Read The Popsicle Tree for Free Online

already has more kids than she can possibly handle, and Sarah and Sheryl really don’t get along all that well, and my dad can’t do it, being on the road as much as he is, so…”
    “So?” I prompted, knowing full well what the “so” meant, but not willing to let him off the hook so easily.
    His face reflected his anxiety over a perceived rejection, but he took a deep breath and forged ahead. “So I was wondering if it would be okay if we could take care of him while they’re gone.”
    I set my drink down on the coffee table and took his hand, looking into his face until his eyes finally came up to meet mine.
    “We both work, Babe.”
    “I know, but I was thinking we could put him in the same day care Kelly goes to. It would only be for ten days. Samuel and Sheryl will pick him up on their way back…and I haven’t seen Joshua for a long, long time, and I know you’ll love him, too, and you won’t have to do anything. I mean, I’ll watch him when we’re home, and…” His mounting anxiety was clear in his voice, and I couldn’t torment the poor guy any further.
    I squeezed his hand and kept my eyes on his. “So you told them we’d do it?” I kept my voice very calm.
    He looked momentarily startled, and shook his head.
    “No! I mean, I told them I’d have to talk to you first, and if you don’t want to do it I’ll understand, but if we don’t do it I don’t know what they’ll do. Maybe they’ll have to cancel their trip, or maybe they can buy another ticket and take him with them, but they haven’t had a vacation just the two of them since…well, I don’t think they’ve ever had a real vacation, and…”
    “Okay, Babe,” I said, with far more conviction than I felt. “Okay, we’ll do it if we can get Joshua into day care for those days.”
    Jonathan threw his arms around me and gave me a lung-emptying hug.
    “Thank you, Dick! I’m so glad I found you!”
    He released the hug and got up from the couch to go to the phone to call Wisconsin.
    So it’s only ten days, I told myself. You’ll survive.
    *
    While Jonathan was checking on dinner, I called Carlene and told her what I’d found out about her ex, Jan’s, being on vacation until Monday. I asked if she had received any further notes or harassment, and she said no. I was still curious as to why the phone had been disconnected, but didn’t bring it up.
    Jonathan came in from the kitchen.
    “Is that Carlene?”
    I nodded.
    “Can I talk to her?”
    “Sure.” I handed him the phone.
    “Can you go turn off the potatoes for me?”
    I nodded and went to the kitchen to do it. When I returned, Jonathan was writing something down on the inside cover of the phone book.
    “Thanks so much, Carlene. I’ll call them right now. Tell Kelly I said ‘hi.’ I’ll talk with you later. Bye.”
    Hanging up the phone he turned to me. “Can I call them right now, or should we wait until after supper?”
    By “them,” I was quite sure he meant the sisters who ran the day care center.
    “Maybe you should wait until after we’ve eaten,” I suggested. “Probably it’s their dinner time, too.”
    “Yeah,” he said, a bit reluctantly, “we should eat first.”
    *
    “So, exactly when are Samuel and Sheryl and Joshua coming?”
    “Didn’t I tell you?” He looked surprised. “I’m sorry! I was just so happy to know they were coming, I…”
    “That’s okay, hon. So, when?”
    “Well, Samuel actually asked for an extra day in addition to his extra week. They’ll leave Cranston a week from this Friday, be here sometime Sunday, then leave Monday. And if we can get Joshua in day care by then, they can come with us…or me, or whatever…when he goes in the first day. I’m sure he’ll be more comfortable his first day if they take him in. I just hope Happy Day will take him.”
    By the time we were about done with dinner I could tell, by frequent glances toward the living room, that Jonathan was chomping at the bit to make his phone call,