Darlene over her shoulder. “Ever worked with special needs children before?”
“No, ma’am, I haven’t, but—”
“No worries.” The woman stopped in front of a closed door. “Really, don’t all of our children have special needs?” She smiled, and Darlene instantly liked her.
Brad walked in the door at eight o’clock. He could smell dinner, but it was unusually quiet. He set his briefcase on the couch and headed toward the kitchen. Empty. “Darlene?”
He loosened his tie and walked into the dining room. “Wow.” His beautiful wife was sitting at the head of the table, dinner was laid out, and there were only two places set. “Dare I ask where our children are?”
“The youth group party, remember?” She smiled as her eyes twinkled in the candlelit room, then she winked. “So sit down, handsome.”
Brad was so tired, he felt like he could crawl into bed and sleep for days, but he was going to muster up every bit of energy he had to enjoy this evening. He pulled out his chair at the other end of the table. “You look beautiful. What’s the occasion?”
“I told you, the kids are at a youth group function.” She smiled again. “The house to ourselves is the occasion.”
“Good enough for me.” But Brad could tell by his wife’s giddy expression that there was more. He raised an eyebrow and waited.
“I got a job today.”
Darlene was glowing, and if this was really what she wanted, then he was going to be happy about it too. “Baby, that’s great.
Doing what?”
“Let’s pray so we can start eating, then I’ll tell you all about it.”
Brad said a quick blessing as his stomach growled, then asked what she’d cooked.
“Chicken spaghetti, the way you like it, loaded up.”
“Aww, honey . . .” Darlene’s chicken spaghetti was his favorite, but most of the time she left out the onions because Ansley wouldn’t eat them, the celery because Chad insisted he was allergic to it, and some of the spices because none of the kids did spicy very well. It made for a decent dish, but nothing like this—with all the good stuff in it. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?” He scooped out a generous portion, then reached for a roll. “Tell me about your job.”
“Brad, this is going to be so perfect for me. It’s working with special needs children. It’s a very small school, only seven students right now, and there is a lady named Myrna who runs it. Her granddaughter is a student there. She’s autistic.”
Brad nodded as he swallowed. “Are all the kids autistic?”
“No. But they are all challenged in some way. One of the girls is Grace’s age, and . . .” Darlene paused as she took a deep breath. “She has the mind of a four-year-old. I met her today. Her name is Mindy. And I met another girl named Tina who is also emotionally challenged.”
“So you’ll be working with the kids?”
“Yes. I’ll actually be working directly with a little girl named Cara. She’s twelve and autistic. But she’s high-functioning, meaning she can talk, just not a lot, and she’s easily distracted.” Darlene smiled. “I don’t know much yet, but I met her briefly today, and she’s a lovely girl.”
“But you don’t have a degree or experience.” Brad looked up from his plate and wished right away that he hadn’t made the remark. His wife bit her bottom lip and stared at her plate. “I’m sure you’ll be great at it, babe. I’m just surprised that you don’t need a degree.”
“It’s just an entry-level aide position,” she said as she picked at her food. Brad could have kicked himself. Then she looked up, lifted her eyes to his. “I’m so excited about it, though.”
“I’m excited too.” He smiled broadly at her. “I think it’s great. It’s what you wanted, and you’ll be able to meet more people in the community.” Glad he hadn’t hurt her feelings too badly, he reached for another roll. “So how often do you go in— one or two days a week?”
“Every day.”
Brad stopped chewing. “For how many hours?”
“Eight to five.”
“I thought you were looking for a part-time job, Dar. Eight to five?”
“I know I should have talked to you before I accepted the job.” She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, then looked up at him. “But I really want to do this. I know it’s a lot to take on, but it’s right down the road. I’ll still have time to make dinner for everyone when I get home,