A Mother's Heart

by Lynn

Part One

Gail poured Lee a fresh cup of coffee and sat down beside him to finish her breakfast.

"So how about letting me take you to lunch today? I have hardly seen you at all since you and Scotty became partners."

Lee took a sip of his coffee, "I would love to, honey, but I have to be in court all day. And Scott and I will probably work late tonight to get caught up on all of our other cases."

Gail sighed. She knew that Lee had never been happier; he loved working with Scott and she knew he loved being busy and productive. But she did worry that he was overdoing it. It had only been a year since he had been so ill, she shuddered to think about that horrible time. She thanked God every day that he was well again.

"How late do you think you'll be?” Gail was hoping that maybe they could spend a little time together that night.

"I don't know sweetheart, we have a lot of work to do. Don't wait up for me."

"Who is watching Serena?” Gail asked. She would love to spend some time with her young granddaughter.

"I think that she and Karen are having a sleepover,” Lee told her as he stood up and grabbed his briefcase. "I have to go or I'll be late. I'll see you later." He kissed Gail on the cheek and walked out the door.

Gail picked up all the breakfast dishes and walked into the kitchen. She had her own busy day ahead of her. She had a full day of appointments on her calendar and she had volunteered to help out at the Community Center Teen Outreach program this afternoon.

Later that afternoon, Gail arrived at the Community Center. Joyce Worth, the Director of the center, greeted her.

"Dr. Baldwin, thank you so much for agreeing to help us with our Teen Outreach Program.”

Joyce extended her hand to Gail who shook it warmly.

"My pleasure. You said on the phone that you just wanted me to talk to the kids informally?”

"Yes. Most of these Kids are from broken homes and many of them are abused or neglected. They need someone they can confide in, someone who won't judge them. Most of these kids do not trust adults. The adults in their lives have hurt them or let them down too many times."

Gail knew how important it was to help these kids before it was too late and they ended up in jail or dead.

"I think the best way to get the kids to open up is to have group discussions, we can start by talking about movies or music videos, whatever the kids want to talk about. Then, hopefully in time, they will feel comfortable coming to see me with their problems."

Joyce smiled at Gail. She had heard that Dr. Baldwin was a terrific Doctor, but now she also realized that she was a wonderful person.

"Great, let's introduce you to some of the kids"

Part Two

Gail walked into the Community Center Monday afternoon and greeted all the kids. She couldn't believe she had been working at the center for almost a month. She loved working with the kids and most of them were finally starting to open up to her. Joyce walked over to her and greeted her warmly.

"Hi, Gail, do you have a minute? I'd like to talk to you about a new boy."

“Certainly, Joyce, just give me a minute to get organized and I'll meet you in your office."

"Great, I'll see you in a few minutes" Joyce walked towards her office and closed the door. Gail walked into her office a few minutes later. Joyce took out a file and handed it to Gail.

Looking at the picture of a boy with blond hair and blue eyes, he reminded her of Scotty. Even though she didn't know Scotty when he was a young teenager, something about this boy reminded her of her son.

"What’s his story?” she asked Joyce.

The boy's name is Ricky Thompson. He's 15 years old. His mother died when he was 3 years old and he was taken away from his father a year and a half ago because of abuse. He has already been in two foster homes. One Foster parent also abused him and the other one moved out of the state. Joyce sighed; she had told this story so many times. The names may have changed, but so many of the stories were the same.

"He doesn't have any other family?” Gail asked as she continued to look at the picture of Ricky.

"No and he has so much anger in him, Gail. I think if someone doesn't reach this kid soon he's going to explode."

Gail looked concerned "Do you think he could be dangerous?"

Joyce thought. "I don't think so. He is your classic loner, and from what I've seen, he keeps his feelings buried pretty deep. But I think it's only a matter of time before all that pent up anger and frustration boils over."

Joyce hated to be so pessimistic, but her gut feeling about these kids was usually pretty good.

Gail smiled. "These kids are very lucky to have you, Joyce. I'm sure between the two of us, we can reach Ricky and get him the help he needs."

