The Battered Heiress Blues by Van Dermark Laurie

Author:Van Dermark, Laurie
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781621101512
Published: 2012-04-13T07:00:00+00:00

13

Mattie and I spent our days romping through the big house, finding new ways to play with old objects that belonged to my mom. He loved to take things apart. We spent several days dismantling an old typewriter. Then, we broke down a beat up radio that no longer worked. He was very good with screwdrivers. As each piece was removed, he laid it out to the side in some order that I didn’t understand. His typical inventory was left undisturbed. We simply stepped over the pieces as we moved through the rooms. This mechanical work usually occupied our mornings.

After lunch, we would take a walk to the chapel. I would try to organize my thoughts and pray as he ran through each pew. I prayed for that little boy with so much heart and conviction that I was almost brought to tears on occasions. Sometimes, after my prayers, we’d go in to the cemetery to sit with Connor and my mom. While I held down the bench, with my ever growing girth, Mattie would step into the fountain and walk in circles around the statue of Jesus. The fountain had become almost coin-free thanks to him. He didn’t like them cluttering up the bottom. I thought about getting some fish, but I wasn’t sure if the change would go over well.

Therapy consumed our afternoons. The evenings that he stayed over were special to me. We’d pop popcorn and I’d watch old movies while he colored in his sketch pad. Before mid way though the flick, he’d be sound asleep on a mountain of crayons in my bed. I lay next to him, watching his chest rise and fall, envisioning a life full of adventure and love for us all. Gabe had placed his happiness in the palms of this little boy’s hands. Apart from Mattie, he would have no joy. His contentment with Mattie’s current level of functioning made me admire him all the more. The same big dreams that I held for Connor, I now held for Mattie.

I was still unclear as to why a good God would inflict such a mystery on an innocent child. Gabe was in a better place of acceptance than me. I was struggling to find peace with losing Connor. I was still sad and depressed, but I was fighting the good fight, and getting on with life for the sake of the baby. Gabe trudged through difficulties every day. Nothing was ever easy with Mattie, but Gabe continued to remain strong and assured of better days ahead. I was starting to believe that Mattie would come back to us. I prayed night after night for God to unlock his world. Was he hearing me? Would he see him amongst all the other hurts and sorrows of the world and heal this one particular boy? I was betting on a miracle.

Horse therapy was interesting. I had been taking Mattie for several weeks. The horse trainer was wonderful with the kids, but I didn’t love the therapist.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.