#9b
Ev drove in silence, the cab finally warming enough so chattering teeth weren't louder than the creaking and rumbling of the old pickup. Christy had her book and paper as she studied hard, making notations of pertant facts. She looked up once when Ev had to stomp on the brakes to avoid a obvious drunk that lurched off the sidewalk. Shaking his head at the foolishness of the man, Ev let the weaving gent stumble back between two parked cars and regain the sidewalk.
"Good reflexes Dad," Christy approved. "I sure wish you would get a smaller car so I could learn to drive."
Terror struck deep into Ev's heart. His baby, ready to drive, oh say it isn't so; he sputtered in alarm. Cheryl took one look at his astonished face and laughed. "Be tough Daddy," she counseled in amusement. "Remember how important it was to you, to learn to drive?"
It was a tough scene in Pastor Tom's office. Christy and Ronnie sat in the waiting room as Ev and Cheryl explained the problem to Tom.
Tom sat deep in his chair, fingers tented under his chin as he listened to the distraught couple tell him about the problem with Ronnie.
Finally, when Cheryl was done, he got up to stare out the window with his hands clasped behind his back. "Ronnie definitely needs help, I must say I'm surprised it is him. I fully expected the middle child to be the one back here, out of options. I am going to recommend that Ronnie be placed in the children's ward secure unit."
Ev snorted, "Clora has Milo under her thumb, and no, she can't take Ronnie. Ronnie tries to hurt Milo, so they have to be kept apart. We thought about changing children, but Milo has bonded so completely with Clora and Mark that he won't leave them. He is doing so well, that nobody wants to cause any changes."
"What about the youngest one?" Pastor Tom inquired.
"Lainey is frankly struggling with Teddy, but they love him and are working hard to bring him on board," Cheryl was clear in her assessment of the youngest and his foster family.
"Thank you, I had picked up the same information, but it is nice to have that info validated," Tom replied. "Let's go out into the waiting room and I'll bring Ronnie back in my office and then I want you to leave."
Cheryl started wringing her hands, a sure sign to Ev she was dithering and about to change her mind about leaving Ronnie. Then the youngster did one of his disgusting tricks. Tom had Ronnie walking into the room before him and Ronnie turned and smiled a huge loving smile at Cheryl and then spit at her.
It was like a wash of icy water. Cheryl simply turned and walked out without looking back. Ev helped Christy gather up her books and they followed a few steps behind. Back in the pickup the silence was deafening. The late afternoon sun was sinking rapidly when Ev pulled into the parking lot of a pizza restaurant.
The small family enjoyed the rare treat, but Ronnie was never far from their minds. "I feel like such a failure," Cheryl said into the noise of the rattling cab as they drove for the farm. "I have always completed any project, respected people and worked hard. It was so frustrating not to be able to reach Ronnie. Did I ever tell you the night that idiot broke into the house, Ronnie went running to him and kicked me when I tried to stop him."
"No, and it's a good thing I didn't," Ev was mad. "This intervention would have happen right then, had I known."
"Yeah, I know. That's why I didn't say anything," Cheryl admitted slowly. "Part of it was my foolish pride, not willing to have other's know about my failure with Ronnie. Still, I should have been able to find the one spark that would have clicked between us, and it will haunt me for the rest of my life that we had to turn him back."
Ev slowed down and he and Cheryl talked as they moseyed along the secondary highway.
"Hey, hurry up Dad. I've got a ton of work to do and the test is day after tomorrow. Don't forget you need to drive me into the college on Friday and I need to be there at 7:15." Christy complained after a while. "Kick this old bucket of bolts in the accelerator, please."
"Between you and your Mother," Ev pretended to be affronted, "I wish you wouldn't hurt this old pickup's feelings, she's a good old girl."
Christy snorted in the back seat. "That's what we call old Bossie too, as a matter of fact this pickup and that old cow really remind me of each other."
