Matt wanted to reach out and hold her, touch her and tell her he would take care of whatever was bothering her, but he didn’t and besides, it wasn’t appropriate anyway. He kept the kids busy with their meals and answering all of their questions about Montserrat. Renee always seemed to go into a shell when her mother was around but now she was asking him direct questions about the beaches, schools and what kids her age did for fun. He didn’t think Lee heard a word they said or noticed her sullen child was now rambling like a talk show host. Lee was eating that fish as if her life depended on it and every now again looked over to check on Nandie, who had both hands in her meal. He whispered another silent praying asking for guidance and the ability to help this family anyway God would allow Him to.
After lunch, Matt kept his promise and took Lee to reconnect the phone service. She’d wished she could have afforded internet. That would have been an easy way to keep the kids distracted and connected to their friends in the UK but she didn’t have cash for extras right now. Hopefully that would change soon.
The kids scrambled out of the truck as soon as Matt pulled up the hand brake and would have made a b-line for the swing if Lee hadn’t ordered them to turn around and tell him thank you. Even Nandie wanted her turn on the swing and Renee sat her in her lap and they swung together. Lee smiled and felt a burden lift as she watched Renee smile. That was all she needed to make this day okay, was to see her eldest daughter smile.
“She’s going to be okay,” Matt assured her. “Renee is smart, a bit angry but she loves you and wants to be where you are. She senses you aren’t as confident as you usually are so that is making her uncomfortable. You settle that in your heart and she will settle down.”
“So you are a child psychologist too?” queried Lee.
“I’ll show you all of my degrees in arm-chair psychology when you have time,” he responded with a smile.
Lee hadn’t moved out of the seat and she knew she should and she wanted to say thank you but the words didn’t come.
“You put your tongue between your teeth and make the TH sound,” he said reading her mind, which made her burse out laughing. “Wow, I like the sound of your laughter. I hope you will find many more reasons to do that Lee.”
“Thank you Matt. I wanted to say a lot more than thanks as it seems inadequate for all you’ve done so far,” she said.
“You are welcome. My mother would smack me if I’d been less than helpful to you. By the way she should be by later to see you and the kids,” he replied.
“I’m looking forward to that. Anyway I won’t keep you and thanks for everything,” she said reaching for the door handle.
“Lee, I’m going off island in the morning and will be gone for a couple of weeks. If you don’t mind I would like to call you and check on you and the gang from time to time,” Matt made the request unsure of her response.
“I know they would like that and an adult voice in my world is always welcome,” she laughed. She hoped she’d covered her disappointment at hearing he was travelling out of her voice and face. Her mother had always been able to tell when she was lying or in pain cause she couldn’t fake to save her life.
“I don’t mind and I really want to Lee,” he answered.
Lee opened the door and got out. “Have a great afternoon and a productive trip.”
Matt shouted a good bye to all of the kids and drove off as Lee walked towards them. Renee vacated the swing and offered it to her and Nandie was quick to extend her arms for a ride along. Lee embraced Nandie and held on for dear life. She wasn’t big on having her feet off the ground, doing things that she didn’t know how to handle and control. Montserrat was that right now. She was out of her depth and hadn’t a clue how to dig herself out.
What did she know about property development? What was she going to do for money if one way or the other she didn’t learn? Even if she was going to sell the land, she needed to understand enough about the business that she didn’t give it away. Sigh. Her thoughts began to make her tense and she was no longer enjoying the swing. She stopped and went into the house, taking Nandie with her. It was time for her nap anyway.
Filed under: 30-Day Challenge
