Teachers Pet

49: Give Me A Break

       I waited for my mother in the foyer. When I noticed Gloria's constant side glances at me, I had decided to give them some time alone to talk. I excused myself to the restroom, having Penny guide me. I think she understood though, that I just needed to leave the room for Gloria and my mothers' sake. I could tell there was more Gloria wanted to say to my mother other than a simple apology. An apology that wasn't necessary on Gloria's behalf. She had nothing to apologize for.

       "Would you like some tea?" I looked over my shoulder to see Penny with that perfect smile of hers.

       "No thank you." Penny nodded once before leaving me alone again. I listened as the echo of heels grew distant with every step she took. I paced around the foyer for a while longer, wishing I could leave. We must've overstayed our welcome by now, right? Well, maybe not at all. I just felt so uncomfortable being here. I was also very hungry. I didn't want to remind my mother or Gloria that we were invited to dinner still. The dinner was forgotten entirely by the both of them. I couldn't blame them, but my stomach could.

       As I waited, I took the time to go over everything Gloria had told us. Her story, Marcus's story... I didn't want to feel this way. Marcus didn't deserve my sympathy. He didn't deserve my mothers' sympathy. Yet, here I was... feeling sorry for him. The man who had broken my mother over and over was human once. Marcus had not been a monster his whole life, but the monster was all we knew. I wondered if my mother felt sorry for him as well.

       It had been almost an hour before my mother and Gloria emerged from the west wing. Gloria apologized for keeping my mother so long. I just smiled and told her that it wasn't a problem at all. She said that my mother would fill me in on the essentials. Gloria hugged me and rubbed my back. I hugged her back, unsure of what to make of it all. I still felt so out of place. As my mother gestured for me to follow after her out the door, Gloria told my mother, "You have my number. Call me if there's any trouble." I looked to my mother, tears in her eyes. She nodded with a smile before waving goodbye.

       As we started to drive off, I found it a little hard to peel my eyes away from the mansion. It was just so big. I imagine that most of the rooms are probably empty. What would someone put in that many rooms? They can't all be filled with beds. When we crossed the bridge, I cleared my throat and looked at my mother. She glanced at me for a second and then laughed a bit.

       "You wanna know everything we talked about, right?" She smiled again, making me more curious by the second.

       "That would be nice, yes." My mother laughed again. She let out a long sigh before reaching over to hold my hand while she drove.

       "She told me more about when Marcus was little. We talked about Emma and then we talked about the daughter. Apparently, she works and lives in our town. You know that diner by the library?" I nodded.

       "She told you where she worked?" My mother shook her head and made a face.

       "No. All she said was that Emma worked at a family-owned diner. I've been to this town many times looking for a job and I know there are no family-owned diners here. There are none in the next town over either. The only family-owned diner close to Gloria is the one in our town by the library. Which means that Gloria must be related to the owner somehow." I made a face at my mother for putting together the pieces like that. It was weird. My mother was too nosy sometimes. She always knew too much and never let anyone know what she knew. Sometimes when I was with Jill doing something we really shouldn't be doing, my mother seemed to always know what we were up to.

       "What else did she say?" She didn't answer at first. She just took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I could see she wanted to cry, but she was holding it in. She squeezed my hand gently.