Well, That Is Embarrassing

[Tamara Sulik]

Their jobs were not easy, Charity certainly more demanding than Tamara’s. Tam could still call security if things got out of hands, it was the other woman’s job to keep things under control and help the children to master their power. Although it was not the danger of it that had Tamara certain she wouldn’t make a good trainer, it was the patience required. What did it matter if Charity was a little, or a lot, weird. Who knows, this might just help the student feel more comfortable around her. After all, surely she needed to create some sort of trust bond, something that was not as important in Tam’s line of work. She was there more as a figure of authority than a friend to help them out, even if she might just try to help on occasions.

She didn’t think it was something you should be proud of, if you ever ended up with something in your drink other than the beverage you asked for. If you partied and avoided that, it did not mean no one wanted you, it meant you were smart. And smarts could take you a great deal in life. Beauty too, for sure, but if you could combine both, it was even better. Charity... had her charm, in a quirky way. If she was smart too under this sometimes childish attitude of hers, there was nothing to worry about. Having a child’s heart might be good but having a child’s naivety was not.

Tamara noticed a change when they talked of her father and mostly how young he must have been. “He always had a thing for older women, even before cougars became a thing,” she admitted. Not that it bothered her. She never thought their relationship would lead them there. She had a brief smile. “Yeah, I doubt a fifteen year-old would make a really good father. Even one like Guy.” Would he have made a good father fifteen years later? Now that was the question but Tamara found it so hard to tell that she preferred not even to bother answer it. It might be best for Charity too. It must be hard enough on her as it was.

She flinched however and looked at Charity in surprise when she confessed the whole training thing and the fact she had a crush on her dad. “Seriously? I suppose your mom didn’t tell you either who you father was.” It better be otherwise this was the most awkward crush in history. And it was already pretty weird. “What did you like about him?”

[Charity Croft]

First a laugh: the thought of her dad as some sort of "cougar chaser' was just too amusing for Charity not to laugh about. She did have to bob her head. She'd known that even before she'd found out that he happened to have bobbed her mother and produced her. There had been enough awkwardness about that back when she'd been working under him. She'd respected him then, but even she had to agree with Tamara: a fifteen year old dad probably would've made things worse. she was almost thankful she hadn't gotten to meet him until she was an awkward teenager.

"Well, actually I didn't even realize I had a dad until I was about ten or so," Charity admitted, shrugging. "My mom used the standard stork story until I got wise. Then she sort of convinced me of a virgin birth for a year... that was almost worse than the stork. Then came the whole 'it doesn't matter' which bled into 'I don't remember,'" Charity had to laugh a little dryly about that last one. Clearly it hadn't been accurate: her mother had remembered enough to actually finger Guy at a later date... probably literally too.

"What wasn't there to like? He was just... cool," Charity pointed out. "Plus, he actually understood the potential I had, which was something because I was even more of a spaz then. This," she gestured at herself, "is the adult version of Charity. Try and picture the kid," she paused and bobbed her head, then sighed again. "And, well, there was just... he was handsome, in this sort of rugged way. The dwarf thing just meant that he wasn't perfect, and since I was a spaz that made him... attainable? It made him easier to connect with too. And he was just an awesome trainer," Charity sighed and looked down at her drink. "I just have to hope I can somehow live up to that legacy..."

[Tamara Sulik]

Tamara could not really picture Guy as a father. Just because he was good with the students did not mean he would have been good with a child of his own. The students talked, walked, fed and changed themselves without any help. Not to add that Guy could push them and be abrasive or even a little rude without it to be something they did not hear before. They probably say even worse. No, really, that mental image was better burned away from her memory.

Charity explained every plan her mother used so she would not have to tell. It was true that she probably had been a teacher or member of the staff or anyone too old to normally sleep with a fifteen year old. Maybe it was best not to admit it, even when law could not prosecute her anymore. Providing anyone would like to try that. “She could have invented him. I’m surprised she didn’t just say he died in some way. Sounds a lot simpler.” Not better but definitely simpler. She didn’t know how she would have reacted in Charity’s place but she definitely would have hated her mother for a long period of time for hiding this.

That Guy was cool didn’t seem to be a concept Tamara fully believed but she could totally understand how an awkward little girl could fall for the one adult in her life who saw the potential she had and encouraged her to keep working on it. She also would rather not imagine what the younger version of her was like. It seemed hard to, since she could just see her being as she was now, only looking younger. She could however understand how Guy’s imperfection made him more of a match for her in the girl’s mind. When you didn’t look like the cool kids you don’t really expect dating one.

“That’s not really necessary though,” Tamara let out as she said she wanted to live up to the man she had as a father. She took a sip of her coffee before developing her point of view for her. “I mean, we already had one Guy and just because he isn’t here anymore doesn’t mean we need to replace him with the exact copy. You were obviously chosen because they thought you could make the job, not because of your genes.” At least Tamara hoped it was why they hired her. Otherwise, she pitied the students under her.