Amateur Hour

Janice

Janice was delighted and surprised to find Nina at her door, the next morning.

“You really did hang it where it would be the first thing you’d see!” Nina exclaimed, when her hostess showed her in. She viewed the location of her painting, with evident satisfaction, before turning her bright smile on Janice, and handing her a loaf of banana bread.

“Told you, I would,” Janice returned the smile, as she closed the front door. “It’s the nicest thing in the house, and I want everyone to see it, first. Let’s have coffee. I just made some, and I was going to have some toast, too, but this looks even better.”

“I’ll have coffee, but I just finished breakfast. You go ahead, and have some of the bread, though.” Nina followed her into the kitchen, and sat down at the table. “Hi there, Spike. You taking good care of your Mom?” She bent to pet the dog’s soft head and ears.

“He’s doing his best. Who has Hannah, this morning?”

“Oh, she has friends over. Poetry group. She told me to go ahead and check in with you, now, instead of waiting until evening.”

“I’m so glad you did. There’s really no reason I shouldn’t be at work. It’s not noon yet, and I’m already bored to tears.” Janice brought the pot to the table, then went back for cups.

“Not a TV watcher?”

“Not really, no. I’ve been reading, since before Liam left, and I’m even getting tired of that.”

“How do you feel about pictures, then?” Nina drew a large sketchpad, from her over sized tote, and handed it over.

“Ooh — just the thing!” Janice took the book eagerly, and set her coffee off to one side, where it would pose no danger. She wasn’t surprised that the first several pages had different angles of the bookstore, some rendered in charcoal, others in colored pencil. Another page had more detailed drawings of the grave stones in front, the nearest of which were readable.

Yet another page had a more encompassing view of the store, complete with Lisa’s signage.

“I’ve started a painting, based on that one,” Nina remarked.

There were other sketches. Janice found three of Ted, just being Ted, a couple of Hannah that were more posed, and even one of herself.

“I thought you couldn’t draw from memory,” Janice said. “This looks exactly like me.”

“No, not really. The chin is a little vague, and I think I made the nose too long,” Nina shrugged. “I did that, right after the trip to the book store, and you were still fresh, in my mind. I tried to do Lisa, too, but she didn’t come out well, at all.”

Janice found the sketch. Nina was right. The face suggested Lisa. The eyes were almost perfect, in fact, but the shape of the mouth was a bit off, and the nose wasn’t really even close.

“You got her best feature, though.”

Nina nodded. “Her eyes, I know. It’s the way they look at you, that makes you remember them. Not unfriendly, but assessing, just the same.”

Janice laughed, a little. “She grows on you.”

“Oh, I don’t dislike her, at all. She’s just not as open as you are. She’s like Liam, I think.”

“They’d both laugh like hyenas, to hear you say that — and you’re absolutely right.”

Janice closed the pad, and handed it back to its owner. Nina tucked it away, and picked up her coffee.

“You’re looking so well,” she said. “I was really afraid for you, Janice.”

“Thanks. I’m feeling fine. My energy is just about back to normal.”

“No more bleeding?”

“Only the tiniest bit. I imagine that will be over, by tomorrow.”

“That’s such a relief. Do the doctors know what caused it?”

“It was something that I ingested, somehow, without knowing it,” Janice replied, choosing her words with care. She didn’t want to lie, but she wasn’t sure she wanted the entire truth to get back to Ted, either. For all his implication that he had accepted that she and Liam intended to stay on, here, she wasn’t so sure he had. He might use the information to further his case that they should leave.

“Meaning, you don’t want specifics to get back to Ted,” was Nina’s uncanny reply.

“Accidents happen. I suppose you know I told Liam about Ted’s background. I didn’t really mean to… it just happened.”

“None of that was any secret, Janice. I think everyone knows Ted is half White. Those who don’t, wouldn’t care, anyway. It’s not common knowledge that he was a student, once, at the school, but it’s nothing he wouldn’t have told you or Liam, himself. Of course, I don’t think he had any idea that Liam would be so good at putting two and two together.” She shook her head, with a rueful smile. “It’s good, that it’s out in the open, between all of us. It’s tiring, walking on eggshells.”

“It’s exhausting,” Janice agreed. “I understand Ted was trying to keep us out of trouble, but it’s too late for that, now.”

“I think you understood that, from the beginning. But, Ted got Liam’s suspicions going.”

“If not his suspicions, his curiosity.”

“No, he was suspicious of a man who seemed to be a little too nice to his wife. I don’t blame him. I warned Ted, about it. Maybe he’ll start listening to me, now.”

Janice grinned. “Do you realize that you’re not calling him ‘Teddy’, anymore?”

