Read Online Life Happens Next by Terry Trueman - Free Book Online Page A

“schoo” and Mom is getting ready to take me to my schoo … I mean my school.
    The doorbell chimes. Rusty barks like a maniac until Mom shushes him and says, “Lie down,” which he does as she answers the front door.
    I can’t tell who’s here until Mom walks into the kitchen, followed by a uniformed officer of the Seattle Police Department. He’s a young-looking guy, in his early twenties, and even though my mom looks pretty much like your typical suburban housewife, this young cop actually has his hand resting on the handle of his gun. His eyes shift back and forth across the room, like he’s expecting to be attacked at any second.
    Mom says, “You’re welcome to look around.”
    â€œThank you, ma’am,” the cop says in a stern no-nonsense voice. He adds, “We take emergency calls very seriously.”
    Mom says, “Yes, of course.”
    Emergency calls? What’s going on? Lately, Paul hasn’t been raging around as much, but did something make my brother lose his temper and go off on somebody again, the way he used to? Is Cindy okay? Maybe something is up with Dad?
    Mom says, “I’m so sorry about this.”
    But the cop ignores her and asks, “May I go downstairs?”
    â€œOf course,” Mom says. She pauses. Then she adds, “Debi left about ten minutes ago and should be at the North Neighborhood Community Center soon. You can go there and see for yourself that she’s okay.”
    Debi? What the hell?
    I hear them moving around downstairs, and in spite of Rusty’s whining I can still get most of what Mom is saying.
    â€œYes,” Mom says, “she lost her father a little over two months ago and has been with us … the change has probably been very traumatic … must have used the phone in the laundry room … I scolded her last night … ruining my albums …”
    Now I hear the cop: “We have to respond to any …”
    Mom again. “Of course … I’ll talk to her … I’m sure that …”
    Now they have disappeared deeper into the basement, probably into Debi’s room because I can’t hear them at all.
    Soon they come back upstairs to where I’m sitting and the policeman, who looks far more relaxed, says, “It’s good that she knows how to use 911, but she needs to understand that it’s for emergencies only.”
    Mom says, “Of course. I’ll talk with her about this when she gets home. I’ll make sure she understands.”
    The cop nods at Mom. “Everything here looks fine.”
    I’m thinking, “Hey officer, if I could speak, I’d tell you all about Debi. Sometimes she has her moods, but she’s also funny and goofy, like her red cowboy hat that first morning, like her joking around with Cindy and Paul. She doesn’t do bad things from meanness. In fact, most of the time she doesn’t seem to have a clue what’s really going on.” Instead what comes from my mouth is “Ahhhhhhh.”
    He glances at me.
    Mom says, “My son Shawn.”
    The cop smiles. “I’ve got a son too.”
    Mom says, “Really? You look so young.”
    The cop blushes. “Well, he’s only eighteen months.”
    The police officer looks toward me and says, “Hi there.”
    When I don’t say anything back, Mom says, “Shawn’s profoundly disabled. He’s not being rude—he can’t understand or speak.”
    The cop nods and looks at the floor. He takes a quick breath. “You’ve got quite a handful here, ma’am.”
    Mom forces a smile.
    The policeman says, “If you ever have any problem at all, please don’t hesitate to call us, okay?”
    â€œI won’t, officer.”
    They are walking toward the front door when Mom adds, “If you need to check in later, feel free.”
    The cop says, “That won’t be necessary, ma’am.