The Trouble With Angels Page 0,13

on her lower lip. Karen refused to tell her, too. What she should have done from the first was schedule an appointment for Karen with a counselor. A phone call to her attorney would tell her if she could get Brian to share the expense. It wasn't fair that she should have to shoulder it alone, the way she did everything else. Brian did pay child support, when the mood struck him, which unfortunately hadn't been lately.

"Your father and I talked - "

"I know what you're going to say," Maureen interrupted, angry and defensive. "And before you ask, I'll tell you I'm taking care of it."

Her mother's eyes widened at the unfairness of the attack. "Taking care of what?"

"Counseling for Karen."

"I wasn't going to suggest any such thing," her mother said with an injured air. She reached for her favorite bran cereal and placed it in the cart, her spine as stiff as a metal lamppost.

Maureen felt duly chastised. "I'm sorry, Mom, it's just that I'm worried about her. I don't know why Karen's having these nightmares. I feel so helpless." She rolled her cart a bit closer to her mother's. "I didn't mean to snap at you. Now tell me what it was you and Dad discussed."

"We were thinking it might help if we picked Karen up after school and kept her with us until you got home from work. I don't think it's a good idea for her to be alone so much of the time."

The generosity of their offer brought tears to Maureen's eyes. Her parents were retired now and enjoyed their freedom. Maureen knew the recent move hadn't been easy on her daughter. She hadn't liked changing Karen's school, either, but it couldn't be helped. The rent was cheaper, the commute shorter, and the place closer to her parents' house.

"I can't thank you enough, Mom, but no. Karen's capable of looking after herself, and it's only for an hour." Now that she lived closer to her family, Maureen didn't want to get in the habit of relying upon them too heavily.

"You're sure?"

"Mom, really. I don't want you to fret about Karen and me. The two of us are doing just great."

"Great, huh?" Beverly reached into Maureen's cart and picked up the extra large bottle of antacid tablets. "Are you still having troubles with your stomach?"

"It's not as bad as it used to be," Maureen told her, although it was sometimes worse. She didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out where all the indigestion came from, either. Once again Maureen had her ex-husband to thank. Brian wasn't happy with ruining her life; he wanted to slowly kill her, too.

"All men aren't like Brian," her mother said.

Maureen disagreed. From what she'd seen in the last few years, there was damn little to persuade her to become involved in another relationship. The next time she felt like getting married, she'd find a man she didn't like, bear him a child, and live in poverty the rest of her life.

"See what I mean?" Shirley said to her two friends from the roof of the huge grocery complex. "Maureen's so twisted up with hate, it's eating away the lining of her stomach. What can I possibly do to help her forgive her ex-husband?"

Goodness and Mercy looked at each other helplessly.

"I haven't got a clue," Goodness admitted.

Mercy didn't look any more helpful. "It's as bad as you claimed. She really does hate the man."

"The one who really concerns me is Karen," Shirley continued, unable to stand in one place. It was as if the woman were blind to what she was doing to her daughter. "The nightmares are getting worse."

"The poor kid." Mercy sat on top of the duct for the air conditioner, her face cupped in her hands.

"If only I could find an easy way for her to have a horse."

"A horse," Goodness echoed.

"Karen's crazy about 'em."

"Then that's what we'll have to do," Goodness said as if this were the solution to their problems. "All the poor kid needs is a little fun, and before you know it those nightmares will disappear."

"Just where are we supposed to find a horse?" Shirley asked with limited patience. "And even if we could, Karen's mother couldn't afford to feed it."

"There are ways," Mercy said with complete confidence.

"Yes, but are these ways of yours going to get us jerked back to heaven by our small feathers?"

Mercy gave her a look of gold-plated innocence. "Why, I'd never suggest anything that would give