Josh was sitting in the waiting room at the mental health center when Marilee arrived, pausing at the door long enough to close her umbrella. It seemed the rain would never let up. He glanced up, their gazes locked for an instant before he returned to the magazine he was reading. Marilee selected a magazine and thumbed through the pages calmly as she waited for Royce Malcom, who was running late. If her son wished to ignore her, fine.
Royce finally appeared, wearing a smile. “Can you believe this rain? Somebody needs to think about building an ark. At least it’s dry in my office.” Mother and son rose from their seats and followed him down the hall.
Once seated, Royce glanced from Marilee to Josh. “So, how’d your week go?”
“Fine,” Marilee said. “Just fine, thank you.”
Josh shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
A moment’s silence. “Josh, do you feel like talking today?” Royce asked.
The boy shook his head. “Not especially.”
Royce regarded him. “I was hoping after our last session you might feel more comfortable talking with your mom.”
“I have nothing to say,” Josh replied, sliding down in his chair.
“Okay,” the counselor said. “But we’re scheduled for an entire hour.”
Marilee straightened in her chair. “Since I’m paying for this session, I refuse to waste the next hour,” she said, “so I’ve brought one of Josh’s favorite books. I’ll just read it aloud, if you don’t mind.” Royce looked amused.
Josh frowned at her. “I’m not interested in listening to some dumb story,” he said.
Marilee smiled. “Well, Joshua, next time you can pay for the session, and we’ll spend the hour doing what you want to do, which up to now has been pouting and smart-mouthing Royce and me. I don’t mind telling you, I’ve grown mighty bored watching it. At least this story will make the time pass more quickly.”
“Your mother’s right, Josh,” Royce said. “She is footing the bill. The least we can do is cooperate. Besides, I wouldn’t mind hearing the story.”
Josh didn’t respond. His eyes were fastened to the toe of his sneakers. Marilee noted they were wet but she didn’t say anything, lest he accuse her of treating him like a baby or trying to smother him. If Josh wanted to walk around in wet sneakers that was his business.
She opened the book to the first page and began reading a story about a girl named Fern, who was desperately trying to convince her father not to kill a newborn pig by the name of Wilbur. Fern promised to raise the pig herself, feeding him from a bottle, cuddling him like a baby. As she read on, she heard a sniff and looked up. Josh, so angry and resentful in the beginning, was now slumped in his chair covering his face with both hands. Marilee stopped reading.
“Are you okay, Josh?” Royce asked.
The boy shook his head. “Why did you bring that book?” he asked his mother. He dropped his hands. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
Marilee felt her son’s pain tug at her heart. “Because at one time it was your favorite,” she said softly.
Josh leaned his head back against the chair, staring at the ceiling. “It was,” he confessed.
Marilee looked to Royce for guidance. She felt she had finally reached her son, and now that she had, she was paralyzed with fear. Should she continue reading?
Royce reached for several tissues and handed them to Josh. “It’s okay to cry,” he told the boy. “You’ve been in pain a long time.”
The boy continued to weep silently. “I’m all screwed up,” he said. “I don’t know where I belong anymore.” He paused, trying to regain his composure. “I don’t know what to do.”
“About what?” Royce asked. “School? Friends?”
“I don’t have any friends,” Josh replied. “But you already know that.”
“You made that choice,” Royce said. “Besides, you do have friends at church.”
“I don’t see them anymore.”
Marilee’s heart ached for her son. “I’m sorry, Josh.”
The boy looked at her. “Why are you sorry? I let you down. You should be mad at me. I’m mad at myself. I hate living with Dad and LaFonda. I only went with him because I wanted to hurt you. I thought it was your fault he left. I thought you’d chased him away.” Fresh tears filled his eyes. “But it wasn’t your fault. I know that now.” He paused to catch his breath and mop his eyes. “Mom—” he choked on a sob “—I’m sorry.”
