Nothing Sacred

“You miss your friends, don’t you?” he asked her, wondering how long it would be before she’d be able to resume her biweekly visits to the day care.

That wouldn’t be until her leg healed enough to get her back in a wheelchair, he realized. Bonnie Nielson had a wheelchair accessible van that would come and pick Edith up as soon as she could travel.

“I really do, Pastor,” she said, tears filling her eyes.

Well, then, she’d see them, David decided. He’d speak with Mr. Walton and Bonnie and see about arranging for a group of the more mobile occupants of Big Spirits adult day care to come to a small party at Edith’s home. They could have some kind of easy picnic lunch. He could be there to help with everything….

Looking at Edith, seeing once again the resemblance to his mother that had struck him since he’d first met her, he wondered if his mother had ever had a party in her honor.

“So tell me about your family.” David had hoped to cheer the old woman, not depress her. He didn’t want to mention the party until he knew for sure he could make it happen.

“They got back not too long ago from a weekend trip to San Diego. From what I hear, everyone but Monica had a great time.”

“Why didn’t Monica enjoy herself?” Had she and Shelley had some kind of falling out? He wondered what Martha had heard about the weekend.

“She’s sixteen!” Edith said with an accepting smile. “Being alone with her parents for two days wasn’t her idea of fun. Said she was bored.”

“She was alone?” David asked, wondering if Edith was confused. “I would’ve thought she’d take a friend with her.”

“I guess she asked her best friend, Shelley, to go, but Shelley had obligations at home. You know, her mother’s in that house all alone with those four kids now that her husband ran out on her….”

David continued to listen, but not as attentively as Edith deserved.

Several times in the past few weeks he’d driven by the place outside town where he’d seen Shelley coming from the desert the month before. He’d seen no sign of her, or of any other kids hanging out there.

He’d hoped that perhaps the girl had taken more heed of his warning than she’d appeared to.

Now he wasn’t so sure.

And more importantly, If Shelley hadn’t been with Monica three weeks before, where had she been?

And with whom?

“BAD DAY AT WORK?” David asked as Martha climbed into the Explorer that evening. She’d had a glass of tea, freshened her makeup, thought she’d covered up the effects of this latest in the never-ending string of challenges that had become her life.

Apparently she’d failed in her attempt to look better than she felt.

And Marks knew so much already, she just couldn’t work up the energy to pretend otherwise.

“I had a call from the high school this afternoon.”

Martha was almost ashamed at the relief she felt as he drove her away from home. Her four children were there. Getting their own dinner. Doing their homework. Ignoring each other. And she couldn’t believe how much she wanted to get away and leave them to it.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

Running a hand through her hair she tried to remember how long it had been since she’d had it cut. Pretty soon, instead of short, sassy and windblown, it was going to look shaggy and unkempt. “It’s not.”

“I’m guessing it has something to do with Shelley.”

Martha sighed. “Right again.” Martha felt sick at heart. She could handle every single thing she’d been handed. She could make every bit of it better—if the damn universe would just slow down enough to give her a chance to fix one thing before she was handed another.

“She’s cutting school.”

“Damn!”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to use that kind of language.”

“No.” He nodded, tapping his thumb on the steering wheel. “Probably not.”