The light hearted banter helped Cheryl regain her perspective, and she joined in talking trash about the old pickup. Ev pulled up to the shut gates and Cheryl got out to open the right side and let the pickup pass through. There, clothes pinned to the wrought iron bar just above the gate handle was an envelope addressed to Lainey.
Cheryl removed it and jumped back in the cab. "This is for Lainey," she reported. "Drive me up there please."
"Dad, stop and let me off at the house please. I've just got to study more," Christy implored. Ev stopped at their place and he got out to check the house before he would let Christy go in. "Lock up," he ordered as he shut the door. "Be careful with the oil lamp."
Lainey and Ben both made a terrible face when Cheryl handed her the letter. "I take it you must know who it is from?' Cheryl guessed accurately.
"My father, he is having an attack of conscience...so he says. I think he just wants to find out if we have any more diamonds," Lainey said with a sour look. "I'm just not ready to kiss and make up. Maybe someday, but not yet."
Milo looked up from his coloring book. "Mr Ev, would you take me home? It's getting dark and I know Auntie Clora is getting worried where I am" he carefully slid the green crayon back into the box. "Thank you Auntie Lainey for supper," Milo remembered his manners. "Good night Uncle Ben, may I have my coat please?"
Ev opened the door and the trio trudged out to the still warm pickup.
The main house only had one lamp lit, and Cheryl frowned as they climbed the stairs. Knocking twice, the Wilson's and Milo opened the door to find Wayne huddled in a chair whimpering and Mark shouting orders from the hallway.
Cheryl grabbed the lamp and went rushing into the bathroom, where Mark was trying to get Wayne to bring in the light. "Cheryl, thank you," Mark snapped as he tried to support the woozy Clora.
"Let's get her back in bed." Cheryl suggested, and helped Mark steer the rubber legged woman down the hall. Covering Clora up as she was shivering violently, Mark stared at his wife. "I'm gonna kick that Wayne in the ass," he announced. "I've been trying to get him to help for an hour, and he just sits in there blubbering. She really got cold, and damn she's sick."
"I think Wayne is down and out for the count," Cheryl practically pushed Mark out of the bedroom. "I want you to go out the back door and go down and get Ben. He usually has the most success dealing with Wayne." she ordered.
Mark looked like he wanted to argue, so Cheryl shook her finger at him and he shrugged and headed for the door. Milo saw him go between the hall and kitchen and lit out at a run. "Wait for me," he was yelling, battling Ev as the man tried to way lay the boy.
"Co'mon then," Mark grabbed him up and out the door they went.
Cheryl went around lighting lamps and stoking the stove. Her supper was untouched on the counter so she put it on to heat. Ben and Ev helped Wayne down the stairs and down to his house. They put him in bed and did the chores like building a fire and placing a flashlight next to the bed, not trusting the man with a lit oil lamp.
"I'll check on him before I go to bed," Ev offered, "I know I'm up later than you guys."
"Thanks," Ben accepted gladly. "Sleep is a scarce commodity in our house. Lord I can't remember when we had a full night's sleep."
"Anne's old enough she should be sleeping through the night, ask Cheryl how she trained Christy," Ev mentioned it, cause Ben really did have some dark circles under his eyes.
"First thing tomorrow," Ben laughed a little. "First thing."
Mark sat at the table eating his supper. Milo was eating a cookie and drifting off to sleep as he sat there. Picking up the youngster, Mark packed him into the bedroom and took off his shoes. Tucking him into bed, Mark gave Milo a kiss on the forehead. Milo smiled in his sleep.
When Mark got back to the kitchen, Will was coming in. The lawman looked like he had been drug through a knot hole backwards. Without a word he got a plate and helped himself to the skillet contents. Grabbing a fork, he sat down and started shoveling in the beef and rice casserole.
Mark and Will cleaned the pan. Mark nosed around and opened a quart of peaches and put the plate of cookies on the table between them. Leaning back after supper, Will used a toothpick and said, " The FBI will be here tomorrow. Some of those Dudes were part of the Chinese Ambassador's team. We're in deep doo doo."