Chapter 49

3:30 p.m. Thursday

Andy got out of his car and was surprised that no one came out of the house to greet him. The few times he'd arrived at the Riley household someone had greeted him in the driveway – alerted by the fact someone entered the security code, Andy suspected.

This time, he walked to the door and rang the bell. It opened almost immediately and a thin, middle-aged Hispanic woman stood in front of him.

"Mr. Andy," she said in heavily accented English. "Please come in. Mister and Missus are out back. They asked that I direct you there."

"Thank you," Andy said politely in Spanish. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name. We haven't been introduced. I'm Andy Drayton."

The woman beamed at him. Regan had spent the previous weekend conversing with her in her native tongue – but not as ably as this young man did.

"Esperanza Gomez," she said.

"It's my pleasure, Esperanza," Andy replied. "That is a lovely name."

"Thank you," the housekeeper said, blushing slightly. "If you would please follow me?"

Andy hadn't seen the back of the property – except through the kitchen window. Regan had described it to him and promised him a tour the next time they were there together. Andy emerged onto the back patio and found Rita and Robert coming out of the pool, laughing at each other.

"Would you like a refreshment?" Esperanza asked.

"No, thank you," Andy replied with a smile. He couldn't wait for Friday so he could tell Mrs. Herrera that he'd been able to converse with someone fluent in the language. "I hope you have a wonderful evening, Esperanza."

"Thank you, Mr. Andy," she said in English.

"It's just Andy," he said softly. "When I leave here, I'm headed to a sweaty job in a warehouse. I'm not different from you – and I never will be."

The housekeeper had overheard many of the discussions in the household that revolved around this young man. Now she understood why the Rileys usually referred to him as "genuine."

"Thank you, Andy," said Esperanza correctly. "I hope you have a nice evening, too."

"I just told you where I'm headed," Andy said with a laugh. "So that pretty well rules out a nice evening. But I'll have a nice evening tomorrow just because you hoped for it."

The housekeeper was chuckling to herself when Rita and Robert came walking up. Robert wore a pair of knee-length swim trunks. Rita had wrapped a towel around her waist but wore a red bikini top above her waist. Andy was astounded at how fit both of the Rileys looked. His mother kept slim because she worked all the time and food was scarce sometimes. Andy was fit because of his work at the warehouse. The Rileys obviously worked hard to keep their shapes. He thought Rita's figure boded well for Regan's in the future and found himself smiling again.

"A good-looking woman in a bikini always puts a smile on my face, too," Robert said conspiratorially. Rita gave her husband a slap on the arm but was obviously pleased at the compliment.

"We lost track of time, Andy," Rita said.

"It's no problem," Andy replied. "It looked like you were having fun."

"We were," Robert replied. "We needed a little relaxation after the morning we had."

"And the evening we had," Rita added. "We believe the situation is under control and I'm thankful we didn't have to post bail for you."

"We would have, by the way, but I'm happy we didn't need to," Robert said, laughing.

Andy looked from Rita to Robert with confusion written on his face.

"Have you spoken to Regan recently?" Rita asked.

"Briefly," Andy said. "I was going to call her when I left here. She's had a couple of tests this week and I think she's playing catch up on some of the studying she missed earlier in the semester."

Robert and Rita exchanged glances and slight nods.

"Regan was accused of cheating on an exam yesterday," Rita said gravely.

"That's crazy," Andy said, shaking his head. "I quizzed her. I had chemistry last year. She didn't need to cheat. She knew it."

"Yes, she did," Robert confirmed. "We suspect, although we cannot prove, that it was a power play by the headmistress. Regan has been..."

"A handful," Rita supplied when Robert's voice trailed off.

"I've heard," Andy said with resignation. "So the headmistress saw a way to make life tough for her and took it. I hate people like that."

"I know you do," Rita said. "I learned that firsthand."

Andy blushed as the scene from his first visit to the house came into his head.

"Don't apologize!" Robert said firmly.

"I still feel like I should," Andy said sheepishly.

"You saved us," Rita said. "Today ... we can play around in the pool because you stood up to me. Just as importantly, you taught Regan to stand up for herself. She's been doing it here and she's doing it at school. You taught her that it's OK to protect someone. She took an interest in ensuring the scholarship students are treated equitably long before she understood how much this family has to do with it. Now, she sees something unjust, she plants her feet and fights it. That's what she did last night. I'm very proud of her."

"As am I," Robert added. "At the same time, she learned recently that it's OK to ask for assistance if you need it. You came to us for help with Lupe Fuentes. You went to your friend, Rico, for help at the school. Last night, Regan called us for help."

"And for once, we were there," Rita said. "I know she could have called you and you would have been there, too."