Joyce nodded. She sure hoped that Gail was right.

Part Three

Ricky was sitting alone on a bench outside the Community Center.
He was taking some pictures of the kids playing Basketball. Gail walks up to him and sits down

"Hi Ricky, do you mind if I sit here??"

Ricky shrugged his shoulders "It's a free world"

Gail almost sat on a pile of pictures. "Did you take these pictures Ricky?"

Ricky nodded.

Gail asked "May I look at them??

"I don't care, Ricky replied

"I am really impressed, these are beautiful. You have a special talent Ricky"

For the first time Gail saw Ricky smile.

"I like taking pictures of other kids having fun. I can pretend... he trailed off..

Gail finished his sentence "You can pretend that you are one of the kids having fun?.. You can escape from your real life for awhile?

Ricky started to squirm a little. "I don't know, look Doc. I gotta go. See ya" and without another word he was gone.

Gail was intrigued. This boy was sullen, moody and so very sad. But Gail also saw a boy who desperately wanted to be a normal kid. He just wanted to be loved. She picked up a picture from the floor, maybe this is the one way to reach him. If she could help nourish his photography maybe he would make it..

Part Four

That evening Gail walked in the door to be greeted by Lee and Scotty.

"Are you two working here this evening??"

Scott shook his head "No, I was just dropping Lee off, I gotta get home, I promised Serena I would take her to see that new Disney Movie tonight"

Gail smiled "Have fun, give Serena a big kiss from us"

Scott headed for the door "I will"

Lee put his arms around Gail "I have missed you, how was your day?"

Gail threw her coat on the chair. "Wonderful, I think I may have an idea how to get through to one of the kids at the Community Center."

As they both walked into the living room, Lee asked, "The boy you were telling me about the other day?"

Gail nodded, "Yes, Ricky. He has a real talent for photography. I thought maybe I would talk to Dr. Simpson. His wife is a photographer and maybe she could give me some hints on how to get Ricky started.

Lee looked concerned. "Honey, why are you taking such an interest in this boy?"

Gail looking at Lee intensely, "I honestly don't know. I just see something behind his eyes. He is so alone in this world. And I think he is at a crossroads and at this point he could go either way, he could do something with his life or he could be lost forever. And I just want to help push him in the right direction..

Lee hugged her "You have the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met. I'm just a little worried. Honey, if you get too close to this boy, you are going to lose your objectivity. What about all the other kids at the Community Center? You can't save all of them, as much as I know you would like to.

Gail sighed heavily, "But maybe I could save just one child. Wouldn't it be worth it? I know I can help Ricky, and I would never forgive myself if I didn't try.

Lee kissed her on the cheek. "Ricky would be very lucky to have you in his corner, but just be careful ok? I just don't want to see you get hurt if this boy doesn't want to be saved.

Gail joked, "I promise I won't adopt him without telling you first."

Lee laughed, "Very funny!"

Part Five

A couple of months passed and Gail continued to encourage Ricky's love for photography. And he slowly, very slowly started to open up to her.

Gail saw Ricky sitting on a bench at the center.

"Hi Ricky, How are you today?"

Ricky looked up and smiled, "Fine Doc, how's it going?"

Gail sat down next to him and handed him a package.

Ricky looked surprised. "What's this?"

Gail smiled. "Open it and find out."

Ricky opened the package and found a brand new camera. Ricky looked at Gail, but he didn't know what to say. All of a sudden he reached out and hugged Gail who was equally shocked by Ricky's show of affection.

"No one has ever given me nothing his nice in my whole life!" Ricky finally sputtered.

"Given you anything.." Gail corrected. "I think that if you are going to be a famous photographer, then you would need a decent camera. The man at the store said this camera is great for beginners because it is easy to use, but will still took very good pictures."

Ricky turned to Gail, "Thank you Dr. Baldwin, Thanks a lot!!"

Gail smiled at him, "You are very welcome."

Gail was headed out the door when Joyce called to her.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Gail walked toward Joyce's office. "Certainly, what can I do for you?"

Joyce frowned, "It's Ricky."

