Free Pretense by Lori Wick Page B

waiter delivered their salads, but the conversation stayed on Shay's mind long after they had eaten, driven back to Shay's office, and gone their separate ways.
    "And there's a boy from my karate class, and my teacher, Mr. Austin, takes karate too."
    Marrell smiled. Delancey had not stopped talking since she climbed into the car.
    "And one of these days he's going to have Carl and me come and do a demonstration."
    "I'm so glad, honey. I thought about you all day. How did things go for you, Micki?"
    "Pretty good. Mrs. Grace says we do lots of reading-at least one book report a month and extra credit if we do more."
    "You'll get extra credit, won't you, Micki?" Marrell said with a smile in her voice, and Mackenzie's little heart swelled with pleasure. She was good in math, reading, and writing, and loved it when her parents noticed.
    "I need a paint shirt," Delancey said.
    "Oh," Mackenzie put in as well, "I do too."
    "Okay. We'll dig around in your father's clothes tonight and see if we can come up with something."
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    The girls were quiet after that, and Marrell found she was thankful. It was a lot of work worrying about her children. Delancey had been on her mind the entire day. A good first day did not mean that the entire year would run smoothly, but it was a relief. At any rate, the girls were off to a good start.
    "Have you ever seen anything so cute in your entire life?" Marrell said softly to Paul, who could only smile.
    Up at an amazing hour, the girls were ready for school and dressed in the red poodle skirts their mother had made them for Halloween. Thin sweaters-one white and the other a pale pink-white sneakers and socks, ponytails, and a bit of lipstick completed the ensemble.
    "Where did you find those sweaters?"
    "At a charity store for a dollar apiece."
    Paul shook his head in wonder. The girls looked adorable. They had begged their mother to put a record on, and they were now in the living room doing their own version of "The Hop."
    "Okay, you two," Paul called to them, "I'm going to get the camera, so get ready to smile."
    In complete "ham" style, the girls struck poses that made their parents howl with laughter.
    "Grandma's going to love these," Marrell said truthfully as Paul captured a few candid shots.
    "I'll have to take them to the office with me. No one would believe me otherwise."
    "Speaking of the office, you had better head out."
    Paul looked at his watch, pressed the camera into Marrell's hands, moved to kiss the girls, and then back to kiss his wife.
    "We never did get to finish our conversation last night," he said as she walked him to the door.
    "No, I was too tired and emotional. Besides, I don't think there's anything more to talk about. It's all my fault. I told Shay to go to church with Rose, and now she hasn't missed a Sunday. She just runs from one thing to the next, Paul. When is she going to grow up?"
    "Maybe this will really help her."
    Marrell shook her head. "She thinks it can help everyone. She wants us to go to church with her too."
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    Paul grinned. "Well, maybe we should just go one time and get her off our backs."
    Marrell laughed before Paul kissed her and then stood in the doorway to wave him off. Her smile died swiftly when the door was shut, however. Shay's actions of late, or rather her lack of actions, were very hard for Marrell. She had thought their friendship was in full swing, but now Shay was coming around less and less. With the girls in school all day, she was just plain lonely. Paul came home for lunch often, but Marrell found herself with time on her hands and the familiar empty ache back inside her.
    "Well, Shay has stopped seeing her therapist-maybe I should book an appointment."
    "Who are you talking to, Mom?" Mackenzie wanted to know.
    "Just myself, Micki," she answered honestly. "We'd better get ready to go."
    The girls, so excited about their costumes, needed little urging. Ten minutes later they were on their way to the bus stop. They bounced up the steps