Second Time's the Charm

“The itsy bitsy spider climbed up...”

The woman started to sing. Abraham’s cries were building back up to full force—and the strange woman was singing.

Standing in the small room with a cluttered desk and a couple of chairs, Jon had no idea what to do. Who the woman was. Or if he should have automatically followed her just because she’d told him to do so. At least in here Abe wasn’t upsetting the other kids.

The toddler’s fingers were digging into Jon’s neck as Abe engaged in full-out wailing.

The woman continued to sing. Her voice was good. He’d give her that. And rising in decibels equal to Abe’s. But...

“Down came the rain and...”

Abe stilled long enough to turn around and look at Looney Lillie.

“Out came the sun and...” Her volume lowered but she didn’t miss a beat.

The toddler stared at the strange woman. Jon did, too. Who the hell was she?

Jon had never seen her before. But she had the most compelling violet-blue eyes.

“Climbed up the spout again.”

Letting go of Jon’s neck Abraham pinched his little fingers together on both hands and, holding them out in front of him, twisted them together.

“That’s right,” Lillie said, matching her thumb and index fingers from opposite hands and switching them back and forth in a crawling motion. She started to sing again.

Abraham watched her, his little fingers moving. By the time the song was done he was sitting calmly on Jon’s hip—looking around as though waiting for the adults in the room to figure out what they were doing so he could get on with his day.

“Thank you.” Jon didn’t know what else to say.

Lillie smiled, rolling up the sleeves of her white oxford. “Abe and I met last week,” she said. “Didn’t we, buddy?”

Abe stared.

The slender woman, only a few inches shorter than Jon’s

six-foot height, held out her hand.

“I’m Lillie Henderson.”

“Jon Swartz,” he said, meeting her gesture with his free hand. And...getting a stab to his gut. It had been too long since he’d touched a woman’s skin. In any capacity. “You work here?”

“Yes and no.” The woman’s smile was unwavering. And all-encompassing. He just didn’t have time to fall under her spell as his son had done. He had to get to work.

“I’m a freelance child life specialist,” she said, as though he knew what that meant. “I have a small office at the clinic in town, as they pay the largest part of my salary and take up the brunt of my time, but I work out here at the day care and with some other private clients in the field, as well.”

“In the field?” He didn’t have time to be ignorant, either.

“Doctors’ offices outside of the clinic, the funeral home, schools. I go anyplace a child might need support getting through trauma.”

He nodded. And noticed that the entire time she’d been talking, she’d been softly rubbing the top of Abe’s hand.

“You ready to come with me and play for a while?” she asked the boy, switching her focus from father to son without missing a beat.

Prepared for the next onslaught, Jon tensed. And felt his son lean toward the arms outstretched in front of him. Without so much as a peep, the little boy made the switch from Jon’s arms to Lillie’s.

Acting as though he and Abraham had intercessions from heaven every day, Jon nodded and slid his free hands into the pockets of his jeans. Did he just leave now?

The woman, Lillie, was running a finger along Abe’s lower lip. “Let’s see if we can find you some juice, shall we?” she asked, and as the toddler nodded, she turned and headed through a door on the opposite side of the office leading into the day care. Just before the door closed behind her, she glanced over her shoulder at Jon, winked and was gone.