Patrick clicked on his keyboard, and another photo popped up. Sandy had her keys out, and Paige was looking up at her with a smile on her face. The next showed them getting into Sandy’s Jeep, and then driving away. The slide show advanced, now showing Sandy and Paige sitting in the coach’s SUV, this time in my driveway. Several followed, in similar positions, before one had both occupants leaning forward and embracing.
The next was the two of them out of the car, followed by several of them walking into the house.
“The private investigator these came from confirmed they were in the house, alone as far as he could tell, for approximately an hour. I know this is probably upsetting to you.” His voice was kind, and he completely misread my befuddled expression. He crossed back to my side of the desk, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I want you to know there’ll be no repercussions for Paige, but we will need to talk to her.”
I finally found my voice. “Repercussions? What are you talking about? That doesn’t show them doing anything improper. And I was fully aware that they were together.”
“You were aware? That they were together, alone, for an entire hour? And you weren’t worried about what was happening?”
“Nothing was happening. I got home with Will and Charlie and they were making dinner.”
“And before that?”
“Paige was doing her homework. Paige and Sandy are not sleeping together.”
“And how can you be sure about that?” He gestured toward the pictures.
“I’m sure. You don’t have to take my word for it, Paige will tell you the same thing.”
“We have your permission to talk to her?”
“Of course, although I’ll be present anytime you do. I realize she’s eighteen, but I know you’ll respect my wishes on that.”
Patrick nodded. “Of course. I just,” he stopped speaking and moved back so he could sit down in his desk chair. “I have to admit I’m confused. I thought you’d be shattered, or angry, or, well anything else.”
“I take it this is why you suspended Sandy from coaching tonight?”
Patrick’s mouth opened in shock. “How?”
I felt a spike of fear. How could I explain why Sandy would call me? Now, writing this, I can come up with a couple of believable stories, but at the time, no chance. Should I admit to what was going on between Sandy and me? Would that get Sandy into trouble, too?
I mean, it’d be illegal to fire her just because she’s gay, wasn’t it? I thought so, but honestly I wasn’t sure. “Do you mind if I make a call?” I held up my cell phone. I hoped he would assume that I needed to call Bill.
He didn’t argue, just nodding. “I’ll go have them send Paige down.”
I thanked him, and he left the office, closing the door behind him. As soon as I heard it click shut I hit Sandy’s icon.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Sweetie.”
“Hey, I just got off the phone with Tom Martin. He wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“Well, don’t worry, I’ve got it figured out. Remember taking Paige home on Monday?”
“Sure.”
“Well, apparently someone was taking pictures of you. They caught you hugging in your car and then going inside the house.”
“Oh, god. Seriously? That’s it? So they think…”
“Yeah.”
“What do you want to do?”
I didn’t have to ask her what she meant. Looking from Principal Harrison’s perspective, those pictures were suspicious to say the least. A coach taking a player to her house, and then inside her home, without her parents being present, yeah, suspicious is the least of it. But a parent’s significant other picking up their child and taking her home? Nothing suspicious about that at all. The only question was did I have the courage to give that explanation?
“Melanie?”
“God, sorry, just things running through my head.”
“I know. I could hear you thinking. I’m so sorry about this.”
My brow crinkled. “You? You didn’t do anything. You’re not sleeping with Paige.”
She laughed, “No, I’m not.” She heaved a sigh. “Okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Hopefully we can clear these things up.”
We disconnected, and I sat back in the chair for a few seconds. Could I trust Patrick Harrison with something like this? I don’t think so. Especially if those pictures came from where I thought they did, he’d have to give answers as to why nothing was being done.
There was a knock on the door, and Principal Harrison poked his head back into the office. “Can we come in, Mrs. Pierson?”
I sat forward. “Yeah, of course.”
Patrick entered, with Paige following close behind. Her face, already worried, went into shocked terror when she saw me sitting there. “Mom? What’s going on? Is everyone okay? Is Dad okay?”
“Yes, Honey, everyone is fine, it’s not like that.”
Her body language relaxed for a brief moment, before realizing she was still in the principal’s office and tightening again.
“Paige, go ahead and have a seat.”
She did so, shooting me a look that asked what the hell was going on, as Principal Harrison crossed to the other side of the desk and sat in his office chair. “So Paige, the reason that your mom is here, and that we called you down, is well, um, I just want to say you’re not in trouble,” he held up his hands in a defensive posture. “But, well.”
I sighed and turned to Paige. “Honey, are you having sex with Coach Dalton?”
“What?! No! Of course not!” Paige’s face was beyond incredulous. I just nodded and turned back to a spluttering Patrick Harrison. I gave him an innocent, wide-eyed look that asked if there’s anything else.
