The Family Solution

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It was obvious Josh didn’t want Charlie helping, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Sullenly, he banged pots into the sink as Charlie scraped and rinsed plates for the dishwasher. Kelsey beat a fast retreat up the stairs.

Way too tired to get involved in any more domestic skirmishes, Bella poured herself a cup of coffee and slunk into the living room.

“I’ll come and join you as soon as we’re done,” Charlie promised.

That wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind. She’d been hoping he’d leave right after dinner, but just like with Josh, there wasn’t a lot she could do about it. She sank into an armchair and propped her feet on a stool.

She was beginning to ache in places she’d never noticed before, when Charlie came in and made himself comfortable on the sofa. He’d changed his work clothes for his clean jeans and shirt before dinner, and he’d used a wet comb on his hair; the track marks still showed.

Now, if she were Niki, she’d label him hot. Lucky she wasn’t the least bit interested.

“I drew up a master plan for your garden,” he said, pulling a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. “Come over and have a look, and see what you think.” He patted the sofa.

Bella got up and sat beside him, a reasonable distance away.

“I thought we’d make it as low-maintenance as possible, since that’s always a good selling point. These days, people don’t have time to devote to a garden that requires a lot of upkeep. So we’ll use trees and bushes that are indigenous to the coast, we’ll put down bark mulch and install underground sprinklers. No lawn, no mowing, and not even many weeds. What do you think?”

Bella peered at the paper in his hands. She could smell him—a mélange of soap, some residual sweat and essence of Charlie.

Pheromones. Niki had told her all about them. The little buggers were working overtime right now.

Bella said, “A sprinkler system sounds expensive.”

“I know a guy who’ll put it in for a reasonable price.”

“Even reasonable is going to be way beyond my budget.”

“Well, maybe we can work some sort of a trade with him.”

“As in…?” She was so worn out, she found herself thinking of making a joke about sexual favors. As if anyone would consider her current body highly desirable. Always on the skinny side, she’d lost seven or eight pounds over the last few weeks. And what was left of her chest struck her as rather sad.

Yet, the thought of what a man would be doing messing with her chest or pelvic bones still sent warmth rushing to her nether regions. And not just any man. It was ridiculous to be so aware of Charlie. They were simply sitting on a sofa, his right leg a good foot away from her left leg. It went to prove that basic sexual instincts were hot-wired in.

Fortunately, Charlie was oblivious to her X-rated thinking. “I’d have to talk to him, figure out what he needs that we might be able to supply,” he mused. “You’ve probably got plastic pipe and other stuff at the hardware store he could use.”

“I do have plastic pipe for irrigation, and some of the valves, as well.”

“Great. But we’ll need to buy plants and flowers and trees, although I’ll get what I can for free. I know a gardener who often has stuff he’s discarding. Plus, we’ll need ready mix for the sidewalk.”

“How much will that come to?”

“Maybe three, four thousand, for both cement and plantings. But the difference it will make in the selling price of your house will be in the tens of thousands.”

Bella gulped. There were always going to be expenses she couldn’t avoid. Somehow, she’d have to find the money to cover them. She was too weary to even worry about all that right now. She yawned, politely covering her mouth with her fingers, and then yawned again, not so politely. Her eyes watered and her jaw cracked.

“You’re beat.” He smiled at her.

“Sorry. I’m not used to digging, I guess.”

“I’ll go now, so you can get some rest, but I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. The sooner we get the work done, the sooner you can put out the FSBO.”

“FSBO?” She vaguely remembered Mae using the term, when Bella had told her she was selling the house herself. Her mother had been against it. Big surprise there. Mae was against almost every decision Bella had ever made—except the decision to marry Gordon. Mae had liked Gordon. Now why hadn’t that rung any warning bells?

“FSBO. It’s what we smart-alecky real-estate types call ‘for sale by owner.’”

“Aren’t you going to try and talk me out of that?”

“Nope. Of course, I’ll have to commit bodily harm if you ever breathe a word of this to my brother. But I think people have every right to sell their houses themselves.”

“Yikes. And after the campaign you waged, who knew? Well, thank you.” Bella actually beamed. And then she yawned a third time. “Sorry. I’m not very good company.”

He gave her a long, assessing look. “I wouldn’t say that. You’re honest and you’re entertaining. And you make great shipwreck.”

