes all the way or sometimes just to Topanga's. Sometimes Katy, if she got off early, walked with her. But it wasn't really necessary. The route Julia stuck to was filled with shops where at least one person knew her parents well and took it upon themselves to watch out for her. Today was no different. If her contact person wasn't outside waiting for her, she would pop her head in to their store and let them know she was fine before moving on.
Mr. Jay who worked the hot dog stand near the intersection closest to Topanga's grinned and waved when he saw her. She waved back and told him to tell his wife and daughter she said hello. The walk sign flashed on and she darted across the street. As soon as her feet hit the pavement on the other side, Julia had a strange feeling that she was being watched. The feeling grew as she continued towards her destination. She was supposed to be watched on this route of course. That's why she took it and why her parents allowed her to be out on her own. But this was a different kind of being watched. Julia quickened her paced and hurried to her next check point.
Mr. Ishikawa's newspaper stand was the stop before she reached Topanga's. He was one of Julia's favorite people. His mother was Japanese, his father was Korean, and Julia thought he looked like Song Il Gook's twin. She wasn't the only one who thought this as Mr. Ishikawa was frequently stopped by tourists who thought he was the Korean actor. The genial owner of the stand greeted her a grin and she stopped to ask him if any interesting papers had come in. Julia liked to read news from other countries and every once in a while he would have a paper from somewhere overseas for her. Today, though she stopped to talk to him, not for a paper but for a safe place from which to scan the throng of people around them. But she saw nothing.
Worried, she said good bye to Mr. Ishikawa and head off towards Topanga's at a much faster rate than usual. Something in her propelled her faster forward and also forced her to turn and look over her shoulder. When she did, she stumbled and nearly fell. What was over her shoulder filled her with dread and fear.
What it was she wasn't sure but it was very large with a masculine stance, clad in baggy black carpenter jeans and a black hoodie. The hood was pulled up over a black baseball cap and it wore black polarized sunglasses. There were no labels on the clothes, no brands, just black clothes covered in a brownish-green dust. Over it's mouth was a dirty white mask like the kind construction workers wore when they were in very dusty conditions. The thing was not moving. It stood still in the crowd and stared at her.
Julia willed herself to keep moving and to get to Topanga's as soon as she could. But she was absolutely terrified. The only thing she could think to do was to call Shawn. To her relief, he answered quickly. She was barely able to finish her description of the thing she thought was following her when he abruptly cut her off and told her to run to Topanga's as fast as she could and stay put until he got there.
Julia didn't even register shock that he believed her immediately. She just did what he told her to do and ran without looking back.
Panicked by the thought that his sister was potentially being stalked by the same Thing that had shadowed him, Cory, and Topanga at Lake Placid, Shawn tore through the crowded Manhattan streets, not giving much thought to those he had to shove his way past. Shouts and angry looks followed him but he didn't care. Reaching Julia first was the only thing he could focus on.
Just before he reached Topanga's doors, he slowed to stop and surveyed the surroundings and the crowd. There was nothing unusual. No phantoms, no shadows, no creatures. There were just a lot of ordinary people doing ordinary things.
Once inside, he immediately began to look for Julia and his stress increased dramatically when he did not see her anywhere. A thousand thoughts flew threw his head but before he could settle on a single one, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind and held him tight. It just didn't feel like a sister hugging her brother at all. A girlfriend, perhaps, but not a sibling. What a bizarre thing for his sister to do!
But it wasn't Julia he learned as soon as he turned around. Staring up at him with a sultry look was Katy. She was grinning flirtatiously at him. This made Shawn extraordinarily uncomfortable and it was all he could do not to push her away and jump back.
"Hey stranger," she purred, resting her chin against his chest.
"Hey, Katy." He smiled weakly and tried to take a step back. The woman held fast and moved with him.
"I'm really glad you showed up." At last she let go of him, but she remained deep in his personal space, coyly twirling a stray lock of hair around her finger. "I need to ask you a favor."
"Uh, yeah, sure," Shawn said uneasily. His gaze darted around the eatery searching for those tell-tale curls, but Julia wasn't there. "I gotta find my sister first. She was suppose to meet me here."
Katy looked disappointed that he had not come to see her. Truth be told, she was beginning to grow weary with waiting for him to settle things with his family. It was taking much longer than she anticipated. "Well, while you're waiting let me tell you my big news."
"Oh?" The look on her face made it clear that this was really an important announcement she had to make. Excitement danced in her eyes. Deep down, Shawn hoped that whatever it was did not involve him.
