Page 17 of Blessings in Disguise

Afterward, she said, “All I want is to cuddle into you.”

All he wanted was to hold her close. “Be my guest.”

A strong sigh from him.

One from her.

Then she pulled up the sheet against the air conditioning and her eyes closed.

So did his.

The next thing they knew, it was morning.

* * *

The fourth time Harlan walked into the room at Pathways for another session, he was nearly smiling. “Hey, Rev.” He’d taken to the nickname when it slipped out that Caleb was an ordained minister.

“Hey, there, Harlan.” Caleb studied the boy. He was dressed in a button-down black shirt and black pants. His hair was combed and his face had lost some of its tautness. And, he hadn’t brought the sketch book. “You seem…happy to be here.”

He dropped down into a chair. “I am.”

Caleb smiled. “I’ll take that as a good sign. Want to elaborate?”

He waited a bit to answer. “I guess meeting with you helped me feel better.”

“Can you tell me why?”

“Nope. You got any ideas?”

“I do. For one thing, unburdening yourself puts those feelings out on the table in broad daylight, where they aren’t so scary. That’s the first step.”

A bit of a frown. “What else?”

“You’ll keep getting better and better if we continue seeing each other.”

The kid held his gaze. “Don’t fix nothin’ though.”

“Let’s talk about what you would fix?”

His eyes narrowed. “If my dad left again.”

“Do you think that’ll happen?”

Harlan shook his head.

Caleb wanted to draw this out of him. “What are other options?”

“I dunno.” He searched Caleb’s face. “Do you?”

“I can give some suggestions.”

The boy sat up straighter. “Like what?”

“Does your mother have sway over your father?”

“She always does what he says so probably not.”

“I think maybe talking to her is worth a try.”

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