“So are puppies and little kids. Honest and entertaining, that is. And I can’t cook more than three basic things.” She felt absurdly disappointed that he hadn’t lied and said she was sexy, or attractive or even cute. Which was ridiculous, because she absolutely didn’t care what he thought of her.

“Don’t get up—I’ll see myself out. Good night, Bella. See you tomorrow.”

She took him at his word, because the thought of getting up was close to overwhelming. When she finally made it as far as the kitchen, she found it gleaming.

For the first night since Gordon had left, she slept all the way through until the alarm rang in the morning, and she woke up feeling rested and hungry. She ate cereal and toast and yogurt, and realized she was actually looking forward to the day ahead.

CHAPTER FOUR

BELLA’S SENSE OF well-being lasted until nine-twenty that morning, when the call came from Mr. Nordwick, the principal of Crofton.

After the move from the old neighborhood, Gordon had insisted Josh and Kelsey be enrolled in Crofton House, a private school. Against her better judgment, Bella had agreed. After all, she wanted her kids to have the best education available. She just hadn’t been convinced public school wasn’t providing it, and she still wasn’t certain about Crofton House. The endless stream of BMWs and high-end SUVs dropping off students every morning intimidated her. And Mr. Nordwick had way too much starch in his shorts, she decided now. His tone of voice was both annoyed and condescending.

“Ms. Monroe. As you know, Josh has already been absent once this past week.”

Absent? That was news to Bella. Nordwick went on, “And although you wrote a note explaining his absence, I wanted to speak with you.”

She hadn’t written any note. She opened her mouth to say so, but Nordwick was forging ahead. “He’s falling behind and hanging out with boys I consider troublemakers. He’ll have to do a lot of extra homework to make certain he stays abreast of his classes. Coincidentally, two of these other young men are also absent today.”

Stunned, Bella stammered, “Josh? He—he’s not at school? Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Bella said, “I didn’t know he was missing school. I had no idea.”

Mr. Nordwick’s voice changed. “You didn’t write a note saying he had to help with the final sale at your store?”

“No, I certainly didn’t. I’d never keep him out of school to work at the store. But I know he’s at school today, because I dropped him off there an hour ago.”

“Well, he must have left again, because he isn’t here. That’s why I’m calling you. Ms. Monroe, I have an automatic policy that after two absences within a short period of time, a parent is asked to come in and discuss the situation, so if you could come down…”

“I’ll do that, Mr. Nordwick, but first I have to find Josh.” Bella hung up without saying goodbye. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, and her heart was pounding frantically. There were three customers in the store, and the moment she rang up their purchases and hurried them out, she locked the door and raced to the car.

Where could Josh be? Where would a fifteen-year-old boy go? The city was huge. Where would she begin to look?

Oh, God. What was he up to?

Frightening thoughts of drugs and violence and gangs brought a feeling of panic. Hands trembling on the wheel, Bella drove to the mall where her kids liked to hang out. After three frustrating trips around the lot, she finally found a parking spot and headed inside. Crowds filled the place, and she realized that finding Josh in here was going to be next to impossible.

After forty-five futile minutes, she gave up and went back to her car.

Cursing the traffic, she drove downtown, cruising along the major streets, eyeing the theatre lineups. If he’d already gone into a movie, there was no chance she’d find him. She drove slowly toward the harbor, trying not to imagine him hanging out with street kids, dope dealers, the sad little girls and boys out there selling themselves for money and drugs.

She knew her son was upset over his father’s desertion. Who knew how a teenager with raging hormones would handle such a traumatic event? She hated Gordon, truly hated him, for abandoning his children. Surely Josh wouldn’t be doing this if his dad hadn’t left.

Reason finally penetrated and she turned toward home, still frightened out of her wits. Who could she call? Who would help her find her son? The police? Maybe she should phone the cops. That’s what she’d do, she decided, pulling the car into the driveway.

A tiny part of her mind registered that the front of the house looked even worse than before, with fresh sod in clumps and an uneven trench where the sidewalk would be. She couldn’t think about that now. She walked past it all, unlocked the front door—and saw Josh’s trainers and book bag, dumped on the floor beside the coat closet.

He wasn’t in the den. Bella took the stairs two at a time, threw open his bedroom door and choked on a cloud of cigarette smoke. Rap music bombarded her.