"I got an audition for a major movie!" she squealed, dancing in place like a child who just received exactly what they wanted on Christmas morning.
"Oh, that's great!" Shawn said sincerely, allowing her to hug him. "Congrats!"
"Yeah. I mean the role isn't major," she admitted slightly embarrassed, "but this could be a huge foot in the door for me. I just need your help to make it happen."
Shawn, who had began to relax some, tensed up again. "That's not really my area of expertise."
"Noooo," she said laughing to deflect her anxiety. She knew he was likely to say no to what she was going to ask, but she had to ask anyway. "But you are great with teen girls."
He blinked twice, not understanding the new direction of conversation. "Say what?"
Katy barreled ahead with her explanation, not giving Shawn a chance to think nor herself a chance to breath. "The audition is on Monday in LA and I have to leave Saturday morning. My mom is going to stay with a friend of hers this weekend and can't watch Maya. My girl has some major tests coming up and since she's already struggling with her classes, I really can't take her out of school and let her miss those. I don't have anyone to watch her."
A feeling of panic crept over his shoulders as he realized what she was asking him to do. The urge to run became overwhelming, but he couldn't. Not without Julia. "I'm sure Cory and Topanga will take her."
"They always do." Katy twisted the ring on her finger nervously. She had not asked the Matthews to take Maya for the weekend. She didn't want them to take her. "Pretty much everyday she's over at their place. I don't want her to wear out her welcome. That's why I was hoping you'd take her, just this once."
In spite of hearing her very clear words, Shawn could not fathom that she was actually asking him to take Maya for the weekend. For obvious reasons, he was greatly ill at ease with the thought of taking in an unrelated teen girl. But it wasn't just that. A strange feeling that he'd been in this situation before took hold of him and he couldn't shake it off. Except he hadn't been in this position before though. The only child he'd ever cared for prior to coming home was Riley. Never once had Cory and Topanga ever left her with him for an extended stay outside of their home. He'd watched her at their home at night, sometimes even a full day, but never had he kept her at his place for multiple days. If his lifelong friends wouldn't ask this of him, why would a woman he barely knew and had only been out with once ask this? He had never been in this position before so why did he feel so strongly that this was too familiar a scene?
"Uh, I'm flattered you'd trust me with Maya," was all he could manage to say.
"It'd be a great bonding experience for the two of you," she said too eagerly. There was a look in her eyes that he'd seen other women have before, both ones he had dated and ones that Jon had dated once upon a time. It was that look that said "marry me and my life will be perfect". Shawn shuddered. But Katy wasn't like that was she? He honestly did not know.
"But," he stammered, trying to get a hold of his thoughts. "I don't have a place for her. I'm stayin with my parents."
Katy closed her eyes, trying not to let him see how disappointed she was. "I forgot about that."
"I couldn't say yes without them agreeing, too."
"Right."
Shawn hated to see her look so despondent, but it was the truth. He didn't think Jon would appreciate the arrival of another kid in his home right now, even if it was Maya.
"Maya could room with me if Mom and Dad say it's okay." Julia suddenly appeared before them, solemnly staring at her brother. Her eyes were large and stormy. It was obvious she was still shaken up.
Shawn grabbed her in a big hug and held onto her. "You okay?" he whispered. "Where've you been?"
"No. And I was hiding in the bathroom. I was hoping it respected the signs on the bathroom door and wouldn't come into the girls' room."
Katy watched the siblings interact and found it hard not be a little jealous of Julia as ridiculous as that was. It was not just that fact that Shawn would initiate hugging her, but also because she so badly wanted Maya to have what Julia had- a father who loved her dearly and would do anything for her.
"Listen, Katy," Shawn said, still holding Julia close. "I'll talk to my parents and let you know."
"Sure," she said with a tight smile and a nod. "Thanks, Shawn. I really appreciate it."
Katy watched as they left Topanga's. Julia held tightly to Shawn's hand and arm while he led the way on high alert, protectively guiding her through the crowds. Katy sighed. He really was so very good with teenage girls. Exactly what a father should be.
There was a new poster in a black glossy frame setting on a large black art easel that greeted the siblings when they walked into the District Office. Julia stared at in confusion for a long time before making a face at it and going straight to her father's office.
