Читать книгу Single with Kids - Lynnette Kent - Страница 11

VALERIE FOLLOWED Rob Warren’s shiny black van out of the school parking lot, reflecting that she had a perfectly good jar of spaghetti sauce at home on the pantry shelf. There really was no need to make the effort to go out, though he’d promised her a restaurant with good food and a casual atmosphere for the kids. She had to admit, relaxed would be a welcome change of pace in her life.

“Where are we going?” Connor piped up from the back seat. “McDonald’s?”

“I don’t think so. Mr. Warren says this place is one of a kind.”

“Do we have to go?” Grace sounded tired. “I’ve got a lot of homework.”

Valerie glanced into the rearview mirror, but Grace avoided her eyes. “We need to eat. This won’t take any longer than cooking our own dinner. And you can get to know Ginny a little better.”

“Great.” The one word was not enthusiastic.

“What’s wrong?”

“She’s in my class at school, Mom. And she’s…hard to talk to.”

“Her dad says she’s shy.”

“What’s wrong with her, anyway?” Connor wasted no time on tact. “She crippled or something?”

“Cerebral palsy is a birth defect,” Valerie explained. “Sometimes it happens when the baby is being born and doesn’t get enough oxygen to breathe. That causes problems with their nerves and muscles.”

“Can I catch it?”

“No, Connor. And I expect you to be polite while we’re at dinner—don’t stare, don’t ask questions. I’m sure that in most ways, Ginny is just an ordinary kid, like the two of you.”

She thought she heard Grace’s hmmph from the back seat, but she decided to ignore it. This dinner really was a good idea—as the new kids in school, both Grace and Connor were still trying to adjust and make friends. If Grace and Ginny could connect, that would be a start.

At the high school, the blinker on Rob Warren’s van signaled a right turn, and then an immediate left into the gravel parking lot of a bright yellow, concrete block building hung with a blue-and-white awning. The neon sign over the door identified Charlie’s Carolina Diner.