Chapter 28

Bonnie called Brent the minute she got back to The Residence.

"Guess what," she bubbled. "I found an apartment and it's wonderful."

"I'm glad to hear that," Brent answered with what seemed to be controlled enthusiasm.

"You don't sound glad. What's wrong?"

"I had a call from the school counselor today ... about Tim," he said quietly.

"Oh ... oh dear ... what was it about?" she asked, worried.

"I guess he hasn't been making much of an effort to get involved so far. I know it's only been a month, but Mrs. Paget, the counselor, said he was very withdrawn and uncommunicative. She wanted to get to the heart of the matter quickly before it became a bigger issue," Brent concluded.

"What's he been like at home?" Bonnie asked.

"Fine, as far as I can tell. I have a suspicion that he's lonely. Andy is away, I'm gone part of the time, and Scott is just getting going at Selkirk and is busy in his room most nights. I think he truly misses you and his friend, Nick," Brent offered. "There's no one here for him to connect with."

"What should I do?" Bonnie asked.

"Don't you mean we?" he asked.

"Sorry ... of course ... but ... what should we do?" she tried again.

"First, I'm going to meet with Mrs. Paget at the school tomorrow afternoon. Then I'll have a talk to Tim and see if he'll tell me what's bothering him."

"I wish I were there. He's never had a problem before, Brent."

"He's never been yanked out of his social environment before either. Adding to that, his mother is only home three nights a week. I don't think it should be a surprise that he's struggling a bit. I agree with Mrs. Paget ... we want to nip this in the bud," Brent stated.

"He must think I've abandoned him," she mused.

"Maybe, but I've been through this with and Andy and Scott. They adapted because that's the way things were going to be. However, I think we're getting ahead of ourselves. I think my meeting with the counselor tomorrow will give me some ideas of what we might do. I already have one, but I'll save it 'till I talk to Tim.

"I'll call you tomorrow, dear. I want to hear all about your meeting. Can I talk to Tim please? I won't say anything about this to him, OK?"

"Fine. I don't think he knows anything about Mrs. Paget's concerns. Keep it light, and then we'll see what happens tomorrow. Goodnight, love. Take care. We can talk about the apartment later," he said, then called Tim to the phone.

Afterward, Bonnie sat in her chair with her thoughts completely focused on Tim. Had he sounded down on the phone, or was that just her imagination? Was he headed for trouble, or could this be intercepted early? It was the first time that she had ever had any problem with Tim. She hadn't even been aware of it. Brent seemed to be handling it well. It was a blessing that he felt so responsible for a boy he was just getting to know.

Brent met with Vanessa Paget just after four the next afternoon. He was ushered into her office and she closed the door behind them.

"Thank you for responding so quickly, Mr. Gordon," she began. "I don't like to see young people have problems this early in the school year and not deal with them. They don't usually solve themselves."