FIVE
RANDALL’S INCREASING INVOLVEMENT in Jabari’s life coincided perfectly with Tammy’s coffee date. Saturday morning at eight, Randall was there bright and early to bring son out for the day. He seemed proud of himself too, like he was doing her a big favor.
You’re supposed to spend time with your son asshole! Tammy wanted to scream at Randall while giving him a good shake, but she resisted the urge.
She wasn’t going to let Randall ruin another day of hers.
Tammy had plenty of time to herself that morning to prepare for her “meeting” with Victor Del Toro. Why did he really want this meeting? Was he an old teacher looking to catch up or was it possible he saw Tammy as more than that? The idea scared her at least a little bit.
It seemed taboo and it would surely attract more loose lips in the town.
Let them gossip. They’ve done it enough about me.
For the not-really-a-date date with Victor, Tammy decided to go for a tasteful outfit that looked more like what a mom would wear to a soccer match as opposed to what someone would wear when they were trying to impress someone.
In case tongues were to start wagging, she wanted to at least have her appearance stay out of the local gossip.
I shouldn’t care what these people think. Tammy thought to herself.
But she couldn’t help caring. It wasn’t just about her. Her reputation affected her son too. Tammy wore dark wash skinny jeans with a fitted, white J. Crew button down. She layered over it with a green LL Bean puffy vest and Burberry scarf.
Each color popped against Tammy’s gorgeous, dark skin. Polished and chic, she’d make an impression. Tammy’s hair was still in long Senegalese twists that hung down to her waist. Her outfit was appropriate since fall was descending upon them and before they knew it the ground would be covered in a thick layer of white snow. Staying warm was more of a priority than being a fashion in the cold.
By the time Tammy arrived at Otter Creek Café, Victor was already there waiting for her. He was dressed well. He was wearing a collared shirt with a cashmere sweater layered on top and a pair of dark wash denim jeans complete with Clark’s desert boots. He looked like that sexy history professor some of us may have had in university.
Besides his appearance, the first thing Tammy noticed was the smell of cologne. The arctic scent complemented the frosty blue color of Victor’s eyes. If this wasn’t a date, why had he bothered putting so much effort? The ambiguity titillated her, she had to admit that to herself.
“Good morning,” she greeted him. Victor stood up and gave her a big hug.
Was she imagining a spark because of her own attraction to Victor or did he really find her attractive as well? Tammy knew her crush could end badly. If she pursued things romantically with Victor that would be just another reason for her to be portrayed as the town slut.
With that branding, Jabari would receive the brunt of the consequences. He could lose his place at Willowcrest Prep and Tammy wasn’t certain she was prepared to risk all that.
She figured she would play it cool. This was just a meeting after all.
They both ordered large cappuccinos and Otter Creek’s famed chocolate croissants. Victor then asked Tammy more about what her life had been like since she left Willowcrest. Although the rumor mill had kept churning, the reality of Tammy’s life was a secret to everyone except her closest friends.
“So… Where do you work?” Victor asked.
It probably wasn’t the best ice breaker considering Tammy’s financial situation. She often felt embarrassed explaining the truth to people.
Tammy felt the color rising to her cheeks. Great. Now she would have to explain to Victor but she didn’t have a job. Basically all she did was spend money.
Tammy took a huge sip of her coffee to prepare herself for this awkward topic.
“Well… It’s complicated. I don’t really work right now,” Tammy said.
Victor smiled.
“Say no more. This may surprise you, but I too came into a large sum of money when I was much younger. I only teach Spanish because… It is my passion,” Victor replied.
What a mysterious thing to say. How did he even intuit what Tammy meant from her statement? Victor seemed to understand her better than anyone else.
Tammy had never even known that her former Spanish teacher had inherited a large sum of money. In fact, when he started at Willowcrest, he seemed like a typical broke postgraduate. Perhaps there was more to him than met the eye.
The way Victor pronounced the word “passion” caused Tammy to fantasize about what else he was passionate about too. But her silence had gone on too long; she still needed to answer Victor.
“Perhaps if I found something I was passionate about, I would work in that particular field,” Tammy wondered aloud.
Victor replied, “Well, You are passionate about your son are you not? Who said there was anything wrong with investing completely in your children. It’s an admirable thing really.”
Tammy had never felt so validated about her decision to invest completely in Jabari. She smiled. Victor noticed the gentle upward curve of her mouth and smiled back.
“You’re right…” Tammy answered.
Victor sort-of changed the subject.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the story with you and Jabari. I’m sorry if this is forward but none of us teachers at Willowcrest expected you the first in your year to have a child. I know I approached this subject the wrong way last time… But I want to know more about you, the good and the bad,” He asked innocently enough.
At least he was forward about it. Tammy appreciate that as it was far better than gossip. Still, she was surprised he didn’t already know about her fall from grace as an A student to having a scarlet letter on her breast.
While students gossiped at Willowcrest, teachers seemed to gossip even more. With such closeness between teachers and students, sometimes the lines for what was appropriate blended together just a little bit. Students gossiped about the teachers’ affairs and broken marriages. The teachers gossiped about the students’ crushes and hook ups.
