Page 79 of Fake it For Good
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Noelle sitting on the floor. The boy demanding berries was in her lap with a couple of other kids sitting around her. I took off my jacket and hung it on a chair. Taking my cues from her, I sat on the floor.
“What’s your name?” I asked the boy.
“Jonathan,” he said. “But everyone calls me Johnny.”
“Do you like to be called Johnny?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know.”
“Would you like me to call you Johnny?”
He nodded his head.
“Okay, Johnny, show me what your favorite car is,” I said.
He picked up a black car. I knew the general make of it. “It’s supposed to make noise, but we don’t have batteries. We have to make the sounds.”
“You know, that’s the best kind of car,” I told him. “When I was your age, I had to make all my own sounds too.”
“You did?”
“I did,” I said. “The cars my company makes now don’t make a lot of noise either. I think it’s more fun if you can make the sounds.”
“Like what?” he asked.
I licked my lips and did my best motor sound. I ran the car across the carpet, revving my engine on occasion. Johnny started giggling when I pretended my motor stalled.
“Where’s your car?” I asked him.
There was a rug with a city layout. We drove our cars all over with different sounds. I didn’t miss the fact that some of the cars had broken wheels. The other toys weren’t in much better shape. I now understood why Noelle was so determined to get these kids some real toys to play with.
“Snack time,” an older woman called out.
The kids all filed out of the room. The boy that demanded the book be read to him had a hold on Noelle’s hand. “Come with me,” he said.
“Do you want to come get a snack with us?” Noelle asked me.
“You go ahead,” I told her. “I want to check on the delivery.”
I found Mrs. Drummond at the front of the house. A Boy Scout troop was posing for a picture with a couple of boxes of toys they were donating. She saw me and smiled. “Your delivery has just arrived. I’ve got a couple of the girls bringing it in the back.”
“Good,” I said. “I’m glad it’s here.”
“This is really generous,” she said. “I am so grateful.”
“It really was my pleasure,” I told her. “I’d like to do more. I’ll reach out and we can talk more about what I can do to help.”
“That will mean so much to Noelle,” she said. “All of this has made her so happy. She tries so hard to give these kids what she didn’t have when she was here.”
“When she was here?” I asked.
“Noelle lived here for a good part of her childhood,” she replied. “I wish I could have kept her longer, but I’m just not set up for teenagers.”
Everything became so much clearer. “I see,” I said. “Why don’t I go check on that delivery?”
“You do that.”
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