Author's Note: This note is to give a shout-out to Anthony Bannon (The Turbo Man), whom I've been helping to give C.O.P.S. information for his own fanfic. If you see this, you're very welcome for the information I provided to you, even though you never got to see that Mace's Romance episode. (I wish I did too.) I'm looking forward to seeing your story added to this subcategory someday – sooner than later – and judging your stories, too. (Winks)
Chapter 26
The next morning, Valerie drove to the agency looking confident, yet nervous. She could feel these emotions fighting in her soul. She was sure most, if not all, of those against her watched her appearance last night. She was expecting certain reactions from certain people. But she walked in to see Teresa looking emotional and concerned at her.
"Valerie!" she said. "Your appearance on Whitney Morgan's news show last night moved me!"
Valerie's fears immediately went away, and she laughed a little. "Really?" she asked. "You're not married or a mother."
"I know, but I thought your son looked so sweet and gentle when I first met him, remember?" Teresa reminded her. "The way you went on and on about your marriage, it just made me want to cry. Seriously, Valerie, if I had a child with the man I love, and that child ended up like yours, I wouldn't know what to do. Especially if I were single like you. I think I'd have to move in with one of my brothers. Or leave him with my parents while I worked."
Valerie could tell the once mean secretary wanted to be nice to her. But was this real, or was Teresa doing this to keep from being disciplined again? Part of her wanted to embrace, but to hold her like that in a public workplace looked so unprofessional. So she just said, "Thanks for the support, Teresa. You may be gossipy, but still, it's nice to know you haven't said I was a rotten mother."
"I don't think you're a rotten mother," Teresa assured her. "And I'm going to put a personal memo out to all staff about this right now." She went back to her computer and activated her word processor.
"You don't have to do that now," Valerie said.
"And yet, I should. I sat listening to Lancer and Sussex at those meetings about you, and they're right. You may be a skank at the moment, but you deserve more respect around here where your son is concerned." After she completed the basic information – the staff in the To line, her own name in the From line, the date and memo subject – she clicked on the writing field and asked, "So, um, which one of those C.O.P.S. do you want? Inquiring minds want to know."
"That will be none of your business until I've made that decision," Valerie immediately answered. "And you may want to quit blabbing everything you hear about my dates!" She clocked in, and was just about to leave to oversee a project, when Edwin Sams walked in.
"Valerie!" he said. "Listen, I saw your interview with Whitney Morgan last night, and I must say, I had a lot of mixed feelings."
"You did?" she asked.
"Yes," he answered. "Obviously, you were dealt an unfair hand when your husband dumped you. But do you know why your husband was hitting Jeremy and calling it discipline?"
She rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're siding with the one who deserves to burn in Hell. There was no reason for Jeremy to be treated like he was, and you know it!"
"He did it so Jeremy wouldn't feel like an outsider, or so that's what Tracey thinks. I don't want to sound like the family members who were cruel to you, but you're doing Jeremy a terrible disservice by not letting him function like a normal human being, especially in the discipline department. If you spank Jeremy for taking things that don't belong to him, or being disruptive, or getting into sprays and other things containing hazardous chemicals, things like that, then you'll help him to feel normal, which is what children like him desire."
Valerie started to get offended. "Well, you can tell Tracey that Jeremy will never be able to grow up normal, and that argument is a load of bull. Didn't you hear what I said about how he'll have his problems in his teen years, and how I don't expect him to make it to adulthood? You wouldn't be saying that if you understood it."
"Valerie, Jeremy won't grow up a be a functional member of society if you don't let him fit into society to begin with. Do you keep him carefully shielded in your house? Do you tell the caregivers to do the same?"
"No. He goes out to play sometimes, and other people love his company, too. He has two able-bodied friends named Brian and Tyler, who don't make fun of his condition. But that doesn't mean there aren't other able-bodied kids who won't."
"I'm guessing they're all the normal friends he has. Tracey also believes that your putting him in a special school for differently-abled children may have something to do with it. See, if you'd put him in a public or private school instead, then Jeremy could be on the same social level as normal children. Again, you're treating your special needs child like an outcast. I'm guessing this also contributed to his bad grades at his old school, your refusal to have him take part with an able-bodied class."
"Oh, like putting him in a public school here would change anything!" Valerie lamented. "In the last public school Jeremy went to, he got teased a lot because he was 'too dumb' for Science, advanced Math, and history. And sixth grade in the public system gets harder, as well as middle school and high school. Trust me, I've been there. Jeremy would not survive it, and also be more depressed because of increased bullying. His fifth-grade teacher revealed the bullying in my divorce. How would you like it if kids were calling your daughter 'retarded?' And another thing, Jeremy wasn't taking part with his class much in the last year because he was seeing in-school specialists!"
"Still, your discipline with him is inconsistent," Edwin insisted, "and there's obviously a lot of room for improvement." He retrieved his wife's business card from his inside jacket pocket. "Tracey would like you to see her for an appointment, so she can tell you how."
"Okay, you know what?" Valerie said. "I think I'm doing a good enough job with my son, whom I told you is a wonderful boy much of the time. And I think my child-rearing techniques as prescribed by his former doctor are sound." She ripped up the card, and threw the pieces back at him. "Thanks, but no thanks. Now if you don't mind, I have a billboard advertising project to oversee and I might be late." She rushed off as if she was leaving another bad date.
Teresa had been listening to them, then proceeded with her memo. "Don't look at me, Edwin," she said. "Valerie's damn tired of that garbage. Looks like you need to read this memo, too."
Several hours later, Valerie was standing with her project team, Gerinna Donalds and Stephen Flett. They were watching city workers paste an ad for Texas Pride jeans that they worked on. Four shirtless models photographed from abdominal and lower back to below the knees, showing front and rear views of the new client's jeans in colors of blue, black, brown and grey. They were looking to see if the ad was being applied straight. Valerie and Stephen were keeping professional looks, but noticed Gerinna was drooling over the models almost as soon as the first application went up.
"Oh, look at those trim stomachs and asses," she'd commented in a "ghetto" fashion. "Break me off a piece of those, big papa!"
