Marvin searched his brain for the conversation Bo referred to, but he came up blank.
"The day after I spent the night at your house," Bo said in an effort to help his memory.
And help, Bo did. Marvin and Shay had argued after leaving Genesis House. Shay had been upset that he'd asked Evelyn not to tell people they were pregnant. They'd had that conversation at home. How did Bo know about it?
As if he heard the unasked question, Bo said, "I came by your house to pick up my watch." He pointed at the item on his wrist. "Better watch those open windows. Anybody walking through your yard can hear everything you say."
Marvin remembered now. Bo had left the watch after spending the night. "Why didn't you say something when I brought you the watch? I had no idea you'd come by for it earlier."
"Nothing to say, man," he said, as if it didn't matter. "You and your lady having a fight. It's none of my business."
"It's not what you think, Bo," Marvin said.
"I'm not thinking anything."
Marvin knew he was losing the boy, and he prayed for a way to make things right between them. "People argue," he tried to explain. "They say things they don't mean when they're hurt."
Bo eyed Marvin. "People are always saying stuff they don't mean. Doesn't matter." He propped the basketball under his arm. "Look, man, I gotta go." He began backing away. "And you'd better get home to your lady. I hear she doesn't like outsiders interfering with her family time."
* * *
Marvin took slow, deliberate steps from his car to the house. He dreaded the upcoming conversation with Shay. She'd no doubt ask about Bo, and he'd have to tell her the truth, or at least part of it. As well as he knew his wife, he knew how hurt she'd be that Bo had overheard one of their arguments.
He half expected her to meet him at the door, but he found her seated at the kitchen table. Two half-eaten place settings sat before her, and she seemed to be lost in her thoughts. "Honey," he called to her, "something wrong?"
She said, "I'm fine," but the eyes she lifted to his were wet.
He went to her and dropped down on one knee. "You've been crying," he said. "What's wrong?"
She wiped at her tears and tried to give him a smile. "Hormones, I guess," she said, with a slight lift of her shoulders. She cleared her throat. "How was Bo?"
Marvin pressed his hand against her jaw. "He's been better."
She covered his hand with hers. "What do you mean?"
"Why don't we clear the table and clean up a little? Then we can sit and talk about everything."
"But—"
He pressed a finger to her lips. "Trust me this time, okay?"
She nodded, and together they cleared the table. Father, give me the words to tell her, and don't let those words break her heart. Once they were seated on the couch in the sitting room, Shay said, "You're scaring me, Marvin. Is Bo all right?"
Marvin took her hands in his. "Yes, he's all right."
"Then what's wrong? Why was he so distant with me? Or was it my imagination?"
Marvin's heart hurt at the concern he saw in her eyes, and the pain he knew he was about to add. "It wasn't your imagination. He was distant with you."
"I knew it," she said. "Did you find out why? I know I haven't been helping him—"
"It's not that," Marvin told her. He sighed deeply and held her hands tighter. "He overheard us arguing the other day, the day after he spent the night here."
Shay's eyes registered her confusion. "He's upset with me because we argued? I don't understand."
"He overheard some of the things we said," he reminded her gently. "The things we said about him."
"But we didn't—" She covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh no," she said. "He didn't hear—"
Marvin nodded. "He didn't hear the entire conversation, but he heard your comment about resenting my relationship with him."
"Oh no, Marvin," she cried, removing her hands from his and clutching his shirt. "That's not what I meant. This wasn't supposed to happen. I care about Bo as much as you do. He has to know that."
"I'm sure he does," Marvin said honestly, "but he's buried that knowledge somewhere deep inside. Bo's experiences have taught him that people aren't always what they seem, so he's using your words against you."
"I can't believe this," Shay said, her voice weak with despair. "I can't believe this. I would never do anything to hurt Bo. Never."
Marvin caressed her shoulders. "I know that, sweetheart, and Bo'll come to realize it too. We have to give him time."
Shay bit her lower lip to keep from crying. "He was doing so well, Marvin, despite the drinking episode. I hope this doesn't set him back."
