| General Fiction posted March 9, 2024 | Chapters: |
...20 21 -22- 23... 
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Moving forward again
A chapter in the book What We See
What We See - Chapter 19
by Jim Wile
| Background A high school teacher wrongly accused of sexual assault reinvents his life. |
Recap of Chapter 17 & 18: Alan calls a radio talk show to get advice on how to deal with Ginnie’s anticipated apology for not trusting and believing in him. The host advises him to ask her why she distrusted him so, and if she’s willing to share with him and her explanation seems legitimate and not petty or frivolous, he should probably give her another chance.
Ginnie comes over with two pieces of pie: peach for him and crow for her. In a very sorrowful apology, she reveals why she has been so distrusting of men in general. Her father had been living a double life with another family, and when her mother found out, she divorced him. He never contacted Ginnie again after that. She also revealed to Alan the details of her husband’s decline and death in a drunken auto accident. He consoles her, and the two decide to give it another chance and begin trusting each other.
Chapter 19
_____________________________________________________
[ ]
[ Local Football Star Charged with ]
[ Assault and Battery ]
[ ]
[ By Simon Holtz ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ High school senior Tony Armand, 18, was arrested ]
[ on Wednesday, June 12 for the assault and battery ]
[ of a minor and the death of her unborn child. The ]
[ victim of the alleged attack was his longtime girl-]
[ friend, who was 5 months pregnant at the time. ]
[ ]
[ According to the girl, 16, a sophomore at Grove ]
[ Park High School, the attack took place in Ridley ]
[ Park around 9:00 PM on Monday, June 10. The two ]
[ had been arguing about having an abortion, and ]
[ when the girl refused, Armand allegedly became ]
[ angry and kicked her repeatedly. ]
[ ]
[ He was stopped by David Alan Phelps, 28, who lived ]
[ next door to the park and overheard the alleged ]
[ assault. Phelps called for an ambulance, and the ]
[ girl was brought to Sparrow Hospital, where she ]
[ was treated for multiple severe injuries and ]
[ lost the fetus. ]
[ ]
[ In a bizarre twist to the story, Phelps, who ]
[ had been the girl’s science teacher at Grove ]
[ Park High, was forced to resign in March after ]
[ she had accused him of sexual assault. In an ]
[ interview with the girl by this reporter, she ]
[ admitted she lied to explain wounds she ]
[ received from Armand at the time. The two had ]
[ devised a complicated plot to extort Phelps ]
[ for money to pay for an abortion. It failed when ]
[ Phelps refused her attempts to seduce him. In a ]
[ fit of rage, Armand choked her. To cover up for ]
[ the truth of the attack, which left bruises on ]
[ her neck, she claimed Phelps was responsible for ]
[ the bruises. ]
[ ]
[ It was Phelps’s quick response Monday to the ]
[ alleged attack in the park by Armand that saved ]
[ the girl’s life. ]
[ ]
[ Armand is scheduled for arraignment on Thursday ]
[ and remains in Wilshire County jail. He had no ]
[ comment on the arrest. ]
______________________________________________________
[ ]
[ Local Football Star Charged with ]
[ Assault and Battery ]
[ ]
[ By Simon Holtz ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ High school senior Tony Armand, 18, was arrested ]
[ on Wednesday, June 12 for the assault and battery ]
[ of a minor and the death of her unborn child. The ]
[ victim of the alleged attack was his longtime girl-]
[ friend, who was 5 months pregnant at the time. ]
[ ]
[ According to the girl, 16, a sophomore at Grove ]
[ Park High School, the attack took place in Ridley ]
[ Park around 9:00 PM on Monday, June 10. The two ]
[ had been arguing about having an abortion, and ]
[ when the girl refused, Armand allegedly became ]
[ angry and kicked her repeatedly. ]
[ ]
[ He was stopped by David Alan Phelps, 28, who lived ]
[ next door to the park and overheard the alleged ]
[ assault. Phelps called for an ambulance, and the ]
[ girl was brought to Sparrow Hospital, where she ]
[ was treated for multiple severe injuries and ]
[ lost the fetus. ]
[ ]
