Twenty Wishes (Blossom Street #5)(38)

Sitting at her small kitchen table, Anne Marie inhaled a deep, calming breath. Elise Beaumont had a lot to answer for—and she planned to let her know it. This Lunch Buddy business had become a far more complicated proposition than Anne Marie had been led to expect.

She liked Ellen and she was happy to help—well, happy might be an exaggeration. She felt obliged to help, especially since the child’s grandmother claimed she didn’t have anyone else to ask. But in the morning, Anne Marie was driving Ellen to school and getting the name of the contact person listed for emergencies.

This was standard practice. The school would have the name of a responsible adult who’d take Ellen while her grandmother was in the hospital. Someone far more qualified than Anne Marie. Someone better equipped to look after a frightened child.

Anne Marie had her own problems. And as much as she wanted to help, she wasn’t prepared to be the child’s guardian for more than one night.

Chapter 12

Anne Marie woke before the alarm buzzed at seven and discovered Ellen sitting up in bed petting Baxter and talking to him in a voice that quavered slightly.

“Good morning,” Anne Marie said as cheerfully as she could. She stretched her arms high above her head.

Ellen didn’t respond.

“Would you like some orange juice?”

The girl shook her head.

“Are you sure?”

Ellen nodded.

“I’m going to take Baxter for a short walk. Do you want to come?”

“Okay.” Ellen climbed out of bed and sat on the floor, where she’d left her backpack. While the child got dressed, Anne Marie prepared a pot of coffee and put on a pair of sweat pants and a fleece top.

Her usual morning routine was to take Baxter out while the coffee brewed, getting a few minutes of exercise at the same time. Their route never varied: down Blossom Street for two blocks, crossing over to a small park, going around the park twice and then back. The entire walk took twenty minutes. Once she was home again, Anne Marie always showered, changed clothes and did her hair and makeup. On a good day, everything could be accomplished in under an hour.

Ellen was ready by the time Anne Marie finished her first cup of coffee and pulled on her jacket.

“Would you like to hold the leash?” she asked.

“Yes, please.”

As they headed outside, she asked Ellen a few more questions but the girl remained glum and uncommunicative. She wanted to ask Ellen what was wrong but figured it was obvious. The poor kid was worried about her grandmother, of course, and her own future. Anne Marie couldn’t blame her for that, so she decided to tread carefully. If Ellen didn’t want to talk, she shouldn’t have to.

“When I take you to school this morning, I’m going to see the school counselor,” Anne Marie said as they returned to the apartment.

“Okay.”

“Do you have any relatives close by?”

“My aunt Clarisse.”

That was a big relief, although Anne Marie had to wonder why Ellen’s grandmother hadn’t called her instead. Of course, there could be any number of reasons. Clarisse might’ve been out of town or at work or not answering her phone or…she ran out of excuses.

Anne Marie was confident that as soon as Clarisse learned that Dolores had been hospitalized, she’d be eager to have Ellen. Some of the tension left her now that she had the name of a responsible adult who’d step in and take care of the child.

When they entered the apartment, Anne Marie checked her watch. Twenty-four minutes so far. That was good, especially with an eight-year-old in tow.

“What would you like for breakfast?” Anne Marie asked as they stepped into the kitchen.

Ellen shrugged.

“I don’t have any kid cereals, but I do have shredded wheat. Would you like that?” Ellen had to be hungry, since she’d gone without dinner the night before.

“Okay. Thank you.”

While Anne Marie got two bowls, the cereal and milk, Ellen made her bed and brushed her hair. It was straight and dark, parted in the middle with bangs that needed to be trimmed. If she’d had any little-girl hair clips, Anne Marie would’ve used them.

Ellen ate only a small portion of her breakfast and then placed her bowl in the sink. It was a bit early to drop her off at school, but Anne Marie wanted to be sure she had plenty of time to talk to the counselor.

“Are you ready to go?” she asked.

“Yes,” Ellen replied. “Will you find out about Grandma Dolores?”

“I’ll phone the hospital this morning,” Anne Marie promised. She’d do it before ten, when the bookstore opened.

When Anne Marie and Ellen arrived at the school, the playground was already crowded with youngsters. The yellow buses had started to pull up, and students in bright jackets leaped down the few steps, like water cascading over a ledge. They all wore gigantic backpacks that threatened to topple them.

“Would you show me where the office is?” Anne Marie asked Ellen. She wanted the little girl to feel needed.

“Okay.” Ellen silently led the way down the school’s wide corridor.

“Would you like to play with your friends now?”

Ellen hesitated as if uncertain.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Anne Marie assured her. “I’ll call about your grandmother and let you know later.”