"You are far better equipped to lend assistance," Andy said. "Believe me, this week has taught me my limitations. I could have yelled and screamed but I can finally admit when I'm out of my element."

"Well, we did our fair share of yelling and screaming," Robert said. "I will admit that I was irate."

"And we got angrier when we understood the situation entirely," Rita continued. "The head mistress has a vendetta – against Regan and against us. She planned to keep Regan from graduating. She would have been suspended and then expelled."

"Yeah, right," Andy said, rolling his eyes. "You would have bought the school, fired them all and closed it down."

He suddenly realized he was speaking aloud and turned scarlet.

"We would have done our best," Robert said, laughing and patting Andy on the back.

"If it had come to that, we would have made far more noise than we did," Rita agreed. "Since you have entered Regan's life, I find I trust her more. I believed her absolutely when she told me that she didn't cheat. A year ago? Probably not."

"But it's resolved?" Andy asked.

"For now," Rita said. "The headmistress has been permitted to retire – effective immediately. The board president's wife is going to serve as headmistress for the remainder of the semester and through the summer. We have agreed to provide funds for the board to seek a top-flight administrator to fill the post next year and for a consultant to come in to analyze the grading procedures and the curriculum. There are those at the school who are unhappy – including the teacher that made the original accusation."

"How did she manage to keep her job?" Andy wondered.

"She was like Rita when she got out of the pool," Robert said with a smile. "She covered her ass immediately!"

"Robert!" Rita said, eyes wide.

"Well, you did," her husband replied. "You made a beeline for the towel just like Emily Greyston headed for the first cover she could find."

"The instructor said that it was all a misunderstanding," Rita said, still shaking her head. "She said she brought the grade to the headmistress' attention solely to point out that Regan had not succumbed to 'senioritis.'"

"Well, she hasn't," Andy admitted, "but it still sounds like a crock to me."

"Indeed," Robert said, nodding his agreement. "But no one can prove it's not the case. C-B is non-union but she does have tenure there. It will require more than supposition to remove her. Still, she got hers."

"I believe she wished to be the next headmistress," Rita explained. "That isn't going to happen."

"And Regan is out of there in a month," Andy said.

"Three weeks," Robert said. "There is a week between the last exam and graduation. The school claims it's so the instructors can have time to submit final grades. We all know it's just so they can have an extra week without the kids and still get paid."

"That's cool," Andy said. "I have the same week off. Seniors end a week earlier than the rest of the school. We have a few things we have to do but it's mostly free until Friday night."

"Well, you're welcome to spend your respite out here," Rita offered.

"Don't do it!" Robert said. "Regan has already asked if Joy and Ruth can stay here that week. If you're free, I'd imagine that Elizabeth will be here, too. Oh, and Rita. I plan to run for the hills that week. You'll join me if you're half as smart as I think you are."

Regan had mentioned a camping trip but he doubted that she'd leave Joy and Ruth at the house alone.

"While I'm here, I'd like to invite you both to join my parents for dinner Saturday night before prom," Andy said. "Evan – my father – has a banquet room set aside."

"We'd love to," Robert said.

"I've been looking forward to meeting your mother for some time," Rita agreed. "And, of course, your father, too."

"Could you, perhaps, act as a conduit to invite Joy and Ruth's families?" Andy inquired.

"Do you want them to actually come or just be invited?" Robert asked, rolling his eyes. "Personally, I'd go for the latter if I were you."

"They will be welcome if they come," Andy answered diplomatically.

"If anything that Regan has told me about your mother is true, they'll be welcome for about six seconds," Rita replied. "But, to answer your question, I would be willing to do that. I need to speak to them about the graduation party Regan wants to throw. May I use your father's title?"

"That's fine," Andy said. "Uh, actually, my grandmother, the Dowager Countess Smithfield, will be there, too. She is flying in tomorrow and will stay through my graduation."

"Lovely!" Rita said, smiling broadly. She had learned what Camille's mother had done and it had pained her to read it. Both her parents and Robert's parents adored Regan. She couldn't imagine how terrible it must have been to have gone so many years with a grandmother. "I'll be sure to invite her to our little party here. While we're exchanging favors, I have to ask one of you. I understand that you're friends with Katrina Littledove."

"Yes but that was years ago," Andy admitted.

"Perhaps you could convince the Littledoves to attend the graduation festivities here?" Rita asked hopefully.

"Oh, I am not sure you want me to do that!" Andy said with a small chuckle. "Mr. Littledove has accused me of corrupting his daughter since we were four."

"I believe you'll eventually corrupt Regan and I still like you," Robert cut it. It earned him another light slap on his arm from his wife.