Marilee was at his side instantly, and Josh stood and fell into her arms. She held him while he cried. “It’s okay, Son,” she said, holding him tight. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
He didn’t look convinced. “I don’t like it there. I don’t like the people who live around us. Dad has changed, and I don’t even like him anymore.”
Marilee felt tears, hot on her cheek. “Your father is going through something we don’t understand,” she said. “That doesn’t make him a bad person. He’s just confused.”
Josh looked at her. “You don’t hate him?”
She smiled. “No, Josh. I don’t hate your father. I’m just disappointed in him.”
Josh pulled away, as if suddenly embarrassed by his out-pouring of tears. He reclaimed his seat, but instead of returning to her own chair, Marilee took the one next to his.
“I’m glad the two of you finally cleared the air,” Royce said. “Feel better, Josh?”
The boy nodded. “Yeah. But it still doesn’t change things.”
“What would you like to change?” Royce asked.
“I’d like to see my parents get back together and everything become normal again, but I know that’s not going to happen. I just—” his voice broke once more “—I wish I could get out of that place.”
Marilee’s heart leaped with joy. “You can, Josh. I have plenty of room. I would love nothing better than to have you.”
The boy pondered the idea for a long time. “I’d like that,” he said after a while, “but I need to talk to Dad first. He hasn’t been feeling well, and he lost his job. I don’t want him to think I’m turning my back on him.” He paused, and it was obvious he was struggling with his emotions. “Would it be okay if I moved in sometime next week?”
Marilee tried to contain her excitement. She didn’t want to appear overly anxious. She was ready to take her son home now. But she wouldn’t push and risk alienating him again. “Take your time, Josh,” she said. “You’re old enough to make your own decisions.”
The boy looked surprised, but he didn’t say anything.
MARILEE CALLED TATE THE minute she got home. “I don’t need the child advocate,” she said when he answered. “My son is coming home.”
“I’m happy for you,” Tate said. “I know how important this is to you.” He paused. “By the way, I’m sorry I forgot to call about the appointment with Ed Rogers. Since you don’t need him anyway, I’ll reimburse you the two thousand dollars.”
When Marilee hung up, she was smiling. Her friends had told her Josh would come around, but she hadn’t believed them. Now she was on the way to rebuilding their relationship. And the money from Tate would certainly come in handy.
Winnie chose that moment to come downstairs. “Well, well, you look mighty pleased about something.”
Marilee felt as though she were on a cloud. “Josh is coming home.”
“Oh, thank the Lord!” Winnie rushed over and hugged her. “You know what that means, don’t you? We’ve got to work like crazy to get that room in order.”
“We’ll never get it done by the weekend.”
“Oh yes, we will.” As she finished speaking, the phone rang and Winnie answered it. “Oh. Hi, Julie,” she said. “Been a while since I talked to you.” She was quiet as she listened. “This weekend? Sorry, but I have to help my best friend do some work to her house. See you at school.”
“What was that all about?” Marilee asked.
“My old girlfriend is having a party, and she wants me to come. The kids are all excited over me being on the ne
ws and doing that article for the newspaper.”
“You should go,” Marilee insisted.
“No way. I’m busy this weekend.”
“So I’m your best friend?” Marilee asked, grinning at the girl.
Winnie gave her a bored look. “Don’t get cocky. That could change now that I’m the center of attention at school.”
Marilee was thrilled for her.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Winnie said. “May as well call Clara and Ruby.”
Marilee made the calls, and the girls were delighted with the news. “I’ll have to redecorate the extra bedroom,” she told each of them. “Something a teenage boy will like.”
“We need to go to Wal-Mart,” Winnie said once Marilee had hung up, “to look at paint. Won’t take me long to get ready, since I only have one pair of pants I can fit into now.”
The two were about to walk out the door when the doorbell rang. Marilee found Clara and Ruby standing on the other side. They both congratulated Marilee and hugged her. “We’re here to help,” Clara said in her no-nonsense tone.
“First, we need to buy paint for Josh’s bedroom,” Winnie said. “Actually, this whole place could use a paint job.”
