Teaching Ms. Riggs. Stephanie Beck

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СКАЧАТЬ call was answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

      “Who is this?”

      “This is Mark Dougstat.” He was careful to talk slowly so she understood in case something was wrong. “You left some ice cream in my truck, and we just found it. I was going to ask when would be a good time to bring it by?”

      “Oh, sweet Jesus, Mark, I’m sorry. I’ve had some prank phone calls spook me a little, and I overreacted. I’m so sorry.”

      “No problem, honey,” he assured her, though the news disturbed him. “A woman living alone in a new city, even if it’s an old one, has to be careful. You’ve called the sheriff?”

      “Yes, he’s looking into it since they’ve been threatening. So ice cream, huh? I was wondering what had happened to it. I can pick it up. I mean, you’ve driven plenty on my behalf.”

      “No, don’t worry about that. I have to run into town tonight for a meeting. Dropping by won’t be a problem if you’re going to be home.” He was already putting on his fresh sneakers, the urge to get to her and make sure she was okay overwhelming.

      “Okay, if you’re sure you don’t mind, I’ll be here.”

      “See you in about twenty minutes?” he offered.

      “Sure, drive safe.”

      Mark was torn between concern and a smile as he walked to the kitchen and hung up. Thomas sat with his sister at the table, both with big bowls of ice cream swimming in chocolate sauce. How those kids stayed so skinny he didn’t know, but his mom said the same about him when he was Thomas’s age.

      “Going to see Ms. Riggs?” Thomas asked, and Kira snickered.

      “Come on, guys, I just met her. I’m actually just going to stop by for a few minutes before I go to my AA meeting at church.” He smacked his dusty hat against his jeans as he dodged the question.

      “Sure you’ve got your meeting, but first you’re going to bring her ice cream and play kissy face and make baby Uncle Marks.” Kira giggled, elbowing her brother in a comradely way.

      “Doubt it. She’ll shoot him down right after he delivers the ice cream and send him packing, so she can wash her hair or check her Facebook page,” Thomas predicted. “Then he’ll be back to sweet talking the cows. How’s Rowena doing?”

      “One of these days,” Mark muttered as he grabbed his keys, “the circus is going to come around, and I’m selling both of you to it. Thomas, watch your sister. Both of you take showers, and I’ll call on my way home.”

      The kids laughed, and Mark smiled at the sound as he headed out the door. Their laughter meant something to him. Something he couldn’t explain. From the first time he’d held Thomas, a wiggly, curious three year old, he’d been in love. The little guy had joined him most days, because Mark’s mom needed a break from the constant duties of caring for her grandchild.

      The memory made Mark’s jaw tighten as he started up his truck and rolled down the windows. His sister wasn’t going to win any parenting prizes, that was for sure. Maybe in science, but as far as Mark was concerned she’d dropped the ball with her kids. With the exception of the time immediately following Mark’s father’s death, Mark had taken care of Thomas and Kira, and he had every intention of finishing the job with them.

      He pulled up to the curb in front of Ben’s apartment and waved to Steven Redick as he drove by in his latest piece of junk car. That guy was bad news but an old friend. There had been a time Steven had helped him drown some sorrows.

      After finding his father crushed beneath a tractor, Mark had let his demons find him and hit alcohol too hard. He’d cleaned up his act after Thomas called him from Paris in tears about his new baby sister not liking her nanny. When the little boy had begged to come “home” Mark had straightened himself up and asked for help.

      Almost ten years sober and just thinking about that time made his insides turn cold. It was good he was heading to a meeting tonight. It hadn’t been too long since he’d reaffirmed his commitment to sobriety, but it had been long enough.

      He shrugged off the hard thoughts as he headed up the sidewalk for Ben’s apartment, ice cream in hand. There was a line between remembering and learning from the past and living in it. God was always opening new windows, and Mark wasn’t going to miss them by not looking.

      The main apartment door opened before he made it to the top of the stairs. He smiled, wondering if God was switching to opening doors for him instead. The thought faltered when he saw Ben. He’d seen her less than twenty-four hours earlier, but she looked ten years older. Her skin was pale, bags were beneath her eyes, and though she tried to smile, he saw right through it.

      The phone calls, he remembered. They must have been giving her more of a hard time than he thought.

      “Hi.” He smiled and offered her the ice cream. He wanted to hug her and tell her everything was okay. Something made him need Ben to be all right.

      “Thanks,” she said and forced a smile. “Um, do you have time for a pop or something?”

      From the way she’d completely closed in on herself, he thought she didn’t really want him to accept. He had the time though, and his curiosity was piqued.

      “Sure, that would be great.”

      She might not want him there, but he had to know what was going on and if he could help. He felt a burst of pride when she opened the main door and motioned him in. He was too emotionally involved with Ben considering their short acquaintance, but even knowing that wasn’t enough to put a cap on what he felt.

      He followed her through the hall to her apartment as she apologized for the mess he didn’t notice at all. Papers sat in neat stacks on the table, but not much else. What he did notice was the lack of…everything.

      There was a sagging couch with no pillows or throws, a tiny TV that looked older than he and Ben combined, and a cheap coffee table. That was all except the microscopic kitchen, where only a table and two chairs sat. The doorless top cabinets showed less than a four person set of mismatched dishes.

      “I’m still working on getting things the way I like them,” Ben explained, putting the ice cream in a freezer, which, he saw held only ice cube trays.

      “I see.” He watched as she pulled out a jug of store brand pop and two glasses. “You were in Chicago, right?”

      “Yes. I went to the University of Illinois in Chicago. It’s a great school, and I liked it a lot. They have an intense chemistry program.”

      “I never made it out of Flathead Falls. My dad and mom helped me buy my place when I turned twenty-three, then with the kids I just never got anywhere else,” he replied and took a seat after she did. He wanted to make her comfortable because she looked ready to jump out of her skin. Such tension…he hadn’t seen someone so on edge in a long time.

      “Well, if you had to choose a place, Flathead Falls is a nice one.” She smiled, not judging or condescending, just friendly he thought.

      She passed him a glass of pop and took a sip of hers. She was still nervous, even if her hands weren’t shaking as badly as they had been earlier. Looking around Ben’s tiny home though, he couldn’t help but make comparisons СКАЧАТЬ