Chapter 13

Jane stood, looking down at the sleeping patient in the hospital bed. She didn’t want to wake the woman up. That seemed rude. Jane didn’t like hospitals. They seemed too institutional. She decided to sit in a vinyl upholstered chair against one wall and wait.

What was going on in Jane Pendleton’s head was complicated. She loved her son, and anything that was important to him was important to her. She knew he loved choir. Now she had some “information” as to why he might love choir so much. The woman was beautiful, even lying in a hospital bed with a bruise on her forehead above one eye. Jane had never talked to her, but during concerts she smiled a lot. Jane felt that people who smiled a lot were generally trustworthy. So she could see how Bobby might respond to that. Or Bobby’s hormones, perhaps. She wasn’t worried about the crush. Boys had crushes. It was just the way the world was. Girls had them, too. She’d had her fair share when she was a girl. If Bobby had tripped this poor woman, that wouldn’t bode well for any decent future relationship. This woman had already been upset with him. She’d given him detention, after all.

No, it was best that she wait and try to smooth the waters with Miss Middlesex. A heartfelt apology, early in the course of events, could do a lot to make the road less bumpy in the future. Bobby did love singing. It would be a shame if he got kicked out of choir.

A nurse bustled in and woke Mindy to take vitals. She was businesslike and obviously didn’t think Mindy really needed her sleep. That was another reason Jane didn’t like hospitals. Doctors were constantly saying, “Get some rest,” but everyone else was doing everything possible to make it impossible to rest.

Jane’s personality made her feel protective.

When the nurse left, Jane stood up.

“Hello,” she said, softly. “I’m Jane Pendleton.”

Mindy’s face took on an aspect of wariness. Jane, who had made some correct assumptions, based on faulty information, “blundered” further down the path she was on. She assumed the woman was angry at the Pendleton family.

“We’re so sorry this happened,” said Jane, stepping right up to the bed. “I’m sure it was an accident. Bobby said he might have tripped you. He didn’t mean to, of course. He said he was dozing and you woke him up and he jerked.”

The wariness became confusion. For all intents and purposes, Mindy was fine. Her head hurt, but it wasn’t horrible. What this woman was saying, however, made no sense to her. Bobby hadn’t been sleeping. He hadn’t tripped her.

She’d had time, sequestered in her hospital room, to think about things. Without Bobby right there, she could analyze her feelings, peer at them from different directions, and ponder what was happening to her.

That man, Batiste, had used the wand on her and made her helpless. He’d come within a fraction of an inch, quite literally, of raping her. What he’d said, in those moments, suggested it would have gone beyond just one incident. He’d said he was going to enslave her. And, after he was dead, and his crimes began to come to light, there were girls and women who said he’d raped them multiple times. Some of the girls had become pregnant after multiple assaults.

Bobby had saved her from that fate. The gratitude she felt towards him, for that, was boundless. But she hadn’t slept with him out of gratitude. She hadn’t been thinking about Batiste at all when she took Bobby to her bed.

She took him to bed because she couldn’t stand not being in bed with him for another minute.

She wanted to blame the wand for this. She was sure it affected the user. It wanted to own the user, like the user wanted to own other people. Both of them had used it. Had it lowered her inhibitions?

She didn’t think so. She hadn’t felt the urge to be inappropriate with Bobby in public. She hadn’t wanted to get him alone at school, except to get him to talk to her. She’d noticed him at school, of course. She’d gotten horny at school. But she hadn’t gotten out of control.

She’d used the wand at school, to direct groups of singing students. It hadn’t made her want to have sex with all those students. Only Bobby made her feel that way. And the wand had been put away when they lost control. They hadn’t even used it since then.

The wand might have something to do with all this ... but it hadn’t made her take him to bed.

All that left were two possibilities. The first was that she was a slut who couldn’t control her desire for real sex, and broke every rule by getting some sex with a student. The second was that the emotions she had for this young man overpowered her ability to abide by society’s rules.

The second was ... that she loved him.

“Bobby didn’t trip me,” she said.

She went silent as she was confronted with the same problem Bobby had earlier had. She couldn’t explain what had happened, because telling the truth would get both her and Bobby in trouble.

“I see,” said Jane, who clearly didn’t see anything. “I’m glad.” She blinked. “I’m not glad this happened, but I’m glad Bobby didn’t cause it.”

“Thank you for coming,” said Mindy. That was what you said when you expected someone to leave. Maybe Mrs. Pendleton would get the hint and leave.

“Oh I had to,” said Jane. “We were so worried that Bobby might have accidentally hurt you. He really loves music.” To Jane, all this made sense. To a casual observer, one might wonder what loving music had to do with the accident.

To Mindy, what rushed into her injured brain was, ‘Well, I really love Bobby!’

“He’s a good singer,” said Mindy, feeling like she was sinking in a pool of water.

“Bobby’s very worried about you,” said Jane. She felt like it was her duty as both a parent and an adult to provide information that could be important, in terms of plans for the future. “Bruce and I think he might have a little crush on you.”

Mindy kept a harsh bray in, but it caused her to tense up. Jane misread that, as well.

“I’m sure it’s just a teenage boy thing. You are beautiful, and such a nice woman. I’m sure lots of boys have little crushes on you.”

Jane’s brainless nattering actually calmed Mindy, and she floated to the surface of the pond. The woman didn’t know anything. And she could imagine how Bobby might have reacted when she fell and lost consciousness. At least she hoped what she was imagining was true. She wanted Bobby to care.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I don’t mind. It’s kind of flattering, I suppose.”

“I’ll speak to him and try to nip this in the bud,” said Jane.

“Please don’t,” said Mindy. “I don’t want him to be embarrassed.”

“Do you think it’s wise for you to continue tutoring him?” asked Jane. “He’s doing much better in math, but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“The idea that Bobby Pendleton might have a crush on me doesn’t bother me in the least,” said Mindy, boldly. “He’s a fine young man. You’ve raised him well. I know I’m his teacher, but I like to think that we’ve become friends of a sort. These things work themselves out. I’m not worried about it.”

“Well, it is just a short time until graduation,” said Jane, who was feeling better and better. “After he graduates, he’s going to be a policeman. He’ll probably forget all about you.”

“After he graduates, it won’t be inappropriate for him to have a crush on me,” said Mindy, smiling. “He may forget all about me, but if he doesn’t then it won’t matter anyway.”

“I suppose that’s true,” said Jane. She was suddenly anxious to get home and tell Bruce he didn’t have to worry about being sued. In her relief, she didn’t think much about the fact that Mindy Middlesex had just said, for all intents and purposes, that she wouldn’t mind if Bobby Pendleton didn’t forget all about her after graduation.