* * *
“Where is Mommy going?” Christina rose in alarm.
Garrett stepped over and picked up the little girl. “It’s ok. Your Mommy just needs to talk to an officer for a few minutes. We need to stay here.” He glanced around the room and spotted a few children’s books. “Look. There are some books. Why don’t you gather them up so we can read?”
He put Christina back on the floor. She obediently moved around the room to gather the books and stacked them neatly on the coffee table in front of the couch they had previously vacated.
Garrett couldn’t help himself. He started to pace the floor. This is beyond reasonable. He raked his hand through his hair in frustration. I haven’t felt this way since Jill...Don’t even go there. Cathee needs me. Christina needs me. I need to be strong. How can Cathee unload this whole story with all the garbage she’s been handed in the past couple of days? He stopped pacing and stared at the door. Maybe I should go in and stop this. She doesn’t have to testify. She hasn’t been delivered a summons. He started to pace again, helplessly agonizing over the events in the other room.
He took a deep breath and turned to Christina. There were two stacks of books on the table. She picked out the top book from one stack, thumbed through the pages, and then put the book on the second pile. He was grateful she was entertaining herself. He caught her nervously peeking at him. She must be as scared as I am. He looked down at her a moment, then moved over to sit next to her. “Which book would you like me to read?”
“This one.”
It was The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. It was a book he had in his own library, one he used regularly in therapy. It wasn’t a book he chose to read to his clients himself. It was one he had the parents read to the child. He knew the story well. It was a book meant to be read by parents to their children. He closed his eyes. The pain of the loss of his Jill ripped through him. Christina needs me. He opened his eyes and quietly read through the book.
The next book was easier. Frog on a Log by Phil Roxbee Cox wasn’t one he was familiar with. When he closed the book, Christina asked, “Can we read it again, please?”
Obediently, he opened the book and re-read it. The next book was just as easy. Mr. Brown Can Moo by Dr. Seuss had been one of his childhood favorites.
There were three books by Nancy Shaw: Sheep in a Ship, Sheep in a Shop, and Sheep in a Jeep. Christina asked to have them re-read four times.
After two readings of Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, another book he kept in his RAD therapy library, and three readings of Bill Martin Jr.’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Cathee finally emerged.
Garrett looked up, fearful of what he might see. He was relieved. She seemed to be relaxed. It must have gone well.
She sounded almost cheerful. “Ready to go?”
Christina jumped up, and Garrett hurried to open the door.
After they all loaded into the car, he turned to Cathee. “Do you feel like dinner?”
She stopped the shake of her head, remembering she needed to be a good example to her daughter. “Something light. A salad, maybe.”
“There’s a Wendy’s not too far from here. Will that do?”
She stared out the window unseeingly. Her voice sounded tired. “That should be fine.”
Silence hung heavy during the short trip to the restaurant. “Did you want to go in or go through the drive through?”
Cathee turned to Garrett. “Drive through, please. I’d like the Apple Pecan Salad.” She turned to Christina. “What would you like, Sweetie?”
“Can I have an Apple Dipper?”
“They don’t serve them here. Would you like a Frosty instead?”
She nodded. “Can I have some chicken nuggets, too?”
“I’m sure they have something similar. Would you like fries with them?”
Christina nodded again, her normally active voice lost. She was unusually subdued. The day had been hard on all of them.
After they went through the drive through and were headed back to the Capitol Plaza Hotel, Garrett cleared his throat. “Uh...I was wondering if you would like to come up to my suite to eat?” Before Cathee could tell him ‘no,’ he hurried on. “I wanted to pull out my computer and show you how to shut off AT&T Tracking.”
He breathed a sigh of relief when Cathee agreed. “Thanks. I’d like that.”
They were all quiet for the rest of the trip.
Hidden in the Heart: An LDS Novel Page 17