Who is Mike Riordan from Black and Blue: A Novel and what is their importance? Black-and-Blue-(novel) English & Literature Mike Riordan | Black and Blue: A Novel

Mike Riordan is the gym teacher and vice principal of the school in Lake Plata where Robert attends. Mike is a large man, but he is kind and gentle. Mike helps Robert out, encouraging him to join the sports teams as a way of working out his anger. Over time, Mike and Beth become friendly and eventually lovers. However, Beth cannot allow herself to be intimate with Mike because of the abuse suffered at Bobby's hands. In the end, Beth tells Mike the truth about her past, but she pushes him away, afraid to trust again. Mike waits and eventually they marry, having a child of their own together. Mike becomes the lover and partner Frannie always wanted Bobby to be, and the man Beth finds herself wondering if she deserves.