"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard what you said correctly," Mrs. Heyward says worriedly.
"No, you did," Mr. Dorzen says as his heart beats loudly in his chest. "I'm in love with your daughter."
"I know, I heard that clearly. The only thing I didn't hear was an apology."
"I'm not going to apologize for the way I feel," he says looking over at Esmerelda with loving eyes.
"No need to get aggressive Mr. Dorzen," she says calmly walking over to the leather seat. "I know how you feel for my daughter, I've known for quite a while now."
"Huh?" Mr.Dorzen asks in shock. "But how?"
"I'm a mother, I see things that nobody else sees," she says with a small smile, "At the winter concert, you looked at her four times during the song you were conducting."
"Yeah, but-"
"You were blushing and so was she," she cuts him off. "Don't try to justify anything, I know the truth."
"And you're not upset?"
"Upset? No. Disappointed? Yes," she sighs, "I've been waiting for Essie to find love, but I never thought her first would be her teacher." She sits silently for a few seconds. "It doesn't matter now because she's found it."
"Jewls said the same thing."
"Yes, I bet. Jewls noticed as soon as I did that Esmerelda was different. She's quieter than Jewls and doesn't give off as much positive energy as Jewls does."
"I hadn't really noticed."
"Of course not because she likes you, well I guess loves," she gives a sad smile, "When Esmerelda was a freshman she was asked to senior prom by a boy she really liked. Ah, she was so excited and would not stop talking about it. Prom night came and she went and they looked happy until I got a call around midnight. She was in the bathroom of a hotel not too far from hear sobbing her eyes out."
"What?" Mr. Dorzen says in disbelief.
"Mmhmm, I was worried she had been raped or sexually harassed," she says. "I was furious. I never told her father, I just drove. I got there and there was no one in the room. She told me that he told her to have sex with him and she told him she wasn't ready."
"So she...?"
"No, she did not sleep with him. She just felt humiliated because it was in front of the popular kids of senior year." Mr.Dorzen sighs in relief. "Yes, I was relieved too and tried to explain to her that she did the right thing, but she wouldn't hear it. She was just worried about the humiliation."
"Why hadn't she told me that?"
"I think she's mentally blocked it out permanently because she woke up the next day as if nothing happened, so I did the same thing. I never told anyone the story and never talked to her about it."
"Not even Jewls or your husband?"
"Not a soul, until now."
" Why tell me?"
"Over the past four years, Esmerelda has turned down any guy that's ever shown any attraction towards her because of the wall she built that night. But then there's you. I went back to the day she started the change and found out that it was the day that you started working at her school. She was happier in the mornings and always wanted to stay after school for anything. You broke down her walls."
"She broke down mine first," he smiles sweetly with tears in his eyes.
"How'd you do it?"
"I didn't," he smiles, "It was love at first sight."
"Well, I am happy that she is finally her old self," she says, "I am not sure how Mr. Heyward is going to react, though."
"How should I tell him?" Mr. Dorzen asks, "Any advice?"
"Just be honest that's all I can say," she says, "He should be here any minute."
"I actually can't stay. I'm on a lunch break right now and have a class in about five minutes."
"All right then, get to your class and come back tonight."
"You got it, have a nice day," he walks up to her and puts his hand out, "Thank you so much."
Mrs. Heyward smiles and then pulls him into a hug, "No, thank you."