Splinters: Part One

Part One | 19

Andrew nodded. "I think so." He came towards me. "Nice seein' ya, Cale?"

"You, too. Stay out of trouble."

Andrew laughed at him and we both trudged down the stairs toward the hall and out the door.

...

"It's good to see you again, Brayden," Dr. Johnson greeted. "It's been a while."

I nodded shyly and let him go passed me to close the door. Taking a seat, I waited until he did the same.

"How've you been?"

"All right."

He nodded and then looked through the papers clipped to his board. "So last time you were here, we talked about your father, Bryson, correct?"

"Y-yeah."

"We talked about your grandmother. We made it clear about her passing, yes?"

I shrugged nervously. "I-I guess so."

"I want to talk a little more about her and where you were after her."

"St. Anne's?"

He nodded. "Yes. But let's begin with your grandmother."

I drew a deep breath. "Okay."

"Your grandma was pretty good to you, yes?"

I smiled. "She was great."

"Do you reckon the age she passed?"

I shook my head sadly.

"That's fine. It'd be difficult if you did. You were a young child."

"Yeah."

"What was your relationship with her?"

"She was kind of my new mom, I guess."

"Did you guys see each other much before you lived with her?"

"No. She didn't really like my parents."

"She was your... mother's mother?"

"My dad's," I corrected.

"Right. And she didn't have a good relationship with either parent of yours?"

I shook my head.

"Do you know why?"

"I think maybe she knew what my parents were doing and she didn't approve. There were times where she tried to take me, but she couldn't because of her health."

He nodded and wrote something down. "She had heart problems I presume?"

"I-I don't really know."

"That's okay," he assured. "We don't need to know every detail."

I waited as he wrote something else down.

"So, about St. Anne's."

"It was a Catholic orphanage."

"That's interesting," Dr. Johnson said, biting his pen. "Catholic orphanages have been shut down in the US and Europe."

"St. Anne's is really small and it isn't really well-known. The nuns tried to keep it quiet."

He nodded. "So did they teach you Catholicism?"

"Yeah."

"Are you Catholic?"

"I don't really know if I believe in God," I admitted. "I mean, if He's out there, why hasn't He helped me? Why hasn't He helped the others?"

Dr. Johnson sighed. "I'm not Catholic, but I am Christian. Finding God is something you have to do. If you don't put in the effort to feel His presence, you may never will. God might be what you need, Brayden."