Their first “customer” peered into the big open doors of the garage the following evening around eight o’clock. Spencer and her team had had a nervous hour waiting, eating doughnuts Spencer had brought with her. It was a balmy evening, and she and her staff looked at each other, wondering if anyone would come. Maybe no one would show up. And then they began to come one by one, curious as they looked inside, suspicious at first, some frightened, greeted by the welcoming, smiling faces of the people who had packed the bags the night before. Marcy had already placed orders for the next batch of supplies. It wasn’t cheap, but it was how Spencer wanted to spend her money, and Marcy heartily approved and tried to get the best deals she could.
By nine o’clock, there were about forty people milling around inside the garage. Only two were women, and the staff had set bags aside for them, with the smaller-sized jackets and socks. It was all unisex, except for the sizing of a few items. The recipients wanted to know why the workers were doing it, where the supplies had come from, were they from a church, was it a gift from Brooke’s? Spencer wanted no credit for it, and not to be singled out. The staff reminded each recipient, with a gentle request, not to camp out for the night in front of the store anymore, and they promised to pass the message on. The people who left with the bags thanked their benefactors profusely, hugged some of them, and left to discover what was inside. Some crouched on the floor to take their bags apart right there, and exclaimed at what was in them, and put some things on immediately, or opened a bag of cookies and ate one.
By eleven o’clock, the team had given away seventy-one bags and had enough left for people to come back the next night for a few hours to hand them out. Most of the team were willing to do so. A few had other plans. They hugged each other as their last “customer” of the night left. They all agreed the evening had been a roaring success. They all felt great about it. The faces of the grateful recipients were unforgettable.
Spencer took an Uber home, and had the driver go past the store. There was only one man in a sleeping bag lying in front of one of the windows, where an air vent would keep him warm. And the sleeping bag wasn’t one of those they had given out, so he hadn’t heard the word, although he could see the sign in the window.
Spencer had tears in her eyes as she rode home. She could hear her grandfather’s voice in her head. “Good girl!” It was one of those precious moments in a lifetime when all the ugliness faded and she knew who she was, and that she was doing the right thing. It made her feel like she had wings and could fly. She kissed Ben and Axel asleep in their beds when she got home, just wanting to share the love with them.
Chapter 10
Mike was learning a lot about parenting from living with Zack when he came home from Europe badly injured. Zack wasn’t in pain most of the time, except if he overdid it, but he got petulant and frustrated from being confined to the wheelchair, because he couldn’t use crutches with his broken wrists. Mike was learning about his son’s maturity level and his more open-minded view of the world than his father’s, which were astonishing at times. And so were his total lack of maturity and insight at other times, when Mike thought he acted like a five-year-old. In fact, they were learning a lot about each other, and filling in the years they had missed. What had been terrifying at first had turned into an amazing opportunity to bridge the gap between them and make up for lost time. It annoyed Maureen to see how close Mike and Zack were becoming, she didn’t think Mike deserved a second chance. But a better part of her realized that it was what their son needed, to get to know his father and have a male role model to teach him how to become a man.
Zack was shocked to discover how conservative his father’s political views were, but Mike viewed the world through the eyes of a self-made man, a very rich one, and endorsed policies that would protect what he had built and the wealth he had acquired, which Zack vehemently disapproved of. They had heated political discussions late into the night, and even though their points of view differed, Mike welcomed the exchange, and encouraged Zack to support his own opinions. He didn’t expect Zack to share his point of view at eighteen, and would have been surprised if he did.
Mike said something about it one day to Maureen when he came to pick Zack up, and how proud he was of their son. Her reaction was bittersweet, but deep down, she was happy for Zack. He needed a father, even if Mike had woken up to it late in the day. And Mike was grateful for the opportunity to have the chance to be one, even if they had been nearly strangers until now. Zack was being generous with his trust and his time, and opening up to his father as he hadn’t before.
It worried Maureen that Zack would need her less now, and love her less, and Mike understood and reassured her. “You’ll always be his mom, Maureen. He needs us both.” She nodded, with tears in her eyes, and she missed Zack at night when he slept at Mike’s apartment, but it worked better for Zack, needing Mike’s help to shower, use the bathroom, and get into bed, with his casts. And the arrangement they had was working. The college student Maureen had hired was helpful in the daytime. Mike was strong and in good shape and he could manage to help Zack at night, although Zack was bigger than he was, and had shot up and filled out during his time in Europe.
His friends were being faithful about visiting him, and there was a girl from his high school senior year whom he was in touch with and wanted to take out when he could manage and get around on his own again. She came to see him once at Mike’s apartment, and they played video games, and Mike ordered dinner for them and stayed in his small study to leave them alone. Zack had gotten used to his independence and freedom while traveling in Europe, and it was hard to be treated like a child by his parents when he got back. But his injuries had created that situation, so he tried to be understanding about their being overprotective and worrying about him. Zack hated being an invalid for the summer.
Their summer plans were on hold for the moment. Mike had wanted to rent a house in the Hamptons for a few weeks when Jennifer was home, but hadn’t found one yet. And Maureen had planned to go to Italy with friends while Zack and Jennifer were with Mike, but she wanted to wait and see how Zack was doing by then. Nothing was definite yet. Zack wouldn’t be able to manage the beach, or swim in the ocean with his leg in a cast, so he had told Mike he might spend time in the city too.
So far Zack had been a pleasure, not a burden, and Mike wasn’t dating anyone, so he didn’t interfere with Mike’s private life. Mike hadn’t dated anyone since he and Maureen had split up, although Zack hinted that his mother had, but he offered no details. He didn’t want to get in the middle between them. They were all still getting used to the idea of the divorce. But Maureen had moved on faster than Mike. He wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t loved him for years.
Zack had talked to his sister about it, and she said she had been expecting the divorce for years, and thought their parents would be happier now. Zack didn’t disagree, but he didn’t like the idea of having divorced parents, and he worried about who they’d get involved with now, bad boyfriends or girlfriends, people with their own kids, or who’d want to change everything, or come between them and their parents. He was just getting to know his father and he didn’t want to lose him.