Lean on Me (Stories from hope haven)

by Leslie Gould

  “Look we’re a circle,” Izzy said, giggling a little, and then she said very seriously, “Let us pray.”

  Elena braced herself for what Izzy might say, but the prayer was a simple blessing on the food and evening. Elena couldn’t help stealing a glance at Rafael and Sarah. Both seemed reasonably relaxed. She closed her eyes tightly as Izzy said, “Amen,” and then whispered an amen in response as everyone opened their eyes.

  Rafael was polite to Sarah as he passed her the pork first. Izzy caught his eye and beamed. He smiled back, a glimmer—of what, Elena wasn’t sure—in his eyes. The conversation covered Rafael’s work, school, the band, Sarah’s position in the hospital cafeteria, and the rumors of cuts at the hospital.

  “Every day some new rumor is going around,” Sarah said, scooping a forkful of peas. “Not that any of us working in the cafeteria really know what’s going on. I just know I don’t want to lose my job.”

  “I’m feeling more optimistic,” Elena said, purposefully not sharing any information about Heath’s friend. It was too soon to say anything, and she didn’t want to be responsible for another round of rumors.

  After dinner as they sat in the living room, Rafael asked Cesar if he would mind putting Izzy to bed. The little girl began to pout. “I want to stay with you and Mommy,” she said to Rafael.

  “I know,” he responded gently. “But it’s far past your bedtime, and there are some things we need to talk about with Buela.”

  Cesar got down on all fours. “Want a ride?”

  Izzy’s face lit up, but then she turned toward her parents and said, “God’s going to give me the desire of my heart.”

  Rafael frowned for just a moment and then recovered, giving his daughter a hug and a kiss. Izzy hugged her mother too and then climbed on her grandfather’s back. She gave them one last look and then stated emphatically, “And don’t forget, Sunday’s coming!” With that, the little girl jumped on her grandfather’s back and yelled, “Go, Tito!”

  “What was that all about?” Rafael asked as his daughter squealed in delight on her way down the hall.

  “I’m not sure,” Elena said. But she could certainly guess—at least about the desire of Izzy’s heart. She wasn’t sure about the reference to Sunday.

  Rafael said he’d been doing some research and wanted the three of them to come up with a plan to address Izzy’s reading. He glanced at Sarah. “You’re right, I should have taken this more seriously from the beginning. I just couldn’t jive what the teacher was saying with what Izzy was doing, but I think that was my own denial.” He sighed. “I found a few things online about reading and six-year-olds,” Rafael said. “Everything from ‘don’t worry about it if they’re not ready’ to ‘have them tested for dyslexia.’”

  “Do you think she has dyslexia?” Sarah’s voice was full of concern.

  “From what I’ve read, no.” Rafael looked troubled. “But what do I know? Maybe we should get her tested.”

  Elena leaned forward in her chair. “Something interesting happened this evening. Izzy said she couldn’t read the letters on the crayon—but then she did. Except…” Elena looked at Sarah.

  “She only repeated the ones I’d said.” Sarah had noticed too.

  Elena nodded. “She’s quite the clever girl.” She turned to Rafael. “Did she have her eyes checked at her five-year appointment?”

  He nodded.

  “Did they check her for being farsighted?”

  He had a puzzled look on his face.

  “Did they hold a chart close to her eyes?”

  He shook his head. “No, they just did the big chart on the wall. It had a picture of a dog and cat. And a boat. Things like that.”

  “I think you should get her eyes checked,” Elena said.

  “What should I tell her teacher?”

  “You could call and tell her you’ll be in touch with her as soon as you find out what the results of the eye exam are.” Being farsighted could explain the headaches, the being able to identify the letters far away but not up close, and Izzy’s determination to memorize stories so it would appear she was reading. The little girl was clearly motivated. She was probably embarrassed not to be able to do what others in her class could.

  “What do you think, Sarah?” Rafael asked, his voice tender.

