The Madrona Heroes Register: Underneath It All

Chapter 37 - The Places You Shouldn't Be

Samantha Trace had read the same paragraph three times. The words were like sand through her fingers at the beach. Something was bothering her. She hated to admit it, but those Jordan children had gotten under her skin.

Samantha knew she wasn’t a typical mother. The other mothers at Ollie’s school weren’t exactly warm to her, but she preferred it that way. There wasn’t only one way to be a mother. Rather than spend every waking moment driving children on field trips, Samantha Trace had chosen to give her son a model of what it meant to be an adult.

And for Samantha that meant having a purpose. Her career at Luce Laboratories, her purpose, were intertwined and essentially indistinguishable. Showing Ollie her commitment to her work was her way of loving him. Samantha didn’t like to admit it, but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that someday Ollie would leave her for his own life. So why not focus on her showing how to be a purposeful adult by focusing on the thing that wouldn’t leave. Her work would always be there.

So when the summer had taken an unexpected turn, and Ollie had ended up with a pseudo-internship at her very workplace with her actual boss, it was the ultimate extension of her parenting philosophy. What better way to help Ollie grow up than to show him how she functioned as a grownup – up close.

And the funny thing was, it was going pretty well. Or it had been for a couple of weeks anyway. Until those Jordan children had come by with some new recruits for their little mob, and spat out their accusations.

Hurting animals? What a horrible thing to say. Samantha knew of Ollie’s interest in animals. But that was to draw them, not hurt them. The worst way Ollie had ever hurt anyone was by insulting their artwork. And while Samantha would never say this out loud to a soul, she was quite sure the talentless little brats deserved Ollie’s blistering critique.

But the accusation hung there. It refused to leave Samantha’s mind – like a mangy stray dog that attached itself to you begging for scraps. And now that mangy dog was getting in the way of Samantha doing her job. A fourth reading of the paragraph yielded no better results. Samantha had a few minutes before her next meeting and she decided that maybe seeing her son’s face might eradicate the awful words from her mind.

The mid-afternoon sun seemed exceptionally bright, casting everything in sharp contrast as Samantha Trace made the trek across campus to visit her son at the greenhouse. Samantha knocked gently on the door marked ‘PRIVATE’. 

“Oh, hello Samantha. What brings you to our little neighborhood?” Luce appeared.

“Hi.” Samantha forced a smile. “I had a few minutes and wanted to say a quick hi to Ollie. Make sure he was behaving himself.” She had meant it as a joke, but the tenor of her voice was tense.

“You needn’t worry Sam. He’s quite gifted. And has been lovely during his tenure here with me.” 

“Is he here? I promise I won’t distract him too much.” Samantha said.

“He must be here somewhere, unless, oh, I had needed him to take some cuttings across campus for me. So it’s possible he’s running that errand for me. I apologize. Maybe take a look around?”

Samantha surveyed the sprawling greenhouse doing mental calculations on how late she would be for her meeting if she covered it all. “It’s fine. Really.”

“Are you sure? I can help you look. We can cover it twice as fast if we’re both looking.” Luce said.

“No no. You have important work to do. Just do me a favor please? I know he’s been leaving early as part of his push for independence.” Samantha raised her eyebrows as she said the last word. “I’m booked till the end of the day today and I’d really like to go home together. Will you please let him know that I’d like him to stay put until I come get him later today?”