Read Online When Joy Came to Stay by Karen Kingsbury - Free Book Online

half-crazed even to her. “Hello?” Her heart raced and she was assaulted by a wave of nausea.
    “Mrs. Stovall?”
    “Yes, I’m late to get the boys. Are they okay?” Her words spilled out in a panicky blur.
    “Uh…yes. They’re back at school. They waited at the bus stop for thirty minutes, and apparently one of your neighbors verified you weren’t home. She contacted the school, and we sent the bus back out.”
    This was crazy. She was losing her mind. Everything she was doing proved that. She needed to be honest, ask for help. Maggie’s mind raced.
    “I…my car…” She cast a frustrated glance upward, grasping at anything that might sound logical. “It…my car broke down and I…I was just going to call and see…make sure they were okay.”
    The school secretary hesitated. “I had to contact Social Services, Mrs. Stovall. These children are wards of the state and anytime something like this happens…”
    What was she insinuating? That Maggie was an abusive foster mother? That she and Ben were no better than the foster parents she referred to in her column? Maggie thought of how she’d failed even to tuck the boys in the night before, and a murky cloud of fear suffocated her.
Get a grip
, Maggie.
Come on
. Her racing pulse was causing her body to tremble, making it difficult for her to speak.
    How could I have forgotten the boys?
    “What did…what did Social Services say?”
    “They said these kinds of things happen and they made a note of it.” The woman paused again, and Maggie could hear disapproval in her tone, almost see the indignation on her face. And if the officer had taken her name…She couldn’t bring herself to think about it.
    “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Please tell them I’m coming.” Maggie hung up the phone and steadied herself. How
could
I
forget them? I love those boys. They may not be worth much in the eyes of society, but right now I’m all they have. And
I
let them down.
    You’re a wretch! Worthless. The voice in her head had changed from doubt and discouragement to a devilish hiss. No one would notice if you drove off a cliff, Maggie Stovall.
    Forget about it
, Maggie.
Think about something else.
    Images shot through her mind—the blond girl, the onions in her shopping cart, the policeman—as Maggie pulled into the school parking lot, she was horrifyingly aware that the sense ofapproaching doom was worse. It clawed at her with every step, making it nearly impossible for her to breathe as she found her way inside the school, comforted the crying twin boys, and led them back to the car.
    When they were buckled in, Maggie rested her head on the steering wheel and began to cry, too. At first the sobs were muffled, but within a few minutes she was wailing, terrified by the despair that seemed to be sucking the life from her.
    Where am I? Why am I weeping in the school parking lot and why can’t I think clearly?
    “Mrs. Stovall, what’s wrong?” It was Casey and he’d stopped his own crying.
    Oh no…I’ve scared him.
    She straightened in her seat and quickly wiped her eyes. The child’s question cleared the fog and brought everything into focus again. She was crying because she’d been so busy looking for a little girl that didn’t exist she’d forgotten her foster boys at the bus stop. She was crying because thirty minutes ago she’d been on the verge of being arrested and losing everything she had ever worked for over the past seven years.
    And she couldn’t think clearly because she was going crazy What other explanation could there be?
    “I’m fine, honey.” Her voice was still trembling, but she glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a relieved look cross the twins’ faces.
They believe me. Good. Now we can go home and have a normal night.
    Maggie pulled out of the parking lot and headed east toward their neighborhood, fighting off another bout of tears. Normal? It had been months since she had felt anything close to normal. Most likely, she’d