“Whatever happened to Stephan?”
“He returned to England and from there I have no idea what happened to him.” Allison answered.
“I will research that.” I volunteered.
“Great.” Allison responded finally sounding relaxed. “There are some more papers and Eleanor’s journal at my parents house. I will get them when I go home for Thanksgiving. Or as we call it Football Day.”
“Why Football Day?” I was intrigued.
“Because my Grandmother is a Native American and if you mention anything at all to do with the Pilgrims she goes ballistic.” Allison laughed.
“I can understand where she might have a problem with that.” I added. “I can not believe that after all of these years I finally know the truth.” I said with joy. I knew that I wasn’t simply referring to the mystery of Stephan James Ballister. “I am looking forward to working with you Allison. I hope that after the past few nights that we still can.”
“Don’t be silly.” Allison chastised me. “I was a jerk last night. It was the phone call. It was from Chris. It seems that my old law firm is being investigated. Some of my old cases have come into question. She wants me to go down to New York and work on the case.”
“Will you?” I asked suddenly frightened by the thought of Allison leaving to work closely with her old flame.
“No.” Allison snorted. “I am not a lawyer. Even though I still pay my bar dues. But I only do that to keep my parents happy. The only time I practice law is when I do some pro bono work for a woman’ s shelter in Boston. Chris my have been a lousy girlfriend but she is a damn good lawyer. I’m certain that she can straighten out this mess without my help. I am not worried. I may have been a complete bastard but I never broke the law. Bent it a few times but never broke it.”
“Speaking of which …” I wasn’t certain that I wanted to bring this up. But it had been a nagging thought in the back of my mind since she mentioned it last evening.
“The tobacco industry?” Allison asked directly.
“Well yes.” I stammered. “I know that it none of my business. But I cannot see you doing something like that. I lost my Grandmother, the person who raised me to cancer.”
“I’m sorry Stephanie.” Allison answered sincerely. “I was a different person then. I truly believed then and now that everyone is entitled to a proper defense. My clients were major players in the industry. When I took the case I convinced myself that it was just another case, I was simply doing my job. Both sides of my family tree is loaded with tobacco plantations. Hell I smoke. If you recall back then the tobacco guys were winning. I was winning. Then one night I was working late per usual and I came across one of those now infamous internal memos. It made me sick. I packed everything up. Then I walked into one of the senior partners office. One who had the misfortune of also working late that evening. I quit on the spot. I went straight home to tell Chris. I found her in bed with another woman.”
“Wow!” I gasped. “Your job and your girl all in one day. What did you do?”
“Came home.” Allison asserted brightly. “I moved back in with Mom and Dad. I went back to school and I just started over again. I am finally happy. It is amazing really. Your life can change so quickly. For me it was when I read that memo. I knew then how much I hated my life and I was living a lie.”
“So is that why you won’t teach the course of the history of the tobacco industry?” I asked.
“I can’t.” Allison said simply. “It would be a violation of Attorney Client privilege. When I wrote my book I had to be very careful. Even though it was about the history of advertising cigarettes and I never once said or implied anything negative. The boys from Wainwright & Griggs went over it with a fine tooth comb.”
We ended up talking about our book for a while then Allison left for one of her classes. Per usual I watched her walk out of the room. I honestly do not know which I prefer more, watching her enter a room or leave it. The rest of my day went the way of the previous. Inside I felt a gnawing in my stomach knowing that I needed to break up with Peter. I also knew that I needed to get over my feelings for Allison. Last night my actions caused her to pull even further away from me. When was all of this going to make sense?
I found myself in my last lecture of the day and I was not looking forward to returning home. I was about half way through my lecture. My students were not interested. Most of them were looking at their watches. It was then that I saw a face hiding in the back of the lecture hall. Her head was resting in her hand. “Am I keeping you awake Professor Kendell?” I asserted boldly. The class was stunned. The turned and sought out Allison. Many of them seemed amused by her presence. After all Allison was one of the most popular instructors on campus. No wonder Stan did not like her. She just flashed that cocky grin of hers in my direction. “So Professor Kendell what is your opinion of the Free Masons?” No way I was letting her off the hook. This time she was in my classroom.
“A bunch of white guys creating a secret society?” She yawned. “What is so special about that?”
The look on my face must have been priceless. “Is she challenging me? The nerve of this woman. How could she be doing this to me? For the first time in ten years I had an overwhelming desire to kick Allison Kendell’s arrogant ass!” She just arched that eyebrow and flashed that cocky smirk at me. “Tell me Dr. Grant why do you find this subject interesting?” She was challenging me! The nerve of this woman she comes into my classroom and challenges me in front of my students. I looked around at my students who were visibly stunned. No way I was going to let her get the better of me. I squared my shoulders and stared her down.
“Well Professor Kendell since you are so interested in the subject allow me to enlighten you.” I began to explain to her. I was on fire. I focused solely on the raven-haired beauty that had challenged me. “The Free Masons started out with a very noble ideals. Today the organization tries to reflect these ideals and offers a more inclusive membership. But in the beginning the structure of the society was very exclusive. Not intentionally but when you form a secret society these things happen. They drew the guild practices from the medieval stonemasons. The first Grand Lodge was organized in London in 1717. During the American Revolution the Masons were active in the Revolution and continued as a force in later politics. George Washington is known to have been a member of the society. It is rumored that his life was spared during the war when the British discovered that he was a mason.” I was meeting her challenge. How dare she? First I find her napping in my class then she called me on the carpet regarding the subject matter. I had no choice I let her have it with both barrels. As I spoke about the intricacies and history of the Free Masons, I was on fire. Suddenly so were my students. For the first time in my teaching career my students were asking questions. When it came time to dismiss the class many students approached me with more questions. I gave them some references and explained that I did not want to get too far ahead on the first day. Some of them seemed disappointed and wanted to know more about the infamous murder.
Finally I managed to clear the classroom. I approached Allison who was still sitting in the back looking very pleased with herself. “For the first time in my teaching career my students were paying attention and not because the final was coming up. Thank you.” I explained to my new friend.
“You love what you teach.” Allison told me flatly. “They do not need to love it as well. But let them see why you do.” She placed her hand over her heart. “Make it personal. Teach from here.”