THIRTEEN
THE MORNING AFTER her spat with Randall, Tammy awoke to a normal day. She stretched her arms and made breakfast for Jabari. Then, she sat at her kitchen counter and read her email while Jabari puttered around getting ready for school.
An email from Stephanie sat boldly at the top of Tammy's inbox:
Hello Ladies,
I would like to inform you all not to drop the ball for the meeting we are going to be having on Friday. I noticed that quite a few people engage in chitchat during these meetings and quite frankly I’m sick of all the disruptions. If you don’t want to be in my PTA, form your own! I’m tired of this disrespect! You are acting lazy as hell and I expect all of this to change by the time you show up. And please make sure your little brats are preparing for the play! Oh and Jackie, stop using my house to sell your son’s ADHD meds! We get it, you’re broke, but this isn’t your stomping ground to peddle drugs.
xo ladies,
Stephanie
Tammy shook her head in disbelief. Stephanie could get away with anything. How on earth did she have that effect on people?
Tammy acted impulsively. After Randall, she'd grown tired of bullies. Maybe the PTA wasn't the place to flex her assertiveness but she couldn't stand back any longer.
Dear Stephanie,
I’m writing to inform you that myself and probably many of the other women of the PTA do not appreciate being spoken to like this. Sure, people make mistakes and sometimes people don’t do things perfectly the way you would want. But you need to remember that most of us are busy and PTA is an extra activity. Everyone is trying their best and what we should do is support everyone instead of putting people down.
We are supposed to be an association. That means there should be something attracting people to working with us. We should be a family because our kids are experiencing similar circumstances at Willowcrest.
By calling our kids “little brats” you seem to be making the assumption that your kids are perfect. While I would never insult another woman’s kids, I think you should check to see if you live in a glass house before throwing stones at the rest of us.
And again, the fact that you came after Jackie for selling ADHD meds is not only purely a rumor, it’s totally inappropriate. You could harm her reputation based off of something you can’t possibly know the whole story to. And I’m not saying this to attack you, I just want to provoke everyone to think respectfully and to treat everyone in this Association respectfully.
There is no reason for us to hate each other. We are all neighbors. Our boys and girls all share the same classes and teachers. Let’s speak out of love to each other more often.
If anyone has any problems, please contact me directly. I really only mean this in good faith.
Love,
Tammy Powers
Tammy read the email ten or fifteen times before she hit send. Her heart was beating faster than ever. She couldn’t tell whether people would love her or hate her for speaking out. But Tammy was tired of being silent while other people steamrolled over her. This email, this minor coup, would hopefully put an end to Tammy’s suffering.
Tammy went on with her forgetting about the email she sent out. She dropped Jabari off at school and ran errands in the morning. While she was cleaning her house from top to bottom, she was the hottest gossip topic amongst the ladies who lunched. Everyone was reading the email she sent out to Stephanie and marveling at how brave Tammy was. For once, she wasn’t the talk of the town because she was on the wrong end of a scandal.
So many people had wanted to stick it to Stephanie for years, but they were terrified of what she would do to them and to their reputations. Everyone admired how fearless Tammy was. Ladies took screenshots, forwarded and even uploaded the email to Facebook.
Tammy won a small victory.
When Stephanie read Tammy's words to her, she screamed and threw her wine glass across the room, shattering it on the wall.
How dare this chick? How dare she?
Stephanie was livid. Enraged. Every emotion you can think of to describe anger appeared. Stephanie couldn’t believe that stupid little minion had stepped out of line. Who the hell did Tammy Powers think she was? She had no idea what Stephanie knew about her or what Stephanie was capable of.
She had messed with the wrong WASPy housewife and she was about to find out just how much she was going to pay for it. Stephanie decided it was time to pay a visit to her good friend Laura Jackson and tease out the exact details of what was going down. She hadn’t understood much of what the old broad said over the phone and it was time to get some clarification.
When Tammy finally got through with her cleaning, she checked her phone. Woah. Emails were pouring in from the ladies of the PTA (except Stephanie). Tammy even got messages from people she didn’t even know.
