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“As far as she’s concerned, nothing happened in my classroom that probably hasn’t happened other times with other staff members. She even hinted she might have done the same thing when she was a teacher. She said she will do what she can to squash the rumors, and she thinks when it comes out that I helped to bring down Dr. Jansen, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Victoria said.
“You mean everything worked out? Everything’s okay? You get to keep your job, not only that, but you got tenure?” I asked.
“Yes. We did it!” Victoria threw her arms around me.
I wrapped my arm around her and held her close. I inhaled her scent and marveled at the incredible woman that was in my arms. As I did, I realized this was the first time we had been affectionate with each other in public.
“Victoria, you’re amazing. I knew you could do it.”
“We all did,” she said. She moved out of my embrace and turned to look at her mother. “I can’t thank you enough for all that you have done for me, for us.” Victoria reached over and took her mother’s hand.
“It was my pleasure. I was just glad that I could help you for once,” Samantha said.
“For once?” Victoria asked.
“Yes, you were always so strong and independent; you never needed me. Not even when you were a kid. It only increased as you got older. I never thought you would need me to help you with anything. So naturally, I jumped at the chance. I might not always have been the best mother, but I want to try and change that. I hope we can be involved in each other’s lives. Especially if you and Zach get married and have kids. Maybe I could do the grandkid thing better than the mother thing.”
“You would want to be called Grandma?”
“Oh, let’s not get carried away. Maybe Aunt Sam or Sam Mama,” Samantha said, and we all laughed.
“I would like that,” Victoria said.
“Me too,” Samantha said. “Well, Arturo is going to be here in a few minutes to pick me up. I would like you to meet him.”
“That would be lovely.”
“Okay. I’ll go wait for him over there and give you two some time to talk.”
She squeezed Victoria’s hand and gave her a slow, soft smile before walking away. Victoria and I watched her go before turning back to look at each other.
“What a difference a few hours make,” Victoria said.
“Yeah, who would have thought your mother would be so helpful and kind,” I said.
“I think you did; otherwise, you never would have gone to talk to her.”
“She hates my father; my father was the one doing this to us. I took a chance she would want to help simply to stick it to my father. I hadn’t counted on her being okay with keeping it quiet or doing as much as she did. She does care about you; I think she just had a hard time showing it.”
“I agree. I never would have imagined my mother and I could have a mother-daughter relationship, much less be friends, but I’m seeing that both could be a possibility. Though I hate that while my relationship with my mother has only improved, yours with your father is possibly damaged beyond repair.”
“He did that, not me. He wanted me to be someone that I’m not. He tried to manipulate me into being what he thought was what I wanted, but he was wrong. He never knew me. I thought he did, but he didn’t. Just like we didn’t think your mother knew you, but she does.”
“Not as well as you know me. I can’t believe you did all of this for me.”
“I love you. I want to be with you. I would do anything and everything I could for you. I hope you can see that. I would have done anything I could even destroy my own career, if that meant that you would be in my life. Nothing matters as much to me as you do, as the life that I want us to have together.”
“When this first happened, I wasn’t sure how you felt or what was going to happen. And I wasn’t ready to possibly throw away my career for something I wasn’t sure was going to last. But seeing how you’ve been, how you’ve stood by me, how much you’ve loved me through all of this mattered. I didn’t know what Dr. Reynolds was going to say when I walked into her office, but I knew if I had to choose between you and my career, there was no choice. I was going to choose you.”
“You have no idea how much that means to me to hear you say that. But what’s even better is that you didn’t have to. Neither one of us does.”
“What about your reality show? Will they be okay with you and me being together?”
“If they are, great. If not, that’s their loss because I won’t do it unless you are by my side. And I know you aren’t big on the limelight, so if you want to stay in the background, you can, or if you don’t want me to do it, I won’t. I only want to make you happy in whatever way that is. Because I do love you, Victoria Jackson, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.’
“Zach! I love you too, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you too. If you want to do the show, do the show. I’ll find a way to be okay with whatever they need me to do. Because I’m willing to do anything and everything I can to make you happy.”
“You already have,” I said and pulled her into my arms.
