“I’ve always had to rely on myself. The only person I could trust was Tate and his dad but if we told him he would have said something trying to help but, in the meantime…”
“You would have potentially been put into foster care, and you were already much older looking than you really are.”
“Yeah, I kept the apartment pretending that she was at work or in the next room. I relied on Tate and his dad to fix things because he would without asking where my mom was. If she wasn’t around for a couple days, it wasn’t anything new, so I just pretended she was still there. At first Tate and I would go around the bars in the city hustling to make enough money for rent, electricity, or food, and then we fooled the wrong person and they were furious.”
Ms. Simmons nodded giving her a smile, “And you stopped and applied for the internship program?”
“Yeah, I already had a job working for Henry Tracks and I discovered I was good at what I did, enough to fool people into thinking I was almost twenty even though I was still fifteen. I started two days after my freshman year was over and was there up until my birthday last year. That’s when I met Jordan.”
“And he thought you were twenty?”
“Twenty-one, when I told him the truth he was taken aback didn’t speak to me or come into the office while I was there for a week,” she said using part of the truth, so it’d be more reasonable. “He told me it didn’t matter he still felt the same way and that he still wanted to marry me.”
“But how? If your mom left you couldn’t get married without parental consent.”
“Jordan found her, convinced her that the best thing she could do was let me decide and I love him. I know people might question that, but I do,” she said, smiling at being able to admit it to someone that wouldn’t use the knowledge against her or tease her about it as Tate would. “I may only be seventeen but I’m so much older than that in my head and in my heart.”
“I can see that. Melinda what you’ve accomplished…no one your age should have to face that alone and the way you’ve handled it, though deceitful, you never gave up, never sunk to taking the easy way out,” her teacher said comforting her. “The times Stephanie has gone after you…I wouldn’t have been able to hold it in.”
“I probably wouldn’t have if I didn’t have Tate and now Jordan and his family. They know the truth, and they welcomed me with open arms. His father asked if he was trying to follow in his footsteps without realizing it. Ford married Gabrielle when she was seventeen and he created his company with her by his side.”
“Ford and Gabrielle…Turner,” Ms. Simmons said as recognition and surprise spread across her face. “Turner Incorporated and Turner Media CEO, Ford Turner?”
“Yeah I know. I went from barely keeping my head above water to falling in love with the son of the biggest business mogul in the country, but I didn’t know it. Holmes is Gabrielle’s maiden name.”
“And he uses it for business because he wants to succeed on his own. Well, it seems you’ve landed quite well, and I’ve noticed a huge change in you this year. I thought at first it was because you were finally a senior, but I can see now that it’s Jordan. I’ll let Mr. Grasse know about Thursday and don’t worry Melinda, I’ll keep your confidences safe. No one will find out about your mother or Jordan from me.”
“Thanks Ms. Simmons, I should get to class.”
“Yes, here’s a note to excuse your tardiness and Melinda, if you ever need someone to talk to my door’s always open.”
“Thanks Ms. Simmons, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said opening the door. She couldn’t believe how much better she felt having told someone else about it and not having to fear their reactions would endanger her possibilities. She slid into the classroom handing her teacher the note ignoring Tate’s curious glances her way.
“Alright what was that all about?” Tate asked when they hit the hallway afterwards.
“Ms. Simmons wanted to let me know when she and Mr. Grasse were going to be doing their evaluations.”
“So they both know about you and Jordan?”
“Yes, they know; in fact, I told Ms. Simmons the truth about my mother.”
“Does this mean you’re going to stop hiding that rockin’ ring?” he asked nodding towards her bag.
“No, I don’t want it getting lost or worse, now come on let’s get to gym before we’re forced to run laps,” she suggested pulling him towards the locker rooms.
“Why are we forced to take this class again?” Tate asked as she put her bag on the bleachers and slid the wedding band off putting it in with her other.
“Because they’re cruel and evil and we forgot to include it before now,” she grinned at him as she put the ring box in her bag and zipped it.
“It’s torture for sure,” he agreed.
Chapter 8
“Is every payday like this?” Ms. Simmons asked as they finally made it back to the office.
“Today was pretty tame actually; they probably thought you were a potential client and didn’t want Jordan hearing that they scared you off before you signed a contract,” she admitted expertly parallel parking the Jeep between Jordan’s truck and Ms. Simmons’s car.
“Mr. Grasse told me you seemed to never stop yesterday, and I can see it’s true.”
