This, she thought, was what real couples did. They faced problems together, worked through them, and their families were stronger because of it. The only issues she and Marc ever resolved together were work related. Anytime she’d tried to bring up his neglect or anything else personal, he’d tuned her out. She should have recognized they were missing out on a key aspect of any good relationship.
She had her own crazy family with all of its ups and downs to look to as prime examples of the way it should be done. Not every day was sunshine and roses. Those hurdles, faced together, were the strength behind every O’Brien family.
20
Sam requested a meeting with Bobby’s teacher, Amy Pennington, and Patsy’s mother, Allison Rogers. The three of them met in the first-grade classroom after school the day after the fight that had sent Bobby to Noah’s office.
Allison Rogers appeared to be a nice enough woman, a little harried and a bit indignant about being dragged away from work in the middle of the afternoon, but otherwise reasonably pleasant. She seemed genuinely mystified about why she was there.
Bobby’s teacher, who did, indeed, look a little like Mrs. Claus with her white hair and frameless glasses, took charge of the meeting.
“Allison, I’m not sure if you’re aware that we had a problem on the playground yesterday. I did leave you a message, but since you didn’t call back, I can’t be sure if you got it,” Mrs. Pennington said.
“Last night was insane. I never checked for messages,” Mrs. Rogers admitted. “Was it anything serious? If so, the office has my cell number.”
“I tried that, as well.” The teacher waved off the issue. “It doesn’t matter now, since you obviously received the request to be here this afternoon.”
“The principal called me this morning at work and made it seem like a matter of life or death,” she said. “I certainly hope it’s at least that important. My boss hates it when I leave early and I need this job.”
“Then let’s address this quickly,” Mrs. Pennington suggested briskly. “Yesterday Patsy was involved in a fight with Sam’s nephew, Bobby. She said something quite cruel and he, naturally, took offense. He gave her a shove, and then she split his lip and gave him a black eye.”
“That’s what he gets for shoving her,” Allison said defensively, frowning at Sam. “Surely he knows better.”
Sam had left the entire conversation up to the teacher until now, but he couldn’t let that pass. “How would you react if you were a scared six-year-old living with an uncle you barely know in a new town, attending a new school and someone told you that your recently deceased parents had deliberately left you because you were a no-good, stupid boy?”
To her credit, Mrs. Rogers looked shocked. “That’s what Patsy said?”
“I’m afraid so,” the teacher confirmed. “I overheard her myself, but before I could intervene, Bobby had lashed out and Patsy had hit him hard enough that he required stitches.”
Patsy’s mom regarded Sam with what appeared to be genuine regret. “I am so sorry. I hate to admit it, but I think I have some idea where this is coming from. Patsy’s father recently left us. One of his parting shots was that he was going because I was a failure at discipline and the kids—I have a son, too—are out-of-control brats. Naturally that was shouted at the top of his lungs from the front lawn. Patsy and her brother heard every word.”
Of course with that piece of information added in, the whole incident made perfect sense to Sam. In Patsy’s head, if a parent went away, it had to be on purpose and it had to be because the children were no good. She’d been taking her own pain out on Bobby.
“I’m sorry,” Sam said.
“Hey, he wasn’t a very nice man and we were a terrible couple,” she said bitterly. “I think we’d forgotten why we’d fallen in love by the time the ceremony was over, but we hung in there until Patsy turned five. Her brother’s four. My delightful husband figured by then Teddy would be old enough for preschool and Patsy would be going into first grade, so I could go back to work to support them.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam said again, realizing it was possible for children to suffer losses almost as emotionally devastating as losing two parents in an accident.
“I think we can see very clearly that there are two sides to every story,” the teacher said. “That doesn’t excuse the behavior, but at least it gives us some context. Mr. Winslow, do you agree?”
“Absolutely,” Sam said.
“I’ll talk to Patsy,” Mrs. Rogers promised. “I’ll make sure she apologizes to Bobby. I’ll bring her to school myself in the morning and stand there to see that she does it.”