“Something a little brighter,” Ruby said. “And this kitchen wallpaper has to go.” She looked at Marilee. “Lucky for you I know all about wallpaper. I also know where we can get the best deal.”
Nell knocked on the back door. “Oh, good, everybody’s here,” she said. “I baked a nice peach cobbler.”
“We don’t have time to eat right now,” Winnie said. She gave Nell the news.
Nell threw her arms around Marilee. “I knew he would come around after a while.”
It was all Marilee could do to keep from crying. “How will we ever be able to get all this done before Josh moves in?”
“We’re women,” Ruby said. “We can do anything we put our minds to.”
“We need to go to Wal-Mart,” Winnie said for the second time.
“The wallpaper place is just down the street,” Ruby said. “Clara and I can swing by there and meet you at Wal-Mart.” She looked at Marilee. “Listen to us. Here we are making plans, and we haven’t even asked if you can afford to do all this.”
“My lawyer is reimbursing me two thousand dollars now that I don’t need a child advocate, and I’ve saved every dime of my tips from the Pickford Inn. Besides, I don’t care what it costs. I want this place to feel like home when Josh arrives.”
“What are we waiting for?” Nell said.
The women were out the door in a matter of seconds. A light mist fell, but nobody seemed to notice. Winnie, Nell and Marilee rode in her car, Clara and Ruby in Ruby’s truck. When they arrived at the store, they hurried inside, each woman grabbing a shopping cart.
“Where should we go first?” Nell asked.
“Paint department,” Ruby said, already headed in that direction. They followed one another caravan-style and pored over the wide selection of paint charts.
“May I help you?” a young salesman asked. His name tag read Mike.
“How old are you, Mike?” Marilee asked.
He looked embarrassed. “Nineteen. Why?”
“What’s your favorite color?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Navy blue.”
“Never mind,” Winnie said, waving him aside. “The room is not big enough. It’d look like a shoebox if we painted it that color.”
“Would you like to hear my second favorite color?” he said.
All five women looked his way. “Okay, dear,” Nell said. “What is it?”
He reached for a paint chart and pointed to a color. “Khaki.”
“Khaki?” Clara said.
“That’s a boring color,” Winnie said. She crossed her arms over her breasts. “Whoever heard of painting a bedroom khaki?”
“You wouldn’t believe how many people buy it,” the young man said, sounding defensive. “It’s clean-looking, and it goes with everything. Doesn’t show fingerprints.” He paused and smiled. “And it goes excellent with navy blue. You could have a navy bedspread and curtains.”
Winnie looked him up and down. “Are you Wal-Mart’s personal interior decorator?”
Mike looked surprised at her bluntness. “No, but a lot of people ask my opinion. Is this for a man or woman?”
Marilee wondered why Winnie was acting so rude. “It’s for my son’s room.”
“Thank you for your help,” Winnie said. “We’ll take it from here.”
“Are you expecting a baby?” he asked.
She gaped at him. “Do I look like I’m expecting a baby?”
“Well, yes. My sister is expecting. She’s due in December.”
“So am I.”
“Are you taking childbirth classes?”
“Yes. Any more personal questions you’d like to ask?”
Mike smiled as if he was enjoying himself. “You and your husband will enjoy it. I know my sister and brother-in-law do.”
“I don’t have a husband, okay? My baby’s father left town the minute he heard I was pregnant. And you can stop feeling sorry for me right now, because I don’t need a husband. I have my friends and that’s enough.”
“I don’t feel sorry for you, and I wasn’t trying to be nosy. I guess I’m just excited about my sister having her baby.” He grinned. “It means I’m going to be an uncle.”
Winnie seemed to soften. “Oh, well, I can understand that, but we don’t have time for small talk, we have to buy paint.”
The four other women followed the exchange, turning to Winnie then back to Mike. Marilee felt like shaking the girl.
“Excuse me,” Winnie told them. “I need to find the ladies’ room.”
