into the truck； my dad clicked on his seat belt and said； “So。”
I just looked at him and tried to smile。
“Are you as exhausted as I am？” he said。
I nodded。 “Everything was fine—except for the ice cream。”
Dad chuckled。 “Except for the ice cream。” Then he turned serious。 “The trouble is； you never
know what ‘the ice cream’ is going to be。
Sometimes it's a fly in the room。 Sometimes it's the feel of his socks。 It's hard to predict
everything。 Usually getting ice cream is safe。” He shook his
head and closed his eyes； thinking things I couldn't imagine。 Finally he turned the ignition
and said； “David lived with your mother and me for a while。
Before you kids were born。 We thought it would be better for him to live with us than to be in
a home； but we were wrong。”
“But overall； everything went okay today…。”
He ground the gearshift into reverse。 “David has many； many special needs； both emotional
and physical。 Your mom and I couldn't handle them
all。 Fortunately he's happy here。 They have programs to teach him how to care for himself—
how to dress and bathe and brush his teeth； how to act
around others and municate。 They go on outings； and he has a job doing mailings for a
doctor's office…。”
“He does？”
……… Page 61………
“He goes there every morning during the week to fold mailings and fill envelopes。
Greenhaven's been so good for him