“Move,” I said, waving at him to get out of my way.

He stepped aside and I pushed the door open.

“With pleasure,” he said.

At those words, I stopped in doorway. Late morning sunlight shined into the motor coach, warming me against the sudden chill in the room. Our eyes met and I glared at him for several seconds before turning away and slamming the door behind me.

When the day began, I looked forward to seeing him.

Now, I wasn’t sure if I ever would again.

AVA

As luck would have it, shortly after my argument with Dyson, I received a phone call from the administrator of Simon’s school, Mrs. Phyllis Marberry. Not long after I’d been hired by the team, I contacted the school to arrange a meeting about Simon’s tuition, since he’d lost his funding from the state.

I had a bit of time before qualifying began, so missing a day or two from the team wouldn’t matter. After grabbing a last minute flight, I arrived in Austin, and without even going home first, I headed straight for the school. My hope was that I’d be able to surprise Simon with the good news later that day.

I’d been in such a hurry the entire day, I hadn’t had the chance to feel anxious about the meeting. That is, until I arrived at school. Suddenly, the situation was all too real and the stakes seemed higher than ever.

By the time I checked in with Mrs. Marberry’s assistant, my knees felt as if they would give way beneath me. Fortunately, I made my way to a chair in the lobby without collapsing.

Although I wasn’t in much trouble as a child, I did get called to the principal’s office once or twice. For some reason, this situation felt eerily similar. After I’d been there for about fifteen minutes or so, the door to Mrs. Marberry’s office creaked open and an older woman appeared in the threshold.

Without looking in my direction, she walked towards an assistant who helped me when I’d arrived. The two chatted for a few seconds before they looked in my direction. The assistant pointed at me. Moments later, the older woman approached me.

“Ms. Walters?” she began, extending her hand. “I am Mrs. Marberry, the school administrator.”

I stood from the chair, smiling and straightening the fabric of my clothes with a couple of quick swipes. I took her hand in mine.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Marberry. Thank you for taking the time to see me like this.”

The woman stepped aside and gestured in the direction of her office. “Of course. Please, after you.”

A few minutes later, I sat in a cozy, antique leather chair. Everywhere I looked, the decorations reflected the seriousness of the woman sitting across from me. If nothing else, at least I was talking to the only person that mattered. If I had to guess, I would’ve said she was in her mid-seventies.

“Ms. Walters,” she began, looking at me over a pair of bifocals. “I understand you’re here to discuss the situation with your nephew, Simon. Is that correct?”

Crossing one leg at the knee, I nodded and smiled at her. “Yes, that’s correct.”

“Mmm hmm…” She nodded, pursing her lips and picking up a few pieces of paper from her desk. “I was very sorry to hear about the loss of his grant money from the state. That must be an awful disappointment to him, as well as yourself, obviously.”

“Yes, when I first learned about it, it was extremely difficult.”

She looked at me for a moment before responding. “Oh, do you mean to say that Simon is not aware of his status at the school?”

Half listening, I started to reply, “No, I didn’t mention to him and… wait, what do you mean by his ‘‘status’?”

Mrs. Marberry placed the papers back down on top of the desk. Folding her hands neatly together, she leaned away a bit.

“Well he’s no longer eligible to attend. I’m sorry, I thought you already knew that and were here to pick up his records.”

I frowned at her.

Pick up his records?

“Mrs. Marberry,” I began. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I came here today to discuss Simon’s enrollment for the next school year.”

Mrs. Marberry grimaced and shook her head. “Oh no, no dear, I’m afraid you’re very mistaken.”

Over the next several minutes, I sat there in disbelief as she explained that because Simon received state money to attend school, he’d been classified as underprivileged. According to the school’s bylaws, only a certain percentage of the overall student body were permitted to attend as underprivileged at any given time.

Confused, I sat forward in my chair. “Mrs. Marberry, I don’t understand. Why are you telling me this?”

“Well, my dear, since Simon has lost his funding, I’m afraid that he won’t be able to attend any longer. You know, since he’s fallen out of underprivileged status.”

I exhaled the breath I’d held in the center of my ribcage for several seconds. Sinking back into the chair, I blew it out and draped my hand across my chest.

“Oh, okay,” I began, sitting forward in the chair once again. “I’m not here to talk about state funding at all. I’m here to pay for Simon’s tuition myself. I’m very sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“I see,” she replied, hardly changing her position. She glanced down at the paperwork again, scanning it with her eyes for a few seconds before continuing. “Am I to understand you have temporary custody of Simon? He’s your nephew correct?”

I nodded. “Yes, that’s correct.”

Mrs. Marberry remained still for a moment before returning the papers to the desk once again.

She cleared her throat.

“I’m afraid I’ve got more bad news for you, Ms. Walters.”

Mrs. Marberry went on to explain that the school is only allowed to accept direct cash payment from a parent, adoptive or otherwise.

While she spoke, I dropped my head into my hand, rubbing my forehead. Since the day my sister died, I’d tried everything I could think of to adopt him. However, time after time, the state refused me on the basis that the biological father had to be absent from the child’s life for a period of seven consecutive years or sign a document waiving his rights as a parent.

The first of those conditions were never met, and since Dyson beat Gene into submission, the chances of him giving up his claim to Simon were less than zero now in all likelihood.

I just… I couldn’t believe my luck.

“Can I ask you a question, Mrs. Marberry?”

“Yes, of course you can.”

I nodded, having no idea if what I was about to say could even happen.

“If I’m able to adopt Simon somehow, would the school be willing to allow him to stay, if I paid in full?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Mrs. Marberry replied, “Absolutely. Of course. Simon is one of the best students we have here at the school. It would be an honor to count him among our own.”

Clinging to the tiniest shred of hope imaginable, I thanked Mrs. Marberry for her time and left the school soon after.

Sitting in my car a few minutes later, I stared straight ahead into the burnt orange of the setting Austin sun. There’d be no need for me to surprise anyone tonight. I started the engine, backed out, and headed straight for the airport.

AVA

After I returned to Los Angeles, I talked to Dyson briefly the next day. With his race looming, I decided not to bring up the way we left things. Maybe he did as well, because our talk was pleasant, but not much else.

He was optimistic about his chances of beating Gunter and informed me he’d have some special guests in attendance to witness it. He told me his parents and siblings would be coming to qualifying and also to the race.

To my surprise, he asked me if I’d like to meet them. I accepted but tried not to read anything into the invitation. On the day of qualifying, it was early afternoon when I arrived to the team garage where I was supposed to meet Dyson and his family.