[ In a bizarre twist to the story, Phelps, who ]
[ had been the girl’s science teacher at Grove ]
[ Park High, was forced to resign in March after ]
[ she had accused him of sexual assault. In an ]
[ interview with the girl by this reporter, she ]
[ admitted she lied to explain wounds she ]
[ received from Armand at the time. The two had ]
[ devised a complicated plot to extort Phelps ]
[ for money to pay for an abortion. It failed when ]
[ Phelps refused her attempts to seduce him. In a ]
[ fit of rage, Armand choked her. To cover up for ]
[ the truth of the attack, which left bruises on ]
[ her neck, she claimed Phelps was responsible for ]
[ the bruises. ]
[ ]
[ It was Phelps’s quick response Monday to the ]
[ alleged attack in the park by Armand that saved ]
[ the girl’s life. ]
[ ]
[ Armand is scheduled for arraignment on Thursday ]
[ and remains in Wilshire County jail. He had no ]
[ comment on the arrest. ]
______________________________________________________
When this article came out in the local paper, I decided to ditch the glasses, shave my mustache, and regrow my hair to my preferred length. But I thought I’d keep the name Alan, at least for the time being, since my name was on the business. If folks who don’t read the article or at least hear about it still think I’m guilty, screw ‘em. I’m not going to worry about that. The truth is out now.
Over the next few weeks, things went relatively well between Ginnie and me. Her accusations still smart when I think about them, and I can’t say that I have totally forgiven her yet, but at least I understand where she was coming from a little better. The few times we saw each other, she seemed to be walking on tenterhooks, whatever those are. Odd expression.
I like her, though, and I don’t want to have these uncomfortable feelings between us to continue, so I decided to ask her out—just the two of us—and she readily agreed. Tommy was old enough now to stay by himself in the evenings, so she wasn’t worried about leaving him alone for a few hours. We agreed to our date the next night at Mario’s, a moderately upscale Italian eatery in Grantham. I told her I would pick her up at 7:00.
I stewed about what to wear. The place wasn’t all that fancy, and a jacket and tie weren’t really necessary, so I chose a navy-blue polo shirt and khaki slacks. Not bad, I thought as I looked in the mirror.
When Ginnie answered the door, however, she looked amazing. She was wearing a white, off-the-shoulder sleeveless blouse over a pair of tight, emerald-green slacks and white, 3-inch chunky heels. Her shoulders and upper arms were slim and beautiful. Her long brown hair was down, and she had on some light makeup. “Wow, Ginnie! You look great.”
“Thank you. You look pretty great yourself. I’m getting used to your new look. You’re growing your hair out, I see. I know now why high school girls would be attracted to you.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me. Let me say hi to Tommy, and then we can go.”
He had come downstairs and was in the living room. “Hey, Tommy. Long time, no see.”
He laughed. “So, where are you and Mom going tonight?”
“We’re going to Mario’s in Grantham. Ever been there?”
“No. The nicest place I’ve been is Chico’s, which isn’t too fancy. But the food is great. What time will you guys be home?”
I looked at Ginnie, who said, “We’re not quite sure. We may decide to do something after the meal. Don’t go to bed too late if we aren’t back ‘til a little bit later, okay?”
“Okay, Mom. You guys have a good time. Hey, maybe you could come to my baseball game tomorrow, Alan.”
“I’d like to. Won’t be there ‘til 2:30, though. Feel free to start without me.”
He laughed again. We left then and drove to Mario’s.
Ginnie and I both love Italian food, and Mario’s was a great choice. I could see Ginnie attract a few looks as we were shown to our table. No one paid any particular attention to me, though, which was how I liked it.
We both had a drink before dinner—she a Southern Comfort Manhattan, me a Jack and Coke. For the meal, I ordered Veal Saltimbocca, and she had Eggplant Parmesan. We tried each other’s dishes, and they were both excellent. Over dinner, we both had a glass of wine, and for dessert we shared a cannoli and a square of tiramisu.