Shawn stood in front of the poster trying to figure out why it was so randomly displayed at the front of the room. The piece was definitely vintage and could only be described as psychedelic. There were two faces in the background of the poster, a young man and and old man. Or a man and a weird looking mountain depending on where you were standing when you looked at it. Or the mountain was below the faces. Or they weren't faces at all but a weird rendering of the earth from space. The poster was hard to explain and it would take Shawn several hours of staring at it before he could even begin to put it into words. There was a book at the bottom of the picture of that he was sure. In large three dimensional block font across the top were the words: BE ALL YOU CAN BE, READ. At the center of the poster near the bottom was the artist's name: Peter Max
Shawn recognized the artist; he'd once studied his work in an art class at NYCU. What he couldn't understand was why the District Office was displaying it. It was very out of place and did not go with the décor of the building. Plus, it was significantly larger than any poster or work of Max's that he'd seen before- at least 4 feet by 3 feet. Strangely, it was placed in a location where it could be seen from everywhere one might stand in the office. What could have been a cool piece of art history stood as some freakish citadel, disturbing and unnerving.
Unable to take his eyes off the weird art he backed up towards Jon's office and walked directly into to Katherine's desk. He turned around quickly with a quick retort on his tongue. To his surprise, she wasn't there. With a frown, Shawn entered the inner room of the office.
"Hey, Shawn," Jon looked up from his computer and greeted him with a tired smile.
"Hey," he replied as he shut the door firmly behind him. "What's with the Peter Max poster taking up all the space out there?"
Jon wrinkled his nose and sighed. "It's an eye sore, isn't it?"
"At that size, yeah."
"I don't know who brought it in. It was here when I came in this morning."
"It's ugly," Julia commented with a look of disgust.
Jon gave her a withering look and said sardonically, "Listen, I don't criticize the artwork of your childhood. I'd appreciate it if you didn't criticize the artwork of mine."
"Oh." Her eyes went wide with apology. "I didn't know you had to grow up with that. I am so sorry."
"Was that a really big thing when you were a kid?" Shawn asked curiously. There was a part of Jon's past that he still knew very little about but he wished he did. He had the uneasy feeling that Cory knew all about it.
"It was pretty common," Jon said with a shrug. "Psychedelic art was a product of 60s counter culture that eventually ended up in mainstream advertising."
"What's psychedelic art?" Julia asked.
Jon exchanged looks with Shawn. There were some topics that even he struggled to talk to his children about, especially Julia. He didn't want to give her any ideas to experiment with. "It was style of art where the artist, um, created with an altered state of mind."
Shawn picked up on Jon's discomfort with the subject and found it humorous. "Lot of drugs were dropped to create it is what he means," he translated.
Jon laughed at himself and his lack of confidence in his parenting and nodded.
"Ooo, Daddy," Julia leaned forward on her elbows and slide them across the desk as far as she could. She'd grown up hearing all sorts of stories about how cool and tough he'd been back in the day from Uncle Eli. She also knew there was a part of his life when he was older than she was but younger than Shawn that he didn't talk about. Ever. "Were you a part of the 60s counter culture?"
Jon looked slightly miffed as he turned his seat to face her. "No, I was a little young for that."
"How old were you?"
"When that poster was made in '69 for National Library week I was seven, thank you very much."
"Oh," Julia said, sounding disappointed as she flopped back into her chair.
"I woulda been of the 70s and 80s counter culture," he explained, knowing that those decades meant nothing to her.
"Oooo, what does that mean?" She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
"Get out," he said when the phone on his desk flashed indicating that someone was on hold.
"70s and 80s counter culture means get out? Is that a drug reference?" she asked in confusion. Her eyes went wide. "Daddy, did you do drugs?"
"No!" he snapped a little too quickly. The conversation was veering too close to a past he did not want to acknowledge. "I have a conference call with an educator's group in Queens and I need you two out. Now."
Once in the outer office, the duo took their regular seats only to find that the poster directly faced them, staring at them as they tried to work. It only took a few minutes for Julia to be creeped out by it. It took even less time for Shawn to be.
With Dylan sitting a mere foot away from them, there was no way Julia and Shawn could talk about anything important. Not that Julia really wanted to talk to Shawn at the moment now that she knew the reason he hadn't been paying attention to her skating competition. On the way to the District Office, Shawn had filled her in on what happened at Lake Placid and why he couldn't concentrate on what she had been doing. She was upset because here it was Wednesday, he hadn't thought to let her in on what had happened sooner, and now his bogeyman was here in Manhattan following her. So she buried her nose in her Algebra II homework and drew irritated doodles all over the edge of her paper. Her mother would appreciate the artwork; her father wouldn't approve solely because he was the superintendent and wasn't suppose to while her Algebra teacher, Ms. Landry, would hand her paper back to her with her doodles colored in.