"I've been praying that very same thing."
"It's all my fault," she said, her tears falling. "Because of something I said to you in anger, Bo is suffering." She turned her face into her husband's chest. "I never meant to hurt him, Marvin. I was just so angry with you."
"I know, sweetheart," he said, continuing to caress her shoulders and upper back. "It's going to be all right."
"I'm supposed to care for people," she said, making him wonder if she'd heard his words of comfort. "I'm not supposed to do them harm, but I have."
"You're being too hard on yourself. God's still in control."
Shay looked up at her husband. "I need to pray, Marvin, for Bo and for myself. Will you pray with me?"
Marvin nodded.
"Father," Shay said, head bowed, "thank you so much for sending Bo into our lives, and giving us an opportunity to love him. We know that he is dear to you and that you entrusted his heart and soul to us. I ask forgiveness, Lord, for the hurtful words that I spoke and for the pain those words caused him. I never meant for him to hear the words, Lord, but I know that is no excuse. Please keep him safe—in his heart and in his body. Amen."
Marvin murmured an "Amen" and held his wife close in his arms while she cried.
Chapter 18
Lying in bed, Shay stared at the ceiling and clutched more tightly at Marvin's arms, which rested lightly across her stomach. What harm had she and her anger done to Bo, she wondered, and what could she do to help heal the wounds? She'd never expected it to come to this. Is this where her unforgiveness had led them?
She now accepted the truth that Vickie had tried unsuccessfully to get her to see yesterday. The forgiveness that she had withheld from Marvin had resulted in pain inflicted on Bo. Forgive me, Lord, her heart cried out. Forgive me.
The ringing phone interrupted her prayer. She tried to grab it before it woke Marvin, but he reached it before she did.
"Hello," he said, his voice alert, free from sleep.
She picked up on his tension when he sat up straight in the bed. "What?" Pause. "Are you all right?" Longer pause. "I'm on my way."
"What's wrong?" she asked after he hung up the phone.
He gave her a grim smile. "It's Bo. He's in jail." He pushed back the covers and jumped out of bed.
Shay's heart lurched. "Jail? How can he be in jail? You just talked to him last night."
Marvin quickly pulled on the jeans he'd worn yesterday. "I know, but he's in jail this morning. That was him. He wants me to come get him out."
Thanking God that her early-morning nausea was a thing of the past, Shay got out of bed and quickly began pulling on her clothes. "I'm going with you," she said.
Marvin hastily buttoned his shirt. "Maybe you should stay here," he said. "Let me talk to Bo alone first."
Shay read his worry for her in his eyes, and she was touched, but she shook her head. "I'm a big girl," she said. "I can handle this. Besides, I want him to know that we're both there for him, not just you. And I owe him an apology."
Marvin nodded, and they both dressed in silence. Shay's heart was already with Bo. Protect him, Father, and give me the right words to say when we see him.
Marvin laced his shoes. "Ready?" he called to her on his way out of the bedroom.
"I'm right behind you," she said. When they reached t
he car, Marvin took the wheel, and Shay got in on the passenger side.
"I can't believe he's in jail," Shay said once they were en route to the jail, speaking more to herself than to Marvin.
"Believe it," he said.
"How'd he sound?"
Marvin rolled his shoulders forward. "He sounded like Bo or, more precisely, like Bo with a hangover."
"So he's been drinking again?"
"Seems that way."
Shay fought her tears successfully, because she didn't think she deserved the luxury of crying out her woes. She'd done too much damage to take the easy way out. "I didn't want it to come to this," she murmured. "I can't help but wonder how much of this is a result of what he overheard me say."
Marvin placed a hand on her knee and squeezed. "Whatever's been done can be undone. We have to believe that with God's grace we can work through this."
Shay took comfort in Marvin's touch and placed her hand atop his.
"Don't beat yourself up about this, sweetheart," he said, taking his eyes off the road for a second. "We're here for Bo now. That's what counts."
