| General Fiction posted January 23, 2024 | Chapters: |
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David reveals why he must stay in Grantham
A chapter in the book What We See
What We See - Chapter 5
by Jim Wile
| Background A high school teacher wrongly accused of sexual assault reinvents his life. |
Recap of Chapter 4: Principal Pinkham calls David on Sunday and tells him he has a difficult decision to make. He restates the evidence against David—the bruises on Tina’s neck and David’s profession of love for her—and asks David why he would try to choke her if he loved her. David explains the remark, saying that he misspoke and meant to say that he loved teaching, not Tina, and that he had no idea where the bruises came from.
Pinkham offers him a deal: if he resigns, the school won’t mention anything about it in David’s record, and he’ll even give David a good recommendation. The alternative is to be fired. Not having the courage to face constant whispering and parents’ refusal to let him teach their daughters, David agrees to resign.
Chapter 5
I am now unemployed. I met with Pinkham this afternoon, officially resigned, boxed up all my belongings, and left with great regrets—not just for the loss of my reputation, but for the fact that I may never be able to get another teaching job. That’s all I ever wanted to do, and I will no longer be able to do it.
I loved so many things about it: to explain things clearly and unambiguously to my students and choose great examples to make my points; to see their faces light up when something that was confusing them suddenly became clear; to see their pride when they could correctly explain back to me their understanding of a difficult concept. Sure, I fumbled a few words from time to time, but I would just smile and shake my head and say the right words. My kids told me I was a great explainer and could make the most complex concepts easy to understand. It was challenging and exhilarating, and I will miss it.
Diane would have said I gave up too easily, that I was afraid to fight it, and she would probably have been right. I’ve never been one to rock the boat. I’ve always been one to just accept things. Did I let Earl bludgeon me into this? Maybe. Probably. But I don’t have a thick enough skin to withstand the expected whispering behind my back, the refusals of parents to let me teach their daughters, the snide remarks by people who don’t know the facts, just the innuendo.
If I were a more confident and assertive person and I had more money, I would probably have hired a private detective to see if he could figure out why Tina had it in for me, but unless Tina came out with an out-and-out retraction of her story, what difference would it have made? It could have cost a fortune with nothing to show for it in the end. I had been feeling so low; I just didn’t have the will to put up a fight without more of a guarantee of success.
With the exception of some early morning running, I stayed inside my house for the next three days. It’s amazing how a thing like this makes you feel guilty, even though it’s totally untrue. I felt ashamed to show my face in public and rued the time I would have to go out again. It wouldn’t be so bad if I were a sociopath and didn’t have a conscience, but I’m not, and I do, and I don’t really understand the feeling of shame.
How will I ever get another job in this town? One might ask why I would even want to stay here. Shouldn’t I just move somewhere else where no one knows me? I won’t have a police record, and if I move far enough away, no one would ever know about the accusation. If I apply for another teaching job, I might get one if the next school doesn’t do its due diligence and thoroughly background check me.
I can’t be guaranteed Earl would keep his word about a good recommendation, though. I think he would, but perhaps he just said that to get me to resign. I don’t totally trust the guy. He seemed to have his mind made up before even talking to me. That could just be my imagination, but he seemed so eager to disbelieve me.
But there’s a compelling reason why I won’t move away, at least for right now. My father is still alive and lives in this town—at the VA hospital in the bright, new memory care wing. He divorced my mom when I was 18 after he’d caught her sleeping with her boss. Their marriage had been rocky for a couple of years prior to that, and this was the last straw. She ended up marrying her boss and dying with him in that car accident when I was 21.
My dad began showing signs of Alzheimer’s soon after that. He was 66 at the time. He was living by himself in an apartment in town, and I began visiting him often once the diagnosis was made. He had helpers come for a while, but within four years, he could no longer live by himself, and it was time to move to the VA hospital, where, luckily, they had a new memory care unit. He’s been there just over two years now, but his mental state is declining rapidly.
I love my dad and visit him two or three days a week. He still recognizes me from time to time, but it’s growing less and less frequent. Still, I can’t bring myself to move away and abandon him. I’m going to stick it out here as best I can until it either proves impossible to get a job or he passes away, whichever comes first.
My best bet to find a job would be to become self-employed. I’ve always been good at fixing electrical equipment, including home computers. They’re becoming much more popular now in 1985, and there is a definite market for computer repair services. I could start my own small business, but the problem is that I’ve lived here in this town most of my life, and a lot of people know me or at least will have heard the rumors and won’t want to do business with a child molester.
