hard.”
Myrna washed her hands and waited for Darlene to do the same. She turned to face Darlene. “We all work with the children in a group in the mornings, then everyone splits off for one-on-one study in the afternoon. Two of the children only come to school in the mornings for group, so that leaves five in the afternoon, one for each of us.” She smiled. “I work with my granddaughter, Theresa, most days, but today Theresa will be with Beverly so that I can sit in with you and Cara.”
Darlene nodded as Myrna continued.
“There are a few things you should know about Cara before we go into the classroom. As I told you before, she’s high-functioning. She is capable of carrying on a conversation, but sometimes she chooses not to. Her own father says she goes days without speaking to him. Other times, she’s quite the chatterbox. And her attention span won’t allow her to stay on task for long. Our biggest challenge with Cara is keeping her focused. If you find something she likes, she tends to commit herself to it, even if only for a while. She loves crossword puzzles, but rarely finishes one. She seems to enjoy reading, but I don’t think she’s ever read a whole book.”
Darlene was wishing she had pen and paper handy. “Should I be taking notes?”
Myrna snapped her fingers. “Oh, and I almost forgot. Cara only eats white food, no other color.” She shook her head and smiled. “Poor Mae brought her a big bag of jelly beans one day, certain that the sweet candy would change her mind about only white foods.” Myrna chuckled. “Cara threw those jelly beans all over the room.”
Darlene smiled, charmed by this woman who didn’t speak about Cara with even a hint of irritation.
“Oh, and you’ll need to take off your jewelry. Cara is fixated with it. Not only will she not do anything at all in class if you wear jewelry, but she will want to take it home with her. It’s a type of perseveration.” Myrna lifted her hands, then pointed to her ears. “You’ll notice that none of us have any type of jewelry on.”
Darlene pointed to her wedding ring.
“Yes, even your wedding ring will have to be removed.”
Darlene couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken off her wedding ring. Maybe fifteen years? She wasn’t sure it would come off.
“I’m going to go to the ladies’ room, then I’ll meet you outside the last classroom on the left.” Myrna said it in a tone that sounded like they were going to a big concert or a special event.
Darlene nodded, then ran her hand under the faucet in the kitchen, hoping she could slide off her ring.
Every year Brad wondered how they were all going to survive another tax deadline, but at five thirty, Jeannie confirmed that all the returns were in the mail. He loosened his tie, leaned back in his chair, and took a deep breath. For the first time all day, he thought about Darlene and wondered how her first day on the job was going. He picked up the picture of the two of them that he kept on his desk. Their trip to San Antonio a few years ago. They’d stayed at the Hyatt on the Riverwalk, and Darlene was wearing a baseball cap, shorts, and a pink T-shirt as they stood on a footbridge overlooking the river. Brad smiled, wishing he could have bottled all the romance they’d crammed into those four glorious days. Brad’s parents had come in from Florida to watch the kids.
Now that tax season was over, maybe he could take a few days off and they’d go on another minivacation. They didn’t do that enough. For him, it didn’t really matter where, as long as they were together.
He shut off his computer and closed a few open files on his desk, stacking them in the corner. He anticipated that Cliff would be choosing a new partner soon, and Brad hoped and prayed it would be him. Whatever little bit of money Darlene made at her new job, it should be hers to spend on herself, or for extras. Providing for the family was Brad’s job. He’d always made a nice living, but his income as a partner would increase substantially. Brad would renovate the old farmhouse into Darlene’s own mansion on the hill.
“Jeannie, I’m going. Are you heading home?” Brad picked up his briefcase, turned off the light in his office, and eased