Shay prayed Marvin was right. She forced herself to stop feeling sorry for herself and to focus on Bo. The first thing they had to do was get the kid out of jail. "His aunts," she said. "I wonder if his aunts know where he is."
"I have no idea. Why don't you give them a call?"
"Good idea." Shay pulled her phone from her purse and dialed the digits. "Hello, Miss Edie. How are you this morning? I'm looking for Bo," she said, not wanting to alarm the older lady unnecessarily.
"He spent the night with one of his friends," Miss Edie said. "Won't be home till tonight. You want the number over there?"
"No, no, Miss Edie. I can talk to him later. Don't worry about it. You take care, and I'll talk to you later."
"At least they're not worried," she said, pressing the off button on the phone and putting it back in her purse. "Apparently, Bo lied to his aunts. They think he spent the night with a friend."
Marvin nodded as he pulled into the police station. Shay was out of the car as soon as he brought it to a full stop.
* * *
Marvin was ready to leave the jail as soon as he arrived. He introduced himself and Shay to the middle-aged officer on duty and spoke briefly with the man about Bo's situation. He kept a tight hold on his silent and worrying wife's hand the entire time.
"He and a couple of other boys were causing a ruckus down at Jo-Jo's, and we brought 'em in to prevent any trouble. Jo-Jo's not pressin' charges, and the other two boys have already gone home. Folks picked 'em up last night." The officer sighed. "But Bo here, he didn't want to go home, wanted to sleep it off, so we obliged him. Only when he got ready to leave we told him he needed somebody to sign him out. That didn't go over too well with him."
"I bet it didn't," Marvin said, thinking Bo was probably concerned about his aunts learning he was in trouble.
"Mentioned something about some ants and went right to sleep." The officer laughed. "Slept like a baby, too," he said with a rub of his chin. "Only not many babies get drunk as a skunk and get involved in a barroom brawl."
Marvin couldn't laugh with the man, though he agreed with the point being made. "Well, I'm here to sign him out."
"I figured as much." The officer pushed a ledger out in front of Marvin and inclined his head to a second officer who'd come in the door behind him. "Fill out this sheet," he said to Marvin. To the other officer, he said, "Bring the kid up. The preacher here is signing him out."
Marvin couldn't help but grin when he heard the officer refer to him as a preacher. They must be getting somewhere in their goal to make the community aware of Genesis House. He completed the form, as requested, and pushed the ledger back toward the officer.
"You know," the officer said, "I think y'all got a good idea going with this church center. People need to be about helping themselves instead of looking to the government."
Marvin smiled. This was nothing he hadn't heard before. "Thank you. We're only doing the work we believe God wants done. The government has its responsibilities as well. Just because we're working doesn't mean the government is off the hook. There are more than enough issues to go around."
The officer seemed to chew on those words, and that was enough for Marvin. Before he and the officer could resume their conversation, a rumpled and red-eyed Bo made his way through the rear door.
Shay must have seen the boy first because she released Marvin's hand and rushed toward him, giving him a long embrace, which Bo reluctantly returned. "We were so worried," she said, her voice full of tears.
When she finally stepped away from Bo, Marvin returned the boy's embarrassed smirk with a full-faced grin. "Morning, Bo. Been scouting sites for our next match, I see."
Bo didn't laugh, but his mouth turned in a barely visible smile. "You crazy, man," he said, taking the large yellow envelope that held his personal items from the second officer. He slipped the items into his pockets and signed the release form. Then he strode toward Marvin. "Thanks for coming down," he said to the husband and wife as he walked toward the door, "but I'm outta here."
Marvin gave a brief thank-you to the officer on duty, who merely shrugged his shoulders and said, not too optimistically, "Good luck." Then he took Shay's hand and headed out the door after Bo.
"Where are you going?" he called to Bo, who was walking toward the exit of the parking lot. "You can't go home looking like that. What will your aunts think?"
Bo lifted bloodshot eyes to Marvin. "Good point. I'll stop by Jo-Jo's. I'm sure he has something stashed in the back room I can change into."