Katherine, who hadn't been anywhere to be found for the last hour and wasn't there when Dylan arrived, finally wandered in with a dreamy look in her eyes. She sat on her desk and both Shawn and Julia sat up at attention when they saw this. Never had they ever seen her do this before as she always tended to prim and proper and sitting on a desk like that was not prim and proper. In fact, she'd scolded them both more than once for doing the very same thing. But there was one person they knew very well that always sat on desks and rarely in chairs. It irritated them greatly that she was copying him. Julia and Shawn exchanged looks, glared at the woman on the desk, then went back to what they were doing lest she get the satisfaction of seeing them upset.
The former high school teacher drifted off of the desk and over to her son speaking to him in a cooing voice that adults tended to use when talking to infants. Dylan was clearly mortified by this and buried his head in his English lit book. Literally. He put his head down on the middle of the book and, with one hand on the front cover and one on the back cover, tried to close it on himself. Julia almost felt sorry for him, but then his mother turned her attention towards her and, afraid the woman would try to touch her again, forgot all about Dylan.
"So, Jules," Katherine said in a saccharine tone as she reached out for the girl's hair. "How did things go last night?"
Julia snatched her hair out of the woman's reach and shoved it down the back of her hoodie before glancing at her brother. His gaze pointed to the floor and when she looked down she saw him sign not say anything about the text message. "It's Julia," she corrected her sharply.
Katherine ignored her. "I expect you didn't have the best of nights, did you, Jules?"
Julia gritted her teeth momentarily before plastering a faux sweet smile on her face. "I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Tompkins. Last night was a great night. Wasn't it, Shawn?"
Not prepared to be pulled into this so soon, Shawn faltered a bit then matched her grin and nodded. "Yeah, it was good. Especially after the little kids went to sleep."
"Good and quiet. Just us, Momma and Daddy watchin' a movie," she said amicably. This was partially true. The four did sit down to watch TV only Jon fell asleep five minutes in. The siblings held their false smiles and stared at her, waiting for a response.
Katherine was undeterred and said in a sweet tone that was laced with patronizing accusations, "Oh, but it wasn't. Jules, I know what happened last night."
Internally, Shawn frowned. What was she doing?
"Then why are you asking me?" Julia replied with sarcastic innocence.
Katherine's smile flickered like the hologram it was and the hand that was reaching for Julia again froze in mid-air.
Lady, Julia thought darkly, if you touch me, you're gonna lose that hand.
"Don't you owe me an apology?"
The audacity and arrogance of this expectation of apology struck Shawn as so absurd that he couldn't control the laugh that exploded from him. He was quick enough to slap a hand over his mouth and turn to the side so that it looked and sounded like a very strange sneeze.
Katherine shot him a look of annoyance then said a little too nicely, "Bless you, Shawn."
Shawn got the distinct feeling that that "bless you" was not a blessing at all but something more along the lines of the Southern "bless your heart". Shawn said nothing and continued to look undisturbed.
"Jules?" Katherine turned back to Julia and leaned toward her.
"It's Julia. What?" With the way Miss Tompkins was leaning on her desktop all Julia would have to do was to stand up and the woman would find herself sitting on the floor with a desk on top of her. Julia struggled to stay seated.
"Don't you owe me an apology?"
The teen pretended to think this over. "Nope," she said cheerfully and resumed working on her math homework.
Katherine put her hand over the paper the girl was writing on. Julia looked up sharply.
"I know you got in trouble last night," the woman said smugly.
Julia cast a can you believe this? look at Shawn then looked back at the secretary.
"Uh, no, I didn't."
"Jules," she said with great patience as though she was dealing with a very difficult child who always in trouble. "Telling untruths is a very bad habit."
"I'm not tellin' an untruth." Julia could no longer maintain any form of pleasantness.
Katherine sighed. "You lied about not getting my text."
This statement caught both Shawn and Julia by surprise particularly because the statement itself was a lie. Shawn, however, realized that she was trying to goad Julia into an argument. If she could provoke an outburst from Julia over the text it would no doubt get Jon's attention and Katherine could use it to make Julia out to be a problem and a liar. But he couldn't warn her or say anything. Worriedly, he watched his sister's response.
Julia very nearly did let out a shriek of indignation at this accusation, but she too realized what the woman was trying to do.
"Hmm, nope," she said with a small smile and shake of her head.
"Julia, if you continue to lie about these little things how will your poor father ever be able to trust you?"
"Her poor father will trust her just fine."
