Kim picked up the last of the toys and set them on the shelf. She had been thankful to have several appointments that afternoon to take her mind off the morning, but as she cleaned up the abuse clinic, her anger and frustration had returned.
The meeting with Mr. Brown at the school had gone terribly. He had refused to budge and had spent most of the 20 minutes she was there talking to her like she was a child who knew nothing about security. That would have been avoided had Shane bothered to show up. Shane would never have left the principal treat her like that, but, evidently, whatever was going on at work was more important than his child's education and welfare.
She let out a deep breath, hoping to release some of the heat that was rising in her. There was no way he could have just forgotten about it. Kim had called the ISA office immediately after her morning call to the principal. The secretary said Shane was unavailable, but Kim had left a detailed message and emphasized the importance of Shane being at the school at 11 a.m. Kim knew the ISA well enough to know that the message had been delivered.
Drumming her fingernails against the top of the shelf, Kim could not stem her anger. She needed to talk with Shane; she needed to force him to accept that Andrew was his priority. The ISA could go to hell for all she was concerned.
She picked up the phone, dialed the field office, and waited for the secretary to answer. Shane was not there. No, the secretary did not know where he was or when he would be returning.
Kim then dialed Shane's car phone. Maybe he would answer there. No luck.
Her last chance was that he had returned home. Maybe he had. It was about 5 p.m., and if the ISA secretary did not know when he would be returning, perhaps he had finished for the day. Or was it for the day before.
"Simmons," Kim said, when the butler answered the phone. "Is Shane there?"
"No, Ms. Brady," Simmons replied. "Master Shane did call earlier though."
"What time?" Kim asked.
There was a pause. "I'd say it was around noon."
Noon? Just a little after her run-in with the principal. "I see. . . ." Kim felt the heat rising again.
"Yes, ma'am," Simmons said. "He indicated that he would be tied up for the rest of the day and probably all night. He said that he likely would not return until tomorrow."
Kim fumed. Just great. So I get to be the one to tell Andrew that he can't go back to school at all. "That's just wonderful," Kim muttered.
Simmons asked, "Would you like to give me a message in case he calls again?"
Would 'You're a dead man' be inappropriate? Kim wondered. "No . . . No message. I'm going to get Jeannie and will be home shortly. Oh, and would you please locate the telephone number for the tutor Shane hired. Unfortunately, her services will be needed a bit longer."
"Yes, ma'am." Simmons voice softened. "Master Andrew will be very disappointed."
Kim pictured her son's reaction when she broke the latest news. "Yes, he will. Anyway, I'll be home soon." She hung up without waiting for another response.
For a few minutes, Kim paced around the clinic. Shane obviously had better things to do than deal with their son's crushing disappointment, so Kim was on her own for the time being. Then she got an idea. Returning to the phone, she pulled her phone book out of her purse, and looked up Mickey Horton's office number. After a minute, the receptionist answered and apologized. Mickey was out too.
Of course. Why would anyone be in their office today when I need to reach them? Trying to hide her frustration, Kim just said, "Would you tell Mickey that I need to see him as soon as possible to discuss a matter?" The secretary mentioned an opening in Mickey's schedule the following day. "Sure. That's perfect." Kim wrote down the time.
Hanging up, Kim felt that, at least, she was doing something. Maybe she would tell Shane about the meeting with Mickey, but maybe not. If he could not be bothered to show up earlier, why should she expect him to care about Andrew enough to meet with a lawyer?
The little voice in the back of her head tried to reason with her. Shane loves Andrew, it said, but right now, Kim was not hearing it. It took more than a couple of stories a week or an expensive gift to be a good father. It took making your children your priority and not disappearing for days on end whenever work called or things got difficult.
The voice still told her that she was being unfair, but Kim silenced it. As she gathered her purse and locked up the clinic for the night, she could not care less about fairness. All that mattered was her son. And if that meant protecting his interests by herself, she would.