Bridge Engineering: Part 2Why is my mom here?

Based on a post by Architect 23 94, in 3 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Connected.

I

awoke to the sound of Lizzie's bathroom door opening and closing, and

the girls' footsteps moving around her bedroom. I laid there for a

minute then reluctantly pulled myself out of bed to splash some water on

my face and slip on a pair of flannel lounge pants and a t-shirt.

I

emerged from my bedroom and looked down in the great room to see the

girls standing by the sofa looking at Stefani as she slept.

Toni heard me coming down the stairs and asked, "Why is my mom here?"

Lizzie followed that with the accurate but impolite assessment, "Her makeup is all smeared."

Before I could say anything, Toni shook her mom's shoulder and loudly inquired, "Mom! Mom! Are you ok?!"

Stefani

stirred, stretched her legs under the blankets, and drowsily answered,

"Yes honey, I'm fine. Mom just had a really rough night."

Seemingly

satisfied with that answer, Toni and Lizzie went into the pantry and

started lining up cereal boxes while debating the merits of each

selection.

By

that time, I was also downstairs and gently offered, "Good morning" to

Stefani as I went about rekindling the hearth. She moaned as she sat up

on the sofa and said, "I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe I came here

like that last night."

"I'm glad you did. I don't know what that was all about, but I was happy to know you were here and safe."

She

gave a muffled "Thank you." while she hung her head and cradled it in

her hands, then mumbled to herself, "I can't believe I thought he would

be any different."

Toni must have had one ear tuned into our conversation and interjected in an annoyed tone of voice, "Is this about a man?"

Lizzie

looked at Toni, then at me and matter-of-factly said, "She should go

sit on the bridge." It was an unquestionable truth in Lizzie's mind that

time sitting on the bridge would fix whatever was bothering Toni's mom.

I smiled and said, "Lizzie, I think that is a great idea."

She puffed her chest proudly and went about pouring a bowl of cereal.

I

finished adding logs to the fire and suggested to Stefani, "There's a

half-bath by the kitchen, or you're welcome to use my bathroom upstairs

if you would like a shower. I'll pull together some fresh clothes for

you. When you are ready, I think we should go for a walk;” then in a

slightly louder voice added, "away from little eavesdroppers."

"You really wouldn't mind if I took a shower?"

"Not at all. I'll get you some towels and toiletries."

The

corners of her mouth turned upward in a small smile of gratitude and,

for the first time that morning, Stefani looked me directly in the eyes

and offered a very heart-felt, "Thank you."

She

stood up, pulled the hem of her dress down, and followed me up the

stairs in her black legging covered feet. At the top of the stairs, I

reached in the linen closet and handed her a stack of two bath towels, a

hand towel, and a washcloth. My hands then sorted through some of the

miscellaneous toiletries stored in the same closet and added a

toothbrush, toothpaste, and stick of pre-teen girly deodorant.

I

apologized as I set the brightly patterned container on top of the

towels, "Sorry, you're stuck with this unless you want to use men's

deodorant."

Returning

to our inventory of toiletries, I started checking labels on bottles of

Lizzie's 2-in-1 bodywash and shampoo, "Ok, looks like your choices are

strawberry, cotton candy, or bubble gum."

She chuckled and said, "I think I'll go with strawberry."

"Good call."

We

proceeded into my bedroom where I motioned her toward the ensuite

bathroom and said, "Make yourself at home and use whatever you need in

there. I'm pretty sure the door locks. To be honest, I've never used

it."

She

surveyed the bedroom and its contents on her way to the bathroom and I

walked the opposite direction toward my walk-in closet.

"I'll find some clothes while you are in the shower and set them on the corner of the bed."

She

softly said, "Thank you." while walking into the bathroom and shutting

the door behind her. I proceeded to rummage through my closet looking

for things that might work. I knew my clothes made for a 6'-3" tall man

wouldn't fit her properly, but they were the only option available.