  “Sounds like a good plan,” she said, glancing at Elena. “I hope it’s simple enough that a pair of glasses will fix it.” Sarah had a faraway look in her eyes, and Elena was sure she was thinking about her own hard childhood.

  None of them could completely protect Izzy. Already she was dealing with unwed parents and the consequences of having been abandoned by her mother, only to have her resurface in her life again—but they could all work together to nurture, protect, and meet her needs now.

  Chapter Sixteen

  SATURDAY MORNING, JAMES DROVE NELSON AND four other Boy Scouts from his troop out to the Morris home. Gary’s SUV was in the driveway, and James wondered if Melanie remembered to tell him about the yard cleanup crew that was coming out to help.

  The boys piled out the side doors, and James opened the back of the van and began handing them gloves, rakes, shovels, and hoes. The front door of the house opened, and Gary appeared, a cup of coffee warming his hands.

  “James,” he called out, as if they were the best of friends. “How nice to see you.” He fixed his gaze on the boys. “And Scouts, I can’t thank you enough for coming out to help us.”

  Melanie, wearing a brown quilted jacket and a bright blue bandanna tied around her head, stepped out of the house behind him. She didn’t look nearly as enthusiastic as her husband. In fact her face was pale and pinched, but then she smiled at the boys and once again James admired her grace. He introduced each of the boys.

  “Let’s hope the rain will hold off.” Gary turned his head upward toward the dark clouds.

  “We brought raincoats,” Nelson said. “We’ll be fine.”

  “Then you’re true Scouts,” Gary answered.

  James suggested they split into two groups, one for the front yard and one for the back. Melanie said she would work with the first group, but James quickly said it wasn’t necessary, that they didn’t expect the Morrises to work with them; they wanted to serve the family.

  “Nonsense,” Melanie said. “This is just what we needed to get us out of the house. It will do us good.”

  James conceded and said he would float back and forth, starting in the backyard. He and Gary began working on the flower bed to the right of the patio while three of the Scouts began in the flower bed to the left. First they all gathered the small branches and twigs that had blown down during the winter storms.

  Gary breathed in deeply and let out a satisfying sigh as he worked. “Boy, it’s great to be outside,” he said. “Even though it’s chilly.”

  James agreed. It had been a long winter.

  “Although I’m sure once I’m in Texas, I’ll be wishing for cooler weather.” Gary dropped an armful of twigs on the grass.

  “I thought Melanie would go with Joel,” James said. It only made sense since she was the one who had taken a leave of absence from her job.

  “We had a change of plans, just yesterday,” Gary said. “Melanie’s going back to work, and I’ll go with Joel.”

  James had a hard time imagining Melanie going along with the arrangement. Last he’d heard, she was ready to dump Gary. And now she was trusting him to go to Texas and manage Joel’s care? What if the stress was too much for him?

  James worked quietly, thinking about Joel. It was ten o’clock. He probably was sleeping. His heart warmed at the thought of the young man. It wasn’t that he felt fatherly toward him, but he definitely felt protective. Joel was a fellow soldier. James would do anything he could for him.

  He dumped a load of small branches on the pile Gary had started and then began weeding, stealing a glance at the Scouts every once in a while. They were working hard and had piled their coats on the patio. In less than ten years, they would be
Joel’s age. Surely the country wouldn’t still be at war then. Who knew, maybe by then a new war would have started. James swallowed hard. He hoped not, in a way only a veteran could. Those who hadn’t been to war sometimes glorified it. But not a vet.

  His biggest concern was Gideon. If he stayed with ROTC in college, when he graduated he’d go into the army as an officer, which was a safer place to be than enlisted. That was six years from now. Still, it was a risk. He sighed, thinking about how his parents must have felt when he joined the service.

  And it had been a good decision for him, as it would be for Gideon if that was what he pursued. He would be proud of Gideon if he served.

  He could convince himself of that until he stopped and thought of Joel. What if one of his sons was injured like that—or worse? Because, in the long run, Joel was going to be one of the lucky ones.

