heart’s malfunction has been repaired, but he isn’t gaining much strength.”
“I’ll get Mark’s permission to call his doctor and find out what kind of diet and exercise would help Eddie. He’ll have to be stronger than he is now if he goes to school this fall.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon unloading Alice’s van. Mark whistled in amazement when she opened the rear gate of the van. “Where will we put all these things?”
“We’ll leave most of them in boxes, and I’ll unpack when I need something. I brought my television and computer, and a folding table for them, and there’s plenty of floor room for that. I didn’t notice a computer when I was here last week, and I thought it might be a good way to entertain the children.”
“Kristin has been pestering me to buy a computer,” he said lightly, “but that’s another thing I can’t afford right now.”
“Give it time, Mark. You’ll soon have your affairs in order.” She laid her hand on his arm, and he covered it with his. She was standing closer to him than she should be, and she tried to remove her hand and move away, but he held her with a firm grip.
“For the first time in many months, I believe that. When you came this afternoon, I felt like a burden had been lifted off my back. I can’t understand it. You walk in the house, and suddenly I’m confident that all my troubles are over. Why is that, Alice?”
“I don’t know, Mark, but I’m glad it’s so,” she whispered. “It feels right for me to be here.”
Chapter Two
Before she went to bed, Alice checked out the kitchen. While the equipment was adequate, the food supply was short, and she’d need to go to the grocery store before she did much cooking. Alice located several boxes of cold cereal, some fruit bars and a box of oatmeal that hadn’t been opened. There was plenty of milk and orange juice, and a small can of coffee in the refrigerator. Although an expensive coffeemaker sat on the cabinet top, a jar of instant coffee on the table indicated that Mark didn’t take time to fresh perk his coffee.
Her sleep was sporadic, and since the master bedroom was over the enclosed porch, Alice heard Mark’s footsteps when he got up at six o’clock. She dressed in denim shorts and a yellow knit shirt and hurried into the kitchen. She prepared the coffeemaker, sprinkled oatmeal in a pan of boiling water, poured a glass of orange juice, and placed a plate and cup on the table. Two slices of bread were waiting in the toaster when Mark came into the kitchen.
He was dumbfounded!
“Why, Alice! I don’t expect you to wait on me. I’ve always gotten my own breakfast.”
“I was awake, and I might as well be doing something. I’ve cooked oatmeal. Would you like to have eggs with your toast?”
He sat at the table awkwardly, seemingly at a loss to know how to deal with the situation. “The oatmeal and toast will be fine. I don’t eat a heavy breakfast.”
Alice lowered the bread into the toaster, dipped up a serving of the steaming oatmeal, sprinkled a handful of raisins on it, and set the bowl in front of Mark. She placed the milk container beside his plate. “Sugar and cream for your coffee?”
“No, I drink it black. Won’t you eat with me?”
“I’ll have a cup of coffee now, but I’ll wait to eat with the children. Do you mind if I set up a schedule for meals?”
“Make any schedule you like. I’ve told both of them to do what you say.”
“What time do you get home in the evening?”
“Usually between five and six—but I sometimes have to stay late with a client.”
“Shall we schedule dinner for six o’clock? If you’re not here by then, we’ll go ahead and eat.”
“I’ll do my best to be here as much as possible. I need that time with my family. And I’ll take care of them at night, so you can have every evening free if you want to go out.”
The rest of the week was an endurance test in patience for Alice. On Monday morning when she tried to get the children out of bed at half-past eight, Kristin came down reluctantly, but Eddie said he didn’t want any breakfast. About ten o’clock, she heard a bell ringing, and Kristin informed her that Eddie rang the bell when he wanted something. She climbed the stairs dutifully, and when she entered his room, he said, “I’m hungry, Alice.”
She looked at her watch and said, “It’ll be two hours before lunch. I’ll call you when it’s ready. In the meantime, perhaps you should straighten up your bed and pick up some of these things on the floor. I’m going shopping this afternoon, and I want you and Kristin to go with me.”
“I want something to eat now.”
“Eddie, your daddy said it was all right to have our meals at a regular time. I’ll have lots to do to keep your home comfortable, and I can’t be serving food all day. You’ll soon get used to eating earlier in the morning.”
Eddie closed his eyes, drooped forlornly, and he absolutely refused to get out of his chair and tidy the room, but Alice noticed that when noon came, he hungrily ate his grilled cheese sandwich and apple, and asked for a second glass of milk.
At the end of the first few days, Alice’s patience was stretched to the breaking point—the children didn’t like the food she cooked, they wanted to watch television rather than play outdoors, and they hadn’t been taught to look after their own rooms. Alice hesitated to push Eddie too much, until she’d spoken with Eddie’s pediatrician. After she heard Dr. Zane’s blunt assessment, Alice knew for Eddie’s sake, she had to force him to change his life-style.
“I’ve told Mark,” Dr. Zane said, “to quit mollycoddling that boy. In earlier years, he did have to take it easy, but the surgeries have corrected his heart problem, and he needs to be more active. To sit in his room and watch cartoons on TV is more detrimental to his health than if he starts playing Little League ball. Do what you can to snap him out of his lethargy, and I’ll support you.”
At the end of the first week, Alice could note some progress. They ate meals on schedule, and while Alice did furnish some of their usual snacks, the children were also eating more vegetables and fruits. When she weeded the flower beds, she kept Kristin and Eddie beside her and was gratified when they pulled a few weeds and happily reported to their father what they’d done. Eddie still expected Kristin or Alice to come running when he rang his bell, and when he begged her piteously to do what he wanted, his blue eyes, so much like his father’s, beseeching and hurting, Alice found it hard to deny him anything. Although she wanted to bestow tender love on the boy, she knew she must occasionally practice tough love.
Fortunately, Gran Watson supported Alice. “These children have needed a firm hand for a long time. After Clarice became ill, she couldn’t do anything, and Mark had too much on his mind to discipline his children. When they complain to me, I’ll turn a deaf ear,” and she added with a whimsical little laugh that Alice found endearing, “I can’t hear very well anyway, so it’s easy enough.” Gran was no trouble to Alice, for she cared for her own needs and kept her room in order, and she was overly complimentary of Alice’s cooking.
“I used to be a good cook,” she said, “but I’d lived alone for fifteen years before I came here, so I was out of
