Chapter 13 - MONICA WALKS INTyler called Ellen.
It took him twelve minutes to work up the courage.
He used the cordless phone in his room.
“Ms. Porter?”
“Yes?”
“This is Tyler Rowan.”
A pause.
“Tyler? Is everything okay?”
“My mom took Grandma’s board.”
Silence.
“What do you mean?”
“She hid it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Is your father home?”
“No.”
“Can I speak to your mother?”
Tyler panicked.
“No!”
Ellen’s tone changed immediately.
“Okay.”
She became very calm.
“Tyler, you are not in trouble.”
He swallowed.
“Grandma said she’s afraid.”
“With the board?”
“Yes.”
“Of whom?”
Tyler whispered:
“My mom.”
Ellen did not interrogate him.
“Thank you for telling me.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“I’m going to make sure your grandmother has another way to communicate.”
“Don’t tell Mom I called.”
Ellen paused.
“I won’t put you in the middle more than you already are.”
That sentence made Tyler’s eyes burn.
Someone believed he was in the middle.
Two days later Ellen arrived unexpectedly with a replacement board and a tablet-based communication device for trial use.
Monica was furious.
Privately.
Publicly, she smiled.
“That’s wonderful.”
Ellen handed the device directly to Gavin, who happened to be home for lunch.
“This stays accessible to Beatrice.”
“Of course.”
Ellen’s eyes met his.
“At all times.”
Gavin heard the emphasis.
After Ellen left he asked Monica:
“What happened to the first board?”
Monica opened a cabinet.
“I moved it.”
“Why?”
“Tyler was turning it into a game.”
“That’s not what Ellen said.”
Monica looked at him.
“What did she say?”
“That Mom needs access to communication.”
“She does.”
“Then where is it?”
Monica’s silence lasted too long.
Gavin’s suspicion deepened.
He searched the kitchen.
Found the board behind cleaning supplies in a high cabinet.
Too high for Beatrice.
Hidden from Tyler.
He carried it into the living room.
“Why was this there?”
Monica looked at it.
“I put it away.”
“Why?”
“I already told you.”
“Tyler was using it?”
“Yes.”
“Or Mom was?”
Monica’s face tightened.
“You’re doing it now.”
“Doing what?”
“Treating me like the enemy.”
Gavin looked at Beatrice.
She stared at the word HELP.
He felt something cold move through him.
May you like
That evening, for the first time, Gavin did not automatically accept Monica’s explanation.
And Monica saw it.
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