Tammy decided to trust her former Spanish teacher with the story of Randall Combs. It wasn’t a story that she had told many times and everyone who knew it immediately understood more about Tammy than anyone.
First, Tammy told the story of how she met Randall. She was 16 years old when a 25-year-old Randall Combs approached her and told her that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Tammy was 16 and naïve at the time. More importantly, she’d been lonely.
Her parents forbade dating so when she met a man who liked her, she never mentioned it to them, opting to sneak around behind their back like the rest of her friends did with their boyfriends.
She had no idea that when a man that much older approaches you and fills your head with these kinds of notions, he likely has poor intentions. It didn’t take long for Randall to find out how wealthy Tammy’s family was and when he did, he hunted her, ensnaring her in his web of lies and manipulation.
He pressured Tammy into having sex a year into their relationship even if she wasn’t ready. Of course Tammy justified it away by saying that was how all relationships were. As an inexperienced woman, she didn’t know how to distinguish between a healthy and unhealthy dynamic.
From the moment Randall found out how wealthy Tammy was, all he wanted to do night and day was make love her. He had a plan to get his hands on as much of that money as he could. As a young woman who had previously been labelled a nerd, Tammy was ecstatic to finally have so much attention.
Of course, she kept this relationship a complete secret from her strict parents. Maybe if they had known about it they would have been able to help her out.
But the Powers’ were not a family that appreciated openness. They much preferred Tammy out of sight and out of mind.
The Powers’ were also not concerned with vigilance. They figured their strict rules were enough and they didn’t pay attention to the reality of their daughter’s activities.
Both Tammy’s mother and her father worked from eight in the morning until nine in the evening. She barely knew them. Once she got too old for nannies, Tammy was on her own. They had their expectations and if she wasn’t living up to them they figured her report card would show it.
So Tammy’s questionable relationship survived since her grades never slipped.
She knew exactly how to play them and how to stay out of sight. Ultimately that had been her downfall.
Victor listened to her story, staring at the young woman who possessed so much wisdom despite her youth. He noticed her lips and how beautiful they were as they moved. He noticed the curve of her body and her smallish bosoms.
He hated to admit it but his mind couldn’t stop wandering to those breasts as he pictured them bouncing beneath him as he made love to her. She was young — far too young for him — but something about her lilting voice and her innocence possessed him.
What sort of monster could hurt a doll as delicate as this one?
When Tammy was a senior, she started to make love to Randall without a condom. He promised her that if she got pregnant he would take care of her forever. He promised her that she was the only woman in his life.
He told her that he loved her and no girl at Willowcrest was as sexy, cool or smart as she was. All these sweet nothings went straight to Tammy’s head. She wasn’t very validated by her parents or her peers. The words that Randall spoke were exactly what she needed to hear. She ate his lies like sweet candy.
As Victor listened to this part of the story he remembered Tammy from the past. He’d never known what she was going through as she sat in the front of his class, her uniform always coifed and her attention never wavering from the lecture he presented.
Her ability to keep secrets must be impeccable. He started to feel his desire for her rising and he shifted his legs to avoid his hardness growing visible in his pants. She hadn’t picked up on his attraction to her yet and Victor wanted to keep it that way.
Pursuing his attraction to her would be… wrong. After all, he’d known her when she was just a girl and she was the parent to a student. There had to be boundaries here… lines of respect. He couldn’t exactly bend her over and take her until she screamed. But oh, he wanted her.
He focused again on her story, taking in all the details, hoping the story would distract him from the mounting lust in his tumescent sword.
When Tammy found out she was pregnant, Randall promised her that he would marry her. He told her that she just needed to wait a few months until he could afford the perfect ring. From then, Tammy should’ve been suspicious.
She was pregnant and she needed to believe that Randall was going to be there for her. The wrath of her parents would be unbearable. They still didn’t know about her relationship with Randall and she planned to keep it that way until the last possible minute. Time was running out and graduation was near. Until she graduated, Randall was sweet as ever.
He had planned out a name for the baby. He and plan what school they would send the kid too. He filled Tammy’s ears of ideas about international vacations and luxurious cars and clothing. She believed every word of his lies.
Victor bit down on his lower lip, feeling sorry for her and how she’d been duped. A man who couldn’t care for a beauty like Tammy didn’t deserve her. He thought about this “Randall” guy and immediately wanted to hurt him.
The day after her graduation, Tammy found out that Randall had been unfaithful. The joy of her diploma was nearly washed away. Tammy was 18 years old when Randall had cheated on her with a 16-year-old girl from the public school across town.
At that point, Randall was 28 years old. Tammy should’ve known that was a major red flag. But she ignored it because she believed that Randall was her soulmate.
Randall apologized and brought her flowers and treated her like a princess. He seemed truly sorry for the pain he had brought into her life and Tammy believed his appearance of sorrow. Once Randall was back in Tammy’s good graces, he continued doing what he had always done.
Then things took a turn for the worse. Tammy’s parents kicked her out and cut off her source of income. While pregnant, she was forced to work at an ice cream store. All the while, Randall convinced her that he had a big hustle I was going to help him become rich. That hustle was apparently selling marijuana.
