More Than Words Volume 4

by Linda Lael Miller

  “Okay, okay, I get it,” she said. “I thought we’d settled the fact that I’d been an idiot and you were, too.”

  “I don’t recall the word idiot ever crossing my lips,” he commented.

  “Implied,” she said. “It was definitely implied.”

  “We’re communicating now, though, and that’s what counts,” he told her. “We’ll never make that same mistake again.”

  “Never,” she promised.

  Trent looked around the dance floor and chuckled as he saw Marvin trying to do a sedate slow dance with Devonia. He looked as if he wanted to break loose and speed up the beat. Ramon and his girl were wrapped tight in each other’s arms. Miguel’s gaze on Mariana was bewildered, almost as if he’d never seen her before and didn’t know quite what to make of this precious, lovely creature. Even Jason, small for his age, his eyes too big behind his thick glasses, was talking intently to a girl wearing braces and whose hair was as uncontrolled as Jodie’s. Even though she was inches taller than Jason, she was gazing at him raptly and seemed to be hanging on the boy’s every word.

  Trent looked into Jodie’s eyes. “You and my daughter did a good thing tonight,” he said. “A very good thing.”

  “Does that mean you’ll help us again next year, even if Laurie’s away at college?”

  “If you need my help, you’ve got it,” he said at once. “On one condition.”

  “Oh?”

  “Dance with me, Jodie. That was part of our deal for tonight, but every time I’ve asked, you’ve suddenly found something requiring your attention. Even the most dutiful chaperone doesn’t need to check the punch bowl that many times, especially since we’ve been standing right next to it for most of the night.”

  She winced. “You noticed that?”

  “I notice a lot of things about you,” he said, brushing a wayward curl from her cheek. It was a futile exercise, since more sprang free from the delicate, sparkling combs meant to hold her hair in place.

  “Name one.”

  He laughed. “You did it again. You tried to divert me. Come on, Jodie, it’s time to pay the piper. I’m claiming this dance.”

  She backed up a step. “I can’t.”

  He paused, struck by the genuine fear he saw in her eyes. “What do you mean, you can’t? Do you really have two left feet, the way you said the other day?”

  “I don’t know,” she confessed.

  He was more confused than ever. “How can you not know?”

  “The truth is that I never learned to dance.”

  Trent didn’t even try to hide his disbelief. “But the way you got involved with this, the fact that it’s so important to you…” He didn’t know what to make of any of it.

  “I know it must not make sense to you,” she said.

  “Explain,” he pleaded.

  Her cheeks turned pink. Carefully avoiding his gaze, she finally blurted, “You remember that when I was just starting my senior year of high school, I was in an accident, a bad one. Broken legs, broken pelvis.”

  Trent nodded. “You told me about that and you mentioned it again the other day. What does that have to do with you not dancing?”

  “I finished the year in rehab and at home. For a while they thought I would never walk again, but I proved them wrong.” She met his eyes straight on. “Don’t you remember that when we met our junior year I still had a little bit of a limp? I was so self-conscious about it.”

  He shook his head. “All I noticed was that you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen and that your laugh made me happy. Beyond mentioning the accident, you never made a big deal about it. I had no idea it was so serious.”

  “I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me and I was trying to forget what had been a very painful time in my life, not just physically, but emotionally. I was grateful that I could walk. I really was, but I missed so much, things I can never get back.”

  He regarded her with sudden understanding. “Like your prom.”

  She nodded.

  “But you came to this one,” he said. “Did you go to the prom at your old school, too?”

  She nodded. “As a chaperone. I’ve done it for years. I kept hoping it would make up for what I’d missed, but it’s not the same. It couldn’t possibly be.” Again, she touched the camellia fleetingly. “At least until tonight.”

  Trent’s heart turned over in his chest as he tried to imagine how it must have hurt each year to see young people celebrating the end of their high school days, while she had only memories of pain and heartache from hers.

  Not only had her revelation given him a deeper insight into this amazing woman, it also reassured him that even if they spent a lifetime together, there would still be new discoveries to make. The prospect excited him.

  “You know,” he said, “dancing’s not that difficult.”

  “Maybe not for you,” she said. “You’ve had lots of practice.”

  “Come on,” he insisted, tugging her onto the floor and then into his arms. “Just hold on to me, Jodie. Trust me.”

  Her body swayed into his and he gave her a moment to relax before he began to move. “Listen to the music—feel it,” he encouraged her, wishing he could feel it himself over the beating of his heart and the sweet sensation of her body pressed against him.

  “Don’t even think about dancing,” he said. “Look around you. See what you’ve done for these kids. You gave them magic, Jodie. You gave them memories they’ll treasure for a lifetime, rather than living with the regret of missing this night the way you had to.”

  A smile spread across her face as she looked around. He could tell the precise moment when she forgot about her fears, her awkwardness. Satisfied that he’d accomplished one goal, he went for another and spun her around and around till she was laughing, her feet off the ground. The kids around them stood back and applauded.