Jon's voice startled them all and caused Katherine to jump. She recovered quickly and turned to face him with a serene look on her face. As Jon approached his children, Katherine attached herself to his side, holding onto his arm as though she was his anchor providing moral support for the confrontation ahead. Dylan, Shawn, and Julia were appalled by this offensive display. Dylan's reason for anger was very different from Shawn's and Julia's. While Jon did nothing to encourage Katherine, Dylan blamed the older man for his mother's behavior.
"Last night is over and done with, Kat," he said harshly. He was incredibly irritated to be going over this again and pulled his arm away from her. "I dealt with it. Now I need to you transcribe the meeting I just got out of and get it over to the Board."
As much as she didn't want to, Katherine let Jon go back to his office, then sauntered over to Shawn and Julia with a triumphant, smug smile.
"So you did get in trouble after all. Tut, tut," she clucked her tongued at Julia in a mocking manner.
Julia bared her teeth and Shawn poked her knee. She glanced at him and he subtly shook his head no. The girl relaxed, put a blank look on her face, and shrugged.
Before she left, Katherine reached out to Julia and pinched her cheek. Hard.
Julia was fuming and the moment Katherine disappeared into Jon's office she jumped up, holding her hand to her cheek, and ran out of the room. Shawn was on her heels and Dylan, careful to be a step or two behind, followed them.
Out in the hallway, Julia furiously paced muttering threats under her breath. Shawn stepped in her path and grabbed her shoulders.
"Chill out, sis."
"Easy for you to say! She didn't assault you!" she cried in anger. "I think I'm gonna have a bruise."
Shawn moved her hand away from her cheek. It was inflamed from the flush of anger but there were also two slightly redder areas on her right cheek in the outline of a finger and thumb. Shawn groaned. Just great. He'd stupidly promised Audrey to tell her if anything happened between Katherine and Julia. If he told her about this, there would no doubt be an uproar about it and Jon would be put in the middle. But if he didn't tell her and there was a bruise he'd be in for it.
"Let's just pray there isn't one," he muttered.
Julia had already forgotten about her cheek as she cried, "She thinks she's won! She really thinks I got in trouble over her lie!"
"Jules, calm down, okay? First of all she didn't win."
"How can you say that?" she fumed. Julia crossed her arms over her waist and glared at him.
"It's easy when you know what I know."
Julia stared at him unconvinced. "What do you know?"
"I know that Mom checked the texts logs last night and has proof Katherine never text you."
"Really?" Her eyebrows shot up. "Are you kiddin'?"
"Nope," he assured her. " Mom told me this morning. Listen, Jules, as hard as it is, let her think she's won."
Julia mouth formed a silent "o" of horror at the thought. "Why?"
"Let her ego build up. Let her think she's smarter than us. It'll get her in the end. Pride goes before a fall you know," he smirked.
Julia smiled slightly as his deviousness. "Yeah, I think I've heard that once or twice."
As the siblings reentered the office, Dylan remained in the hallway. He couldn't hear exactly what they said but he knew it had something to do with his mother and he was determined to find out what they were planning to do.
Just after dinner, Shawn's phone buzzed with an incoming text from his NYC Lifestyle editor. He could practically hear her screaming through the screen.
SHAWWWWN! HAVE YOU SEEN THE BLOG NUMBERS!
In all honesty, he'd forgotten all about the blog and had not checked on it once to see how it was being received.
IT'S GONE VIRAL!
Shawn bit his bottom lip in thought. He couldn't quite figure out why a piece on his dad would go viral. It was written as well as he could write. It was honest and humorous but in reality, it was simply a tribute piece to the man who'd stepped into be a father to him when his own father stepped out. It surprised him that anyone outside of family and Jon's colleagues would be that interested in it.
Yeah?
IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN OUT A WEEK AND HAS 6.3 MILLION VIEWS AND OVER 452,000 SHARES!
Shawn was didn't know what to make of this. At the same time, he was very thankful that he was not actually talking to her. Her texts were painful enough to read.
That's great!
DOES YOUR DAD DO SOCIAL? WE'VE BEEN FLOODED WITH DMS FROM FORMER STUDENTS WHO WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM!
Now that made sense. He did not think, however, that his dad had taught that many students even with the class sizes of the NYC public schools.
No, just Mom. That's really cool, though.
I'm going to email you a new proposal for your blog. I'd like you to change directions with your writing.
Okay?
Whatever than meant, Shawn was thankful that the caps lock was finally off.
Don't worry. This will give you plenty of time with your dad. And I'll arrange to have these dms sent to you. Tell your dad to read the blog comments, too.
Will do. Thanks.
