“Mom, what’s that?” Rae pointed as they neared the Nature Center.
Frankie looked and the thought of being happy skittered away.
“What in the world...?” Ben quickened his pace.
A group of people stood by the entrance of the center and milled about, talking loudly and asking one another questions that could not be answered.
The door was barred shut and the building had been brutalized with wild streaks of red and black. Most chilling of all was the proclamation painted across the side—I HATE EVERYBODY!
Frankie felt Ben grab her hand. She looked quickly at his face and saw that it had been an unthinking gesture.
“It’s getting worse,” he said.
Ben hadn’t meant to grab Frankie’s hand, but when he saw her face turn white with shock, he wondered if he’d have to put his arms around her to keep her steady on her feet.
Then she stabilized and immediately concerned herself with Rae.
“I’m so sorry, Sweet Pea,” she said to her daughter, whose eyes were welling up with the cruel disappointment of the situation.
Frankie excavated her hand from Ben’s and gathered Rae into a hug.
“Shh,” she said gently, patting Rae’s back. “I know you’re disappointed, but we’ll find something else to do.” Above Rae’s head, Frankie’s face was stricken and Ben could see her willing herself to stay strong for her daughter.
Ben fought a surge of anger and frustration. No one needed this vandalism to ruin and complicate their summers. Why was God allowing this to happen when he’d had such a simple hope—just to have a chance to feel right with his father again? And it was clear that Frankie needed something from the summer for her and Rae, too. Even if it was just to relax and have fun, why couldn’t they have that? Was it too much to ask?
He wondered how he could best offer comfort to them, and then Al shifted restlessly beside him and made a rumbling, whining noise in his throat.
“That—that—girl.” He pointed at Rae.
“Yes, she’s sad.” We’re all sad, he wanted to add, and maybe the saddest thing of all was that there was a time that he would have understood—a time when he would have been the first to offer comfort—but now he didn’t understand at all.
Ben looked around, assessing the situation. He wanted to ask for details, to see if anyone there had seen or heard anything suspicious before this latest incident. He patted the pockets of his shorts, hoping he would find something he could give to his dad to keep him preoccupied. He spotted three stones on the ground of similar size and shape. He helped Al to get crouched down and demonstrated how to put the stones in rows.
“Have you heard anything, Brent?” he asked one of the men standing nearby whom he’d known for several years.
“Not much. But some kids were walking home after the late show and they say it was fine when they passed it. That would have been around eleven thirty last night.”
“Is there damage to the inside? Is that why the doors are barred?” His building contractor’s mind automatically began to speculate and make assessments.
Brent shrugged helplessly. “Can’t say for sure. Probably, and if there is, well, we all know that means this has gone from inconvenient to something much worse. All I know right now is that there are a lot of very disappointed kids.”
“I know,” Ben said grimly. Was this his time to step up and fill the void that his dad would have filled? Was he meant to offer a solution or at least some comfort and reassurance?
Please guide me, Lord.
* * *
A quick glance told Ben that his father was still occupied with the stones. His gaze then sought out Frankie and Rae and he saw that they were engaged in conversation with the volunteer who’d had the run-in with Al.
Anxiety nudged at him, as he thought of the unfortunate incident involving his father. He wanted to make sure the volunteer wasn’t going to harass Frankie. At the same time, though, he wasn’t sure how long he could trust the reprieve from his father’s demands.
Al scooped up the stones, looked at them a moment and then began to line them up again, carefully, one by one. Ben took the opportunity to make his way quickly to Frankie.
“Is everything okay here?” he asked, keeping his tone light as he searched Frankie’s face for any signs of additional stress.
But when she turned to acknowledge him, her face was soft, her eyes bright.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m just having a nice chat with Lydia here.”
Lydia nodded at Ben and had the good grace to look chagrined.
“I recognized Frankie from the other day,” she confessed. “I wanted to find you and apologize. I feel horrible about the way I acted.”
“Apology accepted,” Ben said. “I usually keep close tabs on him, but he slipped away from me that morning, so I apologize for what happened, too. I know Dad’s outbursts can be frightening but he can’t help it.”
“I realize that now,” Lydia said. “Frankie here was helping me understand a few things about the disease. You’re lucky to have a friend who cares so much about you and your dad.”
Ben’s eyes sought Frankie’s and he was surprised when she blushed, but couldn’t help feeling a bit pleased about it. He told himself that was only because it was nice for anyone to discover they had support.
“I know,” he said softly. “We are very lucky.”
“Well, again, I am sorry,” Lydia said. “It’s no excuse, but things really have been stressful around here. Everyone is on edge, not knowing who to trust, wondering who’s going to get hit next.” She shook her head ruefully. “I guess we got our answer this morning.”
Frankie put her hands on Rae’s shoulders. Rae, Ben thought, looked like a sad and deflated balloon compared to her buoyancy of just a few minutes ago.
“Isn’t there somewhere else they could teach a class,” he asked, “even if it’s just art and they’re not able to build the displays?” He thought for a moment and snapped his fingers as realization struck him.
“What about over at the library? They have extra rooms over there. One of them should work for an art class.”
“I’ll go ask,” Lydia said. With a decisive nod she headed off.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get this fixed,” Ben told Rae.
Above her daughter’s head, Frankie’s face showed her disconcertment.
“We?” she asked.
“I just thought...”
“Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Ben couldn’t help the humor that quirked his mouth. “Think?”
She rewarded him with a roll of her expressive brown eyes.
“Please don’t think that you have to fix everything for us.”
“I didn’t think it would hurt to ask if other arrangements could be made.” He scanned the group and located his father. “I have to get back to Dad. I hope Rae gets to do her art today. I know how much she was looking forward to it.”
“We’ll