Mama Tiger

Chapter 18.

Chapter 18.

"Okay," said Lena. "I'll swing by to pick up my order at about three-thirty. Thank you!" She said goodbye to the florist and hung up just as there was a knock at her office door.

"Yeah?" she called. "It's open!"

She gasped when her son came into her office, with a bluish bruise forming around his right eye. "Jesus," she gasped. "Honey, what happened?"

He set a slip on her desk, and she picked it up and groaned. "A fight? Jesus, why?"

He sat down hard in the chair across from her desk, looking down. "That punk, Kevin, was giving me a hard time about my shaved head," he admitted. "Everyone knows why I shaved it. He just pissed me off, and I snapped. I'm sorry, Mama. It won't happen again."

"You're right, it won't," Lena warned. She rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "There's no sense in sending you home now. School will be out in half an hour."

"Are you mad?" he asked, sheepishly.

"Yes," she told him. "You know I don't want you fighting. But... I know your heart was in the right place. Doing what you did for Mom took a lot of guts. More than most of us have." She'd been feeling guilty on and off since Stef had lost her hair, struggling with feeling like she should shave her own head, like Jesus had, for the sake of solidarity. But when it came down to it, she couldn't do it. Her stomach ached at just the thought.

"So, I'm off the hook?" Jesus asked, hopeful.

"No," she replied. "You have lunch detention for two days, and you're grounded for two weeks. Starting tomorrow, because we need your help for Mom's special night tonight."

He nodded. "Okay. That's fair. But Kevin is getting punished too, right? I mean, he started it."

"Yes, he" she assured him. "But just for the record, I don't care who started it. You both know that we don't tolerate fighting at Anchor Beach. Now, I want you to go to the nurse and get an ice pack for that eye. I don't know how we're going to explain this to your mother."

The remainder of the day passed by quickly, and before she knew it, Lena and the kids were at the florist, picking up the dozen roses she'd ordered for Stef. "Thank you so much," she said, handing the cashier some money. She sniffed the bouquet while she waited for her change.

"Here you go," said the cashier, handing her a few bills. She thanked her and they left.

When they got home, she turned to the kids. "You guys go in first, and make sure the coast is clear. Mariana, text me when it is."

"Got it," Mariana assured her, unbuckling her seat belt."

"This is kind of fun," said Jude. "Like a secret mission."