22 The Apology
1028 Words
Doris was taken by surprise, and she was bewildered. She looked at Lucy, the housekeeper, and said, "Who would come to see me, HERE?!?!?"
Lucy: "I'm not sure. He didn't say. He has a lot of belongings with him, though. He brought a coffee table, a sofa, and all kinds of famous brand bags and cosmetics like Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton..."
Upon hearing that there was a guest – a stranger! – in his house, and that it sounded like he thought he was moving in, Todd stood up quickly and rushed into the next room, with Doris, Lucas, and Vanessa following right behind him. And as Todd turned the corner, he gasped. "Principal Ford," he whispered, "what are you doing here, and what do you want from my daughter?"
Todd quickly regained his composure, and before Mr. Ford could reply, he asked, "What happened? Didn't Evan make it clear that we're willing to invest in the university? I know that Doris has brought a lot of trouble to the school, and shamed the school's good name. I'm very sorry that that happened, and I am ashamed to have such a daughter. I had hoped, though, that you could do me a special favor and give her a second chance. Of course, if she does something wrong again, you could consider expelling her then."
Shame the university... ashamed to have such a daughter – These words ricocheted through Doris's mind. They were like slaps across her face, and they were extremely hurtful.
Mr. Ford sighed, and he said, "No. Mr. Henry, it's all my fault: everything is. I shouldn't have expelled Doris. The university has withdrawn the decision, and I'm here to apologize to Doris in person. I am returning the money to you. Some of it was spent, and these things you see before you are the things that I purchased – except for the handbags and cosmetics, which are gifts for Doris.
"You should know, too, that I have been relieved of my position at Saint University, and I am being relocated to a remote mountain where I will teach younger students."
Todd: "Isn't demoting a headmaster of a well-known business university to a teaching position in a remote region equal to killing him?"
Mr. Ford: "It is. But it is what it is… and it all happened very quickly. All I can say is that Mr. Gates must know some very powerful people to have pulled this off! I tried to do a background check on him, and I couldn't find a thing. I don't even know who hired him, or if he has legitimate teaching credentials!"
Todd: "That is terrible, but I still don't see what this has to do with Doris, or why you would buy her all of these beautiful/expensive bags and cosmetics."
Mr. Ford: "I heard that girls like cosmetics and bags, and –"
Before Mr. Ford could finish his sentence, Vanessa interrupted him by shouting to her Mother: "Mom, come and see!" She held up one of the bags from the pile. "This is Chanel's latest model! I've wanted it for a very long time, but it's always out of stock!"
Jessica walked in slowly, as if she were putting on a performance. She was wearing an evening dress, and her perfume was so strong that it caused Doris to sneeze twice. After that, she rubbed her nose, leaned against the stair rail, and said, "I don't think that Principal Ford did anything wrong. And besides, I didn't even care that I was expelled, so this is much ado about nothing."
When Ford heard what Doris had said, he began to panic. He turned to Doris and said, "Although you did something wrong, your mistake was not that serious. You should never have been expelled. I admit that I made the decision for personal reasons. I hope that you don't take this affair in the heart."
Vanessa smirked and said, "Tut! Tut! Something is seriously wrong with this world if seducing a professor in a university is not a serious enough offense to get expelled for!"
Mr. Ford looked at Vanessa and said, "After our investigation, we've confirmed that Doris and Professor Gates are in love with each other, and our university is a strong advocate for democratic civil rights."
"Professor Gates?" Vanessa scoffed. "Wasn't Gates her Mother's gigolo? And you say that they are in love with each other?!?!?!? What a joke!"
Mr. Ford. "Anway, I didn't come here to talk about Professor Gates. I'm no longer the principal anyway. The reason I came here was to return Mr. Henry's money and apologize to Doris."
Vanessa laughed and said, "It sounds to me like you are afraid of Mr. Gates!"
Mr. Ford began to sweat, and Doris felt terrible for him. She knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of Vanessa's abuse. She turned to him and said, "Principal Ford, I appreciate your apology, and if it is forgiveness that you are seeking, then I give it to you freely. You needn't have purchased all of these gifts. I am sorry to hear that you are being relocated. You were good at your job. Is there anything that I can do for you? I can't help but feel responsible for what is happening to you..."
"You don't owe me anything, Mr. Ford replied, "but if you could put in a good word for me with Professor Gates, I would appreciate it."
"Consider it done," Doris replied. "I do have two requests, though."
Mr. Ford: "Name it, and if it is within my power to do so, it shall be done.
Doris laughed and said, "Please return all of these bags." Doris had roughly calculated the cost of all of the bags and determined that their total value was over a million dollars - and it didn't feel right to keep them.
Mr. Ford: "And your second request…?"
Doris: "Your daughter, my teacher, Tiffany, she was very abusive to me. She is the one that owes me an apology, not you."
Mr. Ford: "Done and done. And thank you very much!"
- Writer
