Bayou Born(27)

“I’m sure he appreciates the weekly paycheck.” He figured the doctor would announce Caroline was healed or recovered or whatever as soon as her money ran out. He also heard the pout in her voice and could picture her stomping her foot. In the early stages of their relationship, he’d found her little pout cute. However, he’d grown to hate that about her by the time Katie was born.

“There’s no need for sarcasm, James. After all, we were Katie’s parents.”

It seemed so long ago, a different life. When they were a couple. A different time. He was a different man back then, and set on disproving the old saying, “You can take the man out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the man.” For the life of him now, he couldn’t remember why he thought that. There was nothing wrong with being successful, and being a country boy, too. He still wanted it all, career, family and his own home in the city, though he didn’t admit it to anyone.

And, he’d mistakenly thought he’d have all of that when Caroline walked into his life, or rather she backed into it.

Women drivers. He had backed out of a parking space, then she backed her car into his. It was during his college years. The campus police said they were both at fault. He’d offered to buy her a pizza to get her to drop the whole thing, there was barely a dent in either car. Her coy grins brought out the apples of her cheeks and showed off her dimples. Long curly blonde hair, crystal blue eyes. Everything to like. Their family had attended church together for years, but until then, he’d never really looked at her. That day, she batted her long lashes at him, and his hormones answered. After that, his obsession for her was beyond anything he understood.

Looking back, if someone suggested the connection between them was the result of her being a vampire and his maker, he couldn’t argue with that. She had sucked the life out of him.

Within a month, he’d bought a one-carat solitaire engagement ring. When he proposed, she said yes, but wanted a bigger diamond before the wedding. He promised her one as soon as he could afford it. Her mother insisted it would take a minimum of a year to plan a proper wedding, and pointedly suggested he have the new ring by then.

The night of their engagement party, after they dined with a hundred well-wishers, he’d taken her to the river. Under the stars at the water’s edge with the soft lap of the water, they made love.

What came next shouldn’t have been a surprise.

Caroline waited until she was more than three months pregnant to tell him or their family. Her mother, the devout Southern Baptist, wanted to move up the wedding date, no grandchild of hers would be born out of wedlock, but Caroline’s will proved stronger. She demanded a couture gown in white and a wedding she’d always remember. She wouldn’t get married until after the baby was born.

He always wondered if she’d done that to keep him dangling.

The months were torturous. Caroline grew more contentious and demanding as her body changed and grew. At first, he chalked it up to hormones, pregnant women had those problems, but she acted as though she wasn’t pregnant. Whenever he tried to talk about their baby, Caroline would change the subject. She never even admitted her waist had spread. Denial. At a level he’d never seen before. Pregnancy brought out the worst in her. And, she never let him touch her again.

Then Katie was born. Caroline wouldn’t even look at her.

Yet, he was in love the minute the nurse put Katie in his arms. That first contact lasted a few moments, but he had bonded with her. He never wanted her to feel alone. He never wanted her to feel unloved. Never wanted her to have an apathetic mother. Maybe Caroline really couldn’t help it. According to her shrink, she was a complete narcissist. Caroline somehow misconstrued the diagnosis and considered it a high compliment.

He and Caroline never married. Her true colors glowed during her pregnancy. He suggested counseling before they considered taking another step in the direction of marriage. Their pastor insisted on counseling, but Caroline refused.

The worst of it was the day Katie came home from the hospital. Caroline acted as though she’d dropped a watermelon in a field and after that, it was someone else’s responsibility. Instead of a wedding, he and Caroline worked out a custody agreement with Katie living with him.

His little Katie had almost made it to her first birthday.

“James? Are you listening to me? James?”

He picked up the polished silver rattle on his desk. Light glinted. A reminder of his daughter. Hard to believe Katie would have started preschool this year.

“No, Caroline, I’m not. Not anymore.” He hung up. Katie might be gone, but he had other kids in his life. Kids with hopes and dreams. That’s what he loved about teaching. Helping others take another step on their journey.

He grabbed a binder and a pen and left his office. In the past, the first day of classes always lifted his spirits. Maybe today it would be the same. He looked around. Sadie wasn’t at her desk. Usually, he let her know where he was headed. It was odd that she wasn’t there, but maybe she slipped away to make copies or visit the ladies’ room. He scribbled a note and left it for her.

As the class before his let out, he slipped between small groups of students. Waving to the instructor wiping the white board clean, he took the middle seat in the back row of the room and waited.

Students’ nervous chatter came with the first day of classes. For most, his class would be their first taste of college ever. He enjoyed the newbies, though the freshman that delayed starting college until fall often appeared more attentive. Something happened between high school graduation and their first day of community college that washed away half of their arrogance. Fall-starting students seemed to embrace a fresh view of the world.

The incoming students found seats and paid him no attention, an old man in a class of late-aged teenagers. It didn’t surprise him that not one student sat in the front row. He tracked the time on his watch since the classroom clock hung on the wall behind him. When his watched showed a minute past nine fifteen, he stood up.

“This is Communications 101, an entry-level first-year class,” he said. All eyes turned to him. He took his time making his way to the front of the room. The thud of his boots echoed in the silence as he walked behind his desk, then paced in front of the white board. He had their attention.

When he turned to face his audience, they looked back with surprise, curiosity, and a few challenging stares.

“You,” he barked, pointing to a young man slumped in his seat at the end of the second row. The student popped upright.

“No sleeping in my class. Please close the door.”

The young man obeyed and hurried from his seat.

James scrawled his name with a blue marker, along with the name of the course on the whiteboard. He tapped the board to make his point. “This is my name, Dr. James Newbern. You may call me, Dr. Newbern. If you’re not here for communications, please leave now.” Then he picked up the student roll and walked in front of his desk. Leaning against it, he crossed his booted ankles.

“Good morning and welcome. If this is your first college class, congratulations! You’re no longer in high school. I believe you must be smart because you’ve made the decision to further your education.”

A few students shifted and sat upright in their seats.

“What do I expect from you? I require your best. Nothing less will get you successfully out the door at the end of this semester. I hope you find the material useful in your everyday life. Maybe even enjoyable.” Twenty-one pairs of eyes focused on him. A few other pairs looked anywhere but at him.

“I’ll take attendance this week. I’ll know your names before the week is out. If I butcher your name when I call it the first time, correct me. I apologize in advance if I get it wrong. If you have a nickname or something else you wish to be called, if it’s publicly appropriate, I’ll be happy to oblige.” That remark triggered a few snickers and giggles, like it had every semester in the past.

His intended his opening speech to set expectations, and hoped a bit of humor would put them at ease. For some of them, even though Lakeview was a small community college, it signified a huge accomplishment. In rural communities, some students’ families could barely afford tuition. That fact was never lost on him.

“And since this is my class, you follow my rules. I’m a totalitarian. If you don’t know the meaning, look it up. I’m willing to listen to reason, not excuses. Answer when I call your name and let me show you to your new seat.”

Loud groans rolled back to him.

“What? You don’t like your first assignment? No worries, this won’t be the only seat change this semester. Change brings chaos. Chaos causes growth. You’ll sit in several seats before you’re done and get to know all of your classmates.”

As he began to call names, he pointed each student to their new seat. Some students showed more reluctance than others.

“Buddy Davis?” James called out.

“Bubba.” A young tall, thin guy rose and moved into the seat where James pointed at the end of the first row. “Bubba, it is. Cheryl-Lynn Fenton? Start the next row.”