While he waited for the email, Shawn, still in shock, took a moment to check out the blog himself. The numbers were overwhelming. He'd had success in his writing before but not to this degree. Mr. Feeny drifted into his thoughts and Shawn wondered if somewhere down the line he might do a piece on his original teacher. He scrolled down to the comments of which there were over 5,000:
.I had Mr. Turner for English Lit at Greenwich High. I loved him! He made me fall in love with reading. I'm a reading interventionist now because of him.
.I was so miserable in high school and hated everything about it. The fact that Mr. Turner saw something worthwhile in me and took the time to pull it out changed my life. Your dad is the best. I'm honestly jealous of you, Shawn. I wish he was my dad.
.Through high school, I was that shy kid who never said a word even though I knew the answers to the questions. I was scared. Mr. Turner helped me through that. I like to say he brought me out of my shell. He was not only a teacher to me, he was a friend.
.When I was in high school, I was struggling with the pace of school and home life, and having my English Lit teacher as a confidant made my life better. In 10th grade, I started really reading books, and we would always "review" books together in conversation so I'd do well on the test, and Mr. Turner would help me find books to read that weren't for school. It made me feel special and important. At Christmas that year, he gave me a book that I'd been too afraid to try reading; I thought it was too hard for me to ever read. He said he thought of me when he saw it and I teared up. I later shared my struggles with handling emotions with him and he said I was brave. He also gave me a journal and daily prompts that helped me to express myself. I'll be forever grateful for the two years your dad was my teacher.
Comment after comment were like these. And then there were ones that hit very close to home. Shawn wished he knew the faces behind them.
.I went to John Adams High. I was three years behind you. Every time I'd go to school without food Mr. Turner always made sure I had lunch and would send me home with extra food. He never told me he was the one putting the extra food in my bag, but no one else could have done it. I had PE at the end of the day right after his class so I'd leave my stuff in his room and pick it up after that last class. My bag was always empty when I left and full when I came back. Back then, I was never allowed to go on field trips. I was too much trouble because of my ADHD. But your dad let me go; he never let me get left behind. Please tell your dad thank you for me.
.I was a year behind you in school, Shawn. We didn't know each other but I knew who you were. I didn't know the story behind you and Mr. Turner. I just thought you were his favorite student. I kind of hated you for that. I needed a dad, too. I feel so bad about the things I said about you back then.
.Hey, Shawn! We were in the same grade at JAH, but we never had any of the same classes. I didn't have English Lit with your dad either. I had Ms. Johnson that year before he took over all the English Lit classes. I doubt you remember me but you and your friends talked to me and my friends at Blockbuster years ago. My name is Tammy. I thought you were so cute. I really thought Mr. Turner was your dad- you guys were so much alike. I hope he married that really pretty redhead he was with. I feel ridiculous writing this. I know you'll never see it. But I'm so glad you wrote this. I wish I had known you better back then and I wished I had your dad as a teacher!
.Shawn, I'm sure you've heard the Maya Angelou quote, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." That really is true. Even though Mr. Turner was my teacher over 15 years ago, I remember that he made me feel like I was special. He made me see things about myself that I couldn't see at the time. He encouraged me as a student leader. He believed in me and I have always tried to live up to his good opinion of me.
.I had Mr. Turner the first year he came back after the accident in 9th grade. I was new to the school and didn't know anything about him or you. But I do remember one class where we were discussing poetry and he talked about this Shawn who started off pretty bad at poetry- you wrote a poem about Welfare or something? He said eventually Shawn found his rhythm and had a real gift for words when he put his mind to writing. Someone asked if Shawn was his son and he said yeah. He was really proud of you and he talked about you a lot. It's cool to finally put a face to the name. Best of luck, man.
.I missed out on having your dad as a teacher. I was supposed to have him freshman year but when I got high school and got my schedule he wasn't on my list of teachers. I was devastated to learn he'd moved to New York over the summer. I'm still salty about it tbh. Lol
Shawn kept scrolling through the comments feeling overwhelmed at the number of students that his dad had helped over the years who'd been in the similar situations or worse that he'd been in. Jon had never mentioned any of the things he and Audrey had done for these student, yet every one of them knew about him. This was just another reminder of Jon's steadfast faith in him even when he'd completely rejected him. Before long an hour had passed and he'd barely made a dent in reading the comments.
He pushed his seat away from the desk with a profound sense of both pride in who Jon was and deep regret for what he'd done to him. He inhaled deeply; he felt strange like he wanted to cry. He did not, but he couldn't shake the feeling away. Finally, he opened his email to share the blog with Audrey with a note for her and Jon to read the comments. He only shared it with her because he knew Jon would never get around to reading anything not school related for several months.
