A Week From Sunday by Dorothy Garlock Page A

mind. Finally he spat it out: “How am I gonna pee in the can with that strange woman in the house?”
    “Tell Lola to close the door and reach under the bed for it, like you always do.”
    “Aw, shit,” the boy swore. Quinn couldn’t imagine what the difference would be with Adrianna in the house, but it had been a long time since he’d been fifteen. “How long is she gonna be here, anyway?”
    “I’m not sure. Dr. Bordeaux thinks she might be able to help you.”
    “Help me? How the heck is she gonna do that? She isn’t no doctor.”
    “Maybe she can help you in ways that don’t have anything to do with your legs,” Quinn explained as he sat down at the foot of the bed. Cowboy took it to mean that he didn’t have to move either and lay back down. “For one thing, she could help you with your schoolwork. The teachers will send books to the house. There’s no reason why you can’t graduate next year if you put your mind to it.”
    “How’s all that going to help a cripple?”
    “You keep calling yourself that and you’re going to start believing it,” Quinn chided his brother. “What happened to you didn’t do anything to your brains, did it?”
    “Sometimes I’m not so sure.”
    “Do me a favor and at least give it a try.”
    “That’s the same thing you told me when Lola showed up,” Jesse explained. “You said it’d only be for a while, and she’s been here for months. Now you’re gonna have two women lazing around the house doing nothing but listening to
Ma Perkins
and
My Gal Sunday
on the radio.”
    “Is that why you don’t like Lola?”
    “That’s only one of the reasons I don’t like her,” Jesse said with exasperation, dropping the magazine in a heap on his lap. “If she kicks my dog again, I’m gonna throw that slop she brings me to eat right back in her face! She’s only here for one thing, and that’s to get her hooks into you. She doesn’t care if I lie here all day with nothing to do.”
    “You can mark one of those worries off your list,” Quinn said reassuringly, laying one hand on his brother’s leg. “I’ll never marry anyone you don’t like. That’s a promise.”
    “I’ll hold you to it.”
    Quinn stood up from the bed and moved the wheelchair close to the side. He threw back the covers, lifted his brother in his arms, and set him in the chair. “Let’s get you to the bathroom, and then I’ll come back and empty your pee can. After that, I’ll tell Lola to clean up this room.”
    Once Quinn had maneuvered Jesse’s chair into the hallway, he lifted the boy and took him into the bathroom, setting him on the toilet. While his brother took care of his business, he filled the lavatory with warm water and handed Jesse a wet cloth to wash his face and hands.
    “You’re going to need a haircut soon, kiddo,” Quinn joked.
    “Oh, boy,” Jesse groused.
    “At the very least, you should have a bath. I can’t tell who smells worse, you or Cowboy.”
    Even with soap on his face, Jesse shot his brother a hard look. “Very funny!” the boy said sarcastically. “With a mouth like yours, maybe you should have a comedy show on the radio!”

    Dressed in shirt and pants, his hair mostly tangle free, Jesse was wheeled into the kitchen by his brother. Adrianna and Lola had been sitting quietly since shortly after Quinn had left the room, but now the cleaning woman’s demeanor changed drastically.
    “Well looky who we have here!” she exclaimed excitedly, rising from her chair and rushing to the boy’s side. She tried to fuss over him, pushing his hair back from his forehead with her fingers, but he moved his head to avoid her touch. “Let’s get you some breakfast! I’ve got toast and the strawberry jam you like.”
    Through it all, Jesse ignored her, his eyes locked on Adrianna. He hadn’t really looked at her the night before and now, upon closer inspection, he had to admit she was quite pretty. Compared to her, Lola looked like a floozy. Something