A Special Kind of Different by Holly Jacobs

Author:Holly Jacobs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ilex Books

ANNA HEADED to Ceelie’s with a bottle of wine and wedge of brie in hand. Ceelie answered the door with a phone to her ear and a box of crackers tucked under her arm. “Yes…Uh-huh…”

Anna left her friend to her conversation, went into the kitchen and found the bottle opener and the wine-glasses, then poured them each a glass. She was busy setting up the cheese when Ceelie joined her, no longer on the phone.

“Want the good news or the bad news?” Ceelie asked by way of a salutation.

“Your choice.”

“The good news is, the new house got the variance from the zoning board.”

Anna tried to muster up some enthusiasm and pasted a smile on her face. It felt brittle and fake, but it was the best she could do. “That isn’t just good news, it’s great news. Now, I’m almost afraid to ask about the bad news.”

Ceelie took a sip of the wine. “The neighbors are in an uproar and protesting it. They have a petition and claim a group home in their neighborhood will lower their property values.”

“Oh,” was all Anna could think to say as the news sank in. “Did they know we aren’t talking a large number of residents? There’s only three?”

“I don’t know what they know, but they’re firmly against the idea.”

“Oh,” Anna said again. She took a fortifying swallow of her wine. “So now what?”

“We all have to appear before City Council. They’ll get to present their case, we’ll present ours, and Council will decide.”

She felt sick to her stomach and she pushed the wineglass away. “This is going to be a day for the record books.”

“What else happened?” Ceelie had that mom quality in her voice. The tone that said, tell-me-everything-and-I’ll-try-to-make-it-better.

“Colm took his first solo excursion on a bus.” This announcement about a client would normally be accompanied by a huge sense of elation. Not this time.

Ceelie smiled. “Great. That’s a real milestone. He’s making such big strides because of you.”

“No. It has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with Colm himself.”

Ceelie’s smile faded. “So what’s the problem, Anna?”

“He made a transfer mistake and ended up at the wrong stop.”

“He’s okay?”

Anna nodded. “He’s fine. He did everything right. He called me, then waited for the next bus and asked for help.”

Ceelie reached across the counter and patted her hand. “So why do you look like someone kicked a puppy.”

“I feel like somebody did.”

“Liam?” Ceelie guessed.

“Liam,” Anna confirmed. “He wasn’t happy at all. He blamed me and he had every right to. I’ve let things with him get out of hand. It’s interfering with my working relationship with the family.” Her relationship with Liam had influenced her decisions—that wouldn’t do.

“Anna, that was Liam’s fear talking. He was worried about his brother. You know that families are like that. That’s why we’re so important. We can look at our clients objectively.”

“I’m afraid I can’t with Colm. He’s different. Special.”

“And so is his brother,” Ceelie said softly.

She didn’t deny it. Ceelie would see right through her if she tried to fudge the facts.

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