Tracie Peterson (16 page)

CHAPTER 16

The first week of Sherry’s new life with the Holbrooks passed in a series of strained activities. Tess tried to make arrangements in such a way that they didn’t interfere with her business, but it was becoming very clear that her job duties were going to consume far more time and energy than Tess could give. Especially if she were to give Sherry equal time. This, coupled with the thought that when the school year began she’d be required to homeschool Sherry, caused a panic to well up in Tess.

Taking Sherry shopping was also enough to send Tess into a panic. The girl had outlandish taste and they couldn’t seem to agree on anything, save blue jeans. Sherry wanted shorts that were indecently short and turned up her nose at the thought of having to wear floppy, oversized maternity tops until it was absolutely necessary. This meant that Tess had to find some regular clothes to suit the child in the meantime, and that did not prove to be an easy task at all.

“I don’t like green,” Sherry said when Tess held up a green-colored pullover. She continued leafing through the rack of clothes while Tess sighed and put the green shirt back. There was no pleasing the girl.

“I like this,” Sherry said, holding up a white knit top.

The scooped neckline and short sleeves seemed modest enough and Tess nodded. “I think that would be all right.”

Sherry threw it into their shopping cart and moved on to the next rack of clothes. “I want something red, too. I like red.” She totally surprised Tess by adding, “What’s your favorite color?”

“Lavender,” Tess admitted.

“Why?” Sherry questioned, still considering the clothes.

“I guess because it’s springy and makes me think of flowers,” Tess replied.

“Makes sense,” Sherry commented, seeming to give her approval. “I like lavender.”

The comment made Tess feel marginally better. They’d at least connected on this small matter.

“Have you given any thought to dresses?” Tess pressed. “You’ll need one for church tomorrow.”

“Do I have to go?” Sherry questioned, frowning. “I mean, I can’t stand all that stuff. People crying and praying and acting like a bunch of . . . well . . . I don’t know, but it’s stupid.”

“Sherry, we love our church. We have a lot of good friends who go there. I know you don’t think it’s important, but we do. I’m hoping you’ll have a good attitude about it and give it a try. In a few months you’ll be gone and you won’t have to give it another thought. Is it really that unreasonable to ask for your cooperation in this area for the short time you’ll be here?”

Sherry scowled. “Yeah, it seems real unreasonable to me.” She stalked off to a rack of dresses, muttering all the way.

Tess had no idea why Sherry had to take on such an attitude. It wasn’t like she was being asked to endure torture. The church would welcome her with open arms, and Tess really hoped that Sherry would learn to care about God while living with them. Tess thought it would be marvelous if they could have a positive effect on the life of this child.

“Plant seeds,”
her pastor would say.
“You never know which ones will grow.”
Tess could only hope that by living her faith in God, she’d be planting seeds in Sherry’s life.

By noon, they headed over to Laura’s for lunch. Laura had wanted to meet Sherry ever since Tess had first mentioned her. Lunch seemed an appropriate time and Tess was actually quite excited about the event. She looked forward to questioning Laura about the confusing mind-set of the teenage girl.

I know I was once her age
, Tess thought as she maneuvered the car through traffic,
but I don’t remember having such a bad attitude about everything
.

“Is this where your friend lives?” Sherry questioned as they passed into the gated community.

“Yes,” Tess replied. “The work I do helps older people move down here for their retirement. I line up all the things they’ll need to live in the area.”

Sherry nodded and then quickly switched the subject. “Can I have some headphones? You know, a CD player and some CDs?”

Tess hadn’t expected the question, but she didn’t see anything wrong with the idea. She wanted Sherry to feel as comfortable during her pregnancy as was possible.

“I suppose we could check into it,” Tess replied. “We’ll see how much time we have after our visit with Laura and then maybe we could stop at the store on the way back to the apartment.”

Sherry nodded. “That’d be great.”

Tess breathed a sigh of relief. At least she hadn’t irritated the girl with her answer. Tess parked the car and went to the trunk to retrieve a flower centerpiece she’d bought to welcome Laura to Miami.

“Do you always buy people flowers when they move here?” Sherry asked.

