I couldn’t recall the last time I felt this way. My face felt warm and tingly, like someone had turned up the temperature in the building. I had to physically pinch myself as I sat across from Mr. Chambers. Seriously, I was ogling the man. He was a beautiful man with the kind of sculpted looks you see on a celebrity or ran across in your Instagram feed. I wouldn’t call him pretty. Definitely manly.
D oes he workout? He ha s to because that white shirt i s perfectly molded . … Stop it , Tangie!
I couldn’t believe my reaction to this man in front of me. And of all times. Right now! Shameful! I was here to talk about my son, to put that nightmare of a school year we just had behind us. I was a godly Christian single mom, raising three boys, and I was a successful business woman.
That man-crazy woman I used to be … she was gone. She had disappeared a long time ago. That woman never recovered from the pain of loss.
I pinched myself again when I found Mr. Chambers staring at me again. I gulped, at this point not even sure if the man had said something to me or not. “I’m sorry if I seem a bit flustered to you, but I was so excited about Drake being accepted here and your phone call threw me for a loop. Is something wrong?”
Mr. Chambers shook his head, his smile reassuring, “No need to worry. We set up appointments with parents for all students who are new to The Lab.”
“Okay, so this isn’t some kind of preliminary test? I mean Drake’s application was selected through the lottery process. I know you have his school records from his previous school. He’s a really smart boy.”
“Yes, he is. I have looked over his school records. I believe The Lab will be a perfect learning environment for Drake.”
“But…” Whatever hormonal foolishness going through my head a few moments ago was replaced by the anxiety that plagued me the past few days.
“Mrs. Nelson, you don’t have to worry,” Mr. Chambers held out his hands towards me, as if he wanted to calm me down.
They were nice hands. Long fingers, well-manicured fingernails.
Lord, what is wrong with me?
I took a deep breath and leaned forward in the chair. “Look, I really prayed for Drake to be accepted here. He was bullied at his last school. Not one of the adults stepped up to help him. In hindsight, I wish I had known or saw signs, but even I didn’t know what was going on with him. He tried to defend himself and he was punished. He needs this fresh start. He’s a brilliant boy.”
I sat back in the chair, a bit exhausted from my tirade.
Mr. Chambers watched me, probably wondering if I was the one he should be worried about. After what felt like a very long few seconds, he asked, “Do you have other children, Mrs. Nelson?”
I frowned. “Yes, I have two older boys, twins. They attend South Meck. Good boys. All of my boys are good.”
Mr. Chambers smiled, “I’m sure they are. They have a passionate mother determined that they achieve their best. I admire that. I’m where I am now because of a really strong mom determined to make sure I succeeded.”
He sat back in his chair. “Like I said, you have no worries. The board did note the suspension on Drake’s record, but we also saw that he wasn’t in trouble any time before then and after. I appreciate you explaining the circumstances he was under at his previous school. We can’t guarantee that type of incident won’t come up again, but I can assure you if a student comes to me about any sort of bullying, I will make sure to nip it in the bud right away.”
That made me smile, and I felt the tension melt from my body. “Thank you, I appreciate that. Please let me know how I can be more involved.”
“Certainly, The Lab needs volunteers all the time. We have a vibrant PTO. I will be sure to share that information before the end of our meeting. In the meantime, I’d like to go over the schedule that we have for Drake.”
He handed me a set of stapled papers across the desk. I reached for them, grateful to be able to focus my attention anywhere except Mr. Chambers’ face.
I read along while Mr. Chambers explained Drake’s classes and structure of his daily schedule. The man’s voice soothed my nerves.
“He’s definitely gifted and I believe the curriculum will challenge him in ways that he needs and also desires. This year we’re starting a robotics program. How do you think Drake would feel about being involved?”
Now I couldn’t keep the smile off my face if I tried. I lifted my head to face Mr. Chambers. “That sounds wonderful. He will be so excited.”
“Good, I look forward to meeting Drake. He’s going to do great here at The Lab. If you need anything or want to come in to discuss Drake, feel free. We encourage parents to be involved with their children’s learning. Even though Drake is entering middle school, this is the time of his life when he needs even more guidance.”
Mr. Chambers stood and reached out his hand.
I stood as well, to shake his hand. For a second it seemed like we held each other’s hands a bit longer than necessary. In fact, I’m pretty sure I let go first.
Mr. Chambers came from around the desk to walk me out. Now, I’m a tall woman, five foot eight, but Mr. Chambers appeared to tower over me. I didn’t notice this when I followed him to his office, probably because I was observing his backside.
Shameful, Tangie!
I had no idea what possessed me, but I asked, “Did you play basketball? No offense, I just had to ask. You have to be at least six foot four or five.”
He grinned, “I get that question a lot, and nice guess! Six foot five and I did play at South Meck back in the day. Couple of state championships. Later, I played at UNC.”
“Wow! My son is a point guard for South Meck.”
“Really? Wait,” he looked at me as if he was thinking hard about something. “Nelson. Your son is Martin Nelson?”
“That’s my boy.” I knew I was beaming.
“Small world. A couple of my buddies were talking about him. He’s really talented.”
“Thank you. I found it hard to believe when he told me he made varsity last year. I hoped it wouldn’t go completely to his head.”
Mr. Chambers let out a deep throaty laugh. “I was placed on varsity when I was a sophomore too. It’s quite the ego boost for a teenage boy.”
I sighed, “I’ve seen the effects.”
Mr. Chambers reached back to his desk and grabbed a business card. He wrote on the back of the card. “Here’s my card. If you have any issues, not just with Drake. If you need a friendly talk from a guy for one of your other sons, I mentor outside of school. That’s my personal cell on the back of the card.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chambers.”
“Nathan. Please call me Nathan.”
I looked up at those eyes again thinking this was definitely not how I saw this meeting going at all. “Okay, friends call me Tangie.”
“It was nice to meet you, Tangie. I hope to see you again.”
As I stepped outside of Mr. Chambers, uhm, Nathan’s office, I realized I wanted to see him again too.