"I don't think going back to Jo-Jo's is a good idea. He's the one who had you locked up."
Bo shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Jo-Jo's always getting guys locked up." He grimaced. "First time I've been in the group, though. Don't think I like it much."
"Well, that's one good thing." Marvin put his hand on Bo's shoulder. "Come on, you can go home with us. I'm sure we can find something to fit you. All you need are work clothes anyway."
Bo cast a wary glance at Shay.
"We want you to come," she said.
He turned back to Marvin. "Work clothes?"
"Yeah, work clothes," Marvin said, leading the boy to the lot where the car was parked. "Today is Saturday, which means it's a workday at Genesis House, which means we need all the helpers we can get." He stared into Bo's eyes and telegraphed the portion of his thoughts his mouth had left out.
"I guess I do owe you one," Bo said, reading the message clearly. By this time, they'd reached the car.
Marvin turned back to Bo before he opened the car's rear door. "I guess you do."
* * *
The ride from the jail to the Taylor home was quiet. Shay's heart sought God for the right words. After they arrived, Bo called his aunts and told them his plans for the rest of the day while Marvin went in search of some clean clothes for the boy.
When Bo hung up the phone from talking to his aunts, Shay said, "I want to apologize, Bo, for what I said, for what you heard. It wasn't about you. It was about me and Marvin, and I never should have brought you into it. I'm sorry I did, but at the time I was feeling sorry for myself. I love having you around here, and I love seeing you with Marvin."
Bo shook his head as if he didn't believe her. "That's not what you said," he reminded her.
She gave a dry chuckle. "I know, and it's a long story, but I'd like to tell you about it, if you're willing to listen."
Bo nodded, but he didn't look at her. "I can't go anywhere 'til Marvin's ready," he said.
Shay felt hurt by the boy's distance and hostility, but she accepted it as her due. "I was sad when I said those things, Bo," she told him. "I was sad because I am pregnant and Marvin wasn't happy about it at the time." At the boy's raised brow, she explained, "Our first child was killed in an accident a few years ago. He was only six. And it's been hard for both Marvin and me. Marvin couldn't be happy about the new baby because he was
afraid something bad would happen."
"Like with your son?" Bo asked.
Shay nodded. "But you helped him, Bo. He was happy with you. For a long time, Marvin hasn't been able to relate to boys and young men like you because of the memories they brought of our son, but you helped him to get past that."
His squinted eyes seemed to ask, "Who, me?"
She nodded to confirm what she'd said. "You've helped him more than you know, and if I didn't care about you for yourself, I'd care about you because of the help you've given my husband. We need you in our lives, Bo. I hope you can forgive me and allow us to be a part of yours."
Bo nodded, but he didn't say anything.
Shay accepted what she hoped was his forgiveness, but she didn't push for more. She knew she'd have to win back Bo's trust, a task she welcomed.
"You two all right?"
She turned at the sound of her husband's voice. Then she glanced at Bo and smiled. Her heart turned over at the half-smile he gave her in return. "I think so," she said to her husband, her eyes still on Bo.
"Good," Marvin said. Then he said to Bo, "Let's roll."
* * *
"I know you have something to say," Bo said once they were on the road heading for Genesis House.
Marvin kept his eyes on the road. "I think you're the one who has something to say. How in the world did you end up in jail?"
Bo shrugged and looked out the window, studying the town's landscape as if he'd never seen it before. "Things got a little out of hand, you know."
"A little out of hand," Marvin said, his voice rising. He forced himself to remain calm. "You were in jail, and you think things got a little out of hand? I'm not sure that's what your aunts would say."
Bo turned to him, eyes narrowed. "They don't have to know. I told them I was spending the night at my buddy's house."
"So now you're lying to them? How long have you been doing that?"
"I'm not lying to them."
"What do you call it, then?"
Marvin felt the boy's confusion as Bo looked out the window again. "They're all the family I've got," Bo said. "I don't want to hurt them."
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