The Memory of You (Sanctuary Sound #1)(24)

“Mr. Quinn, this is Principal Lotz.” She sounded like a principal, formal and a little disapproving.

“Hello. Sorry I didn’t pick up before. I’ve been in court all morning. What’s going on?”

“Your daughter got into a scuffle at recess with another girl. I believe it started over a swing and escalated from there. Emmy called the other girl a name before the teacher broke it up.”

Ryan palmed his forehead. “Is she sitting with you now?”

“Yes.”

“Can you please put her on the phone for a minute?” He inhaled and held his breath for three seconds before blowing it out in a desperate attempt to find patience.

“Yes.”

A few seconds later, he heard Emmy’s remorseless voice. “Hi, Dad.”

“What happened today?”

“Katie Winston wouldn’t give me my turn. She never takes turns, and she’s always making fun of how I talk.”

“What?”

“She says I have an accent.”

Ah, the Boston thing. It was there, if not overwhelmingly so. “If Katie did all these bad things, why are you the one in the principal’s office?”

“Because I called her a name, I guess.” Emmy’s tone turned a little proud . . . a little too like her mother’s.

“What bad name?” He grabbed his forehead, bracing himself.

After the slightest hesitation, she announced, “Bee-otch.”

“Emmy!” Through the phone, Ryan heard his mother mutter something, even as he imagined the gleam in his daughter’s eye for having been handed an excuse to say that word again. That word Val used in jest throughout the years, and derisively when judging other women. “We’ll have a longer talk later. Please hand the phone back to Principal Lotz now.”

Without a word, she passed the phone, because the next voice he heard was Mrs. Lotz’s.

“What happens now?” Ryan asked, fingertips rubbing his temple. “Is she suspended?”

“For the day, yes. I’ll send her home with your mother. If this happens again, there will be a longer suspension. We have zero tolerance for bullying.”

“I understand and support that policy. However, it sounds like this other girl wasn’t blameless. In fact, it sounds like she’s the real bully. Is she also being suspended?”

“No one can corroborate that part of your daughter’s story.”

Story. Like Emmy made it all up. Emmy was a lot of things, but she’d never been a liar. She was too sure of herself and heedless of consequence to lie about anything.

“I know Emmy can be a handful, and she’s having some trouble adjusting to the new environment, but she’s assertive, but not aggressive or bullying. There’s a difference. And her side of the story doesn’t sound far-fetched or even vague, so there’s truth to it.”

“The other girls took Katie’s side, so my hands are tied. The teacher only caught the end of the confrontation.”

“Of course the others took Katie’s side. They’ve all been friends for years. My daughter is the new kid.”

“Perhaps you should conference with her teacher about whether she’s seen ongoing issues in the classroom.”

“I will, although if there have been problems, I’m at a loss for why no one notified me sooner. I’ll be in touch after I have a chance to speak with Emmy this afternoon. Thank you.” He hit “Off” and stuffed his phone in his pocket, then finished the walk back to his office, forcing himself to focus on his caseload until he could get home and deal with Emmy.



Ryan stormed into the house at six o’clock, dropped his briefcase on the floor, and let his whole body rest against the door for three seconds. He’d always done the right things, yet somehow his life was imploding, which was made worse, given how it seemed to be affecting his daughter. The one who apparently still hoped for her parents’ reconciliation. Meanwhile, the Vals and Steffis of the world skipped through life, leaving chaos in their wake without any personal consequence.

He pushed himself off the door and made a beeline for the back of the house.

“Whoa! Slow down there, mister.” His mother materialized out of thin air and set her hand to his chest. “Settle yourself before you talk to Emmy. Attacking her won’t solve the problem. Besides, she’s helping Stefanie clean up right now. Let them finish.”

“It’s not good for her to get attached to Steffi. Steffi is not her mother.”

“But she is a woman, and she is younger than me. Emmy seems to like her, and when it comes to kids, that’s so important. That’s how they decide who to talk to.” When he rolled his eyes, she removed her hand. “You can charge in there and make Emmy afraid and defensive, or you can cool your heels and see what Steffi can learn.” His mom shrugged, as if he bought into her nonchalance, before she started up the stairs. “I need to check on your father.”

Ryan counted to five and then slowly walked toward the kitchen. The window over the sink was wide open, letting the scent of his mom’s rosebushes infiltrate the house. In the yard just a few feet away, Emmy was helping Steffi fold some kind of tarp. He eavesdropped for a minute while watching them work together.

“I do understand, Emmy. Better than you think.” Steffi took the partially folded tarp and snapped its final fold on her own, then crouched to Emmy’s eye level. “I wasn’t much older than you when my mom died. I missed her so much it felt like the whole world turned into a dark black hole. Most days I wanted to jump right through that hole and follow her to heaven. I was so angry that she left me like that, even though she couldn’t help it. But I kept all those feelings tight inside, like a ball right here.” Steffi pointed at Emmy’s stomach. “Holding all that stuff inside hurt, but it made me feel strong. It seemed better than crying, for sure. Then a girl named Claire moved in across the street. She was very sweet and sporty, and I liked her right away. I was lucky because she was patient with my moods. And at the end of our street was another girl our age, Peyton. Peyton was popular, but it turns out she was kind of lonely, too, for other reasons.