Valerie had lightly slapped her on the side of her head. "I hope you're not going to act like that when we show this to Lancer and the client," she'd told her.
They were surveying for most of the morning now, the billboard being applied smoothly, the workers smoothing out the paper on the board. One more application to go. "Good job, you guys!" Valerie called. "We should be done by eleven-thirty!"
As the workers were finishing, Gerinna turned to Valerie and said, "Val, I just want you to know that I did see you on that Eye on Empire City show, and I just felt horrible for you. I now understand that Jeremy's discipline and learning problems were all your husband's fault, and all those cans of whoop-ass won't help anything. Perhaps they would if Tom hadn't shaken him at all to begin with. I just couldn't fathom me or my husband doing that to either of our two teen boys."
"Thanks, Geri," Valerie replied.
"If I ever criticized you for your lax parenting skills, I want you to know I'm sorry. Given all that your doctor said about him, your decision not to spank seems sound." Gerinna held out her hand to shake, and Valerie took it.
"You should've thought that out yourself through Mr. Sussex's lectures," she said, "rather than listening to Linda and Donna and everyone else."
Stephen decided to get involved in the conversation. "If your husband hadn't shaken your son, and did all those other things," he said, "would you have spanked him for misbehavior?"
Valerie thought it over. "Maybe if I thought his life was in danger, like running out into the middle of the street, or drinking the liquids you keep under the sink, or sticking his fingers in a socket. Stuff like that. I wouldn't be one of those warped, obsessive people who belt for the smallest things. I think it'd be cute if he experimented with my makeup at age three. For things like making big messes and hitting me, he'd get a firm lecture and locked in his room for time-out." Her co-workers smiled with slight approval.
When the final piece of the billboard ad was put up and smoothed out, Valerie smiled, and gave a "thumbs-up" to the workers. "Perfect!" She took out her cell phone to call Mr. Lancer.
"The billboard sign is ready to be judged by the Texas Pride jeans people," she said. "We're all at the assigned spot for this. You can give them a call, and meet us here in about half an hour."
At close to eleven-thirty, they saw Mr. Lancer's car drive up to the project team. Valerie greeted the client, Jim Kirkland – fiftyish, brown hair starting to go grey, black trenchcoat over a grey suit to keep warm – and said, "Mr. Kirkland, it took a only a few days to complete, but it was worth the effort. I think you'll love it."
"Excellent, Ms. Boston," Kirkland said. "So what concept have you done?"
"With the four pairs of men's jeans you gave us to work with," she explained, "we've recruited four male models from an agency who could fit all the pairs, and show them from both views." She introduced the ad to them. "We photographed one model at a time, first from the front view to show what type of button and fly the jeans have, then the all-important back view to see how the jeans will fill out the rear. We understand that the rear is what customers largely care about when buying a new pair of jeans."
"Excellent techniques!" Kirkland complimented. "But can you explain the skin showing above the jeans? Having the models wearing shirts would've been more appropriate."
"That was my idea, sir," Gerinna admitted. "They were originally wearing shirts, but I made them take them off. I know this makes it look like something of a Calvin Klein ad, but I thought it'd be a good idea to show off the jeans with some kind of sex appeal, so that the person wearing the jeans would feel like one of those sexy wranglers or drifters, to put a little bit of that Texas pride you like to incorporate into the product. Basically make the wearer feel sexy whenever they put the jeans on."
"I was skeptical about that at first," Valerie added, "but then I realized that jeans models posing shirtless have been seen in the Sears and JC Penney catalogues for around twenty years or so now, so I decided it was a better idea."
Kirkland thought it over, then said, "Well, I would feel comfortable if they were all wearing cowboy shirts, or something of the like. The lack of conservativism really deters away from the target age group – 30 to 60."
Valerie began to mentally panic. If he took this over the positions of jeans as main reason, it would mean her first rejection.
"But you have captured the main idea of how jeans are supposed to look," he continued. "And Ms. Donalds mentioned the sex appeal of the product, which does bring out the attractiveness to capture the eye – although it would be the eye of those younger than the age group minimum."
"Actually, sir," Mr. Lancer said, "I think the skin is a nice touch, and if enough younger people are drawn into it, it could mean the opportunity to expand your market to the 18 to 30 crowd."
"Excellent observation, Mr. Lancer." Kirkland positioned himself in front of the billboard to take a picture. "I'll accept the ad for myself, but I'm going to call a meeting to the head of staff about this. If I receive enough votes, I'll make it final."
Valerie and her team accepted this. As the client left, she looked at the ad again. She thought of Sundown, and decided he'd love a pair of Texas Prides for Christmas. Maybe he'd look best in the brown ones, she thought. Then she prayed that this ad would be accepted.
Back at the workplace, Teresa gave Valerie a message as she walked in. "We got a call while you were out, from the Children's Hospital. They wanted to speak exclusively with you."
"Really?" she asked. Then she thought of her interview with Whitney Morgan. The daytime staff must've watched me talk about Jeremy, she thought, and became excited. Now was her chance to tell the world, and especially Tom's family, that shaking a baby for whatever reason was wrong. She checked her watch. It was less than ten minutes until noon. She said to Teresa, "I'll call them back at quarter after one. They must be on their way to lunch right about now."
"And Bulletproof Vess called here just minutes after you left," Teresa added. "Police Chief Irons has decided to call off the investigations of your lovers who killed your husband."
Valerie immediately became happy, and grinned like a child eating ice cream. Chief Irons had seen her ex-husband as the monster she knew he'd been. She wanted to scream delightfully, but was worried about attracting unnecessary attention. So she just said, "That's wonderful. I knew what they did to Tom was just. You didn't include that in your memo, did you?" Before the secretary could answer, Valerie immediately started talking again. "Oh, who cares? The important thing is, I won't have to worry about those I care about being in jeopardy anymore. Thanks, Teresa, you just made my morning."
She decided to celebrate her good news with some non-career-related work. In her office, she turned on her laptop, and activated her radio play for JEWEL-FM. She had twenty-five pages of writing so far. She hadn't worked much on it since she was assigned the airline promotion video. She scrolled to the end to read where she left off. The scene where her pregnant character was in labor, where she had a lot of breathing and panting and screaming. She decided it was now time for her to see the baby's head.