The conversation was very comfortable, and we talked a lot about our childhoods and about baseball. She had been a third-baseman on her softball team. It was fast-pitch, as the girls play in high school, and she said she had been a pretty good hitter. I suggested that maybe she and Tommy and I could practice hitting and fielding on Sunday afternoon, and she loved the idea.
She told me that Tommy was really enjoying his work with me this summer and was learning a lot. She said she was still saving to buy him a computer.
When we exited the restaurant, I said to her, “It’s such a lovely, warm evening; why don’t we take a stroll?”
“I’d love to.”
I didn’t think about it; I just took her hand in mine, and we walked down the block hand-in-hand. It seemed perfectly natural and comfortable. When we got to the end of the stores, we continued on and entered a park a little ways down. The park bordered a river, and we made our way down a path to walk along the river. The moon was nearly at the full and shone brightly in a clear sky. It was beautiful there in the park, with the reflection of the moon off the slow-moving river. I let go of her hand then and put my arm around her waist, and she put hers around mine as we walked along.
We said only an occasional word. At a certain point, we stopped walking and stood close, just looking at each other. I started moving my face closer, and she raised her chin. We kissed, long and slow with a gentle probing of our tongues. Her natural scent and the softness of her lips were intoxicating. We pulled apart for a moment to catch our breaths, and I could tell she'd enjoyed it as much as I did. We came together then in a tight embrace and another kiss—more passionate this time.
When it was over, we both seemed to sense that it was enough for now and resumed walking. The path made a large circle back to the entrance, and we followed it and exited the park, hand-in-hand again.
We returned to the car, which was parked behind Mario’s, and drove home.
“Would you like to come in for a while, Alan? It’s not too late yet, and Tommy will probably be up.”
“Sure. I can stay for a bit.”
Tommy was in the living room watching a ballgame. It was tied up through seven innings, and Detroit was at bat in the top of the 8th. We sat down with him to watch the rest of the game, and he filled us in on the action so far. In a half-hour, the game was over, and the White Sox had scored another defeat when the Tigers pulled ahead in the top of the 9th on a 2-run homer by Lance Parrish. The closer, Willie Hernandez, was able to shut down the White Sox on three straight outs in the bottom of the 9th to end the game.
“Why do the White Sox always seem to blow it at the end?” lamented Tommy.
“The season’s not quite half over,” I said. “There’s still plenty of time to catch up. Maybe we should all go to Comiskey Park and see a game sometime this summer.”
“Hey, yeah. I’ve never been to a professional game before. That would be cool!”
“What do you think, Mom? I asked Ginnie.”
“I love the idea. We should do it.”
I got up to leave then, and Ginnie walked me to the door as Tommy headed upstairs to get ready for bed. Halfway up, he stopped and said, “You won’t forget about my game tomorrow, will you, Alan?”
I gave him a salute and said, “Nothing will stop me from coming this time, sir. See you tomorrow.” He smiled and continued up the stairs.
“You’re so good with him. Thank you for a wonderful evening, Alan. I had a very special time.”
“I did too. I’ll see you tomorrow at the game.” I took her face in my hands and kissed her gently on the mouth. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
 Recognized |
CHARACTERS
David (later Alan) 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
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
Tommy Boardman: Alan's 12-year-old next door neighbor. He is dyslexic like Alan.
Ginnie Boardman: Tommy's mother. She is 30 years old and is an ICU nurse.
Artie Intintoli: Tommy's friend who also lives on Loser St.
Ida Beeman: Alan's first customer. She is a nice old lady who lives on Loser Street.
Tony Armand: Tina Cassidy's boyfriend and the father of her baby. He is a star football player at Grove Park High.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. David (later Alan) 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
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
Tommy Boardman: Alan's 12-year-old next door neighbor. He is dyslexic like Alan.
Ginnie Boardman: Tommy's mother. She is 30 years old and is an ICU nurse.
Artie Intintoli: Tommy's friend who also lives on Loser St.
Ida Beeman: Alan's first customer. She is a nice old lady who lives on Loser Street.
Tony Armand: Tina Cassidy's boyfriend and the father of her baby. He is a star football player at Grove Park High.
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