12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
“Mom, do you remember seeing a box of my stuff up in the attic?”
Callie snuck the question in between bites of bagel, keeping the request casual. She pulled one of her feet out from under Roscoe and curled up more comfortably on the window seat.
Dora laughed. “Oh, no, dear. I booted that out long ago.”
Callie’s breath caught in her throat and her stomach dropped. She must shown her distress on her face, because her mother reached across the kitchen table and patted her hand.
“Don’t be an idiot, dear. I didn’t throw it away.” The rush of relief left Callie feeling light-headed. “I put it on the top shelf of your bedroom closet,” Dora continued. “I don’t know why you worried so much that your sisters would snoop. Those old notebooks are only meaningful to you. They don’t make sense to anybody else.”
Dora returned to eating her cereal, while Callie thought through what her mother had just said and eyed her with suspicion.
“Mom, how do you know what’s in the box?”
Dora looked up at her daughter, all wide-eyed innocence .
“Well, dear, I knew it belonged to one of you, but you didn’t actually write your name on the outside of the box. All you wrote was KEEP OUT. Honestly, how could I put it in the right bedroom if I didn’t peek inside? If you didn’t want me to see it, you shouldn’t have put it in my studio. I assumed that KEEP OUT didn’t apply to me.”
After that perfectly logical explanation, Dora took her last bite of cereal and then stood, carrying her bowl to the sink.
“How was your session with Danny this morning?” she asked, deftly changing the subject.
Callie knew a diversion when she heard one but couldn’t help smiling.
“It was great,” she answered. “We’re building up a set of songs that we can play together. He taught me some. I taught him some. And we started on some basic music theory, so he can understand chord progression when he wants to write a song of his own.”
Dora leaned back against the sink and regarded her daughter thoughtfully.
“You’re very lucky, you know. Both of you.”
“What makes you say that?” asked Callie, her mouth full of bagel.
“You found Danny at just the right time. Who else could have discovered his love for music? And don’t say your father. He feels badly enough that he didn’t figure it out months ago. No, there’s something about the connection between you and Danny that’s very special. Look how much progress you’ve made with him in such a short time.”
Callie would have spoken at that point, but Dora steamrolled right over her.
“And you needed Danny. Yes, you did,” she said in response to Callie’s raised eyebrow. “You needed someone who would accept you just as you are. Only a child can do that. Everyone else brings their baggage and their expectations to the table. ”
“I think Danny has more baggage than most adults,” said Callie wryly.
“Fair enough,” agreed Dora. “But you know what I’m getting at. He doesn’t tell you what kind of songs to write, and he has no idea if a song ‘sounds like you’ or not.”
Callie nodded slowly, realizing that even her father had a set of expectations about her music and what it should be.
“Anyway,” said Dora. “I wanted you to realize how lucky you are. To step out of your life, to put aside all that baggage and focus on the act of creation—it’s a rare opportunity. It can’t last forever, of course, but this is a special time. Enjoy it.”
Her mother sounded so wistful that Callie wanted to ask why, but this did not seem like the right moment. Dora had begun a brisk clean-up and jumped immediately into a new stream of chatter. Questions about her art, her life, and the choices she made along the way would have to wait.
“You’ll be on your own today, dear. I’m off to Chicago to replenish my supplies before the final push to finish my current project.” She gave her daughter a sidelong look. “I’m meeting your sisters for lunch. Do you want to join us?”
The distraction of a field trip was tempting, but Callie was on a good run with her songwriting and hated to lose momentum.
“I’ll stay here and work,” she answered, “but give them a hug for me.” She paused, suddenly suspicious. “Do they even know you’re coming?”
“Not yet,” her mother answered with a sly smile. “But they’ll make time for lunch with their mother.”
“Mom, you can’t just—”
“I can and I will,” said Dora firmly. “If you have a problem with my methods—if you would deny me a nice, relaxing lunch with my daughters—then you can come along and keep me company instead.”
Callie shook her head .
“I thought not.” Dora grinned, full of mischief. “In that case, have a lovely day, get lots of songwriting done, and I’ll see you at dinnertime. It’s your turn to cook, you know.”
Dora threw that last comment over her shoulder as she headed upstairs to get dressed. Callie rose slowly and followed, intent on tearing apart her closet to find the notebooks. Maybe later, with her mother safely in Chicago, she could have a second look at her mother’s box of memories.
Kat watched the clock as it ticked past ten. She realized that her foot was tapping. If Adam wanted to keep secrets and blow off meetings, then he would have to live with the consequences. She couldn’t believe that he would be so cavalier with Danny’s future.
The file lay open on the desk in front of her, the report from Doc Archer on top of the stack of papers. It was brief, but covered all the basics. Danny had settled into a comfortable routine that included a refusal to talk. Nothing had altered this routine since the beginning of the school year. All the people in his life had adapted to Danny’s choice, rather than pushing Danny to adapt to the world around him. Until something jolted him from this comfortable routine, perhaps a more aggressive intervention or a change in the custody arrangement—or both—Danny had no incentive to rejoin the world.
And now Danny had started talking, but to Callie, of all people. Doc Archer’s report was now obsolete and Adam’s case a hundred times stronger. The James sisters certainly had a knack for disrupting people’s lives. If she were superstitious, she would make the sign of the cross every time she saw one of them.
The jangle of the bell yanked Kat out of her thoughts. She hadn’t even noticed Adam drive up, park, and walk past her window. She needed to get her head in the game. It was smart of him to show up, but it didn’t get him off the hook for keeping secrets. She met him in the waiting room.
“Adam, I’m so glad you could make it,” she said, extending her hand for a firm handshake. “Would you like to join me next door for coffee? Or would you prefer to meet here?” she asked, acknowledging his concerns from their previous coffee date, but reminding him that she didn’t share those concerns.
