Times and Seasons (3 page)

Tory
Sullivan wasn’t good at keeping secrets, but she felt that Mark’s arrest should be kept quiet. As new guests arrived for the shower, she tried, with Brenda and Sylvia, to make excuses for the couple.

“They had an emergency with one of the children,” she told a group of women who had shown up together.

“Oh. Is someone sick?”

“No, no one’s sick. We’re not really sure what the problem is, but we’re going to have to cancel the shower.”

“It’s not Annie, is it? The way that child runs the roads in that car of hers, she’s bound to wreck one of these days.”

“I really can’t say.” Or actually, she
wouldn’t
say. If her child had been arrested, she would have wanted as little passed on to her acquaintances as possible. She tried to show Cathy the same consideration, even though she knew word would be all over town before sundown. Cathy was the most popular veterinarian in Breezewood, and everyone knew her.

When the last of them had left, Brenda started covering the food. “Maybe we could reschedule the shower,” she said. “Freeze the food and try it again in a few days.”

Sylvia shook her head. “I have to get back to León in just a couple of days. Besides, everyone left their gifts. Another shower would be kind of anticlimactic.”

Tory looked around at the gifts that had filled up the table and lined the wall. Cathy would have had so much fun opening them. “So what are we going to do with them?” Tory asked.

“I have a key to Cathy’s house,” Brenda said. “We could just take them over and set them in her dining room.”

“I’ll get Spencer’s wagon,” Tory said. “It’ll take several trips, but we can carry the gifts over in that.”

“Better yet,” Brenda said. “How about if I get David’s truck and back it up in the driveway? We could fill it up with the gifts, then take it to Cathy’s in one trip.”

“You’re a genius,” Tory said.

Tory and Sylvia waited outside as Brenda crossed the cul de sac to get the truck. The trellis at the front of Sylvia’s yard was covered with a rose vine and jasmine, and the scent seemed to hover in the air as the warm, gentle breeze stirred it. A beautiful day for a shower.

“Poor Cathy,” Sylvia said. “This was supposed to be such a happy day. I was so looking forward to it.”

“So was she,” Tory said as Brenda backed the truck into the driveway. “Leave it to Mark.”

Brenda got out and opened the tailgate. “Why would he do this, today of all days?”

“Because he’s a brat, that’s why,” Tory said.

“Tory!” Brenda said.

Tory realized that Brenda had a stake in Mark’s life, since she had home-schooled him for the last year and a half. He had turned Brenda’s peaceful, ordered life into something unpredictable. Mark’s disruptive influence had forced Brenda to come up with skills she’d never thought she’d need. But Tory had to hand it to her. She had done a good job with him.

And now this.

They unloaded the truck at Cathy’s, counting thirty-two gifts, which they laid on the dining room floor. Maybe the gifts would cheer Cathy up when she got home, Tory thought. Maybe it would be a good distraction from the boy’s trouble.

When they were finished, Tory hurried home and burst in, expecting to hear Hannah’s weary cries. But there was no wailing. Instead, she heard Hannah’s giggle.

She hurried into the living room and saw Barry lying flat on the floor, with the baby draped on his calves. He was doing leg lifts with her, holding her hands and raising her up, then lowering her quickly.

The baby was gurgling with laughter.

But Tory didn’t find it funny. “Barry! What are you doing?”

Her words startled the baby, and Hannah started to cry. He sat up and lifted the baby. “You scared her. Why did you yell like that?”

Tory crossed the room and took the baby from him. Hannah was still small; she looked ten months old, rather than fifteen. Her development was slow. She couldn’t sit up alone or crawl yet, her muscle tone was weak, and her joints were loose.

It took a moment for the baby to realize she had changed hands, and her crying ceased as Tory kissed her and bounced her. “Barry, you can’t roughhouse like that. She’s too fragile. Her neck isn’t strong enough.”

He got to his feet. “It’s not going to get strong unless she uses it. I was doing it just like the physical therapist told me. She was fine.”

“But you were being too rough.”

“She liked it, Tory. She’s not a doll. She likes to have fun just like Brittany and Spencer did.” He pressed a kiss on the baby’s plump cheek. “We had fun, didn’t we, Hannah? Daddy was making you fly.”

Tory saw her smile, and she tried to calm down. “I’m sorry I yelled,” she said. She shifted Hannah in her arms, so that she held the baby’s legs together instead of allowing them to straddle
her hip. They had to make accommodations for Hannah’s loose hips, in hopes of avoiding a brace.

“Tory, you have to trust me. She’s my daughter, too.”

“I know,” she said. “I’m overprotective. Tell me how to stop and I will.” The hurt look on Barry’s face registered, and she quickly changed the subject. “Well, the shower was canceled. Mark got arrested.”

