Eva Pt. 11

When we got home, it seemed so much quieter than usual, even though Cammy wasn't usually home during the day. It was a missing presence. We fed Connor and then put him down for a nap. While he slept, his mother and I had a good cry again.

"Dammit, Bear, we're too young to feel empty nest syndrome. And besides, we still have a child at home. We're hardly empty nesters. So why does it feel that way?"

"I don't know, Angel. But I feel a little empty without my sister around. It's not like she's our daughter." I actually said that.

"Jon, you don't really believe that. I mean, she's not our biological daughter. But we've been her de facto parents for years. The responsibility we took on made her our daughter in terms of responsibility and in love. You can't try to tell me you don't feel parental towards her."

"No, I can't. It's a weird position to be in. I love her like she's a part of me. A part of us. The four of us."

"She is, sweetheart. She always will be." Eva kissed my neck. "You know, Connor will sleep another hour at least. You want to use the time productively?" She was kissing my chest as she lifted my shirt.

"Without a doubt. And Angel? Thank you. You made it possible for my sister to have a normal home life. You're amazing. I'm so in love with you."

"You know just what to say to a woman to get in her panties. So get into my panties!" We giggled and fell back on the bed and made love, nice and slow and beautiful. My amazing wife.

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The next few years went fast. Cammy loved Yale. She made friends easily, and was mentally able to hold her own against almost anyone else there except for a few freakishly brilliant people. She decided she wanted to be a lawyer, a litigator and signed up for debate and law clubs as well as played intramural basketball and she sang and played guitar with a couple of groups. Her senior year she got 'tapped' for one of the Secret Societies (I can't say which) which was a very prestigious honor. She fell in and out of love twice. And she came home to Eva, Conner and me every chance she got, every holiday and break. And the occasional long weekend. She and Connor were best buds.

Connor in the meantime grew up advanced for his age. By the time Cammy was ready to graduate, he was 5 going on 10, mentally. He was reading at a 10 year old level, was a whiz at math, and had a cheerful, happy go lucky personality. He was ready to start First Grade a year early and even that was kind of boring for him. Every day he was with us was a joy.

During the Winter before Cammy graduated, Eva got a call at work. When she came home I had dinner going and Connor was reading a Young Adult novel, over his level but not by much. "Hey, Angel, how was your day?"

Instead of coming to me with her normal kiss and our usual back and forth, she sat down as if she was in a fog. "Earth to Eva" I said. Nothing.

"Mom? Dad's trying to talk to you!" Connor got her attention finally.

"Hey, Little Man. How are you doing? How was school?" He filled her in on the latest on goings in PS21, First Grade Class 103. "Connor, could you go in the other room and watch tv or something until dinner's ready? Your dad and I have something we need to talk about." He got up and kissed his mom, then went into the living room to watch something. Then she turned to me.

"Bear, I got a call today. Remember Lenny Moskowitz, the assistant director at Surprise Lake when you met me?"

"Sure. How's he doing?"

"Not so great. He took a job a few years back as the director/principal at a private school in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Grades 7-12, about 500 kids and 25 teachers and 50 other staff. He's sick and this year will be his last. He wanted to know if we'd be interested in taking over as principal and director. We'd run it together. We'd live on the grounds in a nice old four bedroom house there. During the Summer they have a day camp program on the premises with some day trips off site though we won't be working the camp program. There's a big pool for the camp program. Connor could go. It's fully accredited and licensed by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We'd have to go to take some classes next year in administration and I'd need a few classes in teaching for us to be licensed. The money is good and it comes with a five year contract, as well as the free housing. The Board of Directors would want to meet us in two weeks. That way if we say no or they reject us they have time to find someone else."

I turned away from what I was cooking and looked at her closely. "You're serious? This is a real thing?"

"It's very real. Lenny has AIDS and he has some time, but he's done this June.