Gail was surprised by this. Ricky had been doing great, even his foster parents commented on the change in the young man.

"What's the problem?" Gail asked.

"Ricky's foster parents have to leave town on a family emergency and they can't take Ricky. He will have to go back to the group home for awhile and since it's across town, we probably won't see much of him for awhile.

"Oh Joyce, he's come so far in the last couple of months, I would hate to lose any of the progress we have made."

"I agree Gail, but there isn't much we can do. It will probably only be for a few weeks," Joyce reassured her.

Gail had an idea, "Ummm, what if Ricky came and stayed with Lee and me? I finally got him to attend the group sessions and if he stops going, even temporarily, I wonder if he'll ever return. Right now he has a routine that he is comfortable with. If that routine is disrupted, even for a short time, I think it would be detrimental to him."

Joyce looked at Gail for a long time. "I don't know Gail. Do you have any idea what it would be like living with a teenager, and especially a teenager with as many issues at Ricky has?"

Gail smiled. "I think I could handle it, on a temporary basis that is."

"What about Lee, do you think he will agree with this arrangement?"

Gail answered, "I'm sure he would be all in favor of helping Ricky."

Joyce was unsure. "Look, why don't you go home and talk to Lee and I'll talk to Ricky's Social Worker and see if it's even possible, OK?"

Gail nodded. "I'll call you tonight."

Part Six

Gail was busy cooking dinner when Lee came home that evening.

Kissing Gail on the cheek Lee said, "Boy, does that smell good! What's the occasion?"

Gail looked at him. "Do I need a special occasion to cook a wonderful dinner for my husband?"

"Of course not. You can cook for me anytime you want," he teased.

"Well go sit down, dinner is ready."

After they had finished their dinner, they took their coffee and moved to the living room.

"Lee there is something I need to talk to you about."

Lee looking up at her said, "What's wrong honey?"

"Nothing is wrong..," she smiled. "Do you remember the boy I have been mentoring down at the Community Center? His foster parents are going out of town for a week or so and he has nowhere to go. I was ..."

Lee frowned, "Gail I don't think that would be a very good idea."

"You didn't even let me finish," Gail protested.

"I know you too well, my dear. You want this boy to stay with us while his foster family is out of town. Is that right?"

Gail smiled wanly, "I guess you do know me too well. But seriously, what do you think of the idea?"

Lee moved closer to Gail. "Honey, you have the biggest heart in the world, but I really think you are getting in way over your head with this boy."

"It would only be temporary, Lee."

Lee laughed, "Why you have no idea what life is like with a teenager. Scotty tried my patience on a daily basis and he didn't have any of the problems that Ricky has."

Gail turned to her husband. "I know that Ricky has a lot of problems, that is why I'm trying to keep his life as normal as possible during his foster parents' absence. I really think it would be beneficial for him to continue his routine and if he stayed with us, I believe that is possible."

"I don't know Gail," he frowned, "What about our family? what about Serena? I don't think it would be a good idea for her be around Ricky."

"Oh, come on Lee, he's just a screwed up kid, he's not on the ten most wanted list. And besides, Serena hasn't spent the night with us in a long time."

"I don't know, Honey." But Lee knew his wife was determined to bring this kid home and he didn't think he had much chance of talking her out of it.

"I'll tell you what, why don't you come down to the Community Center tomorrow and talk to Ricky. You'll see he's really a very nice young man."

Lee shook his head, "I'll try, but my new secretary starts tomorrow and I don't know if I'll be able to get away."

"You know," said Gail, taking Lee's hand, "if you hadn't been there for Scotty when his mother died, he very well could have ended up like Ricky...alone, scared and angry at the world. This boy just needs a break...a little compassion and someone to believe in him. That's all I'm trying to do."

Lee couldn't help smiling lovingly at his wife. "OK... Ricky can stay with us for awhile, but... You tell him there are going to be rules, lots of rules."

Gail smiled.

The Office of Baldwin and Baldwin Lee took the file from Scotty's hands. "Everything looks good son, you did a great job."