When Tammy found out she was furious but again Randall soothed her and promised her that it would never happen again. He said he was sorry and that he was just trying to help her. Eventually, things died down. Then Jabari was born. Faced with the reality of having a child, Randall’s interest in being a father plummeted quickly.
He didn’t want the smelly diapers and late night feedings. He wanted to use Tammy as a body to have sex with and that was about it. Her nerves frayed and there was no one she could turn to even if she wanted to.
Tammy might have left him if she wasn’t naive, but she was still in denial. She still believed that Randall loved her. She still believed that he was going to make good on his promises. That is, until he started to hit her.
Then, Tammy began to realize that all hope was lost. But it was nearly too late. Her parents were completely out of the picture and most of her friends had moved away for university. She was entirely alone with no one to turn to. Everyone in the town and in her Catholic community had vilified her.
By the grace of God alone, Randall left having of his own accord. He was tired of his plaything once he realized that she had nothing to offer except a crying baby and expectations.
Once she was through with her story, Victor reached his hand across the table and rested it on Tammy’s arm. Not knowing what to say, at least the comforting gesture would help. A part of him couldn’t believe this woman sitting across from him was his former student.
She had been through so much. She wasn’t a naive, nerdy prep school girl anymore. Tammy Powers had lived a rich and full life, far richer than her peers who would probably have looked down on her for being a teenaged mother. Tammy’s life had been tough… it had been ugly… but she’d emerged a survivor.
Victor expressed how sorry he was for Tammy’s experience. It was clumsy, but she appreciated the sentiment. Not many people sympathized with Tammy. She was glad to find someone who actually seemed to care about what she went through.
Then Victor revealed something surprising.
“You know… You’re not the only one from your year to have a baby right after Willowcrest. The other instance is very hush hush because she pretended to go to college. But she’s back in town…” Victor started.
Tammy wondered who it could be. Carolina Rodriguez? Kaitlin Vance? Victor filled in the blanks for her.
“Stephanie Wagner… Although you may remember her as Stephanie Gardner, has a son who started at Willowcrest last year. She married military just after high school,” Victor finished.
Tammy couldn’t believe it. Stephanie Gardner was married? She was one of the most popular girls in Tammy’s year and known for sleeping around. Stephanie was famous for poaching boyfriends and bullying girls she considered “losers”.
“Really?” Tammy replied.
“Really… Hey… You might know her since she’s the head of the PTA,” Victor continued.
Tammy also choked on her croissant.
Stephanie Wagner was the PTA head? Gross.
Tammy wanted to be involved with the PTA but Stephanie was someone she considered a rival. Stephanie had mocked everything about Tammy when she was in school. She mocked Tammy’s braids and Tammy’s dark skin. She had bullied Tammy relentlessly but not specifically.
Stephanie was just a plain mean girl and she dished it out to everyone. Tammy wondered if motherhood had changed her. At least Victor had given her a heads up before she head into a PTA meeting.
Before Tammy could reply, her phone rang. She wouldn’t have answered her phone except for the fact that it was Jabari calling. She let Victor know that it was her son before she picked up.
“Jabari, is everything okay?” Tammy asked it wasn’t difficult for Jabari to give her a call while he was out with his father.
Jabari’s tone of voice scared her.
Jabari spoke with a shaky voice, “No… Everything's not okay. Dad is… He’s getting mad. Mommy, he called you a slut and I think he’s drunk or high off something. Please… Can you come get me?”
“Do you feel safe where you are now?” Tammy clarified.
Her heart raced as she worried her son was in danger. She figured she would have to act fast and ditch this sort-of date with Victor.
“No,” Jabari whispered.
“Get out of that house. Head over to the convenience store and wait for me okay? Just get out and I’ll be there as soon as possible. I’m on my way,” Tammy said.
Tammy panicked.
“I’m sorry. I’ve gotta go.”
“Don’t apologize. Go to your son. We’ll finish this da— this conversation another day.”
He smiled warmly, the crow’s feet around his eyes warming up his tanned face.
Tammy dropped ten bucks on the table and fled to her car. When Tammy entered her car, she floored it all the way to the convenience store near Randall’s house.
She was glad that it wasn’t too far away from the coffee shop. She was even more happy that no cops caught her running two red lights. When she pulled up outside of the store, she saw Jabari standing right outside shaking like a leaf.
Tammy didn’t know how he managed to get away from his raging father. As soon as he saw her, he leapt into the car.
Tammy wanted to ask him what happened, but she figured she should wait until she got home. If she was in her car while Jabari told her what the hell his father had done to him, she was afraid she would drive right over to Randall’s house and do something foolish.
Tammy didn’t know if she could handle Randall Combs. Getting aggressive with him would just mean trouble for her. Tammy went through a McDonald’s drive-through and bought her son a drink and some french fries to soothe him a little bit more until they arrived home. She was sure Randall hadn’t stopped terrorizing him long enough to make sure he got some food in his belly.
“What the hell happened?” She asked, the moment they were in the house together.