  But what if something like that happened in his family? How would he be able to take care of Fern and an injured grown child?

  He sighed. It was ridiculous to think like that. Anyone of them could get injured in a car accident. Or have a stroke. Or heart attack. Or come down with MS. He knew nothing in life was certain.

  “How’s the job hunt coming for you?” Gary asked.

  “Pardon?” The man’s question caught James off guard.

  “Melanie said you’d lost your job at Hope Haven. That’s why you’re doing the home health thing. Changing bedpans and all that.”

  James grimaced. He’d heard that from people before when they found out he was a nurse. People didn’t seem to realize all that nurses did. They seemed to think the education for the position was a piece of cake and that once a nurse got a job the hardest thing he or she did was feed people and empty bedpans. “I’m hopeful I’ll get something soon,” James said.

  “I heard the hospital is closing,” Gary said.

  “Really?” James responded. “I hadn’t heard that.” He was thinking it was time to go check on the crew in the front yard, thankful that’s where Nelson was and not in the back listening to Gary.

  “Oh, come on,” the man said. “That’s all the town is talking about.”

  James gave him a blank stare.

  “At the grocery store. The bank. The Chamber of Commerce meeting at the beginning of the week. It’s going to ruin the town.”

  James picked up a hoe and began chipping away at the weeds.

  Gary grabbed a rake and began raking up the leaves that had accumulated against the foundation of the house. “I take it you don’t want to talk about it.”

  James shrugged. “Not really. Like everyone else, I’m waiting to see how things work out.”

  Gary snorted. “When I get back from Texas, I’m out of Deerford. There’s nothing to keep me in this town.”

  “What about your job?” James asked, before he realized Gary had said me and not us.

  His voice was low as he said, “I lost it yesterday afternoon. Had a meeting with my boss—he canned me.”

  James stood up straight and leaned against the hoe. “I’m sorry.” No wonder the man planned to go to Texas with Joel. He didn’t have anything else to do—except look for another job.

  Gary shrugged. “It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

  He couldn’t imagine an employer being so coldhearted as to fire the father of an injured vet, but James realized he might not have the whole story. James wanted to commend Gary for not going out drinking after such hard news, but he was uncomfortable saying anything. They worked for a few more minutes in silence, and then James headed to the front yard to check on the boys.

  He heard Melanie laughing before he rounded the corner of the garage. It was the first time he’d detected anything close to joy coming from her. “Nelson,” she said, “you must not take after your dad.” She was bending over a dead crow, trying to scoop it up with a shovel. Nelson stood away from the group with his hand over his mouth, shaking his head, his bony elbow bouncing around as he did.

  James smiled. “Want some help?”

  Melanie stood up straight. “Sure,” she said, handing him the shovel. “The bird must have hit the window.”

  “It’s probably been dead a few days,” James said, slipping the shovel underneath it. “If it’d been dead longer, it wouldn’t smell so bad.” As he stood he saw Joel through the window, staring at him. But when James locked eyes with the young man, he jerked his head away. “Joel’s awake,” he said to Melanie.

  “Do we get to meet him?” Nelson asked, speaking through his hand.

  “I hope so,” Melanie said, her voice still bright. As James headed toward the garbage can, she apologized to Nelson for laughing.

  “No worries,” he said. “You’re right. I don’t take after my dad. I’m more like my mom.” It was true that Nelson looked more like Fern and had her small bones and build. But it looked like he might get James’s height. He’d grown lanky over the last few months.

  “Oh, you do take after your dad,” she said. “In other ways…”

  When James returned, the boys were back at work weeding out the beds.

  “I’m going to go check on Joel,” Melanie said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  James went back and forth between the front and backyards, but Melanie didn’t return, so he decided to stay in the front. He peered into the window a couple of times but didn’t see Melanie or Joel. Perhaps she was helping him in the bathroom. James didn’t understand why, if Gary was going to accompany him to Texas, he wasn’t more involved in his son’s care now.