“I hadn’t, no,” she looked surprised. “I must be outgrowing that,” she mused, with a smile. “Maybe I’ll save it, for my first son. Oh, no —” she answered Janice’s questioning look, “not yet. But, soon, I hope.”

They enjoyed their coffee in peace, for a moment.

“Nina, may I ask you something?”

“I imagine you can.”

“It’s about how you’re related to Hannah.”

“I always called her Aunt Hannah. Most of the children in the neighborhood did. She was especially kind to me, after I lost my sister and my brothers. She was Aunt Hannah, before that, though. We aren’t related, by blood — only at the heart. Later, we became related by marriage.”

“Is she Ted’s mother, Nina?”

“It’s… not my story, to tell.”

Janice felt her face redden. “I’m ashamed that I asked.”

“No, I don’t want you to feel that way.” Nina reached out, and gave Janice’s hand a little squeeze. “You’re a good friend, Janice, and a good person. I understand that you’re up against a lot.”

“Someone slipped an abortion pill, or pills, into my breakfast coffee,” Janice found herself saying. “The stuff has other uses — treatment for ulcers, being one. That might explain why it would be stocked in the school infirmary. Unless it was smuggled in.”

Nina’s eyes had grown wide. “I see. Did Liam know what it was?”

“Oh, yes. The doctor spilled the beans, before I was even awake.”

“Oh, Lord! What he must have thought, until you got the chance to explain!”

“Yeah. I hate to admit it, but he thought the worst. He didn’t say so, but I could tell.”

“The worst? He didn’t really think you and…Ted? That’s crazy!”

“I think he did,” she admitted.

Nina drank her coffee, and mulled it all over.

“Will you be brown bagging it, from now on?” she asked.

Janice shook her head. “I can’t let on that I suspect anything. Anyway, I doubt whomever it was will try the same thing, twice. It wasn’t meant to kill me. It was meant to scare me, and Liam.”

“For what it’s worth, it scared the hell out of Ted, too. I don’t think it’s crossed his mind that it was deliberate. Don’t you think he should know?”

“I don’t think he’s in any danger, Nina. He keeps his head down, and I doubt anyone suspects him of being anything other than just another teacher.” She paused. “Maybe I just don’t want him to know how big a fool I really am, when I go back, and continue on, as before,” she confessed.

Nina nodded. “I understand. I’ve never felt the full weight of his disapproval, but I’ve seen enough of it, to want no part of it. I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone else. I believe he gets that, from his father.”

“Did you know him, Ted’s father?”

“Never met him, but I’ve seen the fallout he left behind. He seems to have damaged everyone he touched. Sometimes, I have to remind Ted that he doesn’t want to be like that. He told me as much, before we were married, and asked me to call him out on it, if I ever saw it. He despises bullies.”

“Can I ask you something else?”

“At your own risk,” Nina joked.

“You know about all of it; about Ted’s private investigators.”

“I know he hired them, yes. He doesn’t share many details.”

“I’m just curious — did Ted investigate us, to find out if we had a reputation for being bullies?”

“Of course, he did. Only to find out, as you know, that Liam has a spotless record, and was popular with his students.”

“And me?”

“He looked harder into you, and found less.”

“Because I’m a psychologist who used to be a glorified paper pusher.”

“Yes. That’s why he had to find out about you, for himself. I warned him your husband might not like the attention. He heard me, but… Underestimating Liam is a mistake I don’t think Ted will make, again.”

“He’s so sure Liam can’t contribute anything.”

“He is, yes. Ted’s a good man; strong, wise, and smart. He’s also a little too proud, at times. I’m his wife — I’m not blind,” she smiled, seeing Janice’s surprise at the criticism. “They’ll work it out.”

“Are we good, even though I am nosy?”

“We’re perfect. You’re still tired, or you wouldn’t think you needed to ask. I should go, and let you get some breakfast, and some rest. You never did touch that banana bread.”

**************

Janice did eat a slice of the bread, when Nina had gone. When she finished eating, she washed up her dishes — and still found herself faced with a whole day ahead of her, that she didn’t know how to spend.

Grooming Spike’s silky coat turned out to be good for about ten minutes. She spent another five, rounding up a small load of laundry, and putting it in the washer. Liam’s computer was open and at the ready for phony baloney research, but she closed it. Her taste for that was lacking, today, and it seemed like a better pursuit for the evening, when it would be more likely to appear that Liam was the one using it.

For the hell of it, she picked up her phone, and called Lisa.

“Sanctuary Books,” the familiar voice answered.

“I’m bored,” Janice grumbled, in response.

Lisa laughed. “That must mean you’re feeling better. Come on up, and hang out. It’s slow, this morning. I’ll take you to lunch, later.”

