The Following Part

Suddenly my phone rings, it's my Dad. I cant talk so I let him leave me a message.In a few minutes Marie is back with two plates of steaming lasagna. "Oh my gosh that's gorgeous!" I say licking my lips. I love beautiful food, especially when I know it's going to be delicious. I thank God for the meal and we easily fall into conversation about Marie's family. In between bites she tells me, " Little Nicholas, he is not behaving in school. He gets into trouble and I get notes. Worse than the notes though is the looks from the other parents." I sip my water and think about what she must be going through as a single mother of three children. Raising kids isn't easy even with two parents, so I "figure", having no kids of my own. I wish that I knew what to say. Luckily I don't have to say anything, she goes on. "Ever since my husband left I have not been as strict as I should be I guess, but then its so hard you know, because I don't want to be the bad guy. I don't want them to hate me." I'm surprised."How could they hate you Marie, you're their Mom, you love them." She pauses for a minute thinking to herself. "I think they are angry at me because David left. I think they think it's my fault." The pain in her eyes is quite moving. I can tell that this has been building up for a while. "Oh,... they're too young to really understand then, When they're a little older maybe." Did that help , I don't know,I'm thinking to myself, this is tough. Looking over her soda she says, " Marcus is twelve, Sidney will be nine, and Nicholas is six, I guess I can understand the little ones not understanding, but Marcus, he should." " How are the others doing in school?" I ask hoping to start on a lighter note. "Sidney is doing wonderful, all her teachers love her because she is self motivated.Now Marcus,... not so much. He does the work and he is really smart, but he's lazy." We continue to talk for a while and I tell her about the Autumn Festival coming up at the Church. "If you have the time you should bring the kids , its going to be lots of fun." She smiles,"Well maybe, if I can get away from here."We take our plates back to the kitchen. Standing at the counter I pay for my food and give her a hefty tip. "I better run.See you later." I turn to leave. "Thanks a lot Jenna." she waves her tip."For everything."she smiles "No problem.Thank you." I say pushing the door open to leave.