this disease is poison.” Marie clucked her
tongue. “What a terrible strain to add to her weak heart.”
I was startled by this. “Wait. She has a heart condition,
too? Is it serious?”
“As serious as heart conditions get.” Marie put her hands on
her hips, seeming ready to settle into a lengthy conversation about it. “Well,
certainly the cancer is the bigger threat. Julia’s doctors are most concerned
about getting it contained. They’re optimistic that she’ll be strong enough to
continue the entire course of treatments and bring the disease into remission
once again.” Marie shook her head. “She’s such a lovely woman. It’s sad that
she has been plagued with such heavy burdens—with her illnesses, to the
difficult and untimely demise of her husband, to that troubled eldest boy. At
least she’s fortunate to have the youngest. He’s a good boy, and helpful to
her.”
Like she was telling me a secret, Marie leaned in and
whispered, “And not to mention, he’s quite easy on the eyes.”
Her naughty admission made me grin.
“I’d love to stay and chat, but I need to tend my charge.
One cannot question the Good Lord’s ways, but do our best to comfort a friend
in need. I’ll be here for another hour if you need me.” As Marie began to walk
away, she left me with a final sentiment, “What you’re doing is lovely, dear.”
She stepped inside, and I got back to shoveling. I thought
about Mrs. Faye’s heart condition, another of a growing list of crosses to bear.
She was truly an amazing woman. I felt thankful for the opportunity to work
with and for her. I prayed that she soon recovered her health.
I kept working until I saw Toby come into the yard. Wearing
a white undershirt and the appliance store’s grey uniform pants, his work shirt
thrown over his shoulder, he stopped and eyed me.
“Nice view.”
With a sigh, I raised my eyes. “Friends don’t say that sort
of thing to one another.”
He came over and purposely bumped my shoulder with his. “Who
said I was talking about you? I mean, look at this yard.” With his hand, he
made a sweeping gesture over the sad space. “It’s a paradise.”
When he turned to look at me, the blue of his irises were an
unusual color. In the sunlight, they were so pale they appeared almost
iridescent.
“You have pretty eyes.”
The compliment rolled off my tongue without any thought. It
seemed to catch him off guard, too.
“You like my eyes?” he asked, a definite rise of interest.
The back of my neck prickled with unease. I couldn’t let
this get weird between us. I bowed my head and returned to my digging. “Yes,
they’re nice. Now, how about grabbing a shovel and helping me?”
Toby ignored the other shovel, though, and started moving
towards the deck steps. “I will, but first, me and pretty eyes are going
inside to check in with the lieutenant up in command central.”
“Please tell the lieutenant I’ll stop in to say hello before
I leave,” I said.
He saluted me. “Will do.”
A little while later, he came back wearing faded jeans
ripped at the knees and a black tee shirt. With a toothpick in his mouth, he
traded me a new bottle of cold water for the shovel. Taking over, he began to
dig.
I watched for a few moments before I said, “I just found out
about your mother’s heart condition. Is it serious?”
“Who’d you hear that from? Mrs. Doubtfire?” Seeming
unconcerned, he continued shoveling.
“Mrs. Doubtfire?” I eyed him. “Marie told me.”
“Yeah, her. Euphegenia Doubtfire. Doesn’t Marie look like
Robin Williams in a wig to you?” Toby perfectly mimicked the famous, “Hellooo!”
“Oh, my God, yes!” I giggled.
“But to answer your question,” he said, and stopped digging,
“you have to understand something. Julia is defective … maybe the result of
poor wiring, some faulty chromosomes, or something irreparable. She’s always
sick — anemia, low blood sugar, poor circulation ... She’s been
tongue. “What a terrible strain to add to her weak heart.”
I was startled by this. “Wait. She has a heart condition,
too? Is it serious?”
“As serious as heart conditions get.” Marie put her hands on
her hips, seeming ready to settle into a lengthy conversation about it. “Well,
certainly the cancer is the bigger threat. Julia’s doctors are most concerned
about getting it contained. They’re optimistic that she’ll be strong enough to
continue the entire course of treatments and bring the disease into remission
once again.” Marie shook her head. “She’s such a lovely woman. It’s sad that
she has been plagued with such heavy burdens—with her illnesses, to the
difficult and untimely demise of her husband, to that troubled eldest boy. At
least she’s fortunate to have the youngest. He’s a good boy, and helpful to
her.”
Like she was telling me a secret, Marie leaned in and
whispered, “And not to mention, he’s quite easy on the eyes.”
Her naughty admission made me grin.
“I’d love to stay and chat, but I need to tend my charge.
One cannot question the Good Lord’s ways, but do our best to comfort a friend
in need. I’ll be here for another hour if you need me.” As Marie began to walk
away, she left me with a final sentiment, “What you’re doing is lovely, dear.”
She stepped inside, and I got back to shoveling. I thought
about Mrs. Faye’s heart condition, another of a growing list of crosses to bear.
She was truly an amazing woman. I felt thankful for the opportunity to work
with and for her. I prayed that she soon recovered her health.
I kept working until I saw Toby come into the yard. Wearing
a white undershirt and the appliance store’s grey uniform pants, his work shirt
thrown over his shoulder, he stopped and eyed me.
“Nice view.”
With a sigh, I raised my eyes. “Friends don’t say that sort
of thing to one another.”
He came over and purposely bumped my shoulder with his. “Who
said I was talking about you? I mean, look at this yard.” With his hand, he
made a sweeping gesture over the sad space. “It’s a paradise.”
When he turned to look at me, the blue of his irises were an
unusual color. In the sunlight, they were so pale they appeared almost
iridescent.
“You have pretty eyes.”
The compliment rolled off my tongue without any thought. It
seemed to catch him off guard, too.
“You like my eyes?” he asked, a definite rise of interest.
The back of my neck prickled with unease. I couldn’t let
this get weird between us. I bowed my head and returned to my digging. “Yes,
they’re nice. Now, how about grabbing a shovel and helping me?”
Toby ignored the other shovel, though, and started moving
towards the deck steps. “I will, but first, me and pretty eyes are going
inside to check in with the lieutenant up in command central.”
“Please tell the lieutenant I’ll stop in to say hello before
I leave,” I said.
He saluted me. “Will do.”
A little while later, he came back wearing faded jeans
ripped at the knees and a black tee shirt. With a toothpick in his mouth, he
traded me a new bottle of cold water for the shovel. Taking over, he began to
dig.
I watched for a few moments before I said, “I just found out
about your mother’s heart condition. Is it serious?”
“Who’d you hear that from? Mrs. Doubtfire?” Seeming
unconcerned, he continued shoveling.
“Mrs. Doubtfire?” I eyed him. “Marie told me.”
“Yeah, her. Euphegenia Doubtfire. Doesn’t Marie look like
Robin Williams in a wig to you?” Toby perfectly mimicked the famous, “Hellooo!”
“Oh, my God, yes!” I giggled.
“But to answer your question,” he said, and stopped digging,
“you have to understand something. Julia is defective … maybe the result of
poor wiring, some faulty chromosomes, or something irreparable. She’s always
sick — anemia, low blood sugar, poor circulation ... She’s been
Similar Books
