Read Online Who Is My Shelter? by Neta Jackson - Free Book Online Page B

to make an appointment with my doctor this week anyway. If I can get in tomorrow, I’ll call you, tell you when.”
    Tomorrow! I’d meant today. Now. This afternoon. But tomorrow was Monday. I had to work! Maybe I should tell him to call a cab.
    No, I’d promised. If I took him, then I’d know a doctor actually saw him. Well, all right. I’d take time off and take Philip to his stupid doctor, wherever that was.
    I stood up. “I better go. Is there anything you want me to do before I leave?”
    He closed his eyes, seemingly drained. But he gestured to a pile of his stuff on another chair. “Yeah. Take that robe back to whoever loaned it to me. And tell ’em thanks. But I didn’t get it washed. Would you—?”
    I picked up the brown robe. “Sure. It was Josh Baxter. He’s the one who loaned it to you. I’ll tell him.”
    I turned to go.
    â€œAnd, Gabby?”
    â€œYes?”
    The muscles in Philip’s face twitched, as if he was trying to control his emotions. “Tell Bentley thanks too. I think . . . he may have saved my life.”

chapter 7

    The boys got off to school in decent time the next morning—P.J. was still riding the city bus—and I came in to work a few minutes early, knowing I’d have to take some time off later in the day if Philip got an appointment. Even then the coffee pot in the kitchen was down to the dregs, and I had to make a fresh pot before I could settle down to work.
    I turned on my computer and squinted at the computer calendar. Second week of October. I typed in 8:30 p.m. House Mtg on Tuesday, thanks to Precious. She’d left a note taped to my apartment door last night saying Josh, Edesa, and Tanya had agreed to eight thirty Tuesday evening for a meeting if we could meet in 3A so Edesa could put Gracie to bed first. What about the other kids ? she’d written. Maybe they should be there too. They need to know the rules. I’ll see you then. My cousin’s in town from South Carolina and I’m going to hang with her tonight, maybe tomorrow too. Sabrina’s going with me. Ciao! Then she’d added, P.S. So what happened at church today ?
    I was just as glad she was “hanging” with her cousin for a couple of days. If and when I talked to Precious about Philip’s run-in with Fagan in that alley, I didn’t want the boys around to overhear.
    What else was happening this week? Last week had been a blur with Philip in the hospital and the boys wanting to go see their dad every day after school. His parents had flown in from Virginia and hovered in the hospital room a few days, which was awkward for everyone. We were all relieved when Mike Fairbanks had gone back to work and took Philip’s smother-mother with him.
    But in spite of all the hurly burly, there had been one huge, silent void.
    Lee Boyer hadn’t called me. Not once.
    My head sank into my hands. What did I expect? He’d wanted me to declare it was over with Philip, to let my husband mop up his own mess. But I couldn’t. Not right then. Not when Philip had just been worked over by some thugs and my sons were terrified for their father’s life.
    I squeezed back tears. Had I done the right thing to stand by Philip? Yes . Except I didn’t know I’d miss Lee this much. Had I fallen in love with him without knowing it?
    Raising my head, I let out a long sigh. Okay, Gabby, suck it up. You’ll never get anything done today if you start second-guessing about Lee . I blew my nose and focused on the computer calendar once again. Monday—staff meeting at ten . Hopefully Carolyn would show up and give a report on the afterschool program, which I thought was going well. Considering. We still had to decide whether to open it up to neighborhood kids whose parents had asked for the extra tutoring help. And it was time to talk about adding a GED program here at Manna House for our residents who still needed