Free Russell's Return by J.J. Ellis Page B

door.
     
    **********
     
    The young woman slammed the
door to her dingy little apartment. “God damned Harpers! It’s their fault I’m
living in this shithole instead of being home in my high-rise condo,” she
grumbled to the cat sitting on the couch. “They have my property and I want it
back! I’ll fix it and sell it to the highest bidder. They owe me.” Her evil
laugh echoed through the room.
    The cat meowed in sympathy
and walked over to her. She reached out to pet it then pushed it off the couch.
“You hairy beast!  Will you ever stop shedding all over my clothes?” she
snarled. “I should have left you with them .”
    The cat hopped up on the
couch and stared her down. “Oh don’t look at me like that, you sweet thing,”
she said, her voice becoming smooth and overly sweet. “I’m sure one of the
neighbors will take you when I leave. If not, you can go to the damn pound!”
Her laugh turned from sweet to maniacal in a split second.
    The cat retreated to the
corner of the couch with a meow. His tail swished angrily a couple of times
before his eyes closed.
    “Oh don’t be angry with
Mommy,” she soothed with a sing-song voice. “I told you I was leaving someday.
All of those silly willy Harpers are in one place now
so it’s time to move on. I wonder who I’ll have to hurt to claim my prize. Will
it be sweet mama Evelyn or one of her ridiculous boys?”
    The cat opened its eyes and
meowed.
    “No, no Mr. Kitty, I don’t
think I’ll be able to get rid of all of them. Truthfully I think only one of them
will be a problem in gathering what belongs to me. But I do know that one of
them will pay for the sins of the family.”

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 5
     
    Russell woke bright and
early, eager to hear what Emily had to say about Miranda.  Maybe there was
a shot or some medication, or even some type of therapy that would make his
daughter’s behavior more on par with that of other kids her age.
    On the drive to the school,
he wracked his brain trying to think if he had ever heard of a disease or a
disorder like that but gave up quickly, figuring it must be something rare
since it didn’t ring any bells. By the time he had dropped Miranda off at her
classroom and walked into the front office he was feeling really good about
things. It could only be uphill from there. “I’m here to see Emily Zane.
 I believe she’s expecting me.”
    “Yes Mr. Harper. Have a seat
and she will be with you in a moment.”  The school secretary picked up her
phone and called Emily.
    Russell couldn’t stand the
thought of sitting down so he paced the small waiting area.
    “Russell?”
    “Hi!” He turned and smiled
at her. She returned the smile. The memory of their goodbye kiss zinging
between them.
    “Come on back to my office
and we can go over some things.”
    The counseling office was
the same as he remembered. He still felt right at home, and took his jacket off
and laid it beside him on the same red couch he’d sat on the last time he was
there. “So, what did you find out about Miranda?” He was eager to get all the
info she had.  He needed to know what to do to cure his baby as soon as
possible.
    Emily was a bit disappointed
that he didn’t want to talk about the day they’d spent together, but she also
understood that he was in a hurry to help his daughter.
    “Okay, you know I’m not a
doctor and I can’t officially diagnose Miranda.  A developmental
specialist would have to do so.”
    “Yeah, I understand that,”
he acknowledged
    “Alright, it is my opinion
that she has something called Asperger’s syndrome.”  She paused to let
Russell get a feel for the words that were probably foreign to him.
    He mulled over what Emily
had just said. He had never heard of Asperger’s Syndrome before and he wanted
to know what it was, but the question he voiced aloud was, “What’s the cure?”
    “There really isn’t a cure,
Russell.  Asperger’s syndrome is a high functioning form of autism.”