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Chapter ThreeWhen Ryan turned one year old, the Atwood family's life picked up. Jim secured a steady laboring job at the local cement works. It was hot and dusty work, grueling and backbreaking at times. However, because of the nature of the work, the pay was good and the hours were regular. This enabled him to spend time with his two sons. He enjoyed taking them to the park, playing soccer with Trey and pushing little Ryan on the swings, so high that he squealed in delight, begging for more.
Jim's reliability did not go unnoticed at work and soon he was promoted to Foreman. He really felt that the Atwood luck was beginning to change. Even Dawn seemed to have pulled herself together, cooking regular meals and making sure the kids were well turned out, even if it was still in hand me downs. Jim would return home from work each evening, help Trey with his homework and read Ryan endless Thomas the Tank stories. The little boy spent his day in the backyard observing the goods trains as they chugged past on their way to Fresno railroad station. He had already told his Dad that he wanted to be a train driver when he grew up.
Trey was thriving on the attention from his father; loving the times they spent playing one on one in the backyard. He was a good kid, even fairly patient with his younger sibling, which is never easy for an eight year old. As Ryan grew from toddler to a pre schooler, Trey would sit with him at the kitchen table, feeding his desire to learn by teaching him his letters and numbers.
Ryan learnt quickly, his grasp for reading and writing beyond his years. He would beg Dawn constantly to take him to the public library where he could indulge his love of books. Eager at first, she would sit him on her knee as they negotiated the public transport system and they would spend an hour or so delving into the book boxes for Ryan's favorite stories. Then they would rush home, just before Trey arrived back from school.
But by the time Ryan hit four, Dawn had bored of doing the Mom thing. She began relieving the tedium of her life by drinking and playing cards with the neighbors, while Ryan amused himself in the yard, playing in the dust with his Spiderman figures. Sometimes he felt a little lonely and wished Trey was home from school, but he was a sweet natured kid and seemed content with the attention he received from his brother and father.
In the August of 1991 the Atwood luck turned on its head.