  Seeing Jodie let go, listening to the laughter that had once brought him such joy, Trent knew he’d captured a little magic tonight, too.

  And this time, he wouldn’t let it go. He’d do whatever it took to make sure it lasted forever.

  Dear Reader,

  How many times in your life have you opened your closet door before an evening out and murmured, “I have absolutely nothing to wear,” even though the closet is crammed with clothes? It’s one thing to face such a dilemma as an adult, but in the fashion-conscious world of teenagers, it’s quite another, especially if the lack of appropriate clothes is real. At no time does the absence of something special to wear seem quite as important as it does for all of the activities associated with high school graduation and, most especially, the prom.

  Ruth Renwick, a Canadian social worker, encountered that need firsthand when she learned of a girl who was going to miss her high school prom because she simply couldn’t afford a dress to wear. The first dress Ruth took by was too big. With time running out, Ruth searched her own closet and found more options and took them to the girl’s home. It seemed such a little thing to her at the time, but the delight she saw on the girl’s face, the transformation that took place, led Ruth to think about all of the other young girls and young men in similar circumstances. With her huge heart, the glimmer of an idea, and the help of her family and others such as social workers Tracey Ciccarelli-Ridsdill and Janace King-Watson, Ruth began Inside the Dream. You can read much more about the organization on the Web site, www.insidethedream.org. If you’re able to help, please do. If there’s a need for a similar organization in your community, start one. It only takes one person with a dream and a vision to make a huge difference in someone’s life.

  With all good wishes for your dreams to come true,

  Sherryl Woods

  Dr. Ricki Robinson

  Autism Speaks

  Dr. Ricki Robinson often says that if you don’t know a family whose life has been touched by autism—you will. As a doctor and founding member of Cure Autism Now, an organization that combined forces with Autism Speaks in 2007, she is well aware of the
troubling statistics: autism is the fastest-growing developmental disorder in North America, with the numbers increasing dramatically from one child in 10,000 a mere dozen years ago to one in 150 in 2006.

  Autism, which interferes with a child’s natural development, is a lifelong disability, and one that is often difficult to detect in very young children or by first-time parents. Indications of it include little or no eye contact, a delay in expressing, understanding and responding to language, a failure to develop social skills, unusual reactions to the way things look, feel, taste, smell or sound, and repetitive behaviors such as saying words or asking questions repeatedly. Sometimes children who have been progressing normally until about age two suddenly stop, and begin to regress. Some children never talk; others do. It all adds to the lack of understanding about what autism is, Dr. Robinson says.

  When Dr. Robinson, affectionately known as Dr. Ricki, began working with children affected by autism fifteen years ago, “there was no future for these children,” she says. No medical test existed for diagnosis, there was a lack of physician education, and parents who sensed that something was wrong were advised to “wait and see.”

  As a general pediatric practitioner, she had noticed increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with autism or related disorders, but says she was “frustrated with the lack of therapeutic resources available for developing integrated treatment plans, and appalled at the lack of scientific research.” She was also appalled by the tendency to blame mothers for supposed faulty parenting skills. It was not uncommon for the mother to be prescribed therapy rather than the child. “This was preposterous to me,” she says. “I knew we needed a grassroots effort to increase awareness, and to raise money for scientific research.”

  Fifteen years on, though the underlying causes are still not known, “we have lots and lots of clues now,” she says. “And there are so many different things we can do.” Thanks largely to her own efforts and the work of Autism Speaks, awareness, knowledge and research are increasing.

  Providing hope to families is crucial in light of the stark reality that very little government aid or health care coverage is available to mitigate the costs associated with treating the disorder. Educational budgets are inadequate to meet the challenge in schools. Parents are often left exhausted and financially devastated. For these parents, it’s a comfort to know there is somewhere they can turn. Autism Speaks has created a network of parents, clinicians and researchers who are bonded by hope and working toward a better quality of life for those who struggle with autism.

  The process of identifying and treating autism has always been complicated. Though research confirms a genetic basis, “unlike disorders that have been linked to a single gene, such as cystic fibrosis, there may be twenty or thirty genes involved in autism,” says Dr. Ricki. She believes there are also environmental factors involved and advocates for further exploration to determine how such factors may trigger autism. As a physician and advocate, Dr. Ricki is proud of her involvement in Cure Autism Now’s (CAN) Clinical Consensus Group. The group built consensus on guidelines for medical evaluation for autism, so that physicians could more effectively identify the disorder. The CAN Clinical Consensus Statement, now used across the United States, provides guidelines for putting a child through a battery of behavioral screenings in order to make an assessment that can be followed by therapeutic interventions tailored to individual needs.

  Parents are very much part of that therapy. One of Dr. Ricki’s special gifts is helping parents understand how their child is learning, and that coming to expect that child to become “the best they can be” is an attainable goal. As just one example, a child she began working with fifteen years ago is now about to enter university and, although unable to converse because of motor challenges, can type and is “fully literate” in written communication.

