Claudia And The Terrible Truth (9 page)

    "She's spoken to the people from the Department of Children and Youth Services. The police have become involved — there's a restraining order on Mr. Nicholls, so he won't go near them. He's agreed to have counseling, which is a start." "Did he admit anything?" asked Erica.
    My mother nodded. She looked sad. "Yes, he did," she said. "Mrs. Nicholls said that he talked about wanting to work on his 'problem.'" "That's great,” said Stacey. "Isn't it?" My mother shrugged. "It's great that he wants to change, but it may not be easy." She sighed. "I think he has a long way to go before he's ready to be a good father to those boys." "But at least Joey and Nate are safe now," I said.
    "Yes. And from what Mrs. Nicholls told me, their aunt's new puppy is the perfect distraction. That will help, for now. They are going to talk to a counselor too, to help sort things out. And I think Mrs. Nicholls may decide to settle near her sister and start the boys in school there,” "Wow," I said. "So they might not come back to Stoneybrook — ever." Mom nodded.
    So the boys were safe and sound. That was good. Who could have guessed that sitting for the Nicholls family would turn out to be the biggest challenge the BSC had ever faced? I knew we had handled it well and done the right thing. But I also knew that this wasn't exactly a happy ending. I wondered if I would ever see Joey and Nate again. No matter how their lives turned out, I hoped they would be " happy.
    That night, as I turned out the light and rolled over to go to sleep, I thought about the boys again. I made up my mind to go downtown to the toy store after school the next day. I'd buy a floppy tiger for Nate and a teddy bear for Joey. I liked picturing the boys sleeping peacefully and safely, stuffed toys cradled in their arms.