Scott smiled "Thanks, it helps when you know that your client in innocent. What's up with you this morning? You look like you're a million miles away sometimes."

Lee sighed, "Do you remember the boy that Gail has practically adopted from the Community Center?"

Scott thought for a minute. "Yeah, I do remember you mentioning him."

"Well I guess he is going to be our houseguest for awhile. Seems his foster family has to leave town for a couple of weeks."

"Wow," Scott laughed, "I always wanted a kid brother."

Lee scowled, "That's not funny Scott. The last thing I ever expected at my age was to be dealing with a teenager all over again."

Scott patted him on the back "You did a great job the first time around, I'm sure you'll be fine with this kid."

"I just have a feeling that our lives are about to be turned upside down," worried Lee.

Part Seven

Gail walked into the house followed by Ricky. He was amazed; he had never been in such a big, beautiful house. It looked like a museum with all the beautiful antiques and expensive furniture. But it also had a very homey, very comfortable feel about it.

Lee came in from the kitchen and greeted the boy. “Hi, there. You must be our new houseguest.”

Ricky nodded.

Lee smiled at the boy, "Welcome. We're glad you could stay with us. If there is anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask."

Ricky was a little surprised by Lee's hospitality. He mumbled, "Thank you."

Gail suggested that Lee show Ricky up to the guestroom.

She asked Ricky, "Are you hungry? I'll go make us all some lunch while you go get settled in OK?”

Ricky just nodded. Lee reached out to take Ricky's small suitcase, but Ricky pulled it away quickly.

"That's mine and you can't have it!" he yelled.

Gail looked at Lee and then at Ricky "It's ok, Lee was just going to take it upstairs for you. But if you want to do it yourself, that's fine. It's the second door to your right.”

Ricky started up the stairs, but he stopped half way and looked at Gail.

"It's ok, Ricky, go on up and get unpacked. Come down when your ready to eat alright?"

Ricky continued to climb the stairs and disappeared into his new room.

Lee shook his head. "I don't know, Gail. He seems a bit volatile to me."

“Oh, come on, Lee. He's in a new place, he's just scared. He'll be fine once he gets use to us. Please, just give him a chance."

Gail wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure Lee or herself.

Ricky came down for lunch a few minutes later. It didn't take much time to unpack when you don't own much more then the clothes on your back. Lee and Gail were both in the kitchen when Ricky walked around the living room. He bounced on the comfy couch and picked up a picture of Scott, Serena and Karen and looked at it closely. They were all sitting with their arms around each other smiling. He felt angry looking at the happy family. Why couldn't he have a family that loved him? It wasn't fair. He put the picture back where it belonged and stood up and walked over to a small desk. He opened up a drawer and ruffled through the papers. Nothing very interesting, he thought. so he closed the drawer just as Lee and Gail came back into the room. He turned around quickly and hoped they hadn't seen him snooping. Gail smiled at him

"Are you all unpacked? Good, come on in and have some lunch I hope you like turkey sandwiches."

Ricky let out a sigh of relief and he followed Gail into the kitchen to have some lunch.

After lunch, Lee invited Ricky to sit down with him in the living room.

Lee said, "I know you have had a pretty rough life, we want to help you, but if you are going to stay with us, there are going to be some rules.”

Ricky just looked at him.

Lee continued, "First, we need to know where you are at all times, if you are going to be late or leave somewhere and go somewhere else you are to call us. And your curfew is 8:00 on school nights and 10:00 on weekends. Do you have any questions?”

Ricky smiled and said, "I understand sir." But he couldn't help wondering whom this old man thought he was. He had never let anyone tell him what to do and he wasn't about to start now. But he figured he would let the old fool think he had the upper hand, he would just bide his time and then he would show everyone that they couldn't push him around anymore!

Chapter Eight

Ricky had been staying with Lee and Gail for almost a week. Gail loved having him there because she loved having someone to fuss over. Lee tried to warm up to Ricky, but he honestly didn't trust the boy.

