Hi guys! Thank you so much for the positive responses. I will post replies tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a little update for you.
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When I got off work that night, I bee-lined for Easter Seals. This wasn’t anything new. I always rushed to pick up Joshua, finding it difficult to be away from him so long, even after leaving him in such capable hands. But this night, I had another reason to hurry. Depending on what shift the CAS’s worked, they got off at different times. Sometimes even as early as 3’o’clock. It was half past four when I got off of work, and I secretly prayed that Tara was a nine to fiver. I wanted to see her again, and see how she was with Josh, after a long day of dealing with the other children and their behaviors. Joshua, thankfully, didn’t seem to have too many disruptive behaviors, but I knew that some of the other children in his group could be a handful sometimes. If Tara walked out of that room just as easy-going as she had been when she walked in…the girl was a keeper.
I walked into the lobby of the care center and was surprised to find Tara and J.J. almost as I had left them, in front of the receptionist’s desk. She was kneeling down in front of him, playing patty-cake. Joshua was smiling, clearly enjoying this game, even though he missed her hands more often then not. His eye-hand coordination was still very underdeveloped, but bless his little heart, he was trying.
Tara looked up at me and grinned. “Hi, Mom,” she said, standing to greet me. “Josh and I were waiting for you.”
“You were,” I smiled, playing along. I looked to Joshua. ”Were you really waiting for me, J.J.?” Joshua clapped his hands together and bounced a little causing himself to go off-balance. I stepped forward to catch him, mother’s instinct taking over, but Tara was there instantly, holding him up.
“Whoa, there, cowboy,” she said, “Now, I’ve told you, Joshua, if you want to keep coming back to play, you have to quit drinking so much.”
I laughed, unable to suppress my reaction to the humorous comment. She looked at me again, this time keeping Josh’s hand in hers so that he wouldn’t fall. “His file said that you normally picked him up at this time,” she explained, “So I thought I would have him ready for you.”
“Thank you,” I replied, I don’t think my voice could have sounded more sincere. I noticed the backpack slung over her shoulder and asked, “What time do you get off?”
She chuckled a little, the sound rich and throaty in her chest. “Um, twenty minutes ago, actually,” she answered, glancing to her watch, “I was going to catch the 4:20 bus, but either I missed it, or it’s late. I’ll just grab the 5:--“
“I can give you a ride,” I offered, cutting her off.
She regarded me for a moment, considering. “Um…no. That’s okay. I don’t mind the bus and I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
“It’s not an inconvenience,” I assured her. I couldn’t believe I was being so bold, but something inside of me was driving me to know more about this woman.
“I appreciate that,” she smiled, “but I’m new and I’m not sure if there’s any sort of policy on clients taking staff home.”
“There isn’t,” I stated. I must have been a little firm about it because she seemed to look at me with quiet shock. “I mean… I’ve driven Marci home before,” I tried to backpedal to seem less desperate. “I don’t think it’s a problem.”
“Well…if you’re sure.” She still seemed hesitant.
“I’m sure,” I nodded, and indicated to Josh, “Besides, the way he’s clinging to you I don’t think he’s ready yet to say goodbye.” That seemed to be the closing argument. Tara looked down and smiled at Joshua who was holding tightly to her hand and pant leg.
“Okay,” she finally agreed. We started slowly to my car, J.J. keeping his hold on Tara’s hand the entire way. I took hold of his other hand, and she and I walked with him between us. It was almost like holding hands with her, and Josh was acting as the conduit.
We finally reached my little white Honda and I opened the doors, putting Joshua in his car seat in the back, while Tara climbed into the front passenger seat. She arrested her movement a little as she sat down, reaching beneath her and pulling up a stuffed animal of Clifford the Big Red Dog.
“I didn’t know you had pets,” she joked.
“Oh,” I smiled, taking it from her. “It’s Joshua’s favorite. It was mine when I was a kid.” I reached into the backseat, offering it to J.J. “Here, honey, you want Cliffy?” He took it eagerly and hugged it tightly to his chest. I smiled and finished buckling him in. After a few more moments, I made it into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Where to?” I asked.
“Um… Baker Street near Owens.”
“Really?” I asked. “That’s over by our apartment. We live in Palo Verde Heights.”
Tara’s jaw nearly dropped. “So do I.”
“Building 6 number 2145,” I related our address.
“Building 8 number 1162,” said Tara.
“And you thought you were an inconvenience,” I playfully scoffed.
“I guess not.”
I pulled out of the parking lot, marveling at the coincidence of it all. We chatted on the way home about this and that. She asked me if I was married and I tried to stifle my laughter at the idea. I pointed out the bracelet on my wrist, a simple band with a pewter pride triangle in the center. I couldn’t help but notice her smile at the realization that we had yet another thing in common. I asked her where she had worked before and she said that she had been working in a group home for disabled adults when she realized that she really wanted to work with children instead, which was why she was now at Easter Seals.
When we got to the apartment complex, I pulled up to her building to let her out.
“You could have parked by your place,” she said, climbing out from her seat, “after all, we’re only two buildings apart.”
“I’m not staying,” I explained, “I have school tonight, so my mom always watches Joshua.”
“Where does your mom live?” she asked.
“Across town,” I replied guiltily.
“See, I was an inconvenience,” she sighed.
“No! No, not at all,” I said hastily. “I usually have to come home to grab some books anyway. It’s fine.” That was a lie. I always packed my books with me in the morning on days that I had school. But I couldn’t have Tara beating herself up over my giving her a ride. “Besides,” I said a second later, “I enjoyed the company.”
“Me too,” she smiled after a moment. She leaned down into doorframe to look at me. “You know, if you want, on nights that you have school, I could keep on eye on Josh for you. That way you wouldn’t have to drive all over town.”
“I’d like that,” I said, my insides secretly jumping for joy. “But only if you let me drive you to and from work everyday so that you don’t have to take the bus.”
“I’d say that’s more than a fair trade for baby-sitting,” she surmised with a grin, extending her hand, “It’s a deal.” I took her hand and we shook on it. “When do I start?”
“Thursday. My mom is expecting him tonight,” I answered by way of explanation.
“Thursday it is. I’ll see you in the morning?”
“What time do you have to be there?”
“Eight-thirty.”
“That’s perfect,” I agreed, “that’s the time I normally drop off J.J. anyway.” I dropped the car in to gear. “See you,” I said, with a wave.
“See you,” she waved back.
I pulled out of the apartment complex, watching Tara in my rearview mirror. I then turned my attention to my son, still in his car seat. “Joshua, do you think Mommy likes Miss Tara?” J.J. clapped his hands again and gave his head one giant nod. “You are a very smart boy,” I commended him, turning my eyes once again to the road ahead.
*****
TBC...
"Promise me you'll never be linear." "On my trout."
Edited by: DarkWiccan at: 4/13/04 10:21 pm