Slow Ride (Riding with Honor) (2 page)

“Apology accepted,” Susan said to her with a smile as Tina walked on through the doorway without looking back.

After both teachers left the room Dana sat down next to Gretchen.

“You will also learn that even when you
are
nice and do the right thing that sometimes it goes unnoticed, but you must keep being nice because it makes
you
the better person,” she said.

After not getting a response she continued
, “Now shall we discuss which one of us will do each activity today before the other students arrive?”

“You want me to help you teach class?” Gretchen asked incredulously.

“Not teach necessarily, but I don’t have a classroom aide so those tasks will fall to the student leader.  I’m new so you can’t expect me to know everything my first day.  That is the
purpose
of a student leader,” she explained.

The child’s body relaxed
as her arms found the table and she leaned in towards Dana.  Knowing she now had Gretchen’s full attention and interest she said, “I was thinking if you can handle getting the other students to pick up the toys and books after play time both this morning and this afternoon, I will take care of the bathroom breaks and drinks… deal?”

“I can do more
things than that,” Gretchen said as though offended at the few tasks she was needed for.

“Like what things?  Can you take papers to Anita…I mean Mrs. Hargrove during the day when I need you to and then come straight back to class?” she asked.

“Sure,” Gretchen said.

“I’m sure other things will come up throughout the day and even through this week that I wasn’t expecting.  We will just have to play it by ear, but I think that is a good start.  Oh, can you write yet Gretchen?” she asked
.

The child looked
Dana in the eye and then shook her head that she could not.

“Well perhaps we can find some time to work together on writing so that you can help me with a few other thin
gs I need done for parent night,” she said.

“Ok.  I can write my name.  Miss Lilly showed me how
,” Gretchen volunteered.

“Who is Miss Lilly?” she asked
.

“She’s Uncle Bobby’s first real girlfriend.  They’re getting married
,” Gretchen said smugly.

“That’s wonderful.  Well
, the other kids will be arriving soon.  They need to hang their bags on the hooks back here,” she said, getting up out of the little chair and heading to the back of the room while pointing to the hooks.

“Your hair is so cool! It swings when you walk
,” Gretchen said as they stopped by the hooks that hung above the cubby area where shoes, jackets and other items were stored.

“Well it’s only this long because I just don’t have time to stop and get a haircut.  Isn’t that terrible?”
she asked with a smile, as though confiding in the tiny girl.

“It’s the longest hair I’ve ever seen.  Can I touch it?” Gretchen asked.

“I appreciate that you asked to touch it rather than just doing it without permission.  Perhaps you can later, we need to get ready for the day right now,” she said. “Now you wait by the door and as the students come in you show them where to hang their bags and things and assign them a seat at the table while I speak with their parents.  Keep track of who sits where so you can tell me later today, ok?”

“I’ve got this
,” Gretchen said and headed to the front of the classroom to wait by the door.

She didn’t know quite what to make of Gretchen.  It was obvious that she had seen way too much in her young life as she acted more like an angry teenager than an almost five year old child.  There was intelligence behind those eyes just screaming to come out and if Dana could get beyond the attitude and behavior issues
to reach her, she had no doubt the child would do great things.

Dana watched her throughout the day
to see how she interacted with the other two students, both boys.  She had been right on target when she had figured the little girl would be bossy, and by making up a position for Gretchen she could control
how
bossy she was with the other students.  If you can’t beat them, work with them.  Surprisingly Gretchen was quite helpful with very little opposition to the things she’d asked of her.

Later in the afternoon,
Anita stopped in and told her she had a couple of phone calls to return.  She headed to the break room after putting her three students in with Susan’s students for naptime.  One call was from Mr. McMurray and the other from Carmen the CFS Case Worker who would be placing the infant with her.  Priorities dictated she call Carmen back first.

“
Ms. Atkinson there has been a change in the baby’s case.  The man the mother claimed was the baby’s father has come forward showing interest in the child.  However, he will have to do a DNA test since the mother didn’t list him on the actual birth certificate.  He’s only known by way of the note she left,” Carmen said.

“What does this mean?”
she asked.

“It means that if the baby makes it, the placement could end up being temporary and not eligible for adoption
,” Carmen replied. “I would need to know if you are still interested in the placement.  The baby will be in the hospital for a little while… if she survives… but we need to place her so that medical decisions can be made on her behalf.”

“Yes, I’m still interested
,” she said.

“I don’t want to get your hopes up but it’s possible
that once the father understands what caring for an addicted infant entails, he may bow out,” Carmen said. “Based on the mother, he may not be found fit to care for the child, though he does have another child already.”

“So he is married?  Won’t that increase his chances if he has a two parent environment?”
she asked.

“Actually no
.  He is a single parent but if he
is
the biological father he would have rights regardless.  Then once it is determined if he is fit and able to care for a child with medical needs, he would be the most likely placement,” Carmen replied. “He is supposed to be coming to the hospital with his attorney later this afternoon to see the baby.  We should know more after that.  If you can be at the hospital around five we can meet with him and his attorney.  If it becomes a temporary placement you will have to interact with him on the child’s behalf.”

“I’ll be there
,” she said.

After hanging up with Carmen she dialed the number left for Mr. McMurray.