She worked feverishly for a few more minutes, until the baby was born, then her protagonist kissing her lover who had helped. She planned to working on her side project through lunch hour. Maybe eat at her desk. She had done this before when working on ads through lunch. It would be a great way to avoid anyone who was disgusted with her interview, and may have been enraged by Teresa's memo about it.
Suddenly, when she completed seven more pages, she noticed her laptop screen being lowered. She looked up to see Donna Grayson glaring at her. Valerie looked defensive, thinking Donna and the others wanted to talk to her about her interview.
"I was wondering where you were when you didn't show up to the lunch room," Donna said. "You sure made an ass out of yourself on television last night!"
"I made an ass out of myself?" Valerie repeated. "What, for telling the truth about my son, saying I'm responsible for raising him with lots of love and patience! For telling how my husband was an asshole who deserved to die? I'll have you know that the police chief decide to let Sundown and Highway off for police brutality."
"Oh, boo!" Donna objected. "Those arrogant father killers deserved to lose their badges and guns, and you know it!"
"Father killers!" Valerie repeated. "Father killers! Listen to yourself, will you! Tom Boston was not a father at all, never mind an involved one. How many damn times must it take before it gets into that almighty head of yours?"
Donna was getting increasingly frustrated. "You don't get it, do you? Your son acts out of control, whether you want to admit it or not! Dammit, you need to take charge of him right now, stop using the Shaken Baby Syndrome as an excuse for his behavior, stop denying that you have problems with him, and start getting corporal with the discipline! You're not making it easy for me or anyone else, you know. My God, I'm still trying to get my kids to listen to me and respect me, and not give me attitude every time I tell them to do their chores and homework!"
Valerie folded her arms. "Here's something you may want to know," she said. "When I go to my sister's house to get my son, he always greets me with a hug and an 'I love you, Mom.' You're always yelling at your kids, bragging about slapping them around, and using your corporal behaviors to brainwash the staff. You and Kim on that last part! All your kids must hate you."
"I'm only trying to keep my kids from ending up dead or in jail! Which will happen to Jeremy very soon if you don't stop being so lenient! You can't tell me that he's not bright enough to think about doing drugs or drinking!"
"He knows the consequences of both," Valerie insisted. "He's been exposed to the PSA's when he was younger. Dr. Grenoble said that Jeremy and others like him learn through media exposure."
"Your doctor is a load of shit!" Donna blasted. "First of all, you can't learn anything from TV, it rots a child's brain! Especially children like yours! And the violence, profanities and sex they get exposed to, this is why our kids are so out of control! I was so mad watching that interview last night, I threw the remote and my coffee mug at my TV! Tell me, Val, what the hell do these so-called 'experts' know about parenting? Because you seem to be submitting to it like you have no opinion of your own! And here's mine – spanking a mentally disabled child like Jeremy will send him a clear message of what's right from what's wrong, which he is fully capable of learning, and you know both!" She pounded on her desk three times with those last three words. "I'd start with that if I were you." She furiously walked from the office.
Immediately, Valerie lifted up her monitor, saved her radio play, and started typing a report about her conservation with Donna. She quoted everything Donna told her; the harsh words would stay with her for days. There wasn't a word about Teresa's memo, though. She knew she was going to stay in her office for now – maybe until everyone else has left today. She'd probably be safe in there.
She heard a more militant voice calling her name from outside. She could only guess who wanted to confront her this time. She saw Kim come into her office, standing in front of her desk, looking equally unimpressed.
"Valerie, I saw your disgraceful interview last night," Kim said. "That doctor you had back in Parrish, did she actually go to medical school or a damn clown college! I couldn't believe all those special treatment methods she was giving out in regards to children like your son! I turned it off before those C.O.P.S. lovers of yours started into their praises about you."
"I could tell you would," Valerie replied sarcastically.
"I'm not going to repeat myself on the issue of disciplining your son, I might as well be talking to myself," Kim said. "But one thing did concern me, an issue my daughter brought up. If your husband was so hell-bent on not having children, then why the hell didn't you go along with it?"
Valerie looked shocked, her eyes as big as saucers. "Excuse me?" she asked. "Why didn't I go along with it! Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I wanted a family of my own?"
"Which you accomplished out of your own will," Kim assumed. "And also to appease your parents? Pretty pathetic. Now, I'm proud of the fact that I had three of my own, but really, if you and your husband agreed on no children–"
"I did NOT agree on no children!" Valerie screamed. "I knew I wanted them from the moment I got close to my niece and nephew! And if you say anything about keeping my knees together, I will take it down indefinitely!" She lowered her monitor again so Kim wouldn't see it.
"But if your husband's business was that more important, then you should've taken that into consideration, and at least gotten your tubes tied. Like I said before, if you had any respect for your husband–"
"I don't want to hear about respect for Tom! That man was a cold, unfeeling asshole who always put his own wishes before those of the people around him! Your husband may have been no prize either, but at least he'd never think of another human life as a life-altering burden!"
Kim rolled her eyes. "Fine, Valerie. But you wouldn't be dealing with any mental problems from your son if you'd never had him to begin with. And speaking of which, can you tell me what would make you and your family label young Jeremy as being 'mentally retarded?' Now I understand why you refuse to be harsh and strict with him, given how often it was used about him in that interview. I think that in order for you to discipline him properly, you need to get rid of that label – it can't possibly be all true to begin with – and start thinking of him as a normal child. Many psychologists believe that's what they strive for from their parents. That said, I will ignore Teresa's memo, and continue to hound you about this until you comply. I don't know what brought about that sudden change of heart from her."
Valerie slammed her hands on her desk. "If you don't get out of my office right now, I will walk into Lancer's or Sussex's, and repeat this disgusting lecture to one of them!" Kim got her most angry, but knew Valerie would take this to the bosses if she slapped her. So she walked away in a huff, just like Donna did.
Angrier, Valerie lifted her monitor again, and added Kim's speech to the report. "Hopefully, this will be it for these two," she said. "I don't want to quit or move to another agency."