Barry’s jaw dropped. “What did he do?”

“He was charged with drug distribution.”

“Is this a joke?”

“No. Who knows what the real story is?” She sat down in the rocker with Hannah. The baby’s mouth opened, and her tongue slipped out. Tory touched it to make her pull it back in. “Anyway, Cathy and Steve ran off to the police station, so we had to cancel.” She leaned her head back. “I don’t know why I’m so tired when I didn’t do anything.”

“You’re tired because you don’t sleep. You worry too much about Hannah.” He took the baby out of her lap, carefully holding her legs the way the physical therapist had taught them. “Why don’t you go lie down? Hannah and I were all geared up for a dad and daughter afternoon. You have a couple of hours to kill.”

She didn’t want him to know how uneasy it made her to let anyone else care for the child. “I’m not that tired,” she said. “Besides, I need to do her exercises with her.”

“She doesn’t want to exercise,” he said. “She wants to play.”

“Well, I’ll exercise her and try to make her
think
she’s playing.”

“That’s what I was doing.” He was getting angry, and Tory wondered why he had to take this so personally. They were both trying to do what was best for their child.

“Did you feed her?”

“Does she look hungry?”

“Barry, can’t you just answer me?”

“Of course I fed her. And I changed her diaper twice and gave her her medicine
and
a breathing treatment, which is why she’s breathing so well. If you weren’t obsessing so, you might notice.”

The baby yawned, and Tory took her back from him. “I’ll just rock her for a minute. Maybe she’s sleepy again.”

He surrendered her unhappily, then headed for the door. “I’m going out to check on the kids.”

Tory didn’t answer. She made no apology for being a good mother. Barry was just going to have to get over it.

Brenda
lingered on her porch before going into the house. She wondered if Daniel knew about Mark’s problems today. He had been at Mark’s house when she left for the shower.

She glanced at the front door and saw the shoes lined up there. Leah’s and Rachel’s were missing, since they were at Sandra Hogan’s birthday party. Joseph’s small ones were next to his father’s big ones, and off to the side were Daniel’s, parked toes pointed in. At least she knew he was home.

How had this happened to Mark? He was rebellious, but deep down he was a good kid. There had to be some mistake.

A year ago, when he had first gotten into trouble with the law, Brenda had sat Mark down, looked him in the eye, and asked him what would cause him to follow those kids into trouble.

“We were bored,” he said. “I was in Knoxville at Dad’s house and he was playing golf. And the guys came by and we went out. There just wasn’t anything to do.”

“So you decided to paint curse words on the walls of the local high school?”

“I didn’t know what they were painting. I was just standing guard.”

“You knew they were painting,” she said. “You know that was against the law. I’ve taught you enough about civics that you had to know what you were doing.”

She was sure she saw genuine shame on Mark’s face. “You gotta understand, Miss Brenda. When I’m in Knoxville there’s this different me.”

“No, Mark. There’s only one you. You make choices wherever you are.”

“But it’s
like
I’m two people. I’m different in Knoxville than I am in Breezewood.”

Brenda screwed up her face, trying to follow his reasoning. “So you want me to believe that the Knoxville you is not as intelligent as the Breezewood you?”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with intelligence,” Mark said.

“Doesn’t it? How intelligent was it to go with a kid who stole his stepfather’s car? How smart was it to ruin public property?”

“Well, maybe I’m just as dumb there as I am here, okay?”

“Sorry,” Brenda said. “I’m not buying that, Mark. I know better than that.” She had been teaching him for six months at that point and knew he was as smart as any of her own kids. “But I will believe there’s an element of dumbness in the Knoxville you.” She couldn’t believe she had said that. She usually tried to make everything into a positive. But it was hard to make anything positive out of what Mark had done that day.

She had patted herself on the back often and told herself she was doing well with him. That the evil had been purged, and that he was maturing into a decent young man who liked to learn.

But what had gotten into him this morning? Boredom, on the day of his mother’s shower? Was it another case of his friends having an idea that he thought would be fun? A case of not thinking he’d get caught? And how had Daniel been involved?

She looked for Joseph, and through the kitchen window saw that he and David were in the workshop. She hoped Joseph hadn’t forgotten to wear his mask, to keep him from breathing sawdust. Ever since his heart transplant two years ago, he was prone to respiratory infections and pneumonia.

She went into the computer room and found Daniel pounding on the keyboard.

“Daniel?”

The word turned Daniel around, as if he’d been caught at something. She saw the guilt on his face. “Hey, Mama.”

“Daniel, what do you know about Mark’s arrest?”

He gasped so hard that he had to cough, and he got up and gaped at her. “Arrest? Oh, no. He didn’t, did he? You’re just kidding, right?”

