Chapter 24: Adjusting

Irene Castillo stood up from behind her desk and reached over the little wooden block reading “Principal” to shake Leah’s hand.

“I must say, I’m surprised to see you. Didn’t we kick you out of middle school years ago with a near-perfect grade point average?”

“I’m not here for me, Dr. Castillo; I’m here about Tania Bailey, my sister.”

“Really? Technically, I’m supposed to only discuss our students with their parents, not their siblings. So, why are you here?”

This time, Leah came prepared with their guardianship order from the judge. She explained the circumstances of their being orphaned and the new living arrangements.

“I see. Well, let’s get into it. I’ve called up her records on my display; she has three absences now, and we have no excuse on file. What can you tell me?”

By this point, Leah had a good understanding of how her little sister’s sudden illness had come on so quickly. In a couple of minutes the principal had the whole story.

“So, my sister is still in the hospital and there’s a truckload of antibiotics going into her arm. She’s terribly weak, and I can’t stop worrying. At least they’ve moved her out of the critical care unit to a room, which is helpful.”

“No estimate for when she might return?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Even then, we might be looking at home-schooling her for the remainder of the school year.”

“Let’s see how her recovery goes. I can set up accommodations for her; there’s a whole list of them at my disposal.”

A couple of hours later, Val is crouched on her front porch retying her running shoes. Being so new, they still weren’t quite broken in. Just as she was standing back up, Abel came jogging up.

After a brief kiss, “How is Nia?”

“They say she continues to improve, but I haven’t been able to visit her.”

“I know I’m probably going to mess up, but I need to ask anyway. This sounds like good news, but according to your face, it’s terrible. As usual, I don’t understand.”

“It’s my fault.”

“I don’t understand. How could you give your sister an infection? Didn’t you tell me it was from her pee, uh, her urine?”

“Listen, Abel. You must forget I told you that. I wasn’t being careful with her privacy. What I did was this. I watched her get sicker and sicker without telling, without saying anything to Leah or to Andrew. Even though I’m in the same bedroom with her. I didn’t help her when she needed it.”

“I can’t speak for Nia, only myself. But I think when she gets home, she won’t blame you. When she gets home, we’re going to have a little party for her, according to Fernanda.”

“That’s a great idea.”

“She says we need to get her another cake since she didn’t have a bite of yours at the party. Alright then, let’s get going. Exercise fixes all problems; that’s what my mother says.”

Val did feel a little better, but she set a punishing pace. When they reached their clear spot deep in the grove of pines, Abel flung himself down, wheezing.

“Are you, ah, trying, ah, to kill me?”

“Don’t whine, Abel. I’m building up your endurance for when I have my way with you.”

“First, you punish me for no reason. Second, you tease me with false promises. What have I done this time?”

“You haven’t done anything, that’s the problem.”

“Huh?”

“If your breath has returned, where’s my kiss?”

“Oh, OK. Mnph!”

“I really did tire you out. Want to try again? Mnph. That’s better. One of these days...”

“Oh, now you’re teasing me again.”

“Of course, I am, boyfriend. The time will come when you’re going to come to the aid of your party, that is, ME. Now stand up, fix your shorts so you don’t fall out of them, and follow my bouncing butt back home.”

“Valerie Bailey!”

“Oh, don’t give me that bullshit. It’s only a matter of time before you’re another notch on my bedpost.”

“ANOTHER notch?!”

“You really need to understand when you’re being teased. Just get up, rearrange yourself, and let’s go.”

She didn’t stare, but she was confident in what she had seen and turned away. Abel’s face was blazing red as he reached under his waistband and corralled the savage beast within. When Val heard the rustling of his clothing stop, she started running home, assuming he would be following her ass closely.

Which, of course, he did.