Page 32 of Ultimate Freedom

Harold piped up. “Poor kid never took his hat off.”

Lefty kept turning Charlie’s head this way and that until Demi’s anxiousness overtook her. “You know what, I’ll take him to the barber’s in Stewart tomorrow.”

“You want he should go to school looking like a girl with all those curls everywhere? I’ll fix it. Just let me take my time.”

Charlie, happy to be with his old buddies, sat quietly and grinned. He had faith in Lefty.

Demi saw the wink Harold sent Charlie’s way and decided to give over. How much damage could he do? Thirty minutes later, she had the answer to her question.

Poor Charlie politely thanked Lefty before they left and once in the truck, he turned to Demi. “It’s not that bad.”

“It is that bad. Look, maybe we’ll wait to take you into school till tomorrow and head over to the barbershop in Stewart now. Hopefully, Mac will have time to take care of you.”

“Glen told me you cut his hair. Can’t you just fix mine too?”

Demi hesitated. She had cut hair a number of times back home and did a pretty good job. No doubt, she would make Charlie look a lot better. “Okay. I’ll try.”

They quickly drove over to the store, and Norrie waved them into the house. “Sure you can use my bathroom, but why?”

“I need a good pair of hair-cutting scissors. Do you have any?”

“Yep. Top drawer on the right. Help yourself.” Looking after a gaggle of customers, Norrie waved them past and got back to the three ladies in front of her.

By the time Demi finally lowered her hand, and checked Charlie’s beaming face in the mirror, she sighed with relief. He looked a hell of a lot better. She took her time staring at the boy and saw where he’d filled out even in just a few days. His skin had lost that pale, starving look, and his eyes looked back at her instead of the floor. “Thanks, Demi. I like it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You made it even now and – and normal. I like it,” he repeated.

Knowing he did look more like the other kids with curly hair such as his, she nodded and washed the scissors beforeputting them away. “Right. We still have time to grab lunch at the café. Then dude… it’s off to school with you. I don’t want Mrs. Stanch-ie to have any complaints about your behavior.

He giggled over her play on the name and agreed. “I like eating at the café. My mom took me once. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich.”

“My fave too. And a chocolate milk shake.

“Oh-kay!”

Once Demi had dropped a happy boy off at the school and spent some time with the principal explaining about her visitor the day before, she was promised all the help they needed for both Charlie to settle in and for her to get custody.

***

Feeling much better, she returned to the store and found both Norrie and Lexie in a deep conversation.

“Oh, Demi. I’m glad you came back. Lexie hoped to be able to talk with you.” Once Demi approached, Norrie left them together and went back to her counter to look after Clive who had to pay for his coffee.

“Hey, Lexie. What’s up?”

“It’s about Harold. He stopped by for an appointment yesterday.” She pointed at the coffee pot and raised her eyebrow. After Demi shook her head, she poured a mug for herself.

Demi’s stomach tightened. She felt her inner pulses start fluttering, squeezing painfully, similar to the way they’d behaved during her conversation with Mrs. Stanch. Bloody stress had begun to fade over the last few days, but now it washed over her in waves.

“Is he okay?”

“First, I want you to know, I got his permission to share his medical situation with you so there’s no talking out of turn. He’s been having some chest pain that’s new. And his heartbeat is irregular. I gave him a light medication that should take care ofthe pain, but he needs to be kept quiet. And he should be getting more oxygen. His levels are lower than I like to see. When I suggested it to him, he agreed for me to order him a portable oxygen concentrator. That’ll make a huge difference.”

Grabbing the coffee counter, Demi lowered her head and felt her worries blossom. She’d begun to feel better about Harold. Since he’d arrived, he seemed to flourish. “I thought he was looking and feeling better.”

“Oh, he is. I’m sorry to scare you, I didn’t mean to. He’s a sick man, you know that. But he’s not worse. In fact, if anything, he seems to be a bit better overall. These chest pains can be many things… arthritis, or even digestive problems. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s just something to watch. From what I gather, Lefty had been preparing a lot of rich food, and I’ve taken him aside and told him to cut it out. He says he’s been a cook all his life, and he doesn’t know how to make bland food.” Lexie laughed. “I love that old man. He’s such a hoot.”

---