I pondered these problems for the better part of an hour before conceiving of a plan, which I think may take care of all of it.
I hadn’t visited Dad in a few days, so I decided to go see him the following morning. He was most lucid then. I’d decided not to tell him about any of my troubles. He wouldn’t fully understand, and what little he did would be upsetting to him. Better just to talk about the baseball game last night.
When I entered the memory care wing of the VA hospital, I found Dad standing in the hall among a group of hospital personnel. He was nicely dressed and was with a couple of men in khakis and golf shirts and a woman in a business suit. They were chatting amongst themselves, and to the casual observer, Dad looked like he was part of this group of probable hospital administrators discussing the needs of the residents on the floor. He wasn’t saying anything, but he would look at the speaker and nod his head at appropriate times.
They decided to disband right about then and said goodbye to Dad, who wished them well. I walked up to him, took him by the arm, and led him toward a sofa in the dayroom, where we sat down to talk. He followed along willingly. “Looks like you were an important member of the group, Dad. What were they talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, you seemed to be enjoying the conversation anyway. Hey, did you happen to watch the White Sox play the Blue Jays in their last pre-season game yesterday afternoon?"
No answer. "They’re looking pretty good. 17-and-7 this spring, and they’ll be heading north soon for their first game. Would you like to go to a game with me sometime?”
He stood up then. “Let me get my coat.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean now, Dad. Maybe in a few weeks when the season starts.”
He sat back down. “My son used to play baseball. He was a center fielder because he ran so fast. Man, could he catch a flyball.”
I’ve stopped trying to tell him that I’m his son. It just confuses him further. “Well, he sounds like he was a good player. That reminds me; want to hear a joke?” I waited for a reply, but he just smiled at me.
“Okay, here goes:
A man and his dog enter a talent show together. When it’s their turn,
the man says to the audience, ‘I’d like to demonstrate to you the
world’s only talking dog. Alright, Fido, how does sandpaper feel?’
Fido says, ‘Rough, rough!’ The audience boos. Then the man asks him,
‘Fido, what’s on top of a house?’ and Fido says, ‘Roof, roof!’ The
audience boos even louder. Finally, he says to him, ‘Fido, who is the
Homerun King?’ and Fido says, ‘Ruth, Ruth.’ The audience starts
throwing tomatoes and rotten eggs at them. As they’re heading
offstage, Fido turns to the man and says, ‘Maybe I should have said
Hank Aaron.’”
No reaction from Dad. “Guess you didn’t like that one, huh?”
“I used to have a daughter once. Man, she could tell a joke like no one’s business. Funniest damn girl I ever knew.”
I didn’t have a sister. “Oh yeah? What was her name, Dad?”
“I can’t remember. I think it was Lily.”
That was my mother’s name. “What happened to Lily?”
“Laughed herself to death, I think. Man, was she funny. I had a boy too. He played baseball.”
“And what was his name?”
“Alan, like my dad.”
“Then who is David?” I asked him.
“David?” He thought for a long time. “David is my son. A fine boy. He played shortstop. Could hit too.”
He got that last bit right, so I decided to stop with the questions while I was ahead. The TV was tuned to some sitcom rerun, so we just sat looking at that for a while. I’d brought a bag with a few candy bars in it and offered him one. When the show was over, about 20 minutes later, I got up to leave. I handed him the bag with the rest of the candy bars.
“Don’t eat them all at once, Dad. Spread them out a little. I’ll come see you in a few days, okay?” I bent down and kissed the top of his bald head. “I love you, Dad. Bye.” And I left him sitting there, watching the commercials.
 Recognized |
CHARACTERS
David Phelps: The narrator of the story. He is a 28-year-old high school physics and natural science teacher in Grantham, Indiana in 1985.
Earl Pinkham: The principal of Grove Park High School where David teaches
Susanna (Suzie) Cassidy: The school secretary and mother of Tina Cassidy
Tina Cassidy: A 16-year-old high school sophomore in David Phelps's class
Bobby Harken: David's friend and fellow teacher
Archie: David's orange tabby cat
Diane Delaney: David's ex-girlfriend
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. David Phelps: The narrator of the story. He is a 28-year-old high school physics and natural science teacher in Grantham, Indiana in 1985.
Earl Pinkham: The principal of Grove Park High School where David teaches
Susanna (Suzie) Cassidy: The school secretary and mother of Tina Cassidy
Tina Cassidy: A 16-year-old high school sophomore in David Phelps's class
Bobby Harken: David's friend and fellow teacher
Archie: David's orange tabby cat
Diane Delaney: David's ex-girlfriend
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