I asked Lenny why us. He kept up on me through the camp alumni group and knew we both worked with children and he always had a soft spot for me. Not sexual; he's openly gay. But he recommended us, the board did some background checks and we came up clean, of course. They have an interim plan for next year while we get our credentials together. Of course, we need to be interviewed first. The thing is....do we want to do this? And commit five years of our lives to it?"

"I'd say we have a lot to talk about, and we can't decide it in just one night. Did Lenny give you an idea when he needed to hear back from us?"

"He said they needed to know in a week. We should be able to decide by then. If we can't decide in a week, I doubt we really want it."

Starting that night in bed, we talked about the pros and cons of taking over the running of a private school and camp. I had my Master's in Education and Eva would have hers in child psychology in May, the same month Cammy was graduating from Yale. We'd both have to do our studies full time to get it done in a year, which meant we wouldn't be working for almost a year but they would pay for our classes. We could afford to forego our paychecks for a year and besides, if we got the job, we'd be selling our house and pocket the money, and have almost no housing expenses for five years. If the money was as good as promised, we'd be way ahead of the game.

The downside included uprooting our lives to live where we didn't know anyone, away from Eva's family, away from friends we'd made over the years, and it would be hard on Connor. He'd lose the friends he made and miss seeing his grandparents and his uncles regularly. And maybe Cammy, whom he was closest to. He'd see even less of her than he already did. Two nights before we had to let Lenny know, we sat down with our precocious son after dinner.

We started by telling him about the opportunity Eva and I had. We told him that it was in a suburban area West of Philadelphia, that he'd be going to the grade school attached to the Middle/High school we'd be running. And he'd be going to camp there every summer. We would need to go see the place as a family, but everything we knew about the school sounded excellent.

Connor asked some questions, including some very sharp ones about his school that we couldn't answer yet, questions about friends that he realized he probably wouldn't see any more (that was hard to talk about) and about his Grandma and Grandpa and his uncles. We told him honestly that he wouldn't see them as often, but it wasn't so far that he would rarely see them. They could come see us or we could come back to New York on weekends and for holidays. Then the tough one. "Mom, dad....what about aunt Cammy? Will I still see her?" He sounded most worried about that.

Eva put her arm around him. "We might see her a little less, but to tell you the truth, that was probably going to happen anyway." She slid closer to him and held him closer and he looked so sad it ate at me. "Your aunt is graduating in May and she's applied to go to law school in a number of places all over the country. She might be nearby or she might be far away. We'll still see her wherever she goes, but no matter where she ends up, law school takes a lot of time from a students life. Even if she goes someplace near, we're going to have to get used to seeing her less than we do now."

That got to him and cried hard against his mothers breast. It was something we hadn't talked much about, but it was the truth: Cammy applied to Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and University of Pennsylvania. All Ivy League or equivalent law schools. And she had the grades and scores to get in at least a couple of them. She could end up in California or thirty miles from us and still not see all that much of each other. At least at Penn she could see us whenever she had some time. If Eva and I got the job, we would hope Cammy chose Penn, assuming she got in.

After Connor got control of himself again, we dried his eyes and I held him from the other side. Then he asked "What if I said I don't want to go? Would you stay here then?" He looked at me, so this ball was in my court. He was basically asking me if his vote counted as much as Eva and mine. No, actually he was asking, in his way, if he had veto power over what his mother and father decided was best for the family.

"Connor, what you want will count in whatever your mom and I decide to do. But it's going to be our decision based on what we think is best for you and for us as a family. It may not be what you want in the short run, but it will be best for all of us. Knowing that, what do you want to do?"

He looked a little glum, but he appreciated us being honest with him. "I guess whatever you and mom think is best. I want to stay but I know you'll choose what's good for us."

I leaned over and kissed his head and Eva did the same, easing her hug. Connor asked to be excused and we told him to read his book. We'd be in at bedtime to say goodnight.

Eva and I sat there, cuddling, feeling a little guilty but better at the same time. Connor showed us his maturity and his ability to understand the family dynamic. We were very proud of him.