After she printed it out, she looked at Teresa's memo from the Children's Hospital. She was now eager to see what they wanted. She dialed their number, and seconds later, a woman with red-orange hair, around mid-thirties, answered.
"Yes, this is Valerie Boston from Lancer and Sussex Advertising Agency," she replied. "I'm just returning a call left by your establishment."
"Ah, yes, Ms. Boston, we've been expecting your call," the woman said. "Dr. Neil Taylor, the head of our disability and handicap ward, wants to work with you and your company for a public service announcement. Here, I'll page him."
A few minutes later, she saw a thin man in glasses on her telephone screen. He had to be in his mid-forties, but he looked younger despite the bald scalp and thinning brown hair. "Dr. Taylor?" she said. "This is Valerie Boston from Lancer and Sussex. I'm returning the call you left this morning. I understand there is some business you wish to do with us."
"Yes, I managed to see you being interviewed on Whitney Morgan's primetime talk show last night," Dr. Taylor said. "I was fascinated with the way you passionately talked about your son, and him living with Shaken Baby Syndrome amidst your husband's abuse. I applaud you for finding the courage to leave."
"Thank you, doctor," Valerie replied.
"Several months back, you brought young Jeremy in for a severed arm," Dr. Taylor explained, "and in the form you filled out, you revealed that you worked at Lancer and Sussex, and gave us your contact number. I'm assuming you don't have a business card. Anyway, after a conversation with the head of the hospital, I've decided that we could use your services for a public service announcement commercial promoting Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness. You and your son would make the perfect spokespeople."
Valerie thought of her interview again, and decided that she partially expected it. "Is that so?" she asked. "Well, I'd love to. I'll have to inform my employers. They're going to be thrilled."
"I'd like to meet with you tomorrow morning at around ten o'clock to discuss what we plan to do, and what we'll be expecting from you," Dr. Taylor said. "We already plan to have you star in the commercial with your son, telling the viewers about the consequences of him being shaken like he was. That will teach people about shaking babies even once. The rest, we'll explain at the meeting."
"Yes, that's a great idea," she agreed. "Actually, I already completed a billboard project for Texas Pride men's jeans, and we're still awaiting the final verdict. Ten tomorrow morning sounds perfect to me." She opened her day planner and jotted it down. "Shall I bring Jeremy to work with me?"
"Please do," Dr. Taylor answered. "I must get a good physical picture of the consequences."
She ended her conversation shortly after, and printed her report. She handed it to Teresa for proofreading, then went to inform her bosses about the Children's Hospital meeting.
That evening, Valerie was looking through her old photo albums, deciding what to take to work with her. Pictures of her and Tom on their honeymoon, and in the years before they had Jeremy. She kept from feeling depressed, thinking she should've either thrown them away, or cut Tom's image out of them. But she had to go through them; her bosses and client had to know what they looked like, so they could audition suitable actors.
"This commercial is based on your life, woman," she told herself in fighting her tears.
Her telephone rang, and she said, "Finally, some company." She checked the ID to find the name was unknown, but the number was 875-9606.
"Is that a cell number?" she wondered aloud, but answered anyway. She saw Barricade's image on the video screen.
"Barricade?" she said. "Barricade, hi. I'm guessing you're on your cell phone."
"Yeah, I'm just standing outside the headquarters," he answered. "My shift just ended, and I was thinking maybe I'd come right over to see you. Are you doing anything right now?"
"Nothing that important," she said. "Well, I'm just going through some old pictures of Tom and me. The Children's Hospital wants to feature Jeremy and me in a commercial promoting Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness."
He smiled. "That's wonderful. Maybe it will help stop the criticism if Whitney Morgan's interview didn't."
She rolled her eyes. "It worked for some people, but unfortunately, it didn't hit the people it was supposed to help. I'll explain it all when you get here."
"I'll be there in around fifteen minutes or so, okay? See you then."
She hung up, collected the pictures she took from her album, filed them away in her briefcase. She put the album away in the wall unit, in the small bookshelf beside the TV.
She went downstairs to Jeremy's recreation room. He was just finishing his spelling homework. Sloppy, of course, but it looked readable to her. And most of the words were correct too, just a few misspellings she pointed out. She stayed until he finished, then said, "Honey, don't forget, I'm taking you to work tomorrow for the meeting with the hospital. And Barricade just called, he's going to be here in a few minutes."
She brought his chair out and took him upstairs. "You need to have a bath, mister. I'll see if Barricade can help me with you when he gets here."
When the doorbell rang, and Valerie let Barricade in, he kissed her and said, "So, that interview did nothing to help your co-workers, did it? How did everyone react?"
"First, the sort-of good news that I forgot to tell you," she said. "We put up our billboard for the Texas Pride Jeans Company, and while our client liked it, he's taking it back to his company, so we'll have to wait a couple of days before he gives us our final word."
"Mace and I managed to catch a glimpse of it while driving towards an assignment," he said. "I thought the 'shirts off' idea was a little bit sexy for something like jeans for the older man. Do you think that audience will buy it?"
Valerie's expression changed. "Gee, so glad you guys liked it," she said sarcastically. "Actually, Mr. Lancer said that ad would be an opportunity for Texas Pride to appeal to the under-30 buying crowd. Expanding the market will be a great topic at the meeting."
"That'd be great," Barricade replied. "So, what did all those pissed-off co-workers say about the interview? Tell me everything."
She started with her conversation with Edwin. "His wife, the supposed brilliant psychologist, said the same thing Tom's uncle said that night at the White Apple Palace, about Jeremy not being spanked is making him an outsider. All that same crap about how spanking can give him a sense of normalcy. I'm so tired of hearing it." She asked if Barricade wanted a milkshake or an egg crème, and he chose egg crème. She went into the kitchen.
She continued with Edwin's comments about Jeremy's school, and how he thought it was preventing the boy from functioning properly in society, and that public school would be a better choice. "Public school wouldn't change anything. Oh, I could've enrolled him in Brian and Tyler's school, but he'd just be teased even more by various groups of bullies, and those two poor boys would be suspended all the time for fighting." She came out with two full mugs. "Of course, I'd be in there all the time with the O'Malley and Raines family, saying they were just defending Jeremy. But I don't think I could handle it. Longarm and Elise wouldn't be able to deal with it. Neither would Blackbelt and Cindy. I'd probably have to take him out before Christmas vacation, and keep him with Karen until I could send him to the handicapped school. So yeah, I think I did the right thing."