Josh and a redheaded boy she didn’t recognize were sprawled across his unmade bed. Another boy she’d never seen before was reclining on the carpet. All of them held cigarettes and glasses of what Bella’s nose told her was brandy—her brandy. Sure enough, the empty bottle sat on the dresser. It had been close to full the last time she had noticed it.

“Josh Monroe, exactly what do you think you’re doing?” Bella’s voice could be clearly heard, even over the so-called music.

They all leaped to their feet. None of them was too steady. They looked dazed and loose-limbed and foolish.

Josh sported a silly half grin, and his face was flushed. He called over the music, “Hey, Ma, chill, okay? I can explain.”

“Turn. That. Noise. Off!”

Josh staggered over to the boom box, punched a button, and silence reigned. One of the boys edged past Bella and hurried down the stairs. The second, the one with red hair, began to gag, and made a headlong dash toward the bathroom. Bella heard the downstairs door slam. Rats and a sinking ship.

A cigarette someone had dropped smoldered on the carpet, and Bella hurried to retrieve it. “Have you taken total leave of your senses, Josh? Look at this carpet, it’s got a big burn mark, and it’s a miracle you didn’t burn the whole house down. And you lied to me, pretending you were at school, when all the time you…you…were playing hooky. It’s not the first time, either, is it?”

Words failed her. Realizing she was in serious danger of smacking her son across the ear, she backed away from him.

“Open that window. Clean up this mess. Get that boy in the bathroom out of here! And then I want to talk to you, young man.”

Feeling sick with both anger and worry, Bella went to the kitchen. She boiled water and made a cup of herbal tea, which was supposed to be calming, but didn’t help. In a short while, the red-haired boy came creeping down the stairs, took one hasty look at her and headed out the door.

At last Josh appeared. His face was pale and there was a distinct greenish cast to his skin. He slunk into the kitchen and dropped onto a stool. He kept his head down, not making eye contact.

“How could you, Josh?” Bella’s voice was trembling. “I’m having a rough time struggling to keep you in that school, and you’re not even attending it. Not only that, you brought strangers into this house, stole my liquor, smoked…Where did you get the cigarettes?”

Josh heaved a beleaguered sigh. “Aww, Ma, stop it. So we skipped out—school’s a big yawn, anyway. The cigarettes weren’t mine. The guys brought them. And that brandy’s been in the cupboard for at least a couple years. It’s not as if you were planning to use it anytime soon.”

Bella was speechless for a long moment. Then she said, “You get in the car. Now.”

He shook his head. “I’m gonna crash for a while. I don’t feel so hot.”

“Either you get in the car or I’ll have Mr. Nordwick drive over here. You’re going to tell him exactly what you and your so-called friends were doing.”

Josh was looking at her now, his hazel eyes filled with alarm. “Why would I tell old man Nordwick anything? He’s a mean old hard-ass. And I’m not squealing on my friends, so forget that.”

“You won’t have to. He knows exactly who you were with. And I’m sure he’ll give me their names and phone numbers, because I’m calling their parents and telling them exactly what went on here today. On the way to school, you can decide how best to apologize for your actions. There are going to be serious consequences. And there’ll be no more foul language around here, either.”

“What the hell? I don’t care what you do to me,” Josh said. “Why don’t you just send me to live with Dad? I don’t want to be around you, anyway. All you ever talk about is how short we are of money, and how much work there is to do in that damn yard. And if I stick around here, I’ll be changing schools all over again next semester—you told me and Kelse you can’t afford the fees at Crofton, remember? So what’s the difference if I skip out?”

“Go and get in the car.” Bella could hear the pain behind his accusations, but this wasn’t the time to address it. She had to carry through on her immediate plan.

He slammed the front door behind him, and Bella hurried to the window, afraid he’d bolt. But he was slumped in the car’s front seat when she went out. The drive to school was tense.

“I can smell the brandy on you,” she told him.

“Yeah, well, I feel like I’m going to barf. And my head hurts.”

“That’s called a hangover, Josh. And don’t even think of being sick in my car.”

She had to pull over to the curb after six blocks, while Josh vomited into a storm drain. Everyone on the street gave him a wide berth and stared at Bella.

At the school, Mr. Nordwick was in his office, and the secretary showed them in right away.

Bella explained what had happened, describing the other boys and asking for their names and phone numbers. “I feel their parents should be aware of what they’re up to, when they’re supposed to be in school.”