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Chapter 58

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Emma

Emma slept in on Monday morning but when she got up, Mrs. Patterson was still in her pajamas. She hadn’t seen Mrs. Patterson in her fancy silky PJs since that first night when Emma had woken her after midnight. Why was she in her pajamas now? Was she not feeling well?

“Good morning,” Emma said.

Mrs. Patterson was in her chair, staring at the television, her left hand clutching the remote and her right hand wrapped around a glass filled with one of her iced coffee brandy concoctions. “Morning,” she said without looking at Emma.

“Did you have breakfast yet?”

Still not looking away from the TV, she shook her head.

“Want me to fix you something?”

“No thank you,” she said tonelessly. “Not hungry.”

This was strange on so many levels. Mrs. Patterson wasn’t being rude but she wasn’t being her normal feisty and funny self either.

She found her mother in the kitchen working on Mrs. Patterson’s laptop. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for more jobs.”

Emma’s chest tightened. “Why, did you hear from the school?”

“No,” her mother said quickly. “But it’s still good to have a plan B. And a plan C. And maybe a plan Z.” She smiled. “You hungry? I can fix you something.”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, that would be great.”

Her mother stood up and went to the fridge.

“Is Mrs. Patterson okay?” Emma whispered.

Her mother held one finger to her lips. “Careful. She has eagle ears. I don’t know. I tried to talk to her earlier, but she’s not in a talking mood. I think we should try to give her space but be close enough so she can have us if she needs us.”

Emma disagreed wholeheartedly. “I’ll be right back.” She went back into the living room. “The ladies at church are having a tea party tomorrow morning.”

Mrs. Patterson laughed derisively.

“I was wondering if you would like to go?”

Mrs. Patterson looked at her dryly. “You don’t need to worry about me, dear. I appreciate you caring, but you don’t need to find me friends. I don’t need friends, and I don’t want them.” She turned her red eyes back to the television.

“But I think you’d like them. They’re funny and spunky and, even though they can be a little rude sometimes, they are always entertaining.”

“I said no!” she snapped, and there was something in her eyes that Emma hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t kindness.

“I’m sorry,” Emma mumbled and then quickly left the room.

Tonya gave her a soothing smile. “It was a good idea, honey,” she whispered. She pulled her toward the corner of the kitchen, far from the living room. “Mrs. Patterson’s issues go even deeper than we understand. I don’t think there’s going to be a simple solution. We just need to keep loving her and keep praying for her. If God wants her out of the house, he will make it happen. If God wants her to have new friends, he will make that happen too.”

Emma shrugged. “Maybe.”

“He got her to open the door for you, didn’t he?”