He did know. She stepped toward him, her eyes searching his for a clue that might break her heart. “Daniel, tell me everything you know.”

“I
told
him not to do it, okay? I begged him. Bullied him, even. But he’s so stubborn.” He looked like he might cry. “Mama, what happened?”

“The police came and got Cathy. Told her he was arrested for drug distribution.”

He slapped his hand against his forehead and looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t believe this! He wanted money for that stupid concert ticket next week. How could he be so stupid? I
told
him!”

Brenda watched the genuine reactions passing across his face, and she realized that he had not been involved. At least, not in the actual act of selling the drugs. “Daniel, you should have gone to someone if you couldn’t stop him yourself.”

“I thought about it. I really did. But he was so sure he had it all figured out…”

“Then you were at his house when he had drugs?”

Daniel looked at her with those blotchy cheeks, as if he knew he was in trouble now. He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped and looked down at his bare feet. “Okay, yeah, I
saw the drugs,” he said. “It was a bag of marijuana. I should have left right then. But Mark’s my friend, Mama, and I thought I could talk him out of selling it. Maybe get him to flush it or something. What good would it have done him if I’d told on him?”

“He wouldn’t be in jail right now.”

Daniel sank back into the computer chair and slumped over, staring at the floor. “Oh, no. What is he gonna do?”

Brenda sat across from him. “I don’t know.” She saw the shame in his shoulders and in the way he hung his head, and felt sorry for him. “Honey, I don’t mean to accuse you of causing this. But you’re not ever supposed to be in a house where someone has drugs. If something illegal or dangerous is going on, you should tell an adult immediately. You know that, don’t you?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I should have called Miss Cathy or something. Instead I just let him get in that jeep and take off with those guys.”

She sighed and slumped, too, pressing her forehead against his. “I’ve been there. I’ve dealt with Mark for over a year. I know how frustrating it can be.”

“But I’m his best friend. I should have stopped him. Even if I had to knock him down, I shouldn’t have let him go.”

“I’m not sure knocking him down would have helped.” She pulled Daniel’s face up and looked him in the eye. “Why would he think of doing this?”

“Like I said, to buy the stupid concert tickets. He said it was easy money.” He caught his breath and straightened. “Mama, it’s the first time he’s ever done this. Mark is not a drug dealer. They’ll go easy on him, won’t they? They’ll see that he’s just a stupid kid…”

“I don’t know, Daniel. They went easy on him the last time.”

The back door opened, and she heard the heavy sound of David’s footsteps through the kitchen. He came to the computer room door and looked surprised to see her.

“Shower over already?”

“Dad, Mark got arrested,” Daniel cut in.

David’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked at his wife. “What happened?”

“He was charged with selling marijuana to a police officer.”

David took an astonished step back. “I can’t believe it,” he whispered. “You would think his father would have made him sever his ties with those kids by now.”

“It wasn’t the Knoxville kids,” Daniel said. “It was a kid from the baseball team. From around here.”

David got quiet as he realized Daniel knew the story. He met Brenda’s eyes, and she gave him that silent communication that husbands and wives sometimes have. It said that there was more to tell, that she was taking care of it, that she would fill him in later.

“All we can really do now is pray,” Daniel said. “Maybe the judge will let him off.”

David looked down at his hands. Brenda knew that he didn’t believe in prayer. To him that was the same as doing nothing.

“He’ll probably get off,” David said, changing the subject. “The juvenile facilities are overcrowded as it is.”

“But what he’s done is pretty substantial,” Brenda said. “I mean, they don’t take it lightly when you’re selling drugs.”

“Could it be a mistake?” David asked. “Wrong place at the wrong time kind of thing?”

Daniel shook his head and looked back down at his feet.

“Oh.” David’s word brought his eyes back to Brenda, silently beseeching her to hurry up and fill him in.

“Mama, please don’t start thinking that he’s influenced me. You know I don’t let him do that. Besides, he’s not that bad when he’s here.”

“You’re right,” Brenda said. “He’s come a long way. But do you remember what he said when I was talking to him about being a different person in Knoxville than he was in Breezewood?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Daniel said.

“We don’t know what the other Mark is like. The one that lives here can sometimes be a real handful.”

“But he’s gotten better, Mama. You know he has.”

“I know,” Brenda said, “but the judge doesn’t care about any of that.”

“We can be character witnesses,” Daniel said. “You and I, we can vouch for Mark. Dad, too. Can’t you, Dad?”

David had never cared that much for the boy who had brought so much disruption into their lives. But he shrugged. “I guess so,” he said.

Brenda nodded weakly, hoping it wouldn’t come to that. She wasn’t sure any of them honestly
could
vouch for the boy who was so intent on messing up his life.