“This is Tommy,” he answered.  
His voice was like melted honey, warm, sticky and sexy sweet. 

“This is Ms. Atkinson returning your phone call
,” she said, forcing her mind to the conversation at hand.

“Hey I wanted to see how Gretchen was doing today?”
he said.

“She’s been great!  She was fine five minutes after you left
,” she replied.

There was a long silence as though he was absorbing what she’d said and then
, “Look, something has come up this afternoon so I will be picking up Gretchen around 4:30 instead of five.  Can you make sure she rests a little bit and is ready to go when I get there?  Sometimes she behaves better after a nap.”

“Actually, she is resting with the other students now, so that shouldn’t be a problem
,” she replied.

“Great!  See you then
,” he said.

Dana hung up a little confused.  From her earlier discussion with Anita regarding Gretchen, she was under the impression that the father was irresponsible.  Calling to check on his child and to let her know the change in his schedule did not seem irresponsible to her.  She headed back to her class
room to cleanup so that she could leave for the hospital as soon as he picked up Gretchen.

“I just don’t get it.  If I’m the father why is all this necessary?” Tommy McMurray asked.

Rebecca Waters, his attorney, looked up from the latest papers he had received from Child and Family Services and frowned.

“The mother was a drug addict amongst other things… so taking her word for it, in light of her profession and especially considering your notoriety in this area, would not be advisable.  Don’t you want to know for
sure
if the child is yours before making any decisions?  If the child is not yours, it would save you a lot of heartache… and money,” she said.

“Just kind of seems wrong to leave the child all alone in the hospital if she’s sick…whether I’m her father or not.  She must be scared.  Can I at least visit her?”
he asked.

She laughed lightly “She’s only a few days old
, so other than physical pain from withdrawal I doubt she ‘feels’ anything.”

“They feel and know more than people give them credit for at that age
,” he said.

“I will call and set something up with the case worker and the hospital and let you know
,” she said with a smile. “Showing interest in the child will go well in your favor if the test results indicate she’s yours.”

“Well I’m headed over to get the swab thingy done after I leave here and then I’ll be at the shop.  Just call my cell phone as soon as you know something
,” he said.

Rebecca
Waters, or ‘Becca’ as she preferred to be called, had come down from New York to handle a situation for his best friend Bobby Jackson who owned his own custom motorcycle shop.  Tommy had never been so thankful for coincidence in his life. 

He had received notification that same day that an infant had been born to a drug addict and no father
had been listed on the birth certificate.  The mother had left a note in the child’s incubator naming him as the father before taking off and leaving the baby behind.

The paperwork had indicated that the child would be placed with a foster parent within the week and gave him thirty days to respond.  He had no doubt the child was his. 

He’d met up with Casey Lawrence, Gretchen’s mother in his late twenties.  She was dancing at a local bar and being young he was more interested in a hot piece on his arm than the character or brains behind the beauty.  So he had eagerly got involved with her.  He’d only stopped short of marrying her based on a comment from Dickie, the only father figure in his life that was ever worth a damn. 

“Date the stripper don’t marry her
,” Dickie had said and he’d never been so grateful for unsolicited advice.

After Gretchen was born and he’d wanted them to settle down and be a real family, Casey had decided domesticated life wasn’t for her and had taken off, leaving Gretchen behind.  Then she’d shown up about
a year ago and he’d been a little older and a little wiser… but not by much apparently. 

He’d bought her sob story about finding herself and started secretly seeing her again, only to find out a few months later that she was using.  He’d said goodbye for the last time and meant it. 
Casey must have been pregnant when she left and never bothered to let him know or even slowed down on the hard living. 

He liked a good party as much as the next guy but he always made sure that Gretchen came first and he stopped short of the hard stuff.  He wasn’t the perfect parent by any means and probably introduced Gretchen to way more things than she should know at her age. 

Her foul language and bad attitude were proof of that.  His last girlfriend had taken off pretty quickly when she’d figured out that a ready-made family, especially with Gretchen in it, wasn’t for her either.

Somehow his mother, God rest her soul, had made being a single parent look easy.  Dickie had been around during his high school years when he and Bobby had started raising hell and had always given him good advice, even back then.  Dickie had warned him about Casey the first
and
second time.  If only he’d listened.  Now it seemed again his child was paying the price for his mistakes, this time even worse than Gretchen had.

As he pulled into the lot of the motorcycle shop where he worked, Bobby’s fiancé Lilly Warner headed toward him on her way to get the mail.  Lilly worked in the office and though Bobby owned the place, they all knew who was really in charge.

“Hey Tommy, how’d it go this morning?” she asked.

“She was her usual self.  I kind of felt bad for the new teacher but maybe this one will have a little more backbone than the last one
,” he replied.

He couldn’t help but picture the woman, Ms. Atkinson, in his mind.  He typically didn’t notice women like her but her hair had stuck in his mind the whole way to his meeting with Becca.  It was an auburn color with streaks of
a lighter orange color woven in.  The color wasn’t what he noticed though, it was the length.  It was long and wavy and hung down past her bottom. 

She didn’t seem to be the sort to spend a lot of time on her appearance as she had pulled it back into a barrette at the back of her head.  She didn’t wear makeup but her green eyes had sparkled.