Beyond Eighteen(75)

We stood facing each other in silence. Mr. Langley stood there, waiting for me to acknowledge his testimony; and me, I was waiting to come back from the invading boom of my father’s voice still ringing in my ears.

“Mr. Langley, thank you for stopping by. Your sentiment isn’t lost on me. I will personally handle the business relationship you had with my father. You have my word,” I said as we firmly shook hands. I felt every emotion filter through his grip and bleed into my skin. In the split second my heart fissured for the legacy of my father, Mr. Langley found a way to mend the anger and take away the pain of a vacancy from my childhood.

Clay Langley’s expression brightened. His smile climbed up his weathered cheeks and his broken eyes filled with new hope for his life. It was fulfilling to see the power I had to affect and help the human side of GP. He nodded to me, turned toward the front doors, and left. Not asking for anything in writing, not second-guessing my intentions. With just a handshake and a pile of words, his life had new hope. My lungs filled with a breath of fresh air and my mind swam with the renewed purpose I had no idea existed.

My gait was confident as I left the conference room and headed back toward the elevators. Elaine was on the phone in my father’s office. The huge glass windows gave me a peek into her business. I smiled, waved to her, and then pressed the up button next to the elevator. It wasn’t long before I was back upstairs, surrounded by the heaviness of sorting through and figuring out what GP really represented financially.

I had my hand on the door as I felt my iPhone vibrate in my pocket. It wasn’t a text, because I noticed the vibration came in waves. It was Wilson, calling me. As I pushed the answer button, I knew I wanted to tell her about Mr. Langley and how empowering it felt to actually help someone. Excited to tell her I understood the reason why my father decided to name me CEO of GP, I pushed the phone to my ear.

“Max, are you there? Max, can you hear me?” she spoke fast, almost frantic.

“Yeah, hey, yes, I am here, what’s going on?” Suddenly the contentedness that filled my soul gave way to the fearful panic of Wilson yelling into the phone.

“Oh my God, Max, I am so scared. I came back to the dorms and I…I found an envelope…it was on my bed…”

“Okay, alright, Wilson, what did it say?” I said really slowly, trying to calm the raging sea pounding in her voice.

“It was addressed to me, no return address…it only had Wilson Mooney on the front of it,” she said building upon the energy she had swirling so vigorously I could feel it through the phone.

“Wilson, sweetheart, what did the letter say?”

“I am so frickin’ scared, what if it’s about my financial aid? What if they decided to pull my funding because I don’t have any legal guardians any more?”

“What did the letter say?” I repeated as evenly as possible.

“It said, it said, well here let me just read it to you…” I heard paper scraping against itself as she pulled the phone away from her mouth. “Joanie, this fucking letter won’t stay open. I can’t hold the phone and keep the letter from folding closed.”

There was a rustling of the phone.

“Joanie, I don’t want to be expelled.”

“What the hell is going on out there?” I started to feel myself getting stressed. “Can you please just read me the letter?” I barked.

“It says, ‘Miss Wilson Mooney, Due to the newly collected and recently discovered discrepancies in your schooling, the acting executive board of Wesley Academy for Girls and I request your appearance in my office upon receipt of this letter. If you fail to appear in my office I will have no choice but to revoke your financial aid and expel you from Wesley Academy without due process or cause. Please call my office at 555-7337, extension #14713, Yours truly, Dean McCallous.’ That’s all….it is dated yesterday, December 29th. Oh my God, Max, I don’t want to lose my financial aid five months before the end of school!”

“You’re not going to lose anything. The letter is only dated yesterday. Settle down. They aren’t going to take away your financial aid. I’ve never heard of them doing that because someone’s guardian died. And if they do, I will take care of your tuition,” I said, trying to ease her mind. I heard Joanie say something to Wilson and that’s when everything shifted and her voice became the calm before the storm.

“Oh my God, this letter has nothing to do with financial aid. Why didn’t I see it sooner? They know about us!” Wilson yelled into the phone. “Oh my fucking God, they know about us. Max, what are we going to do? Oh my God, Max, what are they going to do to you?” she hollered.