Page 7 of A Noble Affair
When they reached the door to the community room, there was already a handful of people waiting on the landing and stairwell. Maude tapped the person in front of her and whispered, “What are we waiting for? Why don’t we just go in?”
Chastity didn’t recognize the woman and assumed it must be a parent. “We don’t have the right to interrupt the board meeting, so we’re waiting until it’s finished,” the woman answered. “We’ll have to ask them to reopen the issue and hear us out.”
Maude nodded her approval and turned back to Chastity. “You heard that?”
Chastity nodded back with a glimmer of a smile. “This hints at revolt. I hope they don’t meet us with boiling oil.”
Maude flashed her white teeth as she laughed noiselessly. “So what’s new? You’ve been distracted lately.”
Chastity sighed deeply and leaned on the railing. “Thomas’s father is in France, and he asked to meet us.”
“Oh. You’ve never mentioned him before. When’s the last time Tommy saw him?”
“Never.” Chastity’s smile was rueful, and Maude waited for her to continue. “He’s been in prison. But even before that he told me he wanted nothing to do with the baby. I was just a teenager, you know.” She darted a glance at Maude’s face and was relieved to see no judgment there. “He said he’d pay for an abortion. So nice of him,” she added.
Maude wrinkled her brows. “I’m afraid to ask how he was supposed to pay for the abortion. What did he go to prison for?”
“Selling drugs. But that wasn’t how he would have paid for it. In fact, I still can’t get over the fact that he would do something like sell drugs. He comes from a wealthy French family, and his dad is—or was—in New York on diplomatic business. I mean, tons of money and lots of snobbery to go with it.”
“In my years of teaching, I’ve seen a few privileged kids fall off the straight path like that. Sometimes the parents were too busy to give the attention and affection a kid needs. But sometimes it’s just bad luck. A good kid from a good, affectionate family will fall in with a bad crowd and make stupid choices. What were his parents like?”
“I think they were all right. His mom was maybe a bit cold, but it was clear they loved him. He was all they had, and they gave him all their attention.”
“Hm. Maybe too much. But let me stop analyzing. The truth is, you just never know. So when are you going to meet him? Orareyou going to meet him?”
“Tomorrow. Do you think I’m doing the right thing, or should I run the other direction?”
“I can’t answer that for you.” Maude pursed her lips. “He left you to raise Thomas on your own. Then again, he was—what—seventeen? Eighteen? We are all stupid at that age.” Chastity laughed, and Maude continued in a more serious tone. “But then, what he did afterwards was not just stupid; it had serious consequences. I just don’t know. I suppose everyone deserves at least one second chance, right?”
Chastity stole a glance at the others who were all involved in conversation. She answered quietly. “That’s exactly what I told Thomas, but it doesn’t bring me any closer to knowing what to do.” She gave a small shrug. “The truth is, I’m lonely. It’s not that I think he’s going to be the answer to that, but it makes it harder for me to think clearly.”
“How many men have you dated seriously since Thomas’s father.”
Chastity brought her thumb and forefinger together to make a zero.
“What? How is that possible? How are they not beating down your door?”
Chastity chewed her lip. “I don’t know. A few tried, but there was always something missing. I suspected they didn’t like kids—usually that was it. Sometimes there was no spark. Or I’m busy.”
Maude grabbed her hand, which rested on the railing, and held it tightly. “Of course you’re busy. You’re a single mom. But I suspect with the right one, the obstacles would fade away. Don’t you think?”
“The right one. Ha. If only I knew what I wanted. That’s the problem. I don’t know what I want.” She tucked a curl behind her ear. “No, Idoknow, but I don’t like to say the words because I’m afraid it will never come true.”
Maude prodded her. “Now you have to tell me. You can’t leave me hanging.”
Chastity took a deep breath. “I want someone who loves both me and Thomas. Someone who’s not afraid to commit and actually wants tomarryme.” She stretched out the word, then laughed and hid her face in her hands. “You know—what you and Michel have, and I’m afraid that just doesn’t exist anymore. At least not for me.”
“Oh, you want matching names?” Maude teased. “Let’s see…what matches with Chastity?”
Just then the door to the community room opened, signaling the end of the board meeting. Maude was still staring at her and chuckling quietly, so Chastity whispered, “Nothing. Nothing matches with my name.”
“Christophe.” Maude whispered back. “Chandler.” Then, as an afterthought, “Charles.”
Chastity suppressed a smile and rolled her eyes. “Look ahead. The line’s moving.”
Chastity hadno idea what to expect from this impromptu meeting with the board. She just knew it wasn’t fair that they could get rid of someone for no apparent reason. This small group of supporters, about fifteen in all, would at least take a stand against the injustice.Someone has to, she huffed.
She was the last one to position herself on one end of the oval table that usually held student backpacks and cans of coke, but which now held espresso cups and a plate with nothing but crumbs. She studied the board members who were talking with one another and ignoring the crowd that had assembled the minute the meeting was over.
