My Heart's Home by Kris Michaels

Author:Kris Michaels [Michaels, Kris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: KMRW LLC

Chapter 11

Mercy watched as the coroner hauled Dina out of her shelter. She'd asked Dezzy to stay with Dina's kids, Jamal and Shelly, who were sitting on a log opposite of Punt. Punt, bless him, was trying to keep them occupied and put himself between the kids and the coroner. A plainclothes officer stepped up to the crowd of women, and she stepped back, dropping her eyes.

"Does anyone know her name?"

"Dina." One of the others said her name.

"Last name?"

The guy looked up, and Mercy averted her eyes but spoke, "Think it was Johnson."

"Okay, thanks." The man flipped his notebook shut and started to turn away.

"Mister, she has kids."

The man turned back and glanced at the shanty. "How many and where are they?"

Another woman answered. "Two. A boy and a girl.” She pointed to where Punt was telling a growing crowd of children a story, his hands and face animated as he spoke.

"I'll take them into the hospital and get social services to come get them. Any idea if there are relatives?"

Mercy snorted to herself. If there were relatives, maybe Dina wouldn't have been here, and perhaps she wouldn't be dead. No one spoke.

The cop sighed. "Yeah, that was a pretty stupid question, wasn't it?"

Several women chuckled quietly. "All right." He pulled out his cell phone and made a call using numbers to talk. She'd heard Ian and his friends use that type of language when they were bullshitting over beers. The cop's voice changed. "Yeah, two kids. I'll transport to Baptist General. Call the social workers in." There was a pause, and the man snapped, "I don't give a shit if it is Thanksgiving. These kids lost their mom. The least those social workers can do is get them into a home so they don't freeze to death. The conditions here are worse than deplorable."

He turned and gazed at the women standing near him. Like Mercy, they all dropped their heads. She spun and headed back to pick up Dezzy and go back to the tent. The officer's scorn burned like acid. He'd convicted all of them of being bad parents without knowing their story, without understanding that most of them were doing everything they could to protect their children.

When she drew close, Dezzy glanced in her direction. Mercy nodded to the tent, and Dezzy got up to join her. It was Thanksgiving. How had she not known that? Well, it wasn't like she had a calendar. It was their second Thanksgiving since becoming homeless. She glanced at the sky. Without being able to see the sun, she had no idea what time it was. The lines for the soup kitchens that made Thanksgiving dinner would no doubt be longer than the food could sustain. Mercy had saved a sandwich from their bag lunches yesterday. They would share that. The bread would be stale, but the peanut butter would be good protein.

"Mom, how did Dina die?" Dezzy asked when they were settled in the blankets and sharing the only food they'd have today.

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