“Not always,” Tess replied. “Sometimes, after I’ve gotten to know them, I realize they’d prefer something else. You know, a box of candy or a basket of different coffees and teas. That kind of thing.”

“Why do you care? It’s just a job.”

Tess eyed Sherry for a moment and realized the teenager really wanted to know. “It’s always been more than just a job to me. I care about these people. You can’t spend that much time with folks and not come to care at least a little bit. I guess I just want them to feel at home here in Miami. With the relocation, I know they have a lot of things to get adjusted to. And usually they don’t have a lot of friends or people they know.” She stopped and realized Sherry was in the same position.

It dawned rather painfully on Tess that she gave her seniors more attention and more of herself than she was willing to give Sherry. The thought made her uncomfortable and she quickly added, “I’d like to make you feel comfortable too. We won’t have much time together, but you’re giving me a very precious gift by allowing me to adopt your child. I’d like very much to see you happy while you’re here.”

Sherry shrugged and turned away.

It frustrated Tess to no end to have the conversation so completely cut off, but there was nothing else to do but go ahead with her plans.

“Laura and Darren’s place is over here,” she said, walking past Sherry toward the row of condos.

Laura was happy to see them both. She seemed especially pleased to meet Sherry. “I’ve heard a lot of things about you,” she said, shaking Sherry’s hand. “Tess said you were pretty, but I think that’s an understatement.”

Sherry surprised Tess by smiling. “Thank you. Tess said you’re a good friend.”

“That I am. Maybe we can be friends as well,” Laura suggested.

“Maybe,” Sherry replied.

“Well, then, maybe you won’t mind that I bought you a present,” Laura said, smiling.

Sherry looked from Tess to the older woman. “You bought me a present? Why?”

“Because I felt like it, that’s why.” Laura went to the hall closet and brought out a small white box. “It’s really not all that much. I just wanted to welcome you.”

Sherry took the box hesitantly. “Thanks.” She opened the top and reached inside. Pulling out a shirt, Sherry gasped. “Wow! This is so cool.”

Laura laughed. “I saw this tie-dye shop and there was this maternity top in the window. It just seemed like the perfect thing.”

Sherry held up the top, admiring the crazy swirl of colors.
“Now, I can see me wearing this. This will go great with my new jeans.”

“Well, I’m sure you won’t need the extra space anytime soon, but I’m glad you like it,” Laura replied. “Would you like to come chat with us? I have some iced tea.”

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to go swimming. Tess had me bring my suit.”

“Sure,” Laura replied. “Feel free to go change in my bedroom. It’s just down the hall and to the right. I’m still trying to get boxes unpacked, but there’s a path.”

Sherry took off down the hallway and Laura turned to Tess. “She seems very sweet.”

“She can be,” Tess agreed. “Although half the time she’s so moody I don’t know what to make of her.”

“She’s had a big change in her life. Plus, she’s expecting a baby. That in and of itself upsets all of your hormones and causes a great many emotions to run rampant.”

Tess supposed that to be true. She’d read enough about pregnancy in hopes of conceiving that she could easily remember whole sections written on mood swings.

“Oh, these are for you,” Tess said, suddenly remembering the flowers. “I always try to do something to make my clients feel welcome, and since you’re a friend as well, I wanted to do something special. The flowers reminded me of the flower beds you always seemed to be tending when I was small.”

Laura took the arrangement and placed it on the coffee table. “Why, they’re lovely. And yes, they do look like summer in Kansas City.”

Sherry quickly appeared, towel in hand. Her slender frame hardly bore any witness at all to her condition. “So where’s the pool?”

“Just head out through my back door,” Laura said, leading the way through the kitchen area. “You’ll see the gate just down the walkway.”

Sherry looked out the door. “Down there?”

“That’s it,” Laura told her. “Now, don’t be gone too long. Lunch will be ready in about thirty minutes.”

Sherry nodded and hurried out of the house as though afraid Tess and Laura might change their minds about the swim.

“She’s so cute,” Laura said. “Just a little mite of a girl. Hard to believe she’s going to be a momma.”

Tess felt a pang of jealousy and wasn’t at all sure how to handle it. “Well, technically speaking she’ll be a mother, but I hope to instill right from the moment the baby’s born that I am his or her mother,” Tess said.

