Lost and Found in Lavender Bay (The Lavender Bay Chronicles #2)

11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

O n Saturday morning, Allan was called into work for a dental emergency. Some kid had gone down a slide at a playground and put his front teeth through his bottom lip. Maureen assured him that she’d be fine picking up Everett, who was being discharged later that morning now that his labs had come back normal. She contacted her mother, who readily agreed to go with her.

Lance was packing up his car to return to his dorm and Ashley was still upstairs, sleeping.

“We won’t be long, I hope,” Maureen told him. “Gram is going with me to the hospital, so I’ve got to pick her up and then we’ll head over to get your brother. Will you please wait until we get home before you leave?”

“Sure thing.” He stood there, hesitant, his hands in his pockets.

She eyed him curiously. “Everything all right?”

“I was hoping to talk to you before I left.”

“Of course, honey. As soon as I get back, you and I will sit down and have a talk. ”

“Okay, thanks, Mom.”

She picked up her purse, double-checking to make sure her phone was inside, and grabbed her keys from the table. “I’ll see you later.”

She drove over to Heather Lane, and when her mother didn’t come out of the house right away, Maureen parked in the driveway, climbed the steps onto the small front porch, knocked on the door, and went inside.

“Mom?” she called.

“In the kitchen.”

She found her mother pulling the bag of garbage out of the trash can, tying it up, and setting it aside to be taken out.

“I’m running a bit behind,” Louise said.

“Don’t worry about it. You know how long it takes to get discharged. I highly doubt he’ll be sitting on the edge of the bed waiting to go home.”

Louise pulled a new garbage liner from the bottom of the trash can. Also at the bottom was a liberal amount of potpourri she kept there to keep the garbage smelling “fresh,” if that was possible. A Christmas potpourri was currently in use, leaving the trash can smelling of cinnamon and bayberry.

Louise straightened up and lifted the bag of trash. “I’ll take this out and meet you out front.”

Maureen took the bag from her. “I’ll take this out. You wash your hands and get your coat.”

“Okay, Mom ,” Louise said with a laugh.

“It’s what happens when you’re the eldest daughter and you’ve been taking care of everyone since you were young.”

Louise didn’t comment on that. “I’ll be out in a jiffy,” she said .

Maureen almost smiled at the use of the word “jiffy.” Allan would love that.

After dumping the bag of trash in the wheelie bin behind the garage, Maureen headed to her car, where her mother was just getting in on the passenger side.

As soon as Maureen slid behind the wheel and buckled up, her mother asked, “What’s wrong, other than the obvious? Has Everett had a setback?”

“No, but he’s refusing to go to rehab. Says he can kick the drugs himself,” Maureen muttered.

“What is he thinking?”

Maureen shook her head. “I don’t know. Allan and I spoke to him about it until we were blue in the face, but he was adamant he’s not going to an inpatient facility.”

“So, what now?”

“He’s going to take a leave of absence from school, come home, and do an outpatient program.”

“That’s better than nothing.” Louise said.

Maureen leaned back and sighed. She wished she shared her mother’s optimism.

“It’s tough, finding out you have a child taking drugs,” Louise said quietly.

Maureen grimaced. “There’s something about it that seems so seedy to me.”

“It’s disappointing.”

“I am so ashamed.”

“Shame is a useless emotion,” Louise said thoughtfully. “Besides, you have nothing to be ashamed about. Things happen. Things go wrong. I’m sure it’s natural to feel these emotions, but you need to focus on why he started taking drugs. Get to the bottom of it. When I think of drugs or cigarettes or booze, I think people are looking for an escape. Find out what’s going on in his life and in his head that he felt the need to turn to drugs.”

“I hope it’s that simple.”

“It’s that simple and it’s that hard.”

They were quiet for a moment, until Louise asked, “Are we going to sit in the driveway all day or do you think you’ll start the car, honey?”

Maureen laughed and pressed the keyless ignition. She supposed they looked ridiculous, sitting there parked in the driveway with their seatbelts on.

Everett wasn’t discharged right away. They were made to wait. Louise sat in the only chair in the room, and Maureen leaned against the windowsill.

By early afternoon, when there was still no sign of the doctor, Maureen offered to drive Louise home, but she refused, saying she had no plans that day and didn’t mind waiting. Finally, mid-afternoon, one of the nurses entered the room with the discharge paperwork.

Everett was silent on the way home, holding on to his backpack as if he might have to jump out of the car at a moment’s notice. They dropped Louise off first, who made Everett get out of the car so she could kiss and hug him goodbye. When he returned to the back seat, Maureen looked in the rearview mirror at him. “You can sit up front, you know.”

“I’m fine.” He turned his head and stared out the window.

Maureen waved goodbye to her mother as she disappeared into her house. As she backed out of the driveway, she tried to lighten the mood by saying, “I feel like a taxi driver.”

“Okay, Mom.”

They only lived a few blocks from Louise and were home in five minutes. She hadn’t even put the car in park when Everett jumped out of the back seat and ran into the house.

She stared after him for a few moments, wondering how they were going to proceed. What was he going to do? Would he lock himself up in his room, only coming out for meals? Would he continue to be sullen and surly? Would they have to walk on eggshells around him? This was way out of their league. Finally, she got out of the car and went inside. There was no sign of Everett; he and his backpack had disappeared.

There was also no sign of Lance, and she hadn’t seen his car in the driveway. On the kitchen table was a yellow Post-it note with Lance’s familiar scribble.

Sorry, Mom, had to leave. Talk soon.

Maureen pressed her lips together. He’d wanted to talk to her about something and she’d let him down. She sent off a text to him right away.

Sorry I missed you. Delayed at the hospital.

Thirty minutes later, he responded.

It’s okay.

She typed quickly. Will I call you tonight? We can talk then.

Not that important was his reply.