Chapter 2

“Alright, in the morning, give him one blue pill, in the afternoon give him red, white at night, and if he acts up give him two greens, got that?” She didn’t wait for me to answer, and just pulled out her notepad to sign them out. I looked at the four medicine bottles sitting on the counter in a row, until my eyes focused on the greens. They were darker than his eyes, but not by much. I wondered what they could possibly do to him when he acted up.

“What are they?”

“What?”

“What are they? What are you having me give him?” I pointed to all of the pills. I couldn’t think of a reason for him to be medicated at all.

“They’re just medications to help him. You wouldn’t know what they are.” So, she thought I was stupid.

“Oh.” I wanted to ask again, but the woman went away to get something else from a different room. I picked up the bottle of green pills and shook it slightly, listening intently to the rattling of pills hitting the plastic walls of the clear bottle. I sat it down when the woman came back, and watched as the pills scattered and fell to the bottom of the bottle.

“He gets up at eight in the morning and goes to bed at nine o’clock. Don’t let him stay up late, because his whole system will be knocked off balance. And, don’t let him watch too much TV. He’s impressionable right now, and he might have a panic attack if he sees himself on television.” That last part made sense. She looked up at me for the first time during her little speech.

“Yes, m’am.” She then, dumped the pill bottles into a bag and began holding up objects that she had gotten from the other room.

“This is his nightlight. He’s afraid of the dark, so use it every night, no matter where you are. This is his ball,” She handed me a shiny blue ball, about the size of a softball, that reminded me of the crazy people in movies. “And it’s his favorite toy, so don’t lose it.” I nodded and took the bag from her, clutching it to my chest, and feeling around for the ball at the bottom.

“He has the rest of his things with him.” As she finished talking, the man from the day before brought Lance into the room. Lance had a backpack on, and his arms were wrapped around his chest, while he looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet along the bright white tile.

His hand was placed into mine, and I gently tugged him out of the building to my car without saying a word, both of our eyes focused on the grainy pavement below. I opened the door for him and sighed when he waited for me to tell him what to do. This really was going to be like taking care of an orphaned toddler.

~

“Come on inside, honey. I want to show you where your room is.” I stood at the open front door, attempting to coax him inside. He had gotten out of the car, but seemed to have trouble making it inside the house. He was scared to follow me, even though he had given me the flowers the day before.

After about five minutes, I sighed and started rubbing at my temples vigorously, when I suddenly got an idea. I reached into the bag that the woman at the hospital had given me, and pulled out the ball from it. I raised the blue orb up in the air over my head, watching him bite his lip as he followed it with his eyes.

“The room is blue, just like your ball, Lance. You’ll like it.” He finally started walking toward me, though hesitantly, and reached out to grab the ball from my hands, but I pulled it back. I wasn’t trying to be mean, but it was imperative that I get him inside the house.

“You can play with your toy after we put your things into you new room, Lance, okay?”

“Yes, m’am.” He lowered his eyes, but followed me willingly, anyway. I smiled at how polite he was.

~

Lance sat on the edge of the bed in my guest room, as I folded the clothes from his backpack, putting them away in a dresser.

“Do you like this room, Lance?” I turned around when there was no instant reply. He was sitting as still as he could, his eyes at his feet.

“Do you like it?”

“Blue’s my favorite color,” he whispered, almost inaudibly. I smiled and pulled his blue ball out from the bag.

“I like blue, too.” He smiled and caught the easy underhand that I tossed him. I watched as he climbed into the middle of the bed and sat happily with his toy clasped between his hands. His knuckles were white, and his eyes glimmered with an eerie innocence.

I smiled at those eerie eyes and laid my head against the window frame beside me. I glanced out the glass and sighed at what I saw. The pale green grass seemed to glimmer in the sunlight.

I heard a child’s giggle in a deep bass voice behind me, and realized that the glimmer of the grass was actually a scattering of white onion blossoms through my yard.

Chapter 3