As he was sending his email, the one from his editor came in.
As he read the contents of the email a slow devious smile spread over his face and his spirit lifted. NYC Lifestyle was now wanting a series of weekly talks with Jon with the format of Shawn's choosing about any topic he wanted. Mentally, he kissed his editor for giving him the perfect excuse to be a constant thorn in Katherine's side.
A knock came at his office door just as Jon was looking for an excuse to get off of the phone with a yammering Yancy who still after him over his "demotion" to assistant principal of a junior high school.
"Yeah, come in," he called, not bothering to cover the receiver in any way.
"Jonathan," Yancy whined. "Are you speaking to me or one of your offspring again?
Jon glared at his phone. He deeply regretted not just firing the man when he had the chance.
"My kid," he snapped as Shawn stepped into the office. The younger man gave him an inquisitive look.
"Well pay attention to what I'm saying to you," the assistant principals demanded. The man's arrogance wafted through the phone like the pungent stench of a scared skunk.
Jon pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to hold in his frustration. "Yancy, you're sayin' the same thing you've said for the past three months. I could put the phone down, walk away for an hour, and not miss a thing."
"See!" the man shrieked as though he'd finally caught Jon doing something wrong. "It's that attitude! That lackadaisical, apathetic attitude of yours! It's unfitting of a superintendent! Jonathan, why can't you just grow up and be an adult. With the position and that power you have..."
Jon rolled his eyes, pulled the receiver away from his ear, and motioned for Shawn to take a seat as the man continued his rant in high pitch furor.
"Yeah and that attitude is hangin' up the phone now." Jon terminated the call, folded his hands in front of him and gave Shawn a look of exasperation mixed with disgust.
"Who is this guy?" Shawn asked. "And why do you keep takin' his calls?"
"You meet him last week at one the meetings we were at," Jon reminded him. "He's the guy who thought your mom was a nurse."
"Oh yeah, him!" The image of an oily used car salesman sprang to mind when he thought about that encounter. "He was kind of um, hyper."
"Kind of hyper?" Jon laughed. In mock seriousness, he leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial whisper. "This doesn't leave this room, but Yancy reminds me of the parent who takes his kid's Adderall."
Shawn laughed at first then sat up and gave the superintendent a funny look. "Wait, is that a real thing?"
"Oh yeah. I've seen it many times over the years, unfortunately." Jon sighed, then answered the second question. "I have to keep takin' his calls so he can't say I'm ignoring him. The man documents every perceived slight and will tie up entire Board Meetings whining about the pettiest stuff. Board meeting that I have to presided over. What's going on?"
"I was just wonderin' if you had a minute. I've got a new assignment from work but I'm going to need your approval to take it."
Jon couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. "Aren't you a little old to need my permission for anything?"
Shawn grinned. "Well, it involves you so I thought I'd ask first."
"Oh, great." He gave a short laugh. "What have I done now?"
"That piece I did on you? It sort of went viral."
This was not what he expected to hear and he looked very surprised. "I definitely didn't do that."
Shawn laughed. "Yeah, I guess that one's on me. My editor wants me to drop the hidden New York angle I was working and focus on you."
"Me?" the older man looked taken aback. "What did you write that would make me sound that interesting? You didn't make up stories like you did when you were a kid, did you? One of them had me as the leader of Hell's Angels, if I recall correctly."
Shawn thought back to those days with great fondness. To Jon he said slyly, "You shoulda proofed the story when you had the chance. You didn't, so now I shape the public's perception of you. Whatever I wrote is now fact."
Now Jon looked worried. "What. Did. You. Do?"
The younger man's grin grew. "Apparently, I reminded a bunch of your former students of this really cool teacher they had that impacted their lives in a major way. There are over 5,000 comments on the article and the majority are from your students."
At first he looked pleased and flattered, but then the look shifted into distinct discomfort. This was not recognition he deserved. He looked away from Shawn. "I haven't done anything that other teachers haven't done."
Shawn disagreed. "I don't think too many teachers have given a student who hasn't spoken to them in 17 years a life long home. I think what you did for me was unusual."
"What I did was minimal, Shawn," he argued. "I know some who have done much, much more."
Shawn's brow pinched together. He didn't understand Jon's reaction. "How?"
Jon was quiet and a dark look settled in his eyes. He glanced as Shawn then quickly looked away as though it was too painful to look at him. "Some actually followed through and adopted their students."