“Well, if you’re going to be vicious about it, and twist my arm, like that, okay. See you in a bit.”

*******

Liam’s foul mood wasn’t helped by the bogus concern and fake well wishes of his colleagues, for Janice’s recovery, though he forced himself to smile and eat every bite of the bullshit.

His students, at least, were sincere if diffident, to speak on the matter. At New Canaan, it was bad form to acknowledge that teachers had lives outside the classroom, and considered impertinent for students to remark upon those lives. He was sneakingly proud of the kids who did speak up. It was an act of rebellion, on their part, against the system.

The conflicting emotions left him feeling drained, and moody, by the time his first break rolled around, and he found it so difficult not to glower at Ted, when he sat down at the same table, he didn’t bother.

“That good, huh?” Ted opened. He unwrapped two pieces of banana bread, and plopped one of them on a paper napkin, for Liam. “Don’t turn that down, or you’ll hurt Nina’s feelings.”

“Because, of course, you’d tell her. Thanks,” he relented, a bit.

“It has your name on it,” Ted shrugged. “She packed it, for you.”

“It’s good,” Liam said, around a bite. “Not from a mix, either.”

“Never!” Ted shook his head, biting into his own slice. “When she’s between art projects, or gets stuck, she bakes. Bad morning?”

“I’m surrounded by hypocrites.” Liam gave Ted a look that dared him to be a know-it-all jerk.

“Yeah. You’re doing well, not letting them get a rise, out of you. Keep playing along, and they’ll get bored. By tomorrow, they’ll be ignoring you, again.”

The cheerfully pessimistic support made Liam smile, a little. He took a sip of his coffee, and another bite of the banana bread, which seemed to taste better, than the first.

“The kids have been great, though.”

“That’s saying something. They like her, and trust you.”

“I know. It means a lot.”

“There isn’t much in the way of safe harbor, for these kids. Some of them weren’t genuine discipline problems, until they got here,” Ted observed.

“I believe that. They come in, with learning disabilities, depression — any number of things that could hinder a child, in school, and they get crushed even further, here. The rules are heavy, and the adults aren’t safe confidants. I’d like to burn the system to the ground, too.”

“If it were only that, it wouldn’t be so hard. What do these people remind you of, Liam? The faculty and staff?”

“A corporate cult,” he replied, without hesitation, keeping his voice low. “The control over employees, the swift punishment for deviation or infractions, “Honors students”, who inform on teachers and students alike. Cult-like, in that everyone embraces it. I can’t work out what the payoff is. The benefits of being an upper teacher aren’t that great.”

“You have been paying attention.”

“There’s even some jargon.”

“Jargon? In five years, I haven’t noticed that.”

“No? Upper teachers, versus under teachers. It’s not a cafeteria; it’s a refectory. It’s not a clinic; it’s an infirmary, etc. Antiquated terms, that are supposed to sound posh. You never noticed?”

“No. Maybe I’ve been here, too long.”

“And there’s the intimidation aspect, of course. It all screams corporate cult. The question is: what’s the real product? It’s not redeeming kids, through therapy, because the program is counter-intuitive, and there is no therapy, to speak of.”

Ted grinned. “I just told you a knee slapper, Liam. Laugh.”

Liam did, after only a second’s hesitation.

“That’s better. You weren’t speaking loudly, but we were drawing glances. We must have looked too intense.” He paused for another glance around, then resumed the original topic. “It took me a while, picking at threads, to reach the question you’re asking, now. I’m trying to figure it out, too.”

He leaned back, and sipped his coffee. Liam waited him out.

“Nina thinks I don’t listen to her,” he commented, at last.

“Everyone thinks you don’t listen to them,” Liam countered.

Ted smiled. “Fair enough. But, Nina, at least, is wrong. I do listen to her. She says I should let you do your thing, and be useful. Come over, tonight. We’ll order pizza, and talk.”

“What kind of beer does Hannah like?”

“Coke. Nina’s partial to Coors Light.”

“Coke and Coors Light it is, then.”

*******

The store was empty, when Janice walked in, save for Lisa and her cat, but a pulled out chair at the table across from her sister-in-law gave Janice pause.

“Did I just miss him?” she asked.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Lisa said, rising to come around and give Janice a hug. “He has a strict policy of speaking to only one living person, at a time. You’re weird, Gerald,” she informed the empty store. “You look good,” she addressed Janice. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty much recovered. Should I be worried about this?” She looked around, frowning at the lack of customers.

“No. It’s Monday morning. This is typical. Have a seat, and I’ll get us a snack,” Lisa invited, leading the way to her little cafe area. “What’ll it be?”

