Page 17 of Shelter for Tanna

Just as calmly as she’d ever seen, Braden answered, “I’ll put you down when you calm down.”

“Put me downnow!” Max bellowed.

Braden just repeated, “I’ll put you down when you calm down.”

Tanna watched in amazement as the younger boy quieted and when he was still, Braden set him gently on the ground. “Would you please help me understand what you’re doing?” Tanna said to her younger son.

“I wanted PEZ and Daniel wouldn’t give them to me.”

“Did you have an interaction?”

“No.”

“And you know that PEZ is only for appropriate interactions.”

“No. They’re for anytime.”

“No. They’re for appropriate interactions. You know that. Since we’ve been here, I’ve seen three inappropriate interactions. You were throwing rocks at Daniel, you were screaming at Braden, and you just told me you won’t obey the rules. Do you get PEZ for any of those things?”

“I should! You’re just being mean!”

“No. We have rules, Max. And the worst one you broke was running away. Do you remember the conversations we’ve had about bad people who grab children?”

Instead of answering her, he just stomped off in the direction of the house as though she hadn’t said a word. She could feel her cheeks burning with shame and she wondered what Braden must’ve been thinking as she fell in behind Max and headed home. Footsteps behind her reminded her Braden and Daniel were there, but Braden had to go that direction to pick up his truck where he’d left it parked on the side of the street. Tanna was afraid to turn around, afraid to see his face, afraid to guess his thoughts. She figured when he got to the truck he’d just climb in and drive away.

Once they rounded the corner, Max called out, “Braden’s truck!” and ran toward it.

She was shocked when a grinning Braden ran past her. “Guess I know what I’m doing!” To her amazement, she watched him open the passenger door for Max, help the boy inside, then run around to the other side and climb in. The big engine roared and the truck rolled down the street to pull into her driveway. By the time she and Daniel got there, Braden and Max were carrying dinner inside.

Tanna was exhausted. She had on her dirty clothes, her wet hair was a tangled mess, and she knew her face was blood red from running. Daniel bounded up the front steps, and she gave serious thought to just turning and walking away. Even though she couldn’t tell what he was saying, she could hear Braden’s voice from inside. Dragging herself up the front steps, she made her way through the door to find the boys pulling out paper plates and plastic utensils. “Mom, there’s chicken,” Max announced.

“I see that. I’m… My hair is wet and… I should probably?”

“No, babe. Come on and eat while it’s hot. You can shower afterward. You’ll have plenty of time while we clean up from dinner and watch TV.” He pulled out a chair at the table and waited. “Well? Come on. Eat.”

It was an epic eye roll that she managed when she said, “You don’t want to sit here with me looking like this.”

As she took her seat, Braden leaned down to her ear and whispered, “If you were covered in mud, you’d still be beautiful.” He helped her pull her chair up to the table, then plopped a chicken breast down onto her plate. “There’s plenty. I’ve got slaw, baked beans, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese… It’s all here. Everybody dig in.”

“Mom! I’ve got mac and cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy!” Max announced. “And three drumsticks!”

“I figured you’d like the drumsticks best,” Braden said with a smile as he took his own seat.

“I do. They’re my favorites.” Her youngest son grabbed a drumstick and took a huge bite, then smiled. “They’re really good.”

“Thisisreally good,” Daniel agreed. “I love their slaw.”

“Pretty darn tasty,” Braden said as he took another bite.

Tanna sat there and stared at her plate. Sometimes it felt like her whole world was falling apart. What if they hadn’t found Max? What if he’d run off in the other direction? What then? Her mind was whirring when a deep male voice interrupted her thoughts. “Honey, you need to eat.”

“Yeah. Okay.” She didn’t really feel like eating but her first bite of chicken was delicious and she realized she truly was hungry. There was plenty of food, and in a few minutes she’d filled her plate and was digging in while Braden and Daniel talked about school. Max only interrupted a couple of times. During most of the meal he sat and listened to Braden, and she was curious as to why that was. What was different there?

It didn’t take her long to figure out. As soon as he was finished with his dinner, Max locked his eyes with hers. “I just had appropriate interactions. Can I have PEZ?”

Tanna nodded and smiled. “Youdidhave appropriate interactions so, yes, you can have PEZ.” She almost turned to Daniel, then changed her mind. “Braden, could you get Max some PEZ?”

“I sure can!” It was no problem for him to reach the container and in seconds a pack of the candy appeared by the boy’s plate. “There ya go, buddy.”

---