Page 125 of Mr. B

“What I need is to go to the walk-in and cry.”

She smiled. “I’ll go with you.”

“I think I’m okay. I can control it.”

They crossed the room to a table with Justin, Lucia, Marti, Milo, and his parents. Kai was in a highchair, and the other kids were in the game room.

Wes sat down. “I can’t believe this.”

John laughed. “Cassandra expected a pretty good turnout, but not like this. I had to go borrow tables from the Rotary Club for the folks outside.”

Allie handed Wes three pieces of paper. “Everyone here signed this petition to have you reinstated.”

“I’m not sure that’s how these things work.”

John smiled. “Son, they can’t ignore this kind of support.”

Aaron came up to the table. “Mr. B?”

“Hi, Aaron.”

“I want you to know that I’ve been trying to convince my dad to drop this thing.”

“Thank you.”

He picked up a pen. “I’d like to add my name to the petition.”

“I appreciate it.”

“And I will tell anyone who needs to hear it that eating those berries was my idea. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.” He signed at the bottom of the petition. “I think that’s the last one.”

“Not quite.” Stu came up behind Aaron. “Give me that pen, son.”

Aaron handed the pen to Stu. He signed his name, then put a hand on Wes’ shoulder. “Go take your office back on Monday.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, and have Polly email that petition to my office Monday morning. I’ll make sure the trustees see it. Along with Aaron’s accounting of the events.”

“Thank you, Stu.”

“You’ve got to give the people what they want. Besides, Ryan Thomas is a pain in the ass. No wonder he never made it past vice principal.” He held up a hand. “You all have a good night. I’m going to get some pizza before my grandkids eat it all.”

Cassandra turned to Wes and hugged him. He smiled, then leaned in and kissed her. “They can’t fire me now.”

“Well, in that case.” She kissed him again.

Justin put a slice of pizza on a plate and moved it in front of Wes. “Aren’t you glad I had you shower now?”

“Thanks for looking out for me, brother.” Wes took a bite of his pizza. “So, how long have you all known about this?”

Allie smiled. “Cassandra gave us a heads-up at the beginning of the week. Then it started getting a little crazy, and she needed some help.”

“And you all kept it from me.”

Justin stood. “A couple of my deputies are here for crowd control. Not that we need it. I’ll go see that they get some pizza.”

Allie took a sip of her iced tea. “Honey, why are you using your cane again?”