  The mother of a young man who has been treated by Dr. Ricki for the past eleven years remembers that when she and her husband first brought their son, then three, to her, he had lost his speech, wasn’t making eye contact and had stopped playing with other children.

  “Dr. Ricki was the first one to give us hope,” she says. “She could see possibilities we couldn’t.” Right from the beginning, the parents were treated as partners in addressing the challenges, learning how therapies, curriculum and tutoring techniques play into the larger picture, and how to break it all down into manageable, achievable goals.

  Today, at fourteen, the boy is “calmer, rich in language, with lots of friends.” His mother remains in awe of Dr. Ricki’s patience and compassion, her skill and diligent research. “I believe she fundamentally rewired his brain,” she says. “She is a very special person.”

  Funding for Autism Speaks comes from individuals, corporate donors and fund-raisers held throughout the year. Funds raised are used mainly in support of research programs and initiatives. One of the most productive programs is the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE). Through AGRE, families provide the genetic material and clinical data that enable scientists around the world to study autism immediately, without having to find the families themselves. The resource is available to all qualified researchers willing to share their discoveries, which promotes collaboration and prevents duplication—accelerating the pace and progress in autism research. “There are now some 154 labs around the world using the AGRE sources,” says Dr. Ricki.

  Dr. Ricki continues to support clinical research designed to develop medical treatments for autism. She has been instrumental in programs such as the Autism Treatment Network (ATN) and Clinical Trials Network (CTN), which connect families to the most current medical approaches available and seek to establish a standard of care for the biomedical treatment of autism. She encourages parents to have their children participate whenever possible, believing that only through family participation and aggressive research can this devastating disorder be conquered.

  A frequent speaker at professional conferences, Dr. Ricki now spends as much time volunteering and training more professionals as she does in practicing medicine. Working with these “amazing families and kids with so few people helping them” is compelling, she says. “I have never felt more needed as a physician than I do working with patients and families affected by autism. I feel like my whole life prepared me for this, and now I’m able to teach and prepare others—which is a true gift.”

  For more information visit www.autismspeaks.org or write to Autism Speaks, 5455 Wilshire Blvd. #2250, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

  CURTISS ANN MATLOCK

  PLACE IN THIS WORLD

  CURTISS ANN MATLOCK

  Curtiss Ann Matlock loves to share her experience of Southern living, so she fills her stories with rich local color, basic values and Southern country wisdom. Her books have earned rave reviews, been optioned for film and received numerous awards, among them two Readers’ Choice Awards, given by readers from all over the nation. In addition, her books have received three nominations for the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® Award.

  She currently divides her time between Oklahoma and Alabama.

  PART

  ONE

  That August, the kids came and saved me. I had no idea at the time that I needed saving. And I include Laura Jean as one of the kids, even if she was not. Really, I suppose we saved one another, as if we all grabbed hold of the same line stretched out from heaven.

  Henry had been gone two years, three months and four days. All that time, and I was still keeping track of the days, marking them off on the calendar first thing in the morning, right after I started the Mister Coffee. Then I would slip the calendar back in the drawer, underneath the dish towels. After this I would take my coffee outside and greet the day.

  I followed this pattern each and every day. I am very much a creature of habit, and I cling to the early mornings, before everyone else has come awake and begun to fill the air with chatter and interfere with my thinking. I tend to live in my own world of thoughts. Henry always said I thought
too much, but I never could think how I would stop, or even that I wanted to.

  On that particular morning of the day the children came, there was a thin humid mist, but the horizon was turning turquoise with the dawn. Oh, the summer scents were strong! I stood marveling for a few minutes, walked to the fence, reached through to fill the water tank for our old gelding, Bob, then went back inside to eat a couple of boiled eggs and get dressed.

  My eye happened to fall—my vision, not my eye, which was still in my head; it is my English-teacher training—on the silver filigree earrings lying atop my dresser. I had found them the previous day, when cleaning out some of Henry’s old stuff in the attic. My old stuff is mingled with his old stuff, of course. I had thrown his old stuff away but rescued the earrings at the last minute.

  I slipped the wires of the earrings through my lobes and gazed at myself in the mirror. I had bought the earrings on a college trip to Galveston Island, just before Henry and I married. He had never much liked them, said they were too large. I had liked them, and it turned out that I still did, which was a little surprising. It is said we come full circle in our lives.

  MONTE ARRIVED A LITTLE early, but I was ready, had a fruit cake finished and two cornmeal-and-ham muffins out of the freezer and heated in the microwave.

  Food is the main way that I relate to life, and to people. Food is my way of talking, and I knew right away that I may have made something of a mistake with Monte. I had done the same as feeding a puppy—once you feed them they sure are not going to leave. But how could I not feed the man who was working on my roof? I really should have called a roofing contractor, but it all happened so fast. A summer storm took off a few shingles. I was coming down the ladder from the roof when Monte stopped by. The next thing I knew, he showed up with his tools and said he was putting on a new roof.