little problem. One of the children brought his Nintendo DS to school this morning in his backpack. That’s against school rules, because we do have a theft problem from time to time. Anyway, he reported it missing at lunchtime. We talked to the teachers, and they suspect a boy they saw in the hallway this morning. He matches Danny’s description.”
Shocked and embarrassed, I couldn’t think of a reply.
“I was wondering if you could talk to Danny. The school is closed for the holiday beginning tomorrow, so if he does have the Nintendo, maybe you could bring it in on Monday morning. And of course I’ll want to meet with both of you.”
I was being summoned to the principal’s office for the first time at age thirty-eight. My face burned with shame as I set down the receiver. Although I’d become Erica’s surrogate mother at age twelve, her real troubles hadn’t begun until after her school years. I’d never had to deal with an irate principal. I felt like an instant failure as Danny’s foster parent. What had Ray gotten us into?
Danny was still on the couch where I’d left him. He didn’t look up when I sat down or acknowledge my presence in any way. After opening my mouth a few times then closing it just as fast, I decided to set the table and let Ray deal with it when he got home.
I served dinner as soon as he walked in the door. Danny ate two servings of lasagna again, but tried to leave the table without eating the green beans I’d prepared.
I put my hand on his arm. “Another rule. You have to eat vegetables. The vitamins in them are good for you.”
He looked to Ray for help.
“Jolene’s right. Eat them and you can have two pieces of pie.”
Danny ate them and the pie. “Can I watch TV now?”
I shook my head. “I got a call from the principal this afternoon, Ray. After Danny and I left, they discovered a boy’s Nintendo was missing. The teachers saw a boy matching Danny’s description near the backpack where it was last seen.”
Ray got his “good-cop, bad-cop, whatever-you-need-me-to-be cop” expression going, his poker face showing a hint of intimidation this time. “Danny?”
“I found it on the floor. Finders keepers.”
“Go get it.”
He slinked away from the table and returned minutes later, holding the shiny black box in his hand.
“I’m very disappointed, Danny. I told you in this house we don’t steal.”
Danny slid his hands into his pockets. “It was on the floor.”
“Then you should have taken it to the lost and found. You’ll have to take it to the principal on Monday and apologize to the kid you took it from.”
I decided not to tell Ray we’d been summoned to the principal’s office. Most weeks, he didn’t work on Mondays. I could tell him then and let him have the pleasure of facing Mrs. Travis.
Ray pushed his chair back from the table. “I think you should help me clear the table and do the dishes tonight, Danny. Maybe we can assign you some regular chores and pay you an allowance. You could earn enough money to buy your own Nintendo.”
I could see Danny mulling this concept over. Ray handed him his dish, and he carried it to the sink. I decided to make myself useful by cutting the tags off Danny’s new clothes and washing them with his new sheets.
I could hear Ray’s voice murmuring to Danny and the occasional soft reply. Ray would be good for Danny. He was a rock when he needed to be, and a real softie the rest of the time. But what would I do all the hours Ray was at work? I didn’t think I could keep up with both Danny and Erica, and tomorrow I had to get my sister in hand.
Over the noise of the washing machine, I heard the phone ring. Ray hung up as I entered the kitchen. I looked at him in question.
“I have to go out.”
“You got called in?”
“No.” Ray’s face was a thundercloud. “Gumby called me. Your sister is drunk and disorderly. She’s singing at the top of her lungs at The Cat’s Meow and—” he shot a glance at Danny who averted his interested gaze “—flashing people. He said if I hurry, the owner won’t make him take her in.”
Steven Fellows, better known as Gumby, worked as a county deputy sheriff, too. His wife, the lovely and talented Briana Engle, stripped at The Cat’s Meow. The strip