Chapter 49

Laurie was quieter after Daddy left, working with me finding homes for all of her dolls and stuffed animals. She asked if it was OK to put her Raggy Ann next to mine and we did a little shuffling so the two would fit on the same shelf.

I was surprised at the number of them as well as how well taken care of they were. Vivian had talked about being homeless and living out of her car and I had no idea how long things had been that way. I'd assumed for most of Laurie's life, but there were too many toys for a couple living in a car. There just wouldn't have been room for all of them.

Laurie's a wonderful kid, but there's just so much work you can put a three year old through. By the time the animals were put away, I knew it was time to think about taking a break.

The bottom of her toy box was held together will two inch wide clear tape. I told her to come with me and I took it into the kitchen, then got a cutter out of the junk drawer and sliced through the tape and folded up the box.

"Where am I going to put my toys, Jill?"

"Laurie, we just put them on the shelves in your bedroom. That's their new home."

"But what about when I have to leave?"

"Honey, you won't have to leave. This is your home now."

"Really? Forever?"

"I don't know about forever. I bet when you get older like me or Mama Wanda you'll find you want to live someplace else. But I can guarantee you that as long as you want to live here, you can."

"What about when it's time to move?"

"I don't know, Laurie. My Daddy got this house when I was a little older than you are and I've lived here ever since then. I just moved in with Jack a little while ago. I'm not saying you'll live in this house as long as I did, but you might. If Daddy and Wanda get married and we get some brothers and sisters, maybe there won't be room for everybody and you'll have to get a bigger place. If that happens, you won't be left out, believe me."

She looked a bit more settled but I could see she was still thinking about it.

"Hey, I'll tell you what. It's time to take a break from all this stuff. Do you want to ride your scooter or your bike?"

"My bike."

"OK. Let's go out to the garage."

We got the bike and took it out the back of the garage onto the patio. I had her ride back and forth a couple of times to make sure she could handle it OK by herself.

"Have you got a helmet and pads for your knees and elbows?"

"Uh uh."

"OK. We'll get those later. That means you can't ride in the street. There's a parking lot down the hill where you should be able to."

"Where?"

I kneeled down next to her, put one arm on her shoulder and pointed with the other. "Down there. See the big flag at the bottom of the hill?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, there are some stores down there. And there are parking spaces where people park their cars while they're shopping. There won't be a whole lot of people shopping at this time of the day so we should be able to find some place for you to ride. You think you can walk that far?"

"Uh huh."

I steered the bike with one hand and held onto Laurie with the other as we walked down the hill, staying on the sidewalk.

"Have you ridden your bike a lot?"

"When I got it for Christmas we lived in a partment and there was a alley in back. Sometimes Mommy or one of my uncles would take me down there and teach me to ride. I used to have these little wheels on the back so I wouldn't fall over."

"Training wheels."

"Yeah. I got good so we took them off. Then we had to move and that manager was real mean and I couldn't ride anywhere. The next time we moved we had some swings and a slide and there was a place I could ride. Mommy or one of my uncles took me riding there a lot. Then Mommy got sick and she couldn't work and we had to put all our stuff in the storage place. Mommy took me there sometimes and let me ride my bike or my scooter."

We were down at the bottom of the hill. Directly across from us was a post office with the big flag in front. Across the street from the post office was a small strip mall. Not your usual run down mall with the 7-11, laundromat and bar. There was an upscale Italian restaurant with one door for dining and another for takeout, an auto parts store, a place to rent DVDs, CDs and computer games, a jewelry store, a women's dress shop, a coffee house and a Baskin Robbins.

We crossed a couple of streets and found a place in the strip mall at the edge of the parking lot that was empty. Laurie had good control of the bike and was able to turn around without having to stop. I let her ride back and forth for close to a half hour before I called out.

"Hey, Laurie. How about an ice cream?"

"OK."

I checked for cars, then started walking toward Baskin Robbins. Laurie caught up with me, then stayed with me by making wide sweeps back and forth. We leaned her bike up against the window when we got to the store.

We ended up sharing a banana split, sitting across the table from each other, her bike right next to us on the other side of the window.

It took a cup of water and a half dozen napkins to get the excess off her face and hands. When she was cleaned up, I lifted her so she could get a drink from the water fountain, then took one myself.

I decided to stop in the video store. It had been at least six months since my last visit.