She brought out the egg crèmes as she went into Donna. She began with the "making an ass out of herself" comments, then brought up her reaction to Sundown and Highway being let off. "Father killers, and that the shooting should've ended their law enforcement careers! As if Tom deserved a 'father of the year' award." Then, all her accusations, directed at both mother and son. "She basically said the same garbage about Shaken Baby Syndrome being no excuse, that Jeremy was just out of control, and that I'm not firm enough with him, blah blah blah. She said that Jeremy is perfectly capable of learning right from wrong. Bullshit! Then, she started comparing him to her kids, and said that if I don't do to Jeremy what she does with her kids, Jeremy will end up dead or in prison soon. Bullshit again! Who would arrest a mentally disabled child, who wouldn't think of drinking, overdosing, or shooting up heroin?"
"Did you tell her what Dr. Grenoble said about Jeremy learning from those PSA's?" Barricade asked.
"She replied that it's basically horseradish, like there's no such thing as educational TV, and used the clichéd excuse of it rotting one's brain. Then all this shit about violence in the media and how she blames it for our kids being bad." She rolled her eyes as far back as they would go, and sipped from her mug.
"Dare I ask about Kim?"
"She wasn't as bad as I expected, but she was wondering why I had Jeremy to begin with, saying I wouldn't be going through any of this if I never had him. She also commented on how many times 'mentally retarded' was used. At least she figured out why I refuse to put my hand on him. But she thinks I should drop that label so I can do so. Yeah, drop the 'retarded' label when he was declared it, good idea! All this from her damn daughter, who should've kept her yap shut!"
She excused herself and went into the living room, to see if Jeremy was listening. He was looking through his spelling book, but he was frowning. "Oh, sweetie," she said, "I'm sorry you had to hear all that again. Bad enough you had to hear me talk to Auntie Karen."
Barricade looked frustrated when she came back to the table. "Didn't anyone learn from watching the show last night?"
"Gerinna Donalds, she's got two teen boys of her own, she apologized to me for any wrongdoing as the billboard went up this morning," Valerie replied. "And as I was going for coffee break this afternoon, at least fifteen other parents apologized. They even said that the show educated them on Jeremy's syndrome. But then there were others. Michael Hammer and Joe DiTorino – they were two of the other instigators on the Breath For Life project, remember – they looked as nasty as Donna did. Michael said he would still yell at Jeremy, and hit him with a switch to keep him in line. He wished this could be a call-in show, just so he could say that last night. Joe threw his coffee mug at the TV and started screaming in Italian at some point in the show. He called Dr. Grenoble and me 'idealistic idiots,' and said I'd be taken more seriously at work if I, 'stopped submitting to bleeding-heart liberal assholes.' Donna used that submitting crack on me, too, and also suggested that I had no opinion of my own. Thank God I never saw Linda there. Mr. Sussex overheard Michael and Joe's lectures, and started berating them right there in the room." She gulped down some of her egg crème.
"So, tell me about this new project you have to work on now," Barricade said.
Valerie smiled and explained, "I returned a call to a Dr. Neil Taylor; he handles the disability ward at the Children's Hospital. He saw our interview with Whitney Morgan last night, and wants to put me and Jeremy in a commercial promoting Shaken Baby Syndrome, and spread the message about shaking."
"That's wonderful. Do you have a concept yet?"
"No, but I'm guessing he wants to drape me and Jeremy in a black background while I explain my hardships, and in between, dramatizations of Tom abusing our baby and me. I've been going through pictures of us, for a guide to find authentic-looking actors." She looked at Jeremy again. "Oh, that reminds me, I have to take Jeremy to work tomorrow. Would you like to help me give him a bath?"
"Actually, why don't we make it like last time, and I can give him a bath myself," Barricade suggested.
Valerie laughed. "You're just eager to bond with Jeremy as much as you can, are you?" she asked, and went to run the bathwater. "I'll just stand outside and watch if you'll need any help, okay?"
She went to get a pair of pajamas, and lay out his outfit for the next day, while Barricade undressed Jeremy. When she came back to the bathroom, Jeremy was already splashing as the shirtless Barricade soaped up the boy's shoulders and back. She watched, thinking she'd made her decision already.
Before Valerie came into the conference room the next morning, Mr. Sussex was lecturing the team members he'd recruited for the Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness project. Donna, Michael and Joe, from the infomercial Valerie worked on. Except Cindy would be working with them instead of Elise, and Kim had been selected to manage.
"Now," he said, "this is a commercial promoting Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness, so you will be interacting with Valerie's son. During our meeting with Dr. Taylor, there may be times when Jeremy will start moving around in his seat, yelling out things, and tune out of attention. You will keep your hands and unsolicited advice to yourselves. And there will be times where Jeremy will act up during filming, jumping all over the set, and heaven knows what else. It may even take most of the day to film the scenes with Valerie and Jeremy alone. If I learn from Valerie or Cindy that you spanked or hit Jeremy at any time, or did anything to upset Valerie, someone will be walking out of here without a job. Is this all clear?"
Kim just gave her boss an icy stare. "How about you stop nagging us, see that Valerie needs help with Jeremy, and tell her to do something with that kid?" she wanted to say.
Minutes later, Valerie came in with Jeremy, the boy babbling quite loudly like a toddler. Except for Cindy, her co-workers were already unnerved.
"Dear God," Donna moaned, "Don't tell me that boy will be behaving like that throughout the explanation."
"Donna!" Mr. Sussex warned. "That's exactly the type of thing I don't want on this assignment!"
"Well, can't Valerie tell that boy to stay settled?" Kim objected.
"It's part of the syndrome," Valerie informed her. "Dr. Taylor will inform you that. I take it you never did any research."
Mr. Sussex turned to Valerie and explained Kim's presence. "I know it's your personal project, and logically, you should lead," he said. "But I wasn't impressed with that memo you gave me this afternoon, shortly after you told me about your phone call. I gave Kim this assignment when I lectured her and Donna about it. And besides, we'd already gotten an acceptance from Starlight Airlines that morning for a promotion she worked on."
