Page 14 of Shelter for Tanna

“Looks great. Thank you.” Braden waited as Tanna slid into one side of the booth and he sat on the other. She’d hoped he’d sit beside her until he said, “I always sit across. It’s so much easier to talk when you’re facing each other.” It made sense to her when he put it that way.

The food was delicious, and Tanna found herself thinking that she really was having a good time. All through dinner Braden told her things about his work and his family, and he was hilarious. She hadn’t laughed that much in years, and it was nice to be able to sit there and grin like a loon, especially when she had an eyeful of man candy beaming at her from across the table.

“So, tell me about your family? Are they here?”

Tanna nodded. “My parents are in poor health and my brother takes care of them, so I’m really on my own.”

“And you’ve been widowed for two years?”

“Yeah, but he was sick long before that. He couldn’t do much of anything, and I had to take care of everything.”

“And how did you get into the towing business?”

She shrugged. “I needed a job and I saw Charlie’s ‘help wanted’ sign at the grocery store. Went down there and they asked if there was any reason why I couldn’t get my commercial driver’s license. I told Charlie the only reason would be money, and he paid for it. I’ve been driving for him ever since.”

“Is it a good job?”

She snorted. “It pays the bills. No benefits or anything, but I hadn’t worked in years, so it was about all I was qualified to do.”

“You need a job with benefits, Tanna. You work too hard to have nothing like that,” Braden said forcefully.

“It’s okay. We have survivor benefits through Michael’s time in the military. It’s not great, but it’s better than nothing. They cover Max’s medications, and that’s the most important thing.”

“What does he take?”

“Risperidone. We tried aripiprazole, but that didn’t really do much, so we dropped it.”

“Does it really help?”

“It keeps him from going off the deep end, if that’s a definition of helping,” Tanna said and wanted to sigh. She hated talking about all of it, especially with people who didn’t know anything about his disorder but wanted to sound like experts.

All those thoughts went out the window when Braden said, “I’m trying to understand it. I know if there’s anybody who knows anything about it, it would be you. I’d always follow your lead, Tanna. I want to help, not take over.”

“I appreciate that. A lot of people want to tell me how to raise him, but they don’t live with him, haven’t lived with him all these years, and they really don’t understand.”

“I can see how that would be. And I’ve read a lot about redirecting.”

Tanna laughed. “You reallyhavebeen researching!”

She got a big grin out of Braden. “Busted! But I just wanted to try to get some idea of what it is. It’s a lot to take in, and from what I read, no two kids are alike.”

“That’s very true. Correcting doesn’t work, but reinforcing good behavior does. So I remind him of the rules and if he follows them, he gets a reward.”

Braden sat back and laughed. “Let me guess! PEZ!”

“Yep! I keep a big box of candy on top of the cabinet where he can’t reach it, but Daniel can. When he follows the rules, he gets the candy.”

“That won’t make him hyper?”

“His doctor says it’s not enough to hurt anything, and it keeps him in check. It’s all about finding something that works, and for Max, it’s PEZ. Pretty cheap fix.”

“I’ll say!” Braden answered, still chuckling. “What are they saying about his future?”

She shrugged again. “Who knows? I’ve heard it all. Thing is, his grades are good and he’s got a high I.Q. He just has problems with rage and authority interaction. He’s not a bully, and he doesn’t do things to attract attention to himself. Honestly, for a kid with O.D.D., he’s pretty shy and quiet around others. Looking at your truck was the most interactive I’ve seen him with a stranger in a long time.”

“Really? Yeah, based on what I read, that’s unusual.”

“They’re usually attention-seekers, but Max isn’t. Matter of fact, a lot of his problems with authorities come when his teachers try to get him involved in classroom discussions. He hates that and he says ‘shut up’ a lot, and that gets him into trouble.”

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