He could never prove anything, but he was sure that Ricky had been snooping around drawers. And he always seemed to be lurking around when he and Gail tried to have a private conversation. Something about this kid just made the hair on the back of his neck stand up straight.

Ricky walked into the kitchen early Sunday morning and Gail greeted him warmly, "How about some breakfast? I made french toast."

"I'm not hungry, umm, where's Mr. Baldwin?"

Gail looked up from the stove. "He went to the store to get a paper, we didn't get one this morning."

Ricky smiled to himself. "I was going to go take some pictures at the community center today, but I need to get some film. Could I borrow some money? I'll pay you back as soon as I get a job."

Gail reached for her purse. "You certainly don't have to pay me back. I'm glad to help a budding photographer." She handed him $10.00, "Will this be enough?"

Ricky looked at her. "I guess so, but I also need to get some batteries."

Gail handed him another $10.00. "Here that should do it."

Ricky took the money "Thanks Doc, your the best," but Ricky walked upstairs thinking to himself, "Sucker!"

Lee came home and noticed Gail's purse on the kitchen table. "So how much money did you give him this time?"

Gail looked at her husband, "Oh, come on, Lee. I just gave him a few dollars to buy film."

"Gail, in the time he has been here he has taken you for quite a bit of money."

Gail shook her head, "That is not true. I have only given him money for the essentials, lunch, books, film."

"How do you know this is how he is spending the money? Have you seen the books he buys? Or the pictures he takes?. Lee hated to see Ricky take advantage of Gail.

"Well no, Lee, but I trust him. Why would he lie to me about how he is spending the money?"

Lee was getting frustrated at Gail's total trust in this boy.

"Gail you need to be a little more cautious about the money you give Ricky. For all you know he could be spending it on drugs."

Gail threw down a dishtowel. "Lee, that is a terrible thing to say. Ricky is not on drugs. For heaven's sakes, all I ask is that you show him a little compassion, is that to much to ask?”

Lee said, "I don't trust him, Gail, and I am not going to sit back and watch him take advantage of you!"

Gail was getting upset. "You know, Lee, I stood by Scotty when he did some terrible things. I never judged him. I tried to help him get past his bitterness and anger. Why can't you do the same for Ricky?"

Lee couldn't believe she was comparing their son to Ricky. "That's totally different and you know it. Scotty is my son and, as you will remember, there was a time when I didn't trust him, either."

"Oh, that's right, how could I forget. Scotty is YOUR son. It was ok for me to help my step-son, but I can't help Ricky because you don't like it?"

Lee looked at her, incredulously, "That's not what I said and you know that you are more to Scott than a step-mother. He thinks of you as his mother."

Gail softened. "Lee, Scott is an adult, he doesn't need us anymore. But Ricky is a mixed-up kid and I, for one, am going to do anything I can to help him. And that means trusting him.”

"Fine, but I hope that you don't regret it. I'm going upstairs to change and then I'm going to the office. I have work to do."

Ricky had been standing on the stairs listening to Lee and Gail argue. He vowed to make Lee pay for trying to turn Gail against him.

A half-hour later, Lee walked out of the house, passing Ricky sitting on the steps. Lee walked past him and told him, "I'll see you later."

He walked over to his car only to discover that the front tire had been slashed. He automatically looked at Ricky, who walked over to see what had happened.

Lee asked him, "Did you do that?"

Ricky looked hurt. "Of course not, why would I slash your tire?"

Lee wasn't convinced. "I don't know, you tell me."

Ricky raised his right hand. "I swear, Mr. Baldwin, I didn't do it."

Lee looked at him for a few seconds. "Alright, but if I find out that you did this, young man…."

Ricky said. "Honest, I didn't do it. Do you want me to help you change the tire, sir?"

Lee headed for the garage to get his tools, "No, I can do it myself."

Ricky laughed and fingered the pocketknife in his pocket.

Gail grabbed the phone on the first ring, "Hello."

"Oh. Hi, Joyce, How are you?"

Joyce hesitated a bit before answering. "Fine. Look, Gail, we have a bit of a problem."

Gail sat up in her seat. "What's wrong?"