Mike smiled. “My sister goes to the bathroom constantly. I’ll be glad to show you where it is.”
“I know where the bathroom is located, thank you very much.”
He grinned. “Yes, but somebody needs to press the buzzer to let you in. That could take time, since the woman who presses the buzzer works in layaway.”
Winnie sighed. “Okay.” They headed toward the back of the store.
Marilee smiled at the others. “I think she likes him.”
“His choice of colors isn’t bad,” Ruby pointed out. “I think they’d be perfect for a boy’s room.”
“Look at this,” Clara said. “Robin’s-egg blue. That would look beautiful in your living room, and since your sofa is a neutral color it would work. Unfortunately, that would mean getting rid of those lovely draperies your mother bought.”
“Who said anything about painting the living room?” Marilee asked, although she liked the idea. The house needed a face-lift in the worst way. And she could replace the drapes with inexpensive miniblinds. They continued to search through colors.
Winnie returned. “Do y’all believe that man asked me for my telephone number and address?”
“Did you give it to him?”
“Do I have the word stupid written all over my face?” She gave a grunt. “Of course I gave it to him.”
Nell chuckled. “He’s cute, don’t you think?”
“And smart,” Winnie said. “He’s attending the community college, working on an accounting degree, just like I plan to do.”
Ruby patted Winnie on the back. “He is cute.”
“So why’s he flirting with me?” Winnie said.
Marilee made a sound of disgust. “Now, what kind of question is that?”
“Look at me.” Winnie pointed to her stomach. “I’m as big as a house.”
“You’re pregnant, for heaven’s sake!” they chorused.
The young man appeared a few minutes later. “Sorry, but somebody needed me in hardware. Have y’all decided on a paint color?”
“We’ll take two gallons of khaki,” Marilee said.
“And a couple of gallons of robin’s-egg blue,” Ruby told him. She checked her wristwatch and looked at Marilee. “While he mixes the paint, Clara and I will run by the
wallpaper store and pizza place then meet you back at your house. We have to study wallpaper samples for the kitchen.”
“Get me a salad,” Winnie said, “with low-fat dressing.” She looked at Mike. “I have to keep my weight down.”
“You know where I hide the spare house key, right?” Marilee said, reaching into her purse for money. “I’m paying this time. Besides, I have a coupon. Buy one, and you get a second one for half price.”
They argued for a moment while Mike mixed the paint. Finally, Clara and Ruby agreed and hurried off.
Marilee smiled at the young man, who was looking at Winnie. “Excuse me, but would you like to join us? You’ve been so helpful, and we’d love to have you.”
He looked surprised. “I don’t get off until nine.”
“We can save you a couple of slices,” Marilee offered.
He looked at Winnie and smiled. “Sure, if it’s okay with you.”
Winnie shrugged. “I suppose so.”
“We’ll look forward to it,” Marilee said.
Marilee, Nell and Winnie arrived back at the house an hour later, having purchased the paint and two twin navy bedspreads with matching curtains. Clara and Ruby arrived shortly thereafter, bearing two pizzas and a stack of wallpaper books. Winnie grabbed a large pitcher of tea from the refrigerator while Nell filled glasses with ice. They scanned books and samples that Ruby had managed to get from the store. “It would be best if you select from one of these samples,” Ruby said. “Not only have they been reduced, they’re in stock.”
“Oh, look at this,” Winnie said, picking up one. “Clouds.”
“I don’t know where that sample came from,” Ruby said. “Anyway, that won’t work for a kitchen.”
“But it would work for a nursery,” Winnie replied.
Marilee smiled. “It most certainly would.”
“For a boy or girl,” Clara pointed out.
“I already know it’s a girl,” Winnie said.
Ruby nodded. “So you’ve had a sonogram.”
Winnie nodded. “They did one, but I wouldn’t let them tell me the baby’s sex. They don’t have to. It’s a girl.” Winnie eyed the pizza as she ate her salad. The women insisted she take a piece.
A New Attitude Page 27