Page 27 of Touch of Class

“No?” Izzy eyebrows scrunched together. “She said you went to school together.”

“We did. You’re right. We didn’t know each other well then. We still don’t.”

“She said that, too, and you weren’t friends, and you were very different people.” Izzy scanned her up and down quickly, as if taking in Gillian’s business attire. “I guess that’s probably true still.”

“Probably.” Gillian did laugh lightly that time, then couldn’t resist asking, “What else did she say about me?”

Izzy shrugged. “Sometimes different can be a good thing.”

Gillian nodded. She hadn’t expected that. She hadn’t expected anything, but if she’d had to guess, she would’ve thought Daphne would’ve mocked her or complained about Gillian at home. Gillian certain had done plenty of both over the last two weeks.

Had Daphne’s more polite assessment been for Gillian’s benefit or for Izzy’s? She didn’t know which option she preferred. Either Daphne was being kind for Gillian’s sake, or she’d stowed her own opinion because she was more dedicated to parenting by example than by taking easy digs.

Gillian blew out a heavy exhale.

“Sorry if I’m talking too much,” Izzy said quickly. “I don’t want to interrupt your work. It’s probably super important, and I hate when people pull me away from important work.”

Gillian’s more genuine smile tried to rebound.

Apparently, Daphne didn’t just have a daughter. She had an awesome daughter, and Gillian was never so set in her ways she couldn’t be pleasantly surprised by human complexity. “You didn’t pull me off task at all, but thank you for the reminder, because apparently I do still have some important work left to do.”

Eight

“Why the fuck did it have to be Gillian?” Daphne muttered to herself, not for the first time. Three other therapists worked in that office, and surely plenty of clients came and went, too, but to hear Izzy tell it last night, Gillian had been the only person for miles, or maybe the only person Izzy deemed worth talking to, and damned if that didn’t annoy Daphne to no end.

It wasn’t like this was the first time she’d had to listen to someone gush about the woman who set her own teeth on edge, but it was the first time she’d had to face her own daughter extolling Gillian’s many virtues. To date, Izzy had expressed her admiration for Gillian’s intelligence, her wit, her ability to help with algebra, and her generosity to do so. And if that wasn’t enough, Gillian had also managed to look flawless while doing so, because Izzy mentioned her suit, heels, and hair several times. Apparently, being able to explain the nuances of the distributive property without looking even slightly mussed was quite an accomplishment.

“I’ve heard of the distributive property,” Daphne mumbled as she pulled a wad of clean sheets out of the back of her car. She’d been in the same algebra class as Gillian, even if she hadn’t retained the information at the same level of recall the valedictorian obviously possessed.

Straightening up, she blew an errant curl out of her eyes and kicked the door shut behind her as the self-recriminations tried to push in. What kind of horrible mother wouldn’t be grateful that such a supposedly stellar human had freely given her time and vast expertise to help her kid when she couldn’t?

Why was she giving voice to such a silly internal monologue when she’d gotten Izzy to fencing last night, then fed, then to bed and up again before sending her off to school in a good mood? So what if Gillian’s involvement had been partially responsible for the shift? That should’ve engendered positive emotions instead of dread at the prospect of running into the woman who’d undoubtedly already been at the office for two hours.

She fumbled with the outer door, both because her hands were full, and because of the fall breeze barreling between buildings in downtown Buffalo, but as soon as she was safely inside, she shook the negativity from her system. She maintained a policy of good vibes only once she entered her office. Energy work was often as important as physical labor, and she didn’t want to defile her sanctuary with pettiness, so she paused at the door and took a few deep breaths before movement across the hall caught her eye.

Glancing through the window of the waiting room door, her gaze landed on Gillian standing at the coffee maker with a tablet in her hand and her chin tilted down as she studied the screen. Daphne allowed herself the rare chance to observe her unguarded for a moment. She was dressed to the nines in off-white slacks and a matching blazer over a navy blue silk shell as she stood casually with one hip cocked slightly to the side, looking every bit like a woman who’d always been comfortable in her own body.

Daphne had to admit, if only to herself, she envied Gillian that. What it must be like to move through the world so sure of your place in it? Not that she didn’t have her own confidence, but she’d worked hard for it, and at times still struggled to maintain it amid all the forces conspiring to shake her. Especially in moments when she struggled to keep up with work and life and parenthood, only to have her high school archnemesis swoop in and wow her kid while she wasn’t looking.

Ugh. She shook her head and told herself she’d feel entirely different if it had been anyone but Gillian. It was bad enough that every teacher and student through all their years in school was so taken with her, and now twenty years later, the collection of amazing colleagues at her new business were also enamored the same way. Was it too much to ask that her own flesh and blood not jump headfirst into the cult of Gillian DeGarmo?

As if sensing her own name being taken in vain, Gillian looked up.

Whoops, caught.

Daphne froze as Gillian pushed open the door.

“Can I help you?”

She didn’t want to admit she’d been struck by the sight of her, so Daphne blurted, “I was hoping for some coffee.”

It wasn’t a total lie. She did need to caffeinate, but as Gillian glanced down at the bedding clutched to Daphne’s chest, she felt a little silly for not doing things in a different order. “I can come back later, after I drop these off, so I don’t interrupt you.”

“Might be easier to handle hot liquids with two free hands, but it’s no interruption. This is a communal space. Feel free to come and go as you please.”

“Thanks.” It wasn’t exactly a warm welcome, but still an improvement on their earlier interactions, a turn Daphne felt a grudging need to reciprocate. “And thanks for helping Izzy with her homework last night. I’m sorry if she was an imposition.”

“Not at all.” The hint of a smile played at Gillian’s lips. “You may remember I quite enjoy math problems.”