Later that night we went to his room before lights out. I brought my guitar and the three of us sang a couple of songs together: first a kids song (I don't remember), then we sang Ripple and At the Zoo. We were trying to raise him with our idea of 'good' music as much as possible.

When Eva and I went to bed, we made love, sexy, loving, tender. We didn't get kinky as much by then, but we were hardly suffering. We still enjoyed an active and VERY pleasing sex life. There was nothing perfunctory about our loving. We used different positions, we enjoyed oral frequently, even a hot session in the shower when we could manage. And when Cammy was around to babysit or when one of Eva's parents or one of her brothers was available, we sometimes checked into a motel and let ourselves go, letting our wild sides take over.

Afterwards we talked. And we talked and talked some more. After deciding the final pros and cons, mostly how they affected Connor, we decided to meet with the Board of Directors and, if both sides agreed, we'd take the jobs. It was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

The next day, our deadline, we called Lenny and told him we wanted to job if everything worked out. He sounded happy and relieved and made an appointment for us to come with Connor and look at the property, get the full tour, then to sit down with the board. We would go the next week on Thursday, February 7th. I remember that day so well, because it was the day our lives changed again, in one of the best ways possible.

We took the next two days, Thursday and Friday, from our jobs and kept Connor out of school for the days. We got an early start, stopping for breakfast, before driving about 2 1/2 hours to Wayne, PA, about 20 minutes west of Philly and 10 minutes south of King of Prussia. It was a nice area, upscale, with plenty of shopping nearby and just a short drive from anything we could want to do in Philadelphia. When we pulled into the driveway of The Wayne School, even Connor was impressed. Two buildings about one hundred yards apart, colonial style, with full athletic fields (football, soccer, baseball and an open field), and we could see a little of the outdoor pool behind the buildings. I parked in the staff lot and we walked into the main administration area in the grade school building. We gave our names and were sent to meet Lenny and the grade school principal.

"Eva! Jon! It's so good to see you! And you must be Connor!" Lenny was all smiles, but to be honest, he looked like hell. I could believe he was critically ill. He was drawn at the cheeks and looked about thirty pounds under weight. But we hugged him, especially Eva, and Connor was polite and shook his hand. He introduced un to Belinda Andrews, the grade school principal, and she had coffee and hot chocolate brought in, along with a few cookies for Connor.

We talked for half an hour about the school in general and Eva and my education philosophies and a few other things. Then they offered to have Connor join a first grade class during lunch, which was provided daily, and afternoon class while we were given a full tour of the buildings and grounds.

It was a very impressive campus. Classes had no more than 22 children, and many had less. The teachers we observed were all involved and creative and the children all wore tan or grey pants with white shirts and ties for boys and red cardigans for boys and girls. Despite the dress code, there was a casual atmosphere we thought was refreshing and encouraging for children's natural abilities and interests to come through. We were very impressed.

The outer grounds were equally impressive. I mentioned the athletic fields, all very well maintained, considering it was winter. They sodded fresh every as soon as they could, with a staff of 10 groundskeepers. The remaining staff were janitorial, office, secretarial, and financial assistants. It looked great.

Eva and I had a moment alone. "This is very impressive" she whispered. "Is this something we're really qualified to do? I mean look at this place."

"I know. I'm more than a little intimidated by this place too. I'm really wondering why Lenny recommended us. But if they're willing to hire us, I'm willing to give it our best shot."

We picked up Connor and Lenny showed us his home, which would be our home if we were hired. It was beautiful, an old colonial in good shape. A dream house for us. Eva and I fell in love with it. Connor found it fascinating as well, running through the halls and up and down the stairs.

Lenny took us to dinner before the meeting, though he barely ate. AIDS will do that to a person. I was wondering how much time he really had left. After we ordered, I had to ask him the question that was eating away at us. "Lenny, not that we're not flattered to be recruited for this position, but Eva and I have been wondering: why us? There has to be more qualified people or even couples, people with administrative experience as well as top educators or psychologists. So why?"