“Well, I think that clears things up.” I made to stand up.
“Unfortunately, even if I believe that,” he held his hand to cut off my protest, “and I’m not saying I don’t, that doesn’t change the fact that this is inappropriate.” He pointed at his monitor
Paige turned to me. “What’s he talking about, Mom?”
I sighed. “Apparently someone was taking pictures of you when Sandy, I mean, Coach Dalton brought you home after practice Monday.”
“What? Why?”
“Think about it, Honey.” I turned back to Principal Harrison. “Patrick, if I told you that Sandra Dalton was a family friend, would that suffice?”
“It might, but I don’t know how much pressure I’m going to get from the top. And those photos weren’t sent only to me. They were sent to the police as well. And the Raleigh chief of police plays golf with Senator Perry.”
I gave him an incredulous look. “Why does that matter? Even if something were going on, they’re both adults.”
Patrick shook his head. “In North Carolina it’s a felony for any school employee to engage in sexual relations with a student. Age doesn’t play into it.”
I let that sink in for a second before a buzzer sounded on Patrick’s desk. He pressed a button and answered. “Yes?”
“Mr. Harrison, Sandra Dalton is here.”
Patrick looked at me. “Do you want me to put her in a conference room while you leave?”
Paige shot me a wide-eyed look that asked why I wasn’t just telling the Principal what was going on. I shook my head. “No, she can come in. I think we need to clear this up.”
Sandy entered when summoned, and I smiled at her as she sat next to me. “Okay, Patrick, show her the pictures.”
Principal Harrison went through another round of show and tell, and Sandy laughed it off. “That’s all? That’s what this fuss is about? I promise you there are far more damning pictures of me out there from my youth.”
“Your youth isn’t a concern, Coach Dalton, but you have to understand how this looks.” He thumbed towards the screen.
“It looks like I gave a player a ride home. And if giving a hug to one of my players is a crime, well, that’s a rule I’ll probably break on a regular basis.”
“But then you went into her home with her. I know, Mrs. Pierson told me you’re an old family friend. How long have you known each other? Bill never said anything that would indicate that had been the case.”
Sandy looked at me, and I sighed. “I never said she was an ‘old’ family friend, Patrick.” His look was concerned, and I glanced at Sandy, my eyes questioning.
She just shrugged. “It’s up to you.”
Patrick crossed his arms. “Ladies, what is going on?”
I sighed and looked down. I felt a hand slip into mine. Funnily enough, it was Paige’s. She just nodded, and I looked up at Patrick.
“We didn’t meet until the welcome dinner. But then we ran into each other at that new Ramen Noodle place and had a nice lunch.” I took a deep breath. “After that she asked me out to dinner, and we’ve been seeing each other ever since.”
Patrick’s mouth dropped open. “You mean like, seeing each other seeing each other?”
Sandy was looking at me with that soft smile, the one someone who’d only watched her play or coach probably wouldn’t have believed possible. But I’d seen it plenty of times. It was my smile, the one she gave only to me. Our fingers entwined, and Sandy turned back to Principal Harrison. “Yes. We were planning on keeping it quiet until at least the end of the season.” She quirked half a smile. “Didn’t want to be accused of favoritism. I guess that ship has sailed, huh?”
“I guess that would explain the other times your automobile has been placed at the Pierson house.”
I leaned forward. “Other times?”
Patrick shook his head. “It’s in the text portion of the email.” He buried his face in his hands for a moment. “Okay. I’ll let Tom Martin know that I’m lifting the suspension. I never told him what it was really about anyway. But I’m sorry to say that this likely isn’t over.”
Paige piped in. “Why not? You can’t fire Coach Dalton for being gay. It’s illegal, we learned about that in Civics.”
“I know that, young lady. I wouldn’t even if I could. But, unfortunately, it’s not always that simple.” He looked up at the clock. “Paige, have Ms. Ridge give you a note, you should be able to get back for most of last period. Mrs. Pierson, Coach Dalton, if you’ll hang on for a moment.”
He saw Paige out and spoke to his secretary for a moment before coming back inside and sat beside his desk. “Look, what I told Paige was true. I have family that are gay, an aunt, well, two aunts, I guess, and at least one nephew. I’ll keep this as quiet as I can, but you may have to come out to more than just me to eliminate any suspicion, and that will cause its own set of issues. Just think about it, and what you’re willing to do. I’ll see you at the match tonight.”
Sandy chuckled. “You mean you’re not going to the football game tonight?”
Patrick sighed. “I have a feeling I’ll be needed elsewhere.”
*****************