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fact, for her concern. Mrs. DeLaura said that might explain his state that morning: he seemed "a little jiggy." She also said that while she had Terry on the phone she wanted to tell her that Matty had been acting rather . . . well, belligerent lately. That he would fly off the handle at the slightest provocation. She wasn't sure what his problem was but he was losing his ability to control his anger. |
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Jiggy, belligerent. Wasn't that what crack did to kids? She couldn't wait until Mitch Tojian examined him. But did blood tests tell if somebody was on drugs? Maybe urine tests. |
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To clear her mind Terry showered and got dressed, made herself some tea from bottled water and went out into the backyard with the morning paper. |
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By midmorning she felt more settled in the thought that if Matty had experimented with drugs, at least they would know in a couple of days and put an end to it. |
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It was a glorious warm spring day. White puffy clouds tumbled across the blue sky. The grass blazed with preternatural greenness. She could hear cardinals chirping in the trees. And from someplace she heard the chattering of squirrels. |
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She settled in a lawn chair in the middle of the yard and spread the paper out on the table. It occurred to her how all the turmoil with Matty had pushed Mrs. Manning from her mind. That all seemed like weeks ago. After her tea she would give Beverly a call. Then she'd have to call Claire Manning, still uncertain if they were making the right decision. It was all happening too fast. Maybe she'd ask for a few days' extension. |
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She drank her tea and went through the paper. The headlines were particularly depressing. There was another oil spill, this time off the coast of Maine. The beaches were threatened, and lobstermen and environmentalists were outraged. "President urges immediate global ban on ozone-depleting chemicals." The "eco-president," the media had dubbed him. Another story reported the recent appointment of some big honcho scientist to head up the newly commissioned Federal Biotechnology Agency. How remote she felt from the world of politics and science. The White House and its doings were as far from her little patch of the world as was the ozone layer. |
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A rustling behind her. She looked around. |
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