“I think it’s important that we meet here,” he answered, taking off his coat.
“As you wish.” Kat turned and walked back into her office, leaving him to follow or not as he liked. No casual meetings in the waiting area today. She needed the solidity of the desk between them, and the reinforcement of her leather chair.
When they were seated, Kat swallowed the angry lump in her throat.
“From this point forward,” she began, all business, “I would appreciate it if you would let me know right away about any change in Danny’s status. If he stops talking, if he opens up to anyone else, if he does anything at all out of the ordinary, I need to know. And so does Doc Archer.”
Adam looked like he was going to object, but she needed to be firm on this point.
“I can’t make an informed recommendation, nor can Doc Archer offer an honest assessment, if we don’t have the facts. If you can’t trust me, then I can’t trust you, and we have a problem. Do I make myself clear?”
Adam hesitated, then nodded curtly.
“Excellent. Now let’s talk about the case. The fact that Danny is talking changes everything. You’ve made a clear breakthrough and you should take credit for it. I wouldn’t recommend any changes to Danny’s situation as long as he’s making progress and you’re providing a stable environment. ”
“Of course I’m providing a stable environment. I thought we had already established that.”
“The custody arrangement is being reviewed, so everything gets a second look. I have to consider all the usual factors,” said Kat. “You’re a single parent, with all the related challenges, as we’ve discussed. I also need to consider the other people in Danny’s life and whether or not they are a strong link in his support network. Then there’s your work situation and whether or not it is compatible with raising a family.”
“My work is extremely child-friendly.”
“Certainly, if you consider it work. Some might view your business as more of a hobby, and worry that you will get bored and want to go back to the high-powered job you were doing before all this happened.”
“Some people like you?” he asked.
She nodded.
“That’s not going to happen.” Adam’s answer had the intensity of true conviction, but Kat still had her doubts. How could a man of his intelligence and drive settle for a quiet rural existence restoring wooden boats? She didn’t quite buy it.
“If you say so,” she said.
Adam looked dissatisfied with her answer, but he turned his attention to a different point.
“What people would you evaluate other than me? I’m really the only person in Danny’s life.”
“And that’s precisely the problem,” returned Kat. “You’ll need to expand Danny’s support network over time, once he’s comfortable talking with a wider range of people. Obviously Doc Archer and I would be considered part of his network now. With the introduction of the music lessons, Callie James becomes a factor as well.”
Kat didn’t bother to hide the skepticism in her voice. She was under no obligation to like Callie .
“You have a problem with the music lessons,” stated Adam, direct as always.
“No, I have a problem with the teacher.”
“And that is?” he prompted.
“She’s not stable,” said Kat. “She’s an unknown element in a delicate situation. You don’t know how long she’ll be in town. She has no experience working with children. And a simple Google search will fill you in on some of the more salacious details of her life as a professional musician.”
If this last statement surprised Adam, he hid it well. If anything, his face hardened and became more difficult to read.
“And yet she is the one person who has connected with Danny,” he challenged. “She’s the key to this whole thing.”
She had made him angry, but it was her job to be straight with him.
“I think it’s risky,” she insisted. “It may turn out to be the right choice, but it’s my job to make sure you’ve thought it through.” She paused, giving him a hard stare. “Clearly you have.”
He didn’t back down, leaving them in an odd kind of emotional stand-off.
“I’m keeping close tabs on the situation. If I have concerns, I’ll pull the plug,” he said. “And of course I’ll notify you immediately,” he added.
She mentally torched her step-by-step relationship plan.
“Is there anything else I can do to prove my worthiness?” he asked. “Shall I sign a statement swearing off women until Danny turns eighteen?”
Kat forced a smile. “You could try,” she answered, striving for a lighter tone. “But I doubt anybody would take you seriously.”
“Why is that?” he asked, giving a cynical laugh. “Relationships are a pain in the ass. I’m happy to put it off for a few years. ”
Kat wished she could smack him across the face on behalf of every single, thirty-something woman in the world.
“Give me a break, Adam. You’re a healthy man in the prime of his life. Nobody will believe you if you claim celibacy. It’s like advertising the fact that you’re planning to sneak around.”
She put up a hand to stop him when he tried to object.
“Let me put this another way,” she said. “If you try to convince the judge—who is single, by the way, and not that much older than you—that you are going to be celibate for the next ten years, she will laugh in your face, declare you certifiable, and give custody to Danny’s grandparents.”
“So you think I should hit the local dating scene?”
“You already know my opinion on this subject. I think you should put some reasonable boundaries on your personal life such that it has minimal impact on Danny. Engaging in open, honest relationships with women from the local community would be perfectly appropriate.”
“You seriously think I should start dating.”
“If it’s someone local and stable, then yes.”
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll be sure to let the judge know I plan to ‘shop local.’”
“Great.” She ground out the word through clenched teeth. “You be sure to use just those words.”
He laughed. “I will.”
And just like that the tension disappeared, leaving the ragged edges of her temper flapping in the breeze.
“So what happens next?” he asked.
“In a week or so, once we’re sure that Danny’s progress is going to stick, I’ll submit my report to the judge and we’ll wait until a date is set for the hearing. Could be anytime in the next two months.”
“And in the meantime?” he queried.
We have a normal conversation over a cup of coffee.
“Keep doing what you’re doing,” she answered. “And, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a meeting with Danny. Maybe now that he’s talking, he’ll let us know how he feels about the current custody arrangement.”
“It’s worth a try,” said Adam.
“How about tomorrow?” asked Kat.
“So soon?”
“Now that he’s started talking, the sooner the better.”