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Sam frowned. “Saw him… doing what?”
“Nothing, really, but he and that blonde skank at the front desk looked awfully cozy in his classroom when I went down there on Thursday, sitting on the piano bench together, giggling like schoolchildren.”
“Rachel?” Sam asked, even though she knew exactly who the “blonde skank” in question was.
Kelly nodded.
“Oh, Kelly, I’m sorry,” Sam said, trying to figure out what to say that would comfort her colleague but not reveal that she knew beyond a reasonable doubt that Mike was sleeping with Rachel.
“Why are you sorry?” Kelly laughed again, sounding a bit unhinged. “It’s not your family being torn apart. It’s not you who’s gonna have to tell your children why Daddy is moving out. It’s not your life being upended or you becoming a single parent.”
Sam flinched; both the words and the bitter tone Kelly used cut right to the quick. Glancing over at the children and Edith, who had moved onto the next booth over and were throwing darts at balloons to try and win a stuffed banana wearing sunglasses, Sam decided it was time to come clean. Those kids deserved to know the truth so they could start healing. Kelly should know the truth so she can make the right decisions for her kids. Sam shouldn’t have to carry around the secrets of others or be threatened by people she works with. It was time.
“Kelly,” she started, finally meeting her troubled blue eyes. “I’ve seen Mike and Rachel. Together.”
Kelly let out a pathetic whimper, covering her mouth with one hand.
Sam hated herself for hurting Kelly, but she also felt an intense rush of relief come over her. The more she spoke, the louder the buzzing and static in her ears became, and she felt like she was floating just above the ground as fear and anxiety gripped her, the uncertainty of Kelly’s reaction and the aftermath of the admission causing her to panic.
Sam felt her lips moving and knew she was speaking as she told Kelly about the incident after trunk or treat, their threats and implications at the faculty meeting and again after the PTA meeting, what Rachel did to her grant application, and how she was so, so sorry.
“I should’ve told you the second I found out. I’m sorry I didn’t. If there’s anything I can do to help—”
Kelly held up a hand, stopping her. “No, thank you. I’ll… I’ll talk to you later.”
Straightening her shoulders, Kelly called over to her mother and asked her to take the kids home and keep them for the night, claiming she had a headache.
Edith, a mother who knew better but didn’t want to push her daughter, agreed and ushered the kids toward the parking lot.
“Kelly,” Sam started, but she stopped talking when Kelly shook her head.
“I need some time.” Kelly turned and walked away, moving along the backs of the booths so no one could see her as she disappeared.
Sam sat down with a huff in Aero’s vacated chair, covering her face with her hands.
“Sammy? What’s wrong?”
Aero had returned, feeling better now that he’d processed his feelings brought on by seeing so many happy families and parents spending time with their children. He’d taken a walk around the soccer field, focusing on his footsteps, the sound of the grass, dirt, and gravel beneath his boots, the rhythm of his gait, and the feeling of stretching his legs to ground himself. It was another coping strategy that he and Dr. Byrd had come up with, and it was the first time he’d tried it in public. It had been successful, which excited him, but when he came back to the booth to tell Sam about it, he’d found her slumped over and upset.
Kneeling on the ground in front of her, he gently removed her hands from her face. “Talk to me, honey. What’s going on?”
“I told her,” Sam whispered, locking eyes with him. “Kelly. I told her about Mike.”
“Oh.” Aero was surprised. He had missed the whole thing, walking the perimeter of the entire field and being unable to see Sam through the crowds and booths. He thought Sam had decided to stay quiet about it and let nature run its course.
“She’s really upset,” Sam murmured. “I don’t know where she went.”
Aero sighed, brushing Sam’s hair back behind her shoulders. “Do you wanna close up shop here? I saw a few other people picking up. I can take you home.”
Sam shook her head. “I promised I’d stay and help clean up after.”
Aero smiled. Ever the worker-bee, his Sammy. “All right. Are you okay? Can I get you anything?”
“No,” she said with a sigh. “I’m gonna dig through the candy bowl and find a Tootsie Pop, though.”
“There you go.” Aero chuckled, patting her knees before standing and starting to pick up the rings that had been left on the bottles.
Sam was counting the money in the cash box, flipping the bills so they all faced the same way when a ruckus across the field caught her attention.
