Page 28 of Twisted Revelations

14

Dax

We’d escorted the ladies to Beverly’s center yesterday. While D kept a closer watch on the ladies inside the facility, I’d chosen to spend most of my time outside as a lookout. Today, we were at Laura’s facility. We were reluctant to split up the team and risk DG6 snagging one of the women.

I remained on constant guard when we drove into the parking lot of Laura’s center less than five miles from the one Beverly managed. It wasn’t in the best part of the city, and although it needed renovations, the building stood strong and provided a retreat for kids and teens that didn’t have anywhere else to go.

Like meeting Kadeem for the first time, I was struck with another round of humbling realizations that forced me to think about how privileged I truly was. The front interior of the center was a large open bay type room with a few worn folding tables and cheap plastic chairs neatly arranged about the space.

The fluorescent lights in the ceiling had clear coverings over them in some areas and exposed in others. Aside from the front door, the expansive front wall I believed was once glass had been bricked up. At a distance, I spotted a wide hallway that led to an indoor gym area and a few rooms labeled with the activities available inside.

No sooner had we cleared the front doors and stepped fully into the building, three children, five to seven years in age, came barreling toward Laura.

Three sets of tiny brown arms fought for space around her small waist, and she lavished each of them with strong hugs before they let her go.

“I missed you, Ms. Parker!” The little boy exclaimed as his words rushed through his missing front tooth.

“Me too,” one of the two little girls announced, eyeing her with the kind of admiration a child aims at a mother.

“I missed you too,” the other one chimed in.

While she was attached to the children, others passed her, speaking, smiling, and tapping her shoulder to get her attention. It was clear she was well liked around this center.

“I missed you guys too. Have you all been keeping up with your lessons?”

“My favorite doctor,” she declared, touching the little boy’s head. “My favorite teacher,” she continued, touching the next. “My favorite interior designer,” she expressed, pulling the last little girl’s long ponytail and making her giggle.

“Where’s my favorite engineer?” she scanned the area for another one of the children.

“He wasn’t feeling well. He’s in the bathroom,” the little boy replied.

Laura turned toward me, and for the first time the children’s attention left her and landed on me.

“Kids, this is my friend, Mr. Marshand. He’s helping me solve a problem so I can come back to work,” she declared, concern etched on her face. “I’m going to go and check on Kenneth. I’ll be right back,” she announced before taking off toward what must have been the bathrooms.

Three little hands reached out, attached to the biggest smiles, and jovial giggling voices. I shook each of their hands. “Thank you for helping Ms. Parker,” the little boy stated.

“She’s always nice to us,” the little girl with the long ponytail added. The way the little girl expressed her statement implied she didn’t encounter many nice people.

Laura was gone for a while, but I had to admit, I was enjoying getting my ear talked off. The children were painting me a picture of a side of Laura she’d never have voluntarily revealed. However, my worry increased after she’d been gone for about ten minutes and hadn’t returned.

“Will you guys show me to the bathroom,” I questioned, getting firm agreements from the children. Each girl took one of my hands and led me down one of two halls and pointed me to the male restroom at the end.

When I walked in, I found Laura with a mop in her hand, cleaning up what appeared to be vomit. She glanced up at me with a weak smile before her gaze landed on the child curled atop a thick fluffy towel.

“What happened,” I questioned. “Is he okay? How can I help?”

“He’ll be fine. He’s my favorite engineer,” she declared, aiming her voice at the child. Her melancholy tone wasn’t missed. Something more was happening, and I was at a loss as to what to do. She finished a final sweep of the floor, leaving the broken and cracked tiles glistening clean as the light scent of bleach and pine permeated the area.

She dumped the water down the toilet before shoving the mop and bucket into a stall that had been converted to a closet. I stood in place, waiting for her to say something, anything to clue me in on what was wrong. I’d never seen her so heartbroken as she was in this moment. She washed her hands and glanced at me before going to the obviously sick child.

She bent, checking the child’s forehead before she lifted him. I rushed over to help. “No, I’ve got him. If you weren’t here, it would just be us. Open the door, please,” she requested, her tone low and solemn. I didn’t argue. The child was too heavy for her to carry, but her steps never wavered as she turned onto the hall.

“The last door on the left. Open it, please,” she called across her shoulder. I ran a few paces ahead and opened the door for them. She stepped through and didn’t stop until she laid the little boy atop a small loveseat that sat across from what must have been her desk. Was this her office?

I eased inside, silently observing as she plucked a pillow and blanket from a closet that had a thick black sheet hanging in the front of it as a door. She approached the little boy, covering and making him comfortable.

This was a side of Laura I’d never expected, a layer of her personality she shielded with a toughness she rarely disarmed. You’d never see this side of her unless she allowed it. Talking about judging a book incorrectly by its cover. Never saw this coming. These kids worshipped the ground she walked on, and she adored them with a nurturing passion I didn’t know she was capable of.

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