At precisely ten o'clock, Dr. Taylor came in, blue shirt, red tie and green pants. Mr. Sussex introduced his team except for Valerie. Michael and Joe found handshaking to be awkward; they were distracted by Jeremy's continuous babble. After Dr. Taylor sat and introduced himself, he began:
"As Mr. Sussex may have informed you, this purpose of this commercial is to spread awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Now, Shaken Baby Syndrome is a lifelong condition in which the child shows various signs and symptoms of being shaken violently by another person. These symptoms can include weak muscles in the neck, resulting in the inability to hold one's head up; massive injuries and bleeding to the brain, and mental and physical disorders. Brain injuries can affect areas such as learning and memory, bodily and mobility functions, speech, language and so on. Currently, America has one-and-a-half thousand cases of this annually. It's estimated that 25-30 of small shaking victims die from the resulting consequences. The rest survive with problems that last a lifetime, and the survivors don't live very long lives. We want to show the public that this is unacceptable, and that shaking a baby is a form of child abuse.
"This is what I want to see in the commercial. As you may understand, I picked Valerie Boston over here, because of what she's gone through with it, and all that she said when she was on Eye on Empire City the other night. It's quite understandable that she can't discipline her child like a parent should. If you yell at him to stop a certain behavior, or use physical contact to make him listen, it won't work. He'll either cry or scream to retaliate." He suddenly heard Jeremy singing and screaming incoherently, while moving his head from side to side. "And Jeremy here is demonstrating just some of the effects of the syndrome right now." When Jeremy stopped moving his head, he began to squirm and bounce around in his chair. Donna, Michael, Joe and Kim all stared at him and Valerie, unimpressed that she wasn't doing anything.
"You will be given access to ECTV studios, where they will put Valerie on a set designed just for shooting commercials like this," Mr. Sussex said, "as well as camera robots to capture any dramatizations. You will be given today and Friday to come up with a concept, film and edit it, to be presented at the hospital Friday evening. Any questions or comments?"
Valerie raised her hand and said, "I have a pretty good idea as to what will be an effective concept." She opened her briefcase and gave Kim the pictures she chose. "Kim, these are pictures of Tom and me from when Jeremy was a baby. You can use these as guides to find suitable actors for the shaking and hospital scenes."
Mr. Sussex looked at Kim, Donna, Joe and Michael again. He warned them, "And remember, given how you've been with Valerie towards her parenting, you people are on very thin ice. Like I said, if I learn of any wrongdoing through her or Cindy, those responsible will be fired."
Outside the conference room, Donna, Joe and Michael were all too angry to talk to Valerie. Kim was angry, too, but knew she had to stay professional. So she said, "Okay, now everyone can meet in my office, and we'll have a brainstorm meeting."
"What's the point?" Valerie asked. "Now, I know this will sound cliché, but there's only one way to spread awareness about Shaken Baby Syndrome. Have me talk to the camera about what happened in my marriage, and what I'm dealing with now, and have Jeremy come up to me later in the commercial, with melodramatic scenes of baby shaking and hospital trauma in between – all in black and white to enhance the moodiness."
"Oh, come on," Michael criticized. "People have seen that in awareness commercials thousands of times."
"And yet, it works the most effectively," Valerie reminded him. "There won't even be any need for a script."
Kim was convinced, and gave the pictures to Donna. "Here," she said. "Study these photographs, then go out and find two people who fit these physical descriptions, for the drama scenes. Thinking of that, Michael, I want you to go out and buy a crib and a life-like baby doll. I want to start filming those scenes this afternoon."
"And I'll write up cue cards for Valerie to read aloud in her isolation scenes," Cindy volunteered. She turned to Valerie. "I watched and took notes during the whole interview, just for a time like this."
"And I'll make some calls, first to the TV studio, then to the Children's Hospital to request permission to film there. Neither Dr. Taylor nor Mr. Sussex mentioned this. And where can we film the 'family fight' scenes?"
"Let's do it at my house," Valerie suggested. "We can put this crib in my bedroom. It'll look realistic; some parents put their cribs in their rooms for easier access."
"That sounds like a good idea," Cindy agreed.
Fine," Kim said. "Then let's hop to it." They split up, Valerie accompanying Cindy to her office.
During the whole assignment process, it seemed as if Jeremy's syndrome had been overactive. While Cindy was writing up the cue cards, he was either moving his head around or babbling out nonsense. Valerie couldn't really get him to be quiet. It took fifteen minutes with this distraction, but she was able to get through it nonetheless.
And while he was quiet and still on the way to the studio, his hyperactivity started up again as soon as they got to the commercial filming set. A small room draped in black, with a single chair Valerie was supposed to sit in while talking to the camera. Kim, Joe and Cindy showed up then, and they weren't pleased to hear Jeremy singing aloud nonsensically.
Joe looked at Valerie and demanded, "Is there any way you can shut that kid up!"
She glared at him, then sat Jeremy down on her lap. She brought his face towards hers and said, "Jeremy, do you think you can try to be quiet for the next fifteen minutes, while I talk to the TV about your syndrome?" He just hummed and moved his head around a little, like a person who was "buzzed" from drinking.
This proved to be impossible. Although the others knew Jeremy was to appear at the end of the filming, he was restless in the room. He was babbling, shouting and moving his head around non-stop. It proved to be really distracting to the others. After three takes, Kim started to grab Jeremy's arms and shake him.
"We are trying to film a commercial here, young man!" she shouted. "You sit down and be quiet until it's your turn!" She forced him down on the floor, and he started to cry.
Valerie looked horrified and shouted, "Kim! That is no way to handle a child living with Shaken Baby Syndrome!" She picked him up and cuddled him for comfort.
"See, that's exactly what we're talking about!" Kim criticized. "I'm trying to discipline him to quiet him down, and you come to comfort him!"
"Well, you don't clutch him and force him to sit on a hard surface!" Cindy objected. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Didn't you do any research? Children like him are very delicate!"