Joyce answered, "I just talked to Mrs. Johnson."

Gail knew this was probably bad news. "Ricky's foster mother?"

"Yes, remember they had to go out of town on a family emergency? Well, Mrs. Johnson just told me it was because her mother was ill and she died a couple of days ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Do they need us to keep Ricky for a bit longer?” asked Gail.

Joyce wasn't sure how to say it. "Gail, they don't want him back. Mrs. Johnson had to bring her father back home to live with them and they just won't have the time or energy to deal with Ricky."

Gail sighed. "But he was happy with them, he was making real progress. How can they just discard him like a puppy on the side of the road?"

"Gail, they aren't discarding him. They feel that they have given Ricky all the help they can and now they have to concentrate on their own family. She hesitated for a moment. "Gail, Mrs. Johnson also told me that she and her husband had been talking and they realized that they were so gung-ho on helping Ricky that they didn't want to see how disturbed he was.”

Gail was a bit shocked. "What are you saying"?

"She said that sometimes things would disappear, like jewelry or money. They both just thought they had misplaced things. But she also told me that one time she found her cat dead in the bushes, it had been beaten to death. At the time they never suspected Ricky of any of these things, but once alone and they started comparing notes, so to speak, they began to think that Ricky had been stealing from them and that there was a good possibility that he had hurt the cat.”

Gail didn't know what to think. "Do they have any proof?

Joyce answered, "No, but Mrs. Johnson said that when they put all the pieces of the puzzle together, it unfortunately pointed to Ricky.”

"That's ridiculous, Joyce, and they certainly can't condemn the boy on circumstantial evidence. I really think that Ricky is basically a good kid that has just had a lot of hard breaks in life."

“This isn't the first time that I have heard that Ricky has done terrible things. The kids at the Community Center have all complained that Ricky tries to hurt them, or he took something out of their locker; or he threatened them. But no one could ever prove it, Gail, so there was nothing I could do.”

Gail didn't know what to believe "Joyce, are you sure it's not just that the kids at the Community Center don't like Ricky and it's easy to blame him if anything bad happens?”

"Believe me, I don't want to believe that Ricky is a bad kid, but I think we both have to open our eyes and look at the truth, if it's staring us right in the face"

Gail asked her, "So what is going to happen to Ricky now?”

“I have contacted his Social Worker, she is going to start working on finding him another foster home. I also told her about the Johnson's accusations, but she can't place him in a boys’ home without proof that he has done something criminal. Gail, I really think Ricky needs professional help, and I wish the paper-pushers down in Social Services would see that “

"Listen Joyce, who better to help Ricky then me? He trusts me and we seem to have formed a bond of sorts. Maybe I can figure out if there is any basis for all these accusations and give him whatever help or counseling he may need."

Joyce shook her head. "I don't know Gail. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. What do you think Lee would say?"

Gail knew her husband would not be thrilled with the idea but she told Joyce, "I'm sure it will be fine with Lee. It will still be temporary, just until we figure out what is best for Ricky."

"I hope you know what you’re doing. I'll call the Social Worker and update her and she can call you if there are any problems or questions, OK?"

“That's fine,” smiled Gail, with hope. “Thank you, Joyce."

Gail hung up and tried to figure out how in the world she was going to tell Lee that Ricky would be sticking around for awhile.

The office of Baldwin and Baldwin…

Lee had just finished dictating a letter to his new secretary.

"Thank you, Sue. Please finish that letter before you leave for lunch, it needs to be mailed this afternoon."

Sue smiled at Lee, "Sure, I'll get right on it."

Lee nodded "Thank you."

Sue was working out better then he had hoped. She had a lot of experience in a law office so she had required very little training.

She was also a very nice lady with 2 grown children of her own. Her husband had died suddenly of a heart attack, so she was always willing to put in extra hours since she "didn't have anyone to go home to, anyway"

He did worry a bit about spending too much time with her after hours. She was an attractive woman and people might talk. But he was happily married to the most wonderful woman in the world and he didn't want Sue or anyone else to get the wrong idea.

To be continued....

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