William Lashner - Falls The Shadow

There was a technical legal term for what Julia Rose was shoveling to Isabel. The whole scene was enough to weary a saint, and I wasn’t a saint, so instead of letting her toss shovelfuls onto me, I’d left the kitchen and sat myself beside Daniel on the couch.

“Daniel,” I said, trying to speak over the sound of the television, “do you know what a lawyer is?”

Daniel stared at the screen and said nothing. I was tempted to switch the TV off so he’d give me his full attention, but if I switched it off and he ran away screaming, that would end my chance to speak to him that day. And I didn’t mind that the sound of the television was keeping our conversation private from Julia in the kitchen. So I waited for him to respond to my question. When he didn’t, I answered it for him.

“A lawyer is someone who helps people who might be in trouble. I’m a lawyer.”

No response, no reaction, but he did chuckle at a pratfall on the screen.

“Today, Daniel, the person I’m here to help is you.”

I waited. No response. I hadn’t had much real experience with children, and I wondered if a four-year-old kid could understand anything I was saying. Probably not. I was about to give it up and go back to Isabel’s conversation with Julia when Daniel, still staring at the television, finally spoke.

“You talk funny.”

“Well, you look funny.”

I thought he’d laugh at that, or smile at least, but he didn’t. He tightened his lips and kept his gaze glued to the television. I licked the scab in my mouth. How do you talk to kids anyway?

“The reason I talk funny,” I said, “is that I lost a tooth. You want to see?”

He nodded.

I opened my mouth, pulled down the edge of my lower lip so the gap was clear. He turned to look at it, nodded, turned back to the television.

“Did it hurt?” he said.

“Not really.”

“I didn’t do nothing.”

“Anything, son. You didn’t do anything, and I know that.”

“So I’m not in trouble.”

“But you still might need a lawyer, and that’s why a nice judge lady hired me to help you. How does your mother treat you?”

“Good.”

“Well. She treats you well. That’s good to hear. Does she give you enough food?”

“Yeah.”

“Does she give you baths?”

“Sometimes.”

“Does she read to you?”

He shrugged, twisted up his fingers.

“Does she ever hit you?” I said.

“When I’m bad.”

“How often are you bad?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does it hurt when she hits you?”

“Not really.”

“Do you like watching TV?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you watch a lot?”

“My mother lets me.”

“Do you ever play with friends?”

“I don’t know. I’m watching.”

“So am I, but we can still talk.”

“I can’t hear.”

“Sure you can, Daniel. Do you have many friends?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who are some of your friends?”

“Can we be quiet now?”

“Not yet. Do you ever go to the park?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you do there?”

“The big slide.”

“Who watches you in the park?”

“My mom.”

“Does your mom have a boyfriend?”

He waited a moment without saying anything and then picked up the remote control, increased the volume.

“What’s his name, your mother’s friend?” I said.

“I don’t know.”

“Sure you do.”

“Randy.”

“Randy. Good. How does Randy treat you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does he play with you much?”

“No.”

“Does he read to you?”

“No.”

“Does he give you baths?”

“No.”

“Does he ever hit you?”

He picked up the remote, raised the volume again.

“Turn it down in there,” shouted Julia Rose from the kitchen.

Daniel lowered the volume. He was pretty good with the remote, was Daniel Rose. I didn’t know if he was good with LEGOs, with puzzles, I didn’t know if he liked to turn the pages of picture books, but he was pretty damn good with the remote.

“Hey, Daniel, would it be all right if someday, with your mom’s permission, I took you to the park?”

“I don’t know.”

“I could buy you some ice cream. What kind of ice cream do you like?”

“Chocolate.”

“Okay. Good. Do you like sprinkles?”

“Yeah. The pretty ones.”

“All the different colors? Okay, chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. Just do me one favor, Daniel. Can you smile for me? A big smile? Give me a smile to let me know we’re friends and I’ll leave you to watch the television all alone.”

He turned his head and faked a big smile and then turned back to the cartoon, and my throat tightened on me.

“Julia has agreed to go to the parenting classes,” said Isabel when I returned to the kitchen, where the two women were sitting. Isabel was now holding the neighbor’s baby. “No excuses, right, Julia?”

“That’s right. I promise.”

“I’m going to make sure the judge keeps you to that,” said Isabel. “And the doctor’s appointment. You can’t miss that. You understand, Julia, that this is getting serious? If these things don’t happen, if you don’t appear before the judge at your next hearing and follow all her recommendations, then we might be forced to take your son away and put him in foster care.”

“You won’t do that,” said Julia. “Promise me. You won’t.”

“We will do what we have to do to protect Daniel.”

“I’m going to follow all the things you told me to follow. And the doctor’s visit you set up. I will, I promise.”

“And you know how to get to the courthouse?”

“The bus is expensive,” she said. “That’s why I missed it last time. I wanted to show up, but the bus is, like, a couple bucks each way, and they make me pay for the baby.”

“How about if I pick you up and drive you to the hearing?” I said. “Would that work?”

“Okay. Yeah.”

“I’ll pick you up at your apartment, you and Daniel and Randy.”

Her head snapped, her eyes widened. “What? No. Not Randy. He can’t make the hearing. He works.”

“Where?” I said.

“I don’t want to talk about him. What does he have to do with Daniel?”

“Doesn’t he live in your room above the bar?”

“Not really. Not no more. He left. He’s gone.”

“He’s out of your life?”

“Yeah, out of it. Good riddance, the creep. Just don’t bring him in it, okay?” There was a fear in her eyes that I didn’t like. “I’ll do whatever you tell me to do, but he don’t want to be involved in my mess.”

Isabel looked at me. I shrugged.

“Okay for now,” said Isabel. “Let’s see how you do before your next court hearing. If everything’s going well, we’ll create a new action plan then. Do you have anything else to add, Victor?”

“Yeah, I do,” I said. “What’s up with Daniel’s teeth?”

“How did you know she’d be there?” said Isabel as we made our way back to her car.

“I have my sources.”

“So you’re not just showing up.”

“What did I tell you?”

“That he’s your client. But I’m not sure what that means?”

“Why’d you become a social worker?”

“To help families in trouble. To make a difference, I suppose.”

“See, that’s where we diverge. I’m not out to save the whales, or save the planet, or save the children. Frankly, I don’t want to make a difference in the world, because I’d probably just screw it up. I’m only a lawyer trying to do his best for his clients. Daniel Rose is a client, four years old or not, and so he gets everything I’ve got. It’s that simple.”