Chapter 3

 

The girls weren’t exactly staring at me. They were fixated on Paddy, who was now bow-wowing with excitement and trying to climb out of the four-inch window opening. I pulled him toward me with the leash. I really needed to get more control of this animal. Here I was facing two girls I didn’t know, with an irrepressible puppy who was almost as big as the younger child. I opened my door just enough to be able to stand beside the car and still keep Paddy inside.

“Hi, girls,” I began. “My name is Ana Raven, and I’m here to see Corliss Leonard. Is he here?”

The older girl answered, “He’s our grandpa. He’s inside. What kind of dog is that?”

You can count on teens to be concise, at least when responding to an adult. “He’s an Irish Setter. He likes to play, but he’s just a puppy. He might jump on you if I let him out.”

“Let him out, we want to play!” the younger girl suddenly chimed in, clapping her hands.

A man’s voice came from the porch, and I assumed it was their grandfather. It carried authority, but did not sound unkind. “Sunny, you come in here and change your clothes first. He might scratch you by accident.”

“That’s a good idea,” I said. “Do you have long pants you could put on? I’d feel bad if he hurt you, even if he didn’t mean it. He’s really large, and he has to learn to be careful yet. Your name is Sunny?”

“Yes. I’m Sunny and this is Star.” She pointed to the older girl, then turned and ran into the trailer.

The teen who had been identified as Star said, “I’ll change too, and we can teach the dog some tricks. What’s his name?”

“Paddy, it’s short for Patrick. Just remember that he’s only a puppy, so you need to be firm with him. Don’t let him get away with being naughty.”

Star flashed a sudden smile, and rolled her eyes toward the direction Sunny had gone. “I know how to do that, no problem,” she said.

I laughed and nodded. “You’ll do fine, I’m sure. Thanks for being willing to help him burn off some energy.”

Star also slipped back into the trailer, and the man whose voice I had heard now appeared at the door of the plywood porch. “I’m Corliss Leonard. We’ll just get the girls and the dog acquainted, and then we can visit. I guess you’re here from the church?”

“That’s right. Is this a good time to talk?”

“Any time’s fine by me. My only job is to herd those girls,” he said with a chuckle.

He worked his way down the steps somewhat painfully. Here was a man to whom nature had not been kind. One couldn’t help but notice his large and round hips, which made him look very much as if an oversized beach ball had been stuffed inside his pants. Judging from the way his suspendered jeans flapped, the heavy hips were supported on skinny legs. His back was bent from the waist at about a forty-five-degree angle; he apparently couldn’t straighten up, and he balanced himself with a cane. His arms were skinny too, protruding from the short sleeves of a brown work shirt. His face was long and thin, but he had a full head of straight salt-and-pepper hair and a short grizzled beard. His skin was ruddy and mottled, not an attractive complexion. Forest County is not very diverse, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was the girls’ biological grandfather, or if they had been adopted by one of his children.

The girls, now clad in jeans, burst out of the house together and ran toward the car, setting Paddy to barking once again. “Slow down,” I admonished, easing the dog out of the car. “Let him get used to you first.”

It took some organization, but soon the dog had sniffed the four extended hands and decided the girls were good people. No surprise, I hadn’t known him to dislike anyone yet. Within minutes, Star was stroking his silky head, and Sunny was giggling, with her arms around his neck, while Paddy licked her face.

“You take him over the hill to the creek, away from the road,” Mr. Leonard said to the girls.

“That sounds great,” I added, and handed the leash to Star. I’m 5’5” and she was nearly the same height, but toothpick-like compared to my average forty-something build. The three youngsters sped up the slope and disappeared over the crest of the hill in just a few seconds.

“They’ll do fine with your dog. We used to have a Golden, but the poor old thing died last year. The loss was hard on them. It’s nice outside, shall we sit out here?”

He motioned me to some mis-matched chairs scattered around a dented patio table sitting in the sand with no patio under it. He walked unevenly in that direction, leaning on the cane. I followed, brushing red dog hair from my pale yellow summer pant suit. I was glad I’d worn cotton; the hairs clung to polyester as if held by an electromagnet. We seated ourselves across from each other. I was thinking we’d had a rather unprofessional beginning.

“Mr. Leonard, I’m not sure I introduced myself to you properly. I’m Anastasia Raven, and I’ll be your liaison with the Crossroads Fellowship Family Friends services. People call me Ana.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Anna. I’d appreciate it if you’d call me Len.”

“’Ana,’ please, as in ‘I wanna be your friend.’” I smiled, but I really like people to get my name right. The man held out his hand, and I shook it. His grip wasn’t strong, but it wasn’t limp either. He seemed physically weak, but genuine. My interest was personal, but it was also official. Most of the assignment for my first meeting was to make observations, and to assess any particular needs.

“What I hope to do today is get acquainted. Do you mind explaining to me about your family?”

“Not at all, ma’am. It’s kind of a sad story. I’m glad enough the girls aren’t here to have to listen to it all again. Bringing that pup was a real good idea.”

“I’m sure Paddy is delighted with the attention,” I said, smiling. I didn’t admit that bringing the dog was simply expedient, rather than planned.

“Mostly I want to join the literacy program. The short answer to why I want to read, now, is that my wife, the girls’ grandma, died this past winter. My Becky was good to me. She never cared that I couldn’t read. I used to have a good job driving forklift over at Forest Tech Products, but then I got hurt, and then I had to go on disability. She did our paperwork, and kept track of things. Star tried to take over, but she’s not quite old enough to be able to handle it all.”

“I’m so sorry about your wife. When did she die?”

“In March. It was cancer. We thought she had it beat, but then it came back and there was nothing anyone could do. It was terrible for Star and Sunny. First they lost their mama, then the dog, and finally their grandma.”

“Is their mother dead too?” I asked softly.

“We don’t rightly know,” Len said, moving his head from side to side and frowning.