Wyoming Winter

Wyoming Winter - Chapter Twenty-Four

"Are we in trouble, Sam?" Gloria asked as she climbed into the back of the SUV. 

"No, of course not. You haven't done anything wrong." Sam closed the back door, and slid behind the wheel. "Were those teachers mean to you?" 

"They asked a lot of questions." Jennifer answered, "And they made us take a lot of tests." 

"Oh, yeah, how do you think you did?" Sam started the engine, and backed out of the parking space. 

"Not very good." Gloria answered, "The teacher was frowning like she was mad." 

"I'm sure she wasn't mad. They are just trying to see how much you know." Sam explained. 

"I didn't like it." Belinda informed her. 

"Sorry, sweetie." How had she not noticed that Belinda slurred her words slightly? Perhaps she had noticed, but thought it was just Belinda. Kids speak differently at a young age. Guilt racked her mind. She should have noticed. They reached the main street, and parked at the curb near the diner. "How about some lunch?" 

"Yay!" The girls chorused. 

As they climbed out of the SUV, Sam groaned. Across the street was the white version of the SUV. "Chloe!" The woman was still in town.

"What's wrong, Sam?" Gloria asked. 

"Nothing, let's go inside." As they entered the diner, she scanned the tables for her nemesis. 

"She's not here." Brenda waved from the center of the room where she and the other Grants Pass moms had pushed tables together to make room for all of them. Sandra and Theresa were sitting at the corner booth with the other kids. 

Gloria and the twins hurried to join their sister while Sam checked on David and Heather in the stroller beside Brenda, "Did she come in here?" 

Brenda glanced at Eloise, "Yeah, she came in. Tried to tell us that she was here to check on the kids." 

"How did she even know they were here?" 

"I told you, its a small town. Everyone knows everything the second it happens. Including what the principal of the school thinks about the twins." 

Sam dropped into a chair, "Are you kidding? That bitch told everyone what happened?" She glanced at the girls. "They didn't do anything wrong." 

"What exactly happened?" 

Sam explained what transpired at the school. "That woman is horrible. Belinda is just a kid." 

Brenda leaned over to pat Sam's arm, "Maybe Belinda is just having hearing problems. If she can't hear what the teachers are saying, she isn't going to learn the same way as everyone else." 

"Yeah, I guess." Sam lowered her voice, "But what if she needs a hearing aid? She's had so much going on, this is just..." 

"Don't go looking for trouble." Eloise said, "First things first, get her to the doctor, get a hearing test, and then worry about it. It could just be something simple." 

"Like what?" 

Eloise shrugged, "I have no idea, but I strongly suggest not freaking out until you know what's going on." 

"Yeah." Sam had to concede that they were right. She couldn't freak out until there was something to freak out about. When lunch was finished, she loaded up the kids and followed Brenda's directions to the doctors office across the street from the grocery store. 

"Why are we here?" Jennifer asked when they parked in front of the office. 

"Belinda needs to get some x-rays." Sam unloaded the stroller, and the kids.