He stirred his soup, mostly uneaten. "The Board of Directors are looking to go a different way than they've gone in the past. I'm the second principal to have to resign early from his contract. For me it's AIDS. The one before got caught up in an embezzlement scandal. So the thinking is they want a couple they can groom, young, dedicated, teachable. I thought of Eva and when I found out you two got married and have a child, that made you very sellable. A solid marriage and a child implies stability. They want to hire a couple that they can hope will last ten or twenty years here. Or longer. So next year will be an interim principal, an old timer close to retirement from the staff. That person, Joseph DeMilo, a math teacher, will mentor you your first year. It's a little unstable until you take over, then it's long term stability. There's a lot of faith in you. They know you adopted your sister when you had family problems. You haven't even met them yet and they're already very impressed with you both." He pushed his soup away and said "They're thinking of the future and they think you two are it."

We held hands and Connor, bright kid that he was, understood enough of what was going on that he smiled wide, now fully on board with the idea. He liked the school and he liked the house we would be living in. Most of all, he could sense his parents were excited for the opportunity.

Then at 8 we met with the board.12 alumni, all older than Eva and I (30s-60s) There were questions back and forth, and mostly satisfactory answers. We were a little weirded out by how much they investigated us without us even knowing what was going on, but we let it go. They weren't trying to dig up dirt to hurt us; they wanted to make sure they were hiring honest, respectable people.

Ultimately there were two major issues we needed to settle. Eva asked "We have two questions. One, how will the staff react to working for two people younger than almost all of them and two, how will the parents react to having co-principals with such minimal experience in running a school?"

The vice-chairwoman handled our questions. The staff had been informed of the plan to hire a young couple regardless of overall experience. They were asked to give us at least a year to grow into the job, to give us a fair chance. As to the parents, there had been a meeting at the school with over 80% of the parents attending and they also agreed to give us a chance when we took over in a year and a half. It was a lot to ask them but almost all came along. They were also looking for stability after six years of changing leadership. Most of the parents had their kids going to school there for twelve years. And if they had more than one child, it could be an even longer association. Parents crave stability for their children. It put a huge amount of pressure on the both of us to succeed.

We were asked to stop by for lunch the next day before we headed back to New York, when we'd find out if we would be offered a contract or not. That was fine; Eva and I had to talk alone about whether we wanted this or not. When we got to our hotel (paid for by the school), Connor was asleep as soon as he got into bed. Eva and I talked quietly from our own bed.

"So, Bear, what do you think? Are you interested?"

"Honestly, I am. I know this is a huge challenge for us. The way I see it, the money is very good, plus the house while we're here. We can save our mortgage payments, or maybe even buy a little place on the Jersey Shore for our weekends and vacation. And if they don't like us, if they dismiss us, we head back home to New York. They're even going to pay for our schooling next year. It's a risk, and it will be a lot of work, but I think it's worth it. What about you, Angel? Tell me what you really think."

She held my hand in the middle of the bed. "I guess I'm a little more nervous about this than you are. I want to do this; you know I'm not afraid of a challenge. And if it was just the two of us, I'd say lets do it. I just don't want to uproot Connor in a year and then again a few years later if it doesn't work out. What if we don't like the job? It's a lot to ask of our son. He's five now. He'll be six when we move. Then he'd be eleven if we move back. It's a lot for him."

"I think he's a lot more adaptable than you're giving him credit for. He's a strong kid. And so smart. Even more, he's so empathetic. I worry about him, of course, but I think he's one of those kids that's already destined to be a great adult. I think this is the best time in our lives to take a big risk, while we're young. It gets harder the older we get."

She gripped my fingers and we turned on our sides to face each other. "So if they want us, we should do this, right?" Eva asked me. I could see the smile on her face. She wanted this as much as I did. She was just a little more cautious, her maternal instinct holding her back just a tiny bit. She knew this was our time, our shot. We kissed and hugged and it was agreed. If a contract was offered, we'd take it to New York to let our lawyer look it over. If she gave her ok, we were going to sign it and change our family's lives.