I ran my hand over the back of his head, marveling at my son’s emotional understanding and acceptance of others.“I totally get what you’re saying.”
“Luca’s cool though.Really great at drawing trains.”
"She probably should have just thanked you for the offer rather than let you know she’s not interested in seeing hummingbirds or robins,” I said.“Or at least delivered it differently.Her dad says they’re working on her delivery of things.”
“Yeah.I mean, I don’t know what birds excite her.Maybe she likes crows?”He started to kick around the Hacky Sack.“I did like that app though.It was cool.”
We were back under the madrona tree and the crow from earlier was gone.
“Can you download the app?Mabel said it was free.”
Nodding, I pulled out my phone and downloaded it.Then, we started to record the various birds in the surrounding trees, while my son taught me how to Hacky Sack and I ignored the unease in Lennox’s eyes when he discovered the wolfsbane.
My cousins and I had some decisions to make.
CHAPTER SIX
Lennox
“Youknow,Mabes,youcould have been a little kinder to Austin back there,” I said as we navigated the winding island roads toward home.“He was just trying to be helpful and kind.”
She was studying her sketchbook.
“Mabel Dawn,” I said with slight exasperation.“Don’t ignore me.”
“I’m not.I heard you.”
“Could you reply, please?”I brought down the visor to keep the sun from blinding me.My head was already pounding as it was.
“You didn’t ask me to.You simply told me that I could be kinder to Austin.Am I supposed to say something about that?”
Rubbing the bridge of my nose between my eyes with my thumb and forefinger, I did my best to keep my tone even but firm.“Maybe that next time you will try to think about how someone else might feel or why they might be saying or doing something, before you reply.You need tothinkabout others and their feelings before you speak sometimes.It can come across as abrasive.”
She lifted one boney shoulder, but didn’t look at me.“Fine.I’ll just say ‘thank you’ next time.”
“That’s better than what youdidsay, I guess.You still need to work on considering others, and their feelings though.Work on your delivery.”
“Why?”
I was in no mood to continue this discussion with her.It was a conversation we’d had probably a thousand times and would have a thousand more times.
“Who were you on the phone with earlier?”
Right.My phone call.
The reason for my rapidly growing headache.
“Dawn,” I said with a weighted sigh.The throbbing in my temples and forehead had now gone from intermittent to constant.Pounding so much that I could barely see the road clearly.I blinked a few times, then finally—because I couldn’t actually see the dash in front of me clearly anymore—I pulled over.“You need to drive.”
“I’m thirteen.”
“Almost fourteen.”
“That’s still not the legal driving age in the state of Washington.”
“Mabel—” I unfastened my seatbelt.“It’s fine.It’s an automatic.It’s not the freeway.We’re only like ten minutes from home.I just have a bad headache.I need you to drive.”
“It’s illegal,” she said again.“You could be arrested.Then I’d have two parents in jail.I’d be sent into foster care.Would they let me pick my foster parents?Or would I just be thrown into the next available house?Would it be here in Washington?”
