Monarch Manor by Maureen Leurck

Author:Maureen Leurck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2019-05-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

ERIN

On the Thursday afternoon after my mother and I closed up the house in Powers Lake, I sank down onto a bar stool at the Lake View Tavern and ordered a glass of wine. The sports bar was mostly empty, save for a few other depressed-looking souls scattered around the bar, wearily glancing at a college football game.

As I took my first sip of the sticky sweet house white wine, I felt Traci brush my elbow and sink down next to me.

“Hey there. Sorry I’m late. Traffic was a nightmare.” She took a quick glance around the bar. “And sorry again. This place usually isn’t this dead.”

I had called Traci two nights before, after a disastrous school meeting that left me feeling bruised and battered. I asked if we could meet for coffee, and she quickly agreed . . . but only if it was for “real” drinks.

Without her asking, a large draft beer slid in front of her, and she took a long sip before she turned to me on her stool, hands clasped on the bar.

“Nice and cool out, huh?” she said as she surveyed my damp forehead.

I wiped my face. “Heat index of eighty today, I think. This has to be the hottest fall on record.” I fanned my cheeks with my hand. The meteorologists were already predicting that the upcoming winter would be cold and snowy, the typical mood swings of Mother Nature in the Midwest.

“So, how’s everything going? I know you said the meeting with school didn’t exactly give you a warm and fuzzy feeling,” she said as she jiggled a charm bracelet around her wrist.

“Ha. Nope. Understatement of the year,” I said. I had called the meeting to try to brainstorm ways to help Will be more successful, to help him be more regulated and calm throughout the day. Every suggestion that I had come prepared to offer had already been put in place and was failing to a spectacular degree. He was spending most of the day in the sensory room, trying unsuccessfully to calm himself down. Each time he achieved equilibrium, the teachers and aides would try to put academic work in front of him, and then he would melt down again. It became obvious that while everyone was trying everything possible and truly seemed to want him to be successful, Will was still incredibly stressed and wasn’t learning anything.

“Well, I know you aren’t going to want to hear this, as it provides absolutely nothing in the way of concrete advice, but here goes: The problem with school is school.” She tucked a strand of long, dark hair behind her ear. “School will always be a square hole, and it will always be a challenge. Point-blank. Some districts might work more with you, on shaping that square to be more round for your kid, but it will always be a square, just in another name.”

I nodded slowly and chewed on the side of my lip. I knew this. It was becoming more evident each day.

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