A Heart of Gold

Chapter 24

"Hello."

My voice is too loud for the quiet room. I'm not sure why Jane has called for me or who these men are, but I can tell it isn't good. I look to her for a clue but I can't read her expression. She always projects a calm confidence, but right now it's anything but.

Usually welcoming and warm, her office now prickles with nervous electricity like a swarm of angry bees. Something hangs heavy and dark in the air. It swirls around me but I can't catch it, and I feel that everyone knows what it is but me.

The men are standing in front of Jane's desk and she is seated behind it. Rob Corey, our superintendent, clears his throat and starts again. "Miss Jacobs, this is Officer Bryant," he gestures to the man in uniform and I nod. "And these are the school district's attorneys, Mr. Hall and Mr. Sanchez."  No one moves to shake my hand. I am suddenly very aware of their crisp, pressed pants and the smeared frosting on mine.

"Hello." I say again, but sound weaker this time. I've met with Rob several times to get approval for the after-school care program, and never has he greeted me so formally.

Why do they want to talk to Harry, too? Is this about our relationship? I look again for reassurance from Jane. She knows about us, she knows that there is nothing improper going on. She likes Harry and approves of us, surely she'd have explained to them about all the money he has donated and all good things he has done here. So why do I feel like the sky is falling?

Rob takes a small step to his right. Jane lowers her eyes from mine and I follow them to the thick manila envelope sitting ominously in the middle of her otherwise empty desk.

Instantly, my stomach squeezes. I know what's in that envelope.

Fuck.

I am always so careful. God, I knew it... I warned him to stop. I was afraid of this, I knew this would happen.  We let ourselves get carried away, we gave in to it. What have we done? How stupid! My mind is like a flip book, flicking through a hundred different images of what it could be, what I wish it would to be. I want it to be literally anything other than what I know it is.

Officer Bryant walks behind the desk. He unceremoniously tugs at the bottom of the envelope and with a flick of his wrist the pile of glossy photos slides out. My throat goes dry. I hear them fan out across the desk with a whoosh but my eyes are closed. I can't look.

What can I even say?

Embarrassing news headlines, television soundbites and tweets flash through my mind in loud neon colors.

"Miss Jacobs, we'd like you to explain these photographs."

With a shaky hand I set down the plate I forgot I was holding. The cupcake flops over and rolls on its side. My feet feel like lead, but I drag them closer to the desk and rest my fingertips on the edge of it to steady myself. Slowly I open my eyes and try to focus on the pictures spread out before me. But rather than naked images of us on the deck of the beach house, I see Harry and me on the playground.

Relief washes over me like a cold waterfall and my lungs inflate with air again.

I find my voice and look at my audience. "Harry and I were on the playground, after school." I say simply. Almost happily.

Is this all? I know that I'm a very ordinary employee involved with a not-so-ordinary celebrity, but does our quiet relationship really warrant this much attention? Let me just explain that day to them so that these pictures can go back in the envelope and these men can go back to their offices.

"I see that."

But he leans heavily on the opposite side of the desk, his wide fingers spread flat on the surface. I feel like I've given the wrong answer. He seems to be expecting a different reaction from me so I look at it again, the tops of our heads almost touching as we both peer at the same photo. He looks up at me, expectantly, from under heavy brows. His voice is flat, but the bees in the room have not stopped buzzing. "Is he often violent toward you?"