A Humble Heart
Page 65

“Yeah, my sister has his poster, too. She says she’s in love with him! But she shouldn’t because he’s Elizabeth’s daddy and her mommy is super nice!” another little girl said.
“Is Dana coming by again?” a little girl with fiery red hair asked. “She’s fun. I like it when she’s the parent helper. The babies are so cute!”
“I’ll ask her,” he said, bending down so he could talk to them.
A little boy gently grabbed his sleeve and pulled. “What’s up little man?” he asked the adorable little boy with messy blonde hair.
“I’m going to marry Dana,” he said confidently.
“Oh, that would make me very sad, buddy. What will I do?” Edward said.
The little boy shrugged. “I’ll trade you my favorite game for her!”
“Hmm, what game?” he said, considering his choices.
“Boppy Bubbles!” the little boy replied with a firm nod.
“I don’t know. That’s a good game, but Dana cooks really well. I don’t know. What else do you have?” Edward asked.
The little boy’s face scrunched up as he thought about it. “You can take my sister! She’s really annoying, but pretty! I wouldn’t mind making the trade, honest!”
Edward chuckled. “I’ll have to think about it.”
“Really?” the little boy grinned hugely.
“Yup, but I have to warn you she’s very strict about video game and television time, only an hour a day,” Edward said in a soft warning tone.
The boy’s face dropped. “Forget it, you can keep her!” He stormed off.
Edward chuckled. Mrs. Goodfellow was trying her best to hide her laughter, but doing a poor job of it.
“My brother has her magazine under his bed. Why does he do that? Isn’t it going to get wrecked?” the girl with red hair asked.
“Er….” Edward was at a loss for words.
Mrs. Goodfellow let out a snort of laughter and quickly clamped her mouth shut. She couldn’t help at the moment even if she wanted to, and he suspected she very much wanted to steer the conversation another way.
“My brother has it in his bathroom. I think he really likes the articles, because it’s worn out and he’s in there for like forever.” the little girl with pig tails announced.
“My Daddy has the magazine in his sock drawer and in the bathroom!” a little boy announced.
Edward looked up at Mrs. Goodfellow for help, but she was past being able to help. What was he supposed to say to these kids when he himself had a copy of the magazine in the bathroom, hell he had the eight by tens pinned up around his desk in the office. Dana rolled her eyes every time she looked at them. She didn’t understand because she wasn’t a guy. He liked a little eye candy now and then and she was like a freaking candy factory for him, and apparently for many of the men in these children’s lives.
“My brother’s magazine is wrecked, the pages are stuck together,” one little boy complained.
His jaw dropped.
“Oh lord,” Mrs. Goodfellow mumbled.
“They just really like the magazine. It’s very interesting. There are a lot of good stories in it. But perhaps you shouldn’t touch them. Remember it’s not nice to touch someone’s stuff without permission,” Edward said, proud of himself that he was able to form a coherent sentence at the moment.
“He’s right, children. When we don’t ask what do we do?” Mrs. Goodfellow prompted the children.
“We ask for trouble,” they said in unison.
“Let’s go sit down,” Mrs. Goodfellow said, clasping her hands together. They turned on their heels quickly and ran to the reading circle.
“I’m sorry about that,” Edward said, feeling a little more than embarrassed that they’d been inadvertently talking about other men jerking off to his wife. It made his stomach turn when he thought about the lascivious thoughts other men had about his Dana.
“Oh, don’t be. Dana is a very beautiful woman and the article they wrote in that magazine was very nice. It’s good to see a woman struggle through hardships and come out on top,” Mrs. Goodfellow said adamantly.
“Mrs. Goodfellow?” Mr. Paulson said, popping his head into the room.
“Stephanie, can you watch the students? I’m stepping into the hall for a moment.”
She nodded and did a once over on Edward again. It made his skin crawl the way she looked at him in front of his daughter. He went into the hall. Mr. Paulson shut the door behind him. Thankfully no one else was in the hall. This was going to difficult enough to talk about without witnesses.
“What do you need to talk to us about, Mr. Pierce?” Mr. Paulson asked politely.
“I want my daughter removed from this class,” he said.
Mrs. Goodfellow’s face dropped. “What’s wrong? I didn’t know she was upset. Is it something we can fix? I really enjoy having her in my class. She’s a bright and funny girl and goes out of her way to help with the shyer students.”
He felt bad that she'd gotten the wrong impression. “Oh, it’s nothing about you, Mrs. Goodfellow. She adores you and my wife thinks you’re the best, but as long as Stephanie is an aide in that class my child won't be.”
Mrs. Goodfellow heaved a sigh. “I should have known she would be the cause of this. I’m really sorry, Mr. Pierce. I told her to stop harassing your daughter about you. I wrote her up several times and informed Mr. Paulson.”
He nodded. “Yes, I know about those, I’m referring to her calling my wife a whore and my sons bastards.”
She was at a loss for words, but Mr. Paulson wasn’t. “She said what?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Apparently Stephanie has taken issue with my family situation and has decided to use her sister Mary to confer her opinion about my wife and children,” Edward said evenly.
“I am so sorry about this, Mr. Pierce. You have to know that we do not condone this type of behavior or language,” Mr. Paulson explained.
“That’s the only reason I’m not pulling my daughter out of this school. I am adamant about getting her away from Stephanie and her influence.”
“I don’t think it’s fair that Elizabeth be punished. She has a great deal of friends in the class. She’s such a good girl. I think what needs to happen is Stephanie should be switched with someone else,” Mrs. Goodfellow suggested.
“I don’t think so,” Mr. Paulson said sternly. “What is going to happen is she is leaving the property this minute. I will not tolerate this type of behavior from any adult. I don’t care if she is infatuated with you, Mr. Pierce, but I expect to act appropriately around the children,” he said, walking into the room without waiting for a response.
Mrs. Goodfellow squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I really am sorry, Edward.”
“That’s fine. I just want my daughter to be happy.”
“I know. You’re a good father, Edward.”
“Thank you,” he said softly. Those words meant a great deal to him.
Mr. Paulson stepped out into the hall with Stephanie. Mrs. Goodfellow shot the girl a scowl before entering the room to watch the children.
Stephanie looked up at Edward and beamed completely ignoring Mr. Paulson. The girl was an idiot. “I saw your last movie, Edward. You were really good,” she said, biting her lip suggestively.
Edward shook his head in disgust and walked past her into the classroom. Elizabeth jumped to her feet and ran to him. “I have to go, squirt. I’ll see you later!” He picked her up and gave her a bear hug and kiss.
“Bye, Daddy!” she said, breaking free from him and running happily back to the circle. He left the classroom and found Stephanie in the hallway crying.
“That bitch had me fired? Are you kidding me?!” She stomped her foot.
“Lower your tone and watch your mouth or you’ll find yourself forcibly removed,” Mr. Paulson said, gesturing to two armed security officers who were now standing in the hallway.
She looked at Edward and rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe that bitch has you pu**y whipped.”