“Tea, and one of those scones, I think.”

“Good choice. I’ll make it two.”

“What were you and the Judge talking about?”

“He just finished Mark Twain’s autobiography.”

“He just finished Mark Twain’s autobiography,” Janice repeated. “The one that wasn’t published until 2009.”

“2010, actually. That’s the one. He’s still quite the reader.”

“So, a little thing like being dead doesn’t stop him, huh?” Janice laughed. She needed this, today.

“Doesn’t even slow him down,” Lisa grinned, in return. “He says sometimes he even reads the good parts of books aloud, to Grady.” She glanced at the cat, and sat down, with the teapot.

“Snazzy,” Janice remarked, appreciating the matching cups, saucers, cream pitcher, and sugar bowl.

“From the attic in the old Lovejoy house. Margaret was very keen to have them used, again. There were three different sets. I set the plainest one aside, for the museum.”

“How is that project going?”

“Slower than I like, but there’s so much else happening. I’m currently at war with Tuck.”

“Of course, you are. What is the battle, this time?”

“We need to move out of the house. The only two options I’ll entertain are, expanding the house, or getting a mobile home. He wants to add living quarters to the new barn. I married a lovable, sexy, and delightful idiot.”

“He has his heart set on that?”

“I think I’m wearing him down. The kids are on my side.”

“That’s diabolical. I always knew you had it, in you, to subvert Will, at least.”

“I think we’ll end up adding onto the house,” Lisa replied. “Tuck is sentimental. I put it to him that the house should grow, if the family is growing.” Her eyes glittered wickedly.

“Yes. Diabolical.” Janice saluted her, with her teacup.

“He’s still grumbling, and growling, a little. Tonight, I plan to threaten him with having to eat my cooking, every night. That should have him flying to get permits, by daybreak.”

“You fight dirty, Lisa. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

The two of them shared a chuckle.

“Now, tell me — what happened, Janice? I didn’t get much, out of Liam. Toni told us about the spyware, and Rob hasn’t been easy in his mind, since.”

“Poor kid. Has he been in touch with any of his family, at all?”

“No, he hasn’t. Don’t change the subject.”

“There’s nothing much to say. Something I ate or drank was spiked with misoprostol. Probably the coffee I drink in the refectory, at breakfast.”

“You were poisoned. At work.”

“Technically, yes. I don’t think the aim was to kill me.”

“Oh, I feel so much better, then. Whatever Liam is doing, tell him I said to back off.”

“I won’t. I’m one hundred percent behind him, and you should be, too. Don’t tell me Rob hasn’t told you a tale or two about that place. It’s full of Robs.”

Lisa softened, as Janice knew she would.

“And you say I fight dirty,” she said. “Yeah, he’s told us some things. But, I don’t see how poking around into the history of the school is going to solve the present nightmare.”

“It could be the key to everything. If Liam wasn’t over the target, we wouldn’t be catching flack.”

“I suppose not. I don’t like it, though. You and he are in very real, tangible danger, and you’re alone.”

“We’re not. My artist friend is the wife of one of the teachers who has been observing the situation, for years.”

“Observing. For years.”

“More than that. He’s been working it, but very quietly. He’s a friend and an ally. There are others, too — like the student who helped Rob escape. He’s not actually a student, and I’m more than a little sure he has a partner. Plus, we have all of you, on the outside. We’re not alone, Lisa.”

“If you need anything, at all…”

“Don’t I always run straight to you? Of course, I do. Right now, just concentrate on keeping Rob safe and sound.”

“That’s not very difficult. I can’t see how anyone had any problem with him.”

“No trouble, at all, then?”

“Well… he’s a teenage boy. He does teenage boy stuff. He can be careless, but he’s not thoughtless. He’s gotten Will hooked on Grand Theft Auto.” Lisa rolled her eyes. “I dread the day he has to leave us. I know it’s coming, soon. It’s not as if we could just enroll him in Bainbridge High, when fall rolls around.”

“He really should be in college.”

“I know. How I wish I were his mother, Janice! Helping him pick out a school, and to decide on elective classes. Not that I’m remotely qualified to do either,” she smiled ruefully.

Janice could see that she was trying to conceal how passionately she did wish she was Rob’s mother — and doing a poor job of it.

“You’re about to say something kind, aren’t you?” Lisa asked. “Don’t. I couldn’t take it.”

“No. We wouldn’t want to challenge your practical nature, would we?” Janice teased, instead.

“No. Besides, it’s wrong to want more than I have.”

“Fine capitalist you are.”

“Let’s patronize someone else, then. Have another cup of tea, while I shut things down, for lunch.”