  The boys had all packed lunches, and at noon, they all gathered on the patio to eat. Gary invited them inside, but James insisted they stay in the backyard. He didn’t want to leave a mess behind. The boys ate quickly and then ran down to the creek. In no time they were climbing the willow trees and James was so involved in watching them that he wasn’t aware that the patio door had opened until he heard Joel’s voice behind him. Melanie was maneuvering the wheelchair over the ramp.

  “Hey,” James said, turning around. “Good to see you.”

  Joel wore a baseball cap, a green fleece jacket, and jeans. He squinted into the sun that had poked through the clouds, making a brief appearance.

  Melanie and Gary glanced at each other but didn’t speak.

  “I’m going to go get some coffee,” Gary said, rubbing his hands together and darting through the open door.

  Joel focused on the boys in the distance. “Which one is yours?” he asked.

  “The thin kid in the gray sweatshirt.” It was an old one of James’s with the word ARMY across it in bold, block letters.

  “Indoctrinating him early, huh?” Joel’s tone was matter-of-fact.

  “Not this one. It’s my oldest that’s in Junior ROTC.”

  “I’m enjoying having the boys around,” Melanie interjected. “It makes me think of Joel and his friends at that age. We had a houseful every Friday night and Saturday.”

  Joel didn’t reply. James wondered where the friends were now and why none of them came around but then decided he couldn’t know for sure. Maybe they came in the late afternoon or evening. Maybe it just seemed like Joel didn’t have any friends.

  The boys started playing tag, running around the willow trees. Nelson disappeared down the bank and a second later there was a yell. He scrambled back into view, his legs muddy up to his knees.

  “Good thing Nelson isn’t cleaning your house,” James mused.

  “Dad would have killed me for that.” Joel’s voice was bitter.

  “Don’t exaggerate,” Melanie said.

  Joel pushed back in the chair a little. “I want to go inside,” he said.

  “But it’s so nice. Don’t you want to enjoy the sun while it’s still out?” Melanie’s voice sounded disappointed.

  “What sun?” Joel tilted his head around.

  “Take off your cap,” his mom said.

  “And show off my scar? No thanks.”

  “The boys would like to meet you,” James said.
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  “Really? ’Cause it looks to me like they want to run around on their perfectly good legs and have some fun.”

  “Joel…” Melanie put her hand on her son’s shoulder, but he jerked away.

  “Maybe some other time,” James said, staring straight ahead.

  “Yeah, like in another life when I’m not…”

  James wanted to say, Feeling sorry for yourself, but bit his tongue.

  “…ruining everyone’s life.”

  James swallowed hard as Melanie began to wheel Joel back into the house. Was he blaming himself for his father’s problems?

  “See you Monday,” James called out but Joel didn’t answer.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ELENA SCOOPED POTTING MIX OUT OF THE BAG with her trowel and spread it around the geraniums in the terra cotta flower box that sat on her gardening bench. She would have Cesar place it on the rack just below the kitchen window when he got home.

  She’d been gardening ever since Rafael had taken Izzy to get her eyes checked. He’d decided to take her to the eye doctor at a department store in Princeton. Elena had done her best not to say anything against this plan, thinking he should look for a doctor who specialized in children, but she was afraid he would take her advice as criticism. She also knew it was important for him to pay for the appointment and that he could afford that eye doctor better than a specialist.

  She moved on to another pot, adding soil and placing another geranium in it. Next she dug little holes for the blue lobelia, planted them, and watered all of the flowers. She usually planted pink and white petunias but wanted a look with more contrast this year.

  When she heard a car turn into the driveway, she peeled off her gloves and rounded the corner of the house. Rafael was lifting Izzy from her car seat in his van as Elena approached.

  “Wait right there and close your eyes!” Izzy commanded. “I have a surprise for you.”

  Elena stopped in her tracks and put her hands over her face.

  “Are you peeking?” Izzy demanded.