Kim got sarcastic. "Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I never researched any proper discipline techniques when I was scouring the Internet! Actually, I couldn't find the discipline section, so I'm applying the same methods I used with my sons. I hope you don't mind, Valerie."
"I do mind very much, thank you!" Valerie spat. "I know what I'm doing here, and I'd prefer if you didn't do my job for me!"
"Assuming you were doing your job as a parent to begin with," Joe interjected.
"Oh, shut up!" It took Valerie ten minutes to calm Jeremy down.
When it was quiet again, they did another take. Valerie looked and sounded very solemn as she read from Cindy's cue cards. She said, "My husband left me while I was pregnant, and didn't come home until our son was one month old. Upon seeing him the first time, he threw him down on the floor and again into his crib. It wasn't long before he started shaking him to get him to be quiet. And I couldn't do anything to stop it. He shook him so often, my son and I became very familiar at the hospital after a short time. He survived, but was declared mentally retarded as a toddler. But then, my husband started to assault my child on his chronic anger, which made it worse. It's not his fault that he can't eat very much, do very much, or do well in school. But no, he even assaulted me for trying to protect him in all this. Now look what I have to deal with." She was pausing at every sentence, as Cindy switched the cue cards.
But just as Joe directed Jeremy to go to his mother, the boy gave out an impromptu shriek, like a fire alarm. It startled even Valerie and Cindy. Jeremy began to hop around the room while shrieking. With cool thinking, Valerie got up to get her son, but Joe got to him first. He clutched the boy's shoulders and shouted, "What was that screaming for, huh! What is the reason for this behavior?"
"It's part of the syndrome, Joe!" Valerie called. "He's probably just restless today. He was probably too excited about this to sleep."
"Dammit, Valerie, don't make excuses for him!" Kim insisted. Valerie attempted to retrieve Jeremy, but Kim held her back. He kept on screaming and bouncing, and she watched horrifically as Joe pulled Jeremy's pants down and swatted his rear over and over.
"Joe, stop it!" Valerie screamed. Kim tried to restrain her from rescuing Jeremy, but she and Cindy pushed her aside. Valerie picked Jeremy up towards her before Joe could declare himself finished.
"Dammit, Valerie!" he barked. "I was only trying to get him to be quiet once and for all. I was trying to discipline him! Can't you understand that!"
"And since when do we spank, whip and paddle a mentally retarded child and call that discipline?" Cindy retorted. "Why can't you understand that? Jesus Christ, Joe and Kim, this is about spreading awareness about Shaken Baby Syndrome! Your actions towards Jeremy are defeating the purpose!"
"For crissake, Joe, Jeremy obviously couldn't understand the meaning of quiet when Kim was telling him!" Valerie added. "Why the fuck would he understand when you tell him!" She walked out in search of the washrooms.
Cindy just glared at the instigators. "Now see what you've done?" she spat. "You two may be parents yourselves, but you obviously don't know how to handle a child with Shaken Baby Syndrome. It'll be very interesting to see how Mr. Sussex and Dr. Taylor will react to this. How about I take over direction while you work the cue cards, Kim? At least then, you'll be busy enough to not worry about Jeremy! Joe, you just stand off to the side and do nothing for the rest of the assignment." She started out of the room as well. "I'll ask the studio heads if they can bring a comfortable chair for Jeremy to sit on."
She returned just minutes later with a swivel chair from a news office, the gray cushion and highback parts being as soft as a pillow. "This'll keep him comfortable until it's time for him to go on." Just then, Valerie and Jeremy returned from the washroom. Cindy directed Jeremy to his chair, and Valerie sat him down.
"Are you comfortable?" his mother asked. "You just sit there until Cindy tells you to come to me, okay?" Jeremy nodded happily, and started spinning around and laughing.
Kim quickly turned, positioned the chair towards her, and shouted at Jeremy, "Stop that laughing and be quiet!" He immediately began to cry.
"Stop it, Kim!" Cindy barked as Valerie got up to comfort him again. "Don't you get it! Children like Jeremy don't respond well to things if you yell at them!" Kim glared at them both, and Cindy sighed. "Look, any background noise that we pick up from Jeremy, we can get rid of in editing." Just then, Kim's cell phone rang.
The other women gathered around her, and they saw Donna on the video screen. "I'm outside the Empire City College of the Arts," she said. "I managed to get two young students from the drama program, who look exactly like Valerie and her ex-husband from the pictures."
"That's great," Kim said. "I'll call Michael to see if he got the props."
Valerie added, "Take them to my house, 181 Turin Lane. We'll shoot the domestic scenes there, like we agreed."
"Will do," Donna said. "See you there."
Kim hung up and called Michael next. But just as they saw his image, he immediately said, "I managed to pick up an inexpensive crib from Wal-Mart, one of those 'easy to set up' models, and I also got a Life-Like Lukey dolls from Toy Town."
"Take them to Valerie's house," Kim said, and gave him Valerie's address.
"See if you find a big enough place in my room for the crib," Valerie added. "Down the hallway from the front hall, farthest room on the left. Look for a purple bedspread and pillows, and matching wallpaper."
When she hung up, Kim looked at Valerie strangely and asked, "Did you and your husband really keep the crib in your room when Jeremy was a baby?"
Valerie shook her head. "No, but there's not enough room in Jeremy's bedroom to put it, with the bed Karen got for him, and his dressers and shelves – which will all look weird in the commercial."
While Valerie went back to her chair, Cindy said, "Okay, people, this will be the last time we shoot these scenes, so Kim, be sure you get the cue cards right! Any noise Jeremy makes that's captured on film, I'll run that by Sussex first, and if he doesn't approve, I'll have the audio editors take out. Meantime, nobody lays a hand on Jeremy, is that clear!"
"Joe and I are telling Sussex that you took over our duties," Kim said.
Valerie, remembering how cruel Joe and Kim were to her son, spoke even more solemnly than before. Off the set, Jeremy was spinning around in his car and babbling to himself, the cameras picking it up in the background. When Valerie got to the assault part, Cindy took him from his chair, holding his hand until she said the line, "Now look what I have to deal with."
She let go of Jeremy, and he trotted to his mother. She placed him on her lap to show the camera. She went from solemn to grave as she said, "This is what happens when a baby is shaken. Never let it happen to your child. Because what will you do then?"