Shawn didn't know what to say. The words adopt, adoption, adopted always brought a sharp pain to his heart. Those were the words he had always wanted applied to him but they never had been. He inhaled deeply and tried to shrug it off. Jon was obviously struggling to let go of the past as much as he was. But he hadn't come in here to make Jon feel bad.
"I don't need a legal paper to know I'm your son if that's what you're thinkin'. If others do that's their problem."
Unconvinced, Jon nodded anyway. "Yeah, I guess. What's your new assignment?"
"My editor is wanting a weekly series of conversations between the two of us. I get to chose format and topics. You game?"
Jon didn't seemed thrilled with this idea. He was quiet for a long while, then said indecisively, "Well, I...I mean, I don't know."
Shawn couldn't help but feel disappointed by his reaction.
"Shawn," he said shaking his head. "I don't wanna be on camera."
Is that all? Shawn wondered with a sense of relief.
"You don't have to be," he said, "I can still take pictures, a get a little audio, do a lot of writing. I'll come up of with something."
Jon still seemed apprehensive. "I'm not gonna have time to sit and do long interviews."
"I kind of think that would be boring for everyone," Shawn said. He really hadn't given any thought to how he'd go about doing things, but the interview format was unappealing. "You know, I could go with you to work again and we could talk whenever the chance comes up. I mean, unless you don't need me anymore."
"Are you kiddin' me?" Jon pushed his chair back and looked at Shawn like he was crazy. "You really think I don't need you? I got a couple of days of actual work outta Katherine and that was it."
Shawn grinned. "Good. I have to finish up the article for this week. Is Monday too soon to start?"
"It's not soon enough," Jon smiled. His smiled dimmed slightly and he grew serious. "Just one condition."
"What's that?"
"If I get into a bind and ask you to let Audrey and Julia know, will you?"
"Yeah, count on it."
"Good!"
They sat in silence for a moment until events from earlier in the day suddenly came to Shawn's mind.
"I have one other thing to ask."
"Shoot."
Shawn took a deep breath before plunging in "Katy asked me if I could watch Maya this weekend while she's out of town for an audition. I told her I'd asked you and Mom about it."
Jon saw the disturbed look the younger man's eyes. "For how long?"
"Well, Monday is..." His voice trailed off as he realized Katy hadn't said for how long. She'd only said that she had to leave Saturday and that the audition was on Monday. She never gave a return date.
"Actually, I'm not sure," he replied slowly. "Her audition is in LA on Monday."
"So anywhere between Tuesday and three weeks from Tuesday?" The look on Jon's face indicated that this undefined time line did not surprise him in the slightest.
"Yeah, I have no idea."
Jon folded his hand in front of him on the desk and leaned forward. "Do you want to be responsible for her?"
"I guess." That feeling Shawn had in Topanga's when Katy asked him to take Maya had come back and was stronger than before. "I mean I told Maya that I'd be there for her."
"But?"
"But I feel weird about it."
"Why is that?"
Shawn shifted in his chair trying to make sense of what he was feeling. "Katy forgot that I live with you guys, so she asked me to take Maya thinking I lived alone. That's what I feel weird about. I don't really know Katy on a personal level and she doesn't really know me. We only know a lot about each other through other people. It just doesn't feel right that she'd be willing to leave Maya alone with me. Am I over reacting?"
Jon shook his head. "I don't think so. No, I think you are exactly right and should follow your instinct on this. If Maya needs a place to stay she can stay with us. I'll double check with Audrey to make sure she's okay with an extra kid for the next few weeks."
"Wait- what makes you think it'll be a few weeks?"
Jon gave him a smile that was tinged with sadness. "We've been through this a few times. The Matthews take Maya every time that 'big break' audition in LA comes up without knowing when Katy will be back. We help out by taking Auggie who usually stays on and off with us while Maya's there."
"Oh," he said, feeling worse than before. Katy had made it sound like this was a first time thing.
"Shawn. She'll be our responsibility. She doesn't need to be yours right now."
Shawn nodded greatly relieved. "No argument here. Hey. You done for the night?"
Jon sighed and looked at the papers spread across his desk. "No, I'm not."
The younger man glanced at his watch. "Puck drops in five- Islanders at Rangers."
Jon sorted through the papers then looked up at Shawn. "You know what- I think am done for the night."
Shawn grinned and stood up. But he made sure that he was the last one out of the room so that Jon couldn't get distracted by work. As they walked down the hallway to the living room, Shawn almost text Katy that Jon had said yes to Maya staying but he'd still have to clear it with Audrey. He wanted to ask her how long she would be gone, but he hesitated, and ultimately, did not send the text. He was still very disturbed that she would leave Maya with a man she barely knew.