Great going!! You are spitting the straight truth, Tammy!! - Marilyn
Dear Tammy, I think you are right to stand up for all of us. - Jackie
Sweet email Tammy. You should be PTA head next year… :) - Julia
Ms. Powers, Excellent work. We should remember positivity… Love and peace. - Amira
As Tammy read note after note, they all started to blend together and sound the same. Sure she had the support of many people in the town, but that didn’t mean she was free from the consequences of speaking out. Tammy braced herself for what was coming next; she knew this bold move couldn’t end completely well. Stephanie would never let that happen. Before Tammy could prepare for whatever Stephanie would do to punish her, she received a welcome phone call from Victor.
She knew there would be pushback, but that could wait.
"Tammy, can you talk?" he asked.
He sounded agitated.
"Yes. Aren't you at the school?"
"No classes this afternoon. I want to see you."
“Café?” Tammy replied.
Victor remembered their first sort of date at the café and figured that it would be the perfect place to meet Tammy so you could tell her what he wanted to.
“20 minutes,” Victor replied.
He hung up and her heart raced again. He always had that effect on her.
Tammy dressed as conservatively as she could handle. Victor didn’t seem to mind her appearance a bit. He looked ecstatic when Tammy walked to the café door. But he still gave her a decidedly platonic hug before she sat down. Victor had already ordered a cappuccino for Tammy.
He looked at her as if she was the most beautiful woman on the planet as she sat there before him. Is she far too young for me? Victor asked himself. Sure, Tammy was technically far younger than he was but there was something between them that felt right. Her age hardly felt like it were important. After all, how could one raise a child for so many years without growing up?
He stirred with unease in his seat. He didn't want to have to do this here. He'd much rather have her attention behind closed doors.
The only reason he didn't reach for her hand was the taboo of their relationship in this town. They would paint him as a villain, preying on a young girl. That couldn't have been further from the truth. Of course, he remembered her as a student but that was so many years ago. He didn't see her as that girl. She'd changed. He'd changed.
He'd grown older. He'd grown set in his ways. He'd grown tired of chasing after women. He wanted to just stop...
"Where have you been?" he asked.
"Problems with Randall."
"What happened?"
"You didn't hear?" Tammy snorted.
"No."
Victor eyed her hand again, clenching his jaw. He wanted so badly to touch her. She sipped on her drink, cupping the mug and tipping it to her soft, pillowy lips. His cock stiffened as he imagined his hardness prying them apart. She'd like that, wouldn't she? She looked up at him, and he wondered when she would continue.
She finally did.
"Randall broke into my place. He thinks I'm seeing someone and he's jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Yes."
"He knows about us?"
"No," Tammy whispered.
"Then you're safe."
"If he suspects something, he'll find out."
"And then what?" Victor asked, supplying her with that knowing smirk.
"He'll go crazy on me!"
Victor smiled, "You're ridiculous."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, you're ridiculous."
"Why?"
"You fear him, but why? You have me."
"I don't exactly have you," Tammy snapped.
Victor chuckled.
"You must not worry so much. The worry causes wrinkles."
"Is that what happened to you then?"
"Very funny," he replied.
Tammy stifled a chuckle. She didn't wish to seem overly interested in Victor. They were still in public after all.
Victor took a cool sip of his black coffee. The smell of the dark roasted beans made Tammy feel at home. She could take the faintest smell of cigarettes on his breath. It reminded her of her grandfather; the scent was putrid to some but Tammy was always comforted by it. She stared into Victor’s cobalt blue eyes. His every motion was so suave and calculated. He was so put together in contrast to Tammy. Why was he here?
"You know that I want you, right?" he said.
"Is that why you called me here?"
"Si."
"This is how you choose to ask me?"
"It wouldn't be fair if you were...compromised."
Like the way you had me bent over the sofa? Good point. Tammy thought to herself.
"Victor... I want to say yes."
"Then say it."
"I have to worry about Jabari."
"Right."
"Until we've been at this a lot longer, I can't make it official."
Victor nodded.
"Is that okay?"
"As long as we're on the same page in private.”
He paid for their coffees and then left her sitting there. Some talk. Tammy furrowed her brow, wondering whether she’d ever understand him.