Katie was stunned.
Lila was livid.
Because Mark was nervous and uncertain how to begin such an awkward conversation, he just started talking in a genial, conversational tone.
“Katie, it’s good to see you up and about. I just wanted to say what an amazing woman you are, saving those children like you did.”
Katie heard him, then looked back down at her plate, popped another bite of calamari into her mouth, and started chewing without responding.
It was all Lila needed to see.
She waved her hand at him as if she were flicking away a fly.
“Get lost, dude. Your opinions and presence are unwelcome here.”
Mark frowned. “I’m not speaking to you.”
“And Katie isn’t speaking to you, so beat it,” Lila snapped.
“That’s exceedingly rude!” Mark said.
Lila leaned forward, her voice rising. “No. Rude was what you did when you cheated on Katie, then jilted her at the altar and married the skank you were cheating with. You are a lying philanderer and you’re in our space. Get lost, and if you think I’m kidding, I’m happy to start a great big fuss right here in the middle of Pappadeaux, and see how long it takes for someone to video it and upload it to their favorite social media sites.”
Mark glanced at Katie, who was calmly dunking a piece of fried calamari in rémoulade sauce, then turned on his heel and walked away, well aware of the curious glances he was getting from the people who’d overheard their conversation. He hated to admit it, but Megan had been right, and she was waiting at their table with a smirk on her face.
“The waiter just came with the bill.” She pushed it toward him. “Have a seat. You can’t run yet.”
Mark glared, pulled out a credit card and laid it on top of their tab, then grabbed his cell phone and began checking his texts so he wouldn’t have to talk to her.
As for Megan, she’d just seen a side of Mark that made her nervous. He’d defied her. What the hell would he do if he ever found out about the Lanier family’s side hustle.
***
Back at their table, Katie swallowed her bite and grinned.
“You rock big time, my friend,” she said.
Lila’s cheeks were pink, and she was still livid.
“I swear, that man is clueless as hell. The absolute gall of just strolling up and thinking we would be glad to see him.”
Katie laughed, and again the sound rang out—all the way across the room to where Mark and Megan were sitting, still waiting for their credit card.
This time, even Megan heard it and wondered if they were laughing at her and Mark. She didn’t like thinking she was the butt of anyone’s joke, and stood up.
“I’ll be waiting in the car,” she said, and strode out of Pappadeaux with her head up and her hips swaying.
Several minutes later, Mark followed her out.
Lila had been keeping an eye on them, and once they were gone, she breathed easier.
“Well, Dumb and Dumber are gone, and here comes our food. Yum,” she said.
Now that Katie knew she was no longer subject to Mark and Megan’s presence, she relaxed. The rest of their lunch went undisturbed.
They were finishing up their meal when Lila finally broached the subject of Katie’s future.
“Are you still going to teach?” she asked.
“Not in that building. I just can’t,” Katie said.
“Maybe in another school in the system?” Lila asked.
“I don’t know, Lila. What I do know is I barely made it out yesterday. I wasn’t sure if I was going to throw up or pass out before I got out of there.”
Lila’s eyes welled.
“I’m so sorry. That just breaks my heart. You’re so good at what you do, and I love you to pieces, but at the same time I can’t even imagine how you feel. I was standing at the locked door at my room, praying you’d come flying back knocking and shouting for me to let you in, and instead I heard shooting. When one of the bullets hit the door to my room, I hit the floor. I locked you out, and I will never forget that.”
Katie pushed her food aside and grabbed Lila’s hand.
“You did what you were supposed to do…what I asked you to do! You saved not only your class but mine as well. And I was never going to be able to get the boys back in time. That’s why I threw myself on top of them. The shooter caught us out in the open. We’re more fortunate than the five who died. And if the worst thing I have to live with is PTSD in school halls, then so be it. I may teach again, or not. I have to support myself, but I was a survivor a long time before this shooting ever happened…a long time before I got jilted. Okay?”
Lila sighed. She knew Katie’s history. She got it.
“Yes. Okay. But you have to promise… Whatever you do, wherever you go, we do not lose touch with each other.”
“Count on it,” Katie said.
***
Mark and Megan’s drive home was much quieter than it had been on the way to lunch, and as soon as they got home, Megan received a phone call from her father. They spoke, and as soon as they ended their conversation, she got up.
“I have to run over to Dad’s house.”
“Want me to go with you?” Mark asked.
Megan’s stomach clenched. “No. This is your day off. I have every day off. Why don’t you put on your swim trunks and lounge around the pool with something cold to drink? It won’t take long and I’ll be back to join you in the pool later.”
“You sure? I don’t mind,” Mark said.
Megan threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Yes, I’m sure. You’re a darling. You worked hard all morning, and I’m sorry I was cranky. Go enjoy the fruits of your labor.”
Then before he could argue further, she got her car keys, blew him a kiss, and hurried out through the kitchen into the garage where her Porsche was parked. She made sure the bag she’d locked up in the trunk earlier was safely stowed and took off in a rush.
It was delivery day at Daddy’s, and she had something over eighty thousand dollars in that bag that she’d wanted out of the house.
***
After dropping Lila back at her apartment, Katie stopped off at a supermarket for groceries, and as she shopped, she thought back over her conversation with Lila. The weight of indecision was gone. Katie was not going to renew her teaching contract in the Albuquerque school system, and just acknowledging that released her from a mountain of guilt.