Chapter 10
"Can I go to work with you today?" asked Kenny as Kerrie put a plate of eggs and buttered toast in front of him.
Kerrie's heartbeat increased. "Maybe another day. Mondays are rough."
Mabel snaked around her, putting a fork in Kenny's hand. "You know, there's a day group in Hazard I think he would like. It's full of people like Kenny that go and enjoy themselves. I can take him. Get him out of the house to interact with his peers."
"Hazard is 30 minutes away, Mabel," Kerrie replied tersely.
The thin, older woman stood up a little straighter. "So? He sits here for 30 minutes, or he sits in my car for 30 minutes. He needs out of this house, Kerrie."
She shook her head before the words finished, leaving Mabel's mouth. "It's not safe for him to go that far."
Mabel stepped beside her at the sink, where she was washing the frying pan she had cooked eggs in. "I'm not trying to tell you how to take care of Kenny, because you're a great provider for him, but maybe take a step back and look at the situation. I think you'd find the worry is more your issues than Kenny's."
Kerrie straightened her back and set her face, prompting Mabel to rush a reply to herself. "Kerrie, he needs more stimulation than SpongeBob. And you need a life outside of this house and the center. The day program accepts state insurance. I can call myself and get him approved. They'd even allow me to sit and wait on him so he's not left without someone he knows."
Kerrie bit back the lashing that was on the end of her tongue. Mabel was only helping, but Kerrie could not stomach sending him off 30 minutes away instead of keeping himsafe in their home. She shook her head again, rinsing the pan off, then placing it in the dish rack to dry. "I don't know, Mabel."
"How about I get him approved while you think about it? That way, if you decide to let him go, we already have it set up."
Kerrie opened her mouth but then was cut off. "It wouldn't hurt just to have it in place."
Glancing back at Kenny, who had a bit of egg already on his clean shirt as he ate, she considered the proposition. "You can set it up, but he doesn't go without my permission."
Mabel nodded her gray head. "Yes, of course. Thanks, Kerrie."
Kerrie was left to wash the last couple of dishes in peace. She didn't want to think about how quickly she turned down the idea of Kenny leaving the house. Mabel was one of the only people she trusted with Kenny on the planet. She wouldn't do anything to put him in harm's way. But ever since his heart attack, she kept adding more and more layers of protection. She couldn't live life without him. She might not be able to control what his heart did, but she could control keeping him safe outwardly, and their home was the safest place for him.
With a kiss on the cheek to Kenny and a quick hug to Mabel, she left those thoughts behind as she got in her truck, breakfast in her lunch box, and a thermos of coffee in hand.
As soon as Kerrie pulled up to The Church, she knew something must have happened over the weekend. Luke leaned against one of the four white pillars on the front stoop. The tired, disappointed look was all she needed to see to know it wasn't going to be good.
"Who did what, and what was it?" she asked as soon as she got out of her truck, it bumping up a little after she stood.
He chewed his bottom lip for a moment, then cast a glance at Sparrow. "A few guys from Sparrow were drunk as shit last night. Someone went to the store and got beer."
Dread filled her, lining her gut like lead. It was 7:45 on Monday morning, and she'd have to start it with this. "Which guys?"
"Bentley, Jones, and Cade."
"Shit, Jones is my new guy. Has he even been here a week?"
Nodding his head, Luke pushed off the pillar. "About a week, I think. Jones was the one that went to the store, and the other two just participated from what I understand."
"And they were the only ones?"
"Yeah, from the looks of it. There's not a lot of guys in Lower Sparrow right now."
Sighing, Kerrie shifted her thermos to sit in the crook of her other arm as she unlocked the front door. She was in for a long morning.
The morning staff meeting went about as well as she expected. The overnight staff report of the drinking incident was read aloud for everyone to hear. It was funny in an odd sort of way. Even though counselors had no control over what their clients did, it always felt a bit shameful when they acted out. Like their behavior reflected on them. The clients weren't children. They knew most only four weeks tops. They were grown men with free will, but still, there seemed to be a little cloud of responsibility hanging over the counselors' heads during those meetings.
The ultimate decision on what happened to those who broke the rules would be up to her and Wilson. Tyler would support whatever they decided and only give input if asked normally. Two were on Wilson's caseload, and the other was hers. All three were what they called "on legal," meaning they were court-ordered to complete the program or would have to finish out their remaining time in jail. Her client, Jones, would have at least nine months to lay down. He had two kids and a fiancée waiting on him back home and a job his soon-to-be father-in-law was holding for him if he completed the program. A lot was weighing on the kid's shoulders, and last night, he fucked it up. She hated this part of the job.
She walked up the steep steps to The Church's back door and opened it just as the clients were starting to leave their morning Reflection meeting. Some greeted her while others just nodded, and she let the three people who had been caught drinking walk by without mentioning anything. She would need to talk to Wilson first before addressing any of the problems. As she unlocked the door to her office, she could hear a clickety-click sound coming down the hallway and a feminine laugh.
Glancing over her shoulder, she caught a glimpse of the unmistakable silhouette of Bette Cooper, who was being accompanied by Luke down the hall. Her blonde hair was curled, bouncing lightly as she walked, and she wore a lilac buttoned blouse that Kerrie thought complimented her blue eyes. Her figure was subtle in a knee-length, flowy skirt accompanied by high heels. She looked so foreign in a world full of men and masculinity. A little rose among a sea of rocks.