Laura smiled and nodded. “I’m sure you’ll do the right thing.” She turned to toss the salad. “So whatever happened to your friend—the one who had adopted the baby and had to give it back to the birth mother?”

Tess shook her head. “I haven’t talked to Kim in ages. As soon as she learned what I planned to do with Sherry, she wanted no part of me. I’ve tried calling her several times, but she’s always gone and she never returns my calls.”

“She must be hurting a great deal.”

Tess knew it was true, but she was frustruated that Kim wouldn’t allow her to help her through her bad times. Then again, Tess wondered where she’d ever find time to be there for Kim and maintain all her other responsibilities.

“I know she’s in pain,” Tess finally admitted. “What I don’t know is how to help her. Especially when she’s the one who’s closed the door.”

“Well, maybe God will open a window for you,” Laura said with a grin.

Tess laughed. “Given my life, I’m going to need a lot of open windows.”

The three women sat down to lunch on Laura’s patio nearly half an hour later. Sherry looked content after her swim. Her long blond hair draped in wet folds over her shoulder as she munched on a tuna salad sandwich. Wrapped in her towel and
looking for all the world like a kid without a worry, Sherry simply seemed to be enjoying the day.

She didn’t know why, but Sherry’s casualness around Laura irritated Tess. Sherry had been nothing but moody and tense since first coming to Tess and Brad. Tess had figured her to just be that way naturally, but seeing her so relaxed with Laura quickly gave evidence to an entirely different thought.
She just doesn’t like me
, Tess decided.

“So have you given any thought to your future plans?” Laura asked Sherry. “What about school?”

Sherry took a long drink from her iced tea and shrugged. “Tess says she’s going to homeschool me. I guess we’re going to get some videos or something like that.”

Laura nodded. “I’m sure homeschooling would be much easier than just trying to jump into a new school while expecting a baby.”

“It would be hard,” Sherry admitted.

“So do you have any other plans?” Laura pressed.

“No. I don’t figure I have too much say in plans,” Sherry said as if it didn’t matter to her.

Tess took the opportunity to jump into the conversation. “Sherry has a doctor’s appointment in three weeks. We’re hoping to have the doctor do an ultrasound and make sure about the due date.”

Sherry looked at Tess as if she’d suddenly grown a third head. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

Tess detected hostility in the girl’s question. “I didn’t think you’d care about those kinds of details.”

Sherry pushed back from the table. “Everyone is always making choices for me. Just once I’d like to be included in the plan.”

“But, Sherry, you made the choice to come here to live with us. To have us adopt your baby. I just thought I was taking the burden off you to worry about the finer details of doctors and bills.”

“Well, I don’t like being told what to do. I’m finished with lunch. I’m going to change my clothes.”

Tess shook her head as Sherry stormed off into the house. “See what I mean? Night-and-day differences. She can be pleasant one moment and difficult the next.”

“She’s had her entire world turned upside down.”

“She’s used to that,” Tess replied. “I agree the pregnancy is a new twist for her, but she has been shuffled from one foster-care home to another since she was born.”

“Exactly,” Laura said softly. She reached out to put her hand on Tess’s arm. “She has no stability, Tess. I know what it feels like now to be uprooted, but at least I have stability and security. I have Darren and my own things. I know you and have our friendship to rely on. But that little girl has nothing. She’s all alone. Can’t you understand that?”

Tess was taken back in time to when she’d first been thrust into foster care. Everything had been terribly hard. She had nothing, not even a stuffed animal of her own, to cling to. Her mother died so soon after she’d been taken that she hadn’t believed the authorities when they’d first explained the matter to her.

“Your mommy went to sleep. She’s sleeping in heaven now,”
a kindly woman had told her.

But mommies who went to sleep woke up, and Tess couldn’t understand why they were all telling her that her mother would never wake up again. For weeks Tess had been terrified of falling asleep for fear she might not wake up. She couldn’t fathom death, but she knew about nightmares and those always came when she was sleeping. If a person couldn’t wake up, she had reasoned in her five-year-old mind, she might have to live in the nightmare forever.