“Hmm. Have you told your teacher?”
I watched from my spot in the kitchen.
“No. He said if I did everybody would hate me cuz I’d be a tattletale.”
Dad lifted her chin using his index. She looked at him now. “I’m going to tell you a story, okay? Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She was being hurt by a mean boy in her school, but her daddy told her never ever to be a bully. And not to let herself be bullied either. Do you understand what a bully is?”
“No.”
“A bully is someone who pushes others around, by words or actions. They aren’t nice people.”
“Is Jeremy a bully?”
“Yes, peanut, he is. And if someone doesn’t stand up to him, he’ll always be a bully.”
“What happened to the little girl?”
Dad grinned. “One day she went to school and when the mean boy went to push her, she turned around and pushed him back instead. Then she went and told the teacher what was happening. The mean boy was moved to a different class.”
“He was?”
“Yes, he was. And no one allowed him to bully them anymore because the word had spread.”
“The word?” She stared intently at him with her brows scrunched.
“Yes, the word was that a little girl had pushed him down. She stood up for herself. Everyone realized he wasn’t so scary after all and after that, he stopped being a bully.”
Easton frowned. “But isn’t it bad that she pushed him?”
“Yes, it was, but she had to stand up for herself or he would’ve kept on doing it. She also had to tell the teacher so the teacher could do something.”
“That was good then, right?” Her grin had me smiling.
“It was, because it taught him a lesson that he shouldn’t bully anyone. Bullying is very bad and wrong. Do you understand?”
“I think so.”
“Peanut, your teacher needs to know about how mean Jeremy is. If she doesn’t, he’s going to be mean always, and when he gets older, it’ll be worse.”
Easton nodded.
“Do you want Mommy and me to go to school with you so you can tell your teacher about him?”
“Will all the kids hate me?” Her eyes shone with fear.
“No, sweetie, they’ll love you for it. Do you know why? They won’t have to be afraid of him anymore either.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” Then he tickled her. “Have I ever lied to you?”
“No, sir.”
“Then you can count on me this time.”
Thank God for Dad. He flipped on the TV to her favorite channel and came over to me. “I’ll go with you when you take her to school in the morning. Now, it’s your turn, young lady. What’s this about Stuart?”
Chapter Three
English
Dad’s eyes gouged into mine. His stubbornness revealed itself as he refused to leave until I explained.
“We ran into him at the grocery store. I was shocked to see him there.”
“And?”
What more was there to say? Oh, yeah, no use leaving out the worst part. “He wants to see Easton. To get to know her.”
Dad flattened his palms on the counter. “Absolutely not. After what he did to you?”
“I reminded him of that.”
“English, please tell me you’re not considering it.”
“I, uh—”
“For God’s sake, listen to me. He beat you to the point where you had to go to the hospital. Are you willing to put yourself in that position again?”
“Of course not. Only he said he’d changed. And judging by his appearance, he has.”
“I’m sure he did. But one thing is true. A zebra will not lose its stripes. That man isn’t to be trusted. He wasn’t then and he isn’t now.”
“Can I ask you something? What if my mother had never given you the chance to see me?”
Dad grimaced. “It was different for us. I didn’t abuse her, for one. Two, I didn’t even know about you until you showed up on the doorstep.”
“But what if? What if you weren’t given that chance?”
“My God, English, you know the answer to that. You were my everything and turned out to be the catalyst for the rest of my life.”
“Exactly, and that keeps replaying itself in my head.”
“My situation and yours are entirely different.”
“But are they? I worry if I don’t give Stuart a chance, Easton will miss out too.”
“She won’t if she doesn’t know the truth.”
Groaning, I said, “Is that even fair? Eventually, she’ll have to know and then will she resent me for not telling her?”
“Fine. Tell her, but I’m begging you not to allow that man back into your life. It’s only going to cause you trouble.”
“Dad.”
“English.”
We were at a stand-off.
“Munchkin, I love you too much to see you get destroyed by him.”
“You can’t know that.”
“Please, all I ask is you trust me on this.” His eyes implored me.
“I’ve always trusted you, but you never liked him from the start.”
“And for good reason.”
Maybe he was right, but something nagged at the back of my heart. I kept thinking about how I would feel if the positions were reversed. Not knowing the beauty of Easton would be like not having oxygen in my life.
“Looks like I’m not going to change your mind tonight.”
“I’m only thinking about it.”
“I have to go. Your mother was cooking dinner when I left.”
“Dad, promise me you won’t say anything to her.”
“I’ll do no such thing. She’s my wife and my life. I have to tell her.”
A rush of air blew out of me. “Okay, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. And thank you for coming over.”
He brushed my hair back from my face, as he had done since I was a little kid. “I’ll always be here for you, no matter what. Just remember that. I love you, munch.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
We hugged hard.
He snapped his fingers. “By the way, I’m interviewing a photographer tomorrow morning at ten. I’d like you to be there.”
“I will. Does he have a specialty?”
“He does. Metro and people, but wants to expand into nature.”
“That’s great. It would get you off those jobs so you can take more of the nature ones.”
“Yup, if he’s skilled enough. I’d also like him to accompany me on some nature shoots, if he wants. It’s always good to have another set of eyes out there. What he sent over looked great, so let’s hope.”
Dad met me at school in the morning and the three of us went inside. We went to Easton’s classroom, and I stuck my head inside the door and asked Mrs. Leonard if we could talk to her. She came into the hall and I explained the situation. Easton clung to my dad’s hand as I spoke.
“The situation has gotten intolerable and it has to stop,” I said.