Cindy waited a few seconds, then said, "And cut! That's great!" She checked her watch, it was a little past twelve-thirty. She turned to Joe and Kim. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it? We could've completed this half an hour ago if you hadn't mistreated Jeremy."
"We could've completed this earlier if Jeremy had cooperated and kept quiet during the filming!" Kim insisted.
Valerie and Cindy just took the boy and walked out. They decided to break for a quick lunch. On the way from the restaurant, they talked about the incident report Cindy already planned to write.
The women agreed to drop Jeremy off at his school for the afternoon, but Valerie had to explain Jeremy's lateness to the front office; it was quarter after one. "Thanks for allowing Jeremy to take the morning off to be in the commercial," she concluded. "The project means a lot to the both of us."
Diane Lancaster, the school principal, smiled and said, "No problem, Mrs. Boston. And thank you for calling us yesterday to tell us about it. Despite its meaning to spread awareness, we would've marked Jeremy down as truant if we hadn't known."
Valerie was pleased to see all the traffic parked outside her house when they arrived. "Ah, they're getting ready to film the domestic scenes right now," she said. But when she and Cindy stepped inside, they witnessed Kim talking to Donna and Michael about Jeremy's disruptions at the studio, and how Valerie, "did nothing to curb his bratty behavior."
Cindy grabbed her friend's arm to restrain her. "Don't get her attention, Val," she said. "It'll only get worse."
They waited until Kim finished talking, then as Joe directed the actors to the bedroom, Donna and Michael confronted Valerie in the living room.
"So," Donna said, "I hear Jeremy was quite the terror when you were filming at the studio."
"Bullshit!" Valerie spat. "Yes, mentally disabled children of Shaken Baby Syndrome tend to act out a lot, but they are not terrors. What Jeremy did there obviously couldn't be helped. "He was restless from excitement and bored from just standing there waiting."
"Couldn't be helped, couldn't be helped, couldn't be helped," Donna repeated like a broken record. "It's time you started listening to what you're saying about him. You're using the same excuse over and over just to avoid giving him a badly-needed smack on the head. Let me tell you something, bitch – I was not impressed when I heard Joe was spanking him for his final outburst. You should've done that, instead of comforting him afterwards!" She turned to Cindy. "And your response was to put him in a comfortable chair until it was time to go on?" She poked at her head. "What the hell is going on up there?"
"I was just coming up with a simple solution to make Jeremy happy after Valerie stopped the spanking!" Cindy said while gritting her teeth. "I know none of you responded very well to her interview this week. My God, you spent both of Wednesday's coffee breaks bitching about it. But Dr. Taylor is right. Valerie can't discipline Jeremy like a parent normally should when children refuse to listen to reason."
"Donna, don't think I haven't forgotten about what you, Joe and Michael did with our Breath For Life assignment," Valerie said. "That's why he selected the three of you for this commercial project. He wanted this to make you see the errors of your ways with your criticism. It doesn't help that you're turning this into our last project together. You saw how Jeremy was at this morning's meeting, how Dr. Taylor said he was demonstrating the syndrome effects. Are you questioning what he knows about this, like he's some idiot?"
"Look, Valerie, I didn't agree with what Dr. Grenoble said on that damn show," Donna retorted, "and I sure as hell don't agree with Dr. Taylor. Oh, I thought about asking him about discipline techniques, but we were all under Mr. Sussex's watchful eye." She rolled her eyes.
They didn't even notice Joe, Kim and the actors coming out of the bedroom. That group overheard Michael say, "Look, it's very simple, Valerie. That boy needs to be sent a clear message about what will and won't be tolerated under your roof. You pay the bills and mortgage here, you cook the meals, you buy him all the clothes he needs to wear, and so on. It's you who needs to take charge of his life, and tell him 'no' firmly. And if it takes a hand laid upon him to get that through, then so be it."
Donna added, "If he is as good as you say despite his mental problems – which I don't believe – then why didn't you bring him here to show us?"
Valerie was ready to scream at them, but Cindy said softly, "Don't explode on them. You'll only make them madder, and we can't have you upset and ruining this. Take deep breaths."
She did, and when she was calm, she just spat, "Jeremy is at his school, all right? Originally, I decided that we didn't need him around and in the way for the domestic scenes, to make them look confusing, and if I dropped him off at Karen's, she'd wonder why he wasn't in school to begin with. But now that you mention it, I also didn't want him around to feel your wrath, Donna, should he do anything to disrupt the filming here! Kim and Joe have already done enough! Mr. Sussex is already going to hear about the spanking and shouting at the studio. And let's not forget all your comments, which will be fresh in our minds when we get this to a memo sheet. Why should the two of you be in further hot water?"
"I have some opinions, but I plan to take them directly to Mr. Sussex when this is over!" Kim said. "I'll just say that children don't have good judgment skills, and your Jeremy is obviously among the very worst. That's why you need to discipline him properly."
"Shut up!" Cindy barked. "Look, Kim, you may be managing this project, but you have no place to say anything right now. You're all going to be in so much trouble when this is finished."
"And Mr. Sussex won't be happy with you when he hears what you did at the studio, Cindy," Kim reminded her.
"I had to, to keep the peace long enough to finish Valerie's part! And you're going to go down for this, all of you! It'll be Valerie's and my word against yours. Spanking Jeremy to get him to behave, yeah right. You're all going to wish you'd kept those opinions to yourselves!"
They started for the door, but then Valerie said secretly, "Wait, I have a computer in my home office. First room in the hallway on the right. We can close the door and work on our memo there."
"Why, so they can burst in, read our writing and accuse us of lying?" Cindy replied. "No, this would be best done on my computer in my office. Just keep all the memorable arguments in your head."
Valerie agreed, and they went back to the workplace then. She didn't wish to hear the "domestic violence" scenes being filmed in the kitchen, anyway. Those young people acting out would definitely bring her back to the terrible memories. And she knew she wouldn't be needed at the hospital either.
On the way there, she said, "God, I hope one of the C.O.P.S. calls me for a date tomorrow night. I really don't want to be at the presentation."