Returning to the front, she found Judith sipping tea in the comfy chair Shannon kept for guests, Shannon’s favorite mug sat steaming on the little table in the conversation area. She stopped beside it, stirred the liquid, and removed the teabag. “Be right back,” she said before continuing to the counter area where she threw out the bag and then pulled out a box and retrieved a large, thin book.
Placing it on her lap, Shannon grabbed the handlebars of the scooter and made her way back to Judith. “I got a gift for Borys.” She held out the book to Judith.
“You don’t need to…” The woman sputtered while taking the book. “You help me out so much.”
“And you help me, running errands for me when I can’t get out. I really appreciate that.” Shannon shook her head, then tapped the book now held by Mrs. Solomon. “But this one is for Borys. Something he can read, I think. You said first-grade level now, right?”
“Yes, but they frustrate him because all the books available are aimed at kids doing kid things.” Judith looked down at the book. “Bartholomew and the 500 hats? A Doctor Seuss?”
“A fantasy and one of the few books he wrote in prose format.” Shannon took a sip of her tea. “I think that is one of the first fantasies I ever read. A strong male character, an evil nephew, kings, and magic. Plus lots of counting. What’s not to love? Borys adores everything in the fantasy section so I thought he might like this. Something in repayment for him keeping my shelves straight. If he likes that, I will see if I can dig up the sequel, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, which is about as close to Urban Fantasy with Horror overtones as I ever have found in the ‘children’s’ section.”
“I’ll give it to him tomorrow after the doctor visits. So he doesn’t insist on reading it instead of going out to the evaluations.”
Which is why Shannon had given it to her instead of directly to Borys, Judith would know how to work the timing to get the maximum benefit for everyone. “Evaluations?”
“Yes, there is a new center, a new group home, opening up in Mount Holly.” Judith set aside her empty tea cup and closed her eyes a moment, gathering strength, rubbing her arm which showed a light green and yellow bruise. “He is getting too much for me to handle by myself.” Her husband had bailed years back, not able to deal with their son’s problems. “His last evaluation, back when he was 17, the last time a place opened up, records him as too aggressive for this facility, but he has changed in the last few years, calming down now that he is in his twenties. So I’m hoping a new evaluation can get us in the door.”
“That would be great, although I will miss him.” Shannon moved her scooter back as Judith stood. “He really does help me a lot. I can’t get down to fix those bottom selves or reach up to load the top shelves.”
“The home actually comes with a work program and can drive him out.” Mrs. Solomon checked her purse, pulling out her keys, and tucked the Dr. Seuss book under her arm. “They allow families to regularly visit and even take the residents home on weekends. And,” she sighed with relief and cautious hope, “it is covered by his insurance, if the evaluations comes back favorably.”
Shannon followed her to the storefront. “Here’s to tomorrow going well.”
“Being able to run the errands by myself, and him having a day of sorting books, will go a long way to that.” Judith teared up, looking away from the bookstore owner, her hand on the door. “Thank you … I … I will be back about three, I think.”
“You know the number. Just give me half an hour to prep Borys to leave.”
“Thank you.” Mrs. Solomon whispered before sneaking out the door, keeping the small bells over the door from ringing as much as she could.
A to Z Short Story List Breakdown
Rainbow Spectrum (A to F)
Marathon Party (G to M)
Trigger: Cutting (N to Q)
Bookstore Sort (R to T)
4/20/2019 – R is for Ring
4/22/2019 – S is for Seuss
4/23/2019 – T is for Translating and Titles
Your stories, or at least the ones I have read deal with such important topics. I am intrigued.
Thank you. Most of my stories are fluff. I like fluff. But my fluff usually has a wide range of inclusive characters. People need to see everyone in the fiction-story-mirror, whether themselves or the rest of the world. Representation matters, even in fluff.
This is my first visit for AtoZ. I enjoyed this story and plan to read through others as your characters are so vivid.
Thank you. I really appreciate that. I found your writing very engaging.
Sounds like a good thing, if only the evaluation comes back positive. So much drama in one little scene. Nice.
A FB friend has been going through drama trying to get her child into a program – too aggressive for one, not enough of a problem for another; it’s been heart-breaking watching her hopes get up time and again trying to get into a program which will actually help him. Evaluations are everything.