Chapter 11

In the morning, Justine packed her bag and headed off to school.

"Try to stay out of trouble," she said.

"You too."

He went and researched old properties while he worried about Justine at school. The day passed and the rest of the week, without much more than the usual grumbling about Kelly and her constant teasing. Friday evening the phone rang. It was Lee letting Patrick know that Justine had an appointment that Monday after school.

Justine watched movies through the weekend. She chose a recipe that didn't involve any shopping and went to bed early.

Patrick dropped her off at the school and went in to talk to the principal.

"I hear you like my daughter's cooking." Patrick said.

"The cookies were delicious," the principal said. "My name's Mr. Houston. I'm very sorry about what happened. While I don't allow yelling at teachers for any reason, Justine did have some cause to be upset."

"I watched her bake the cookies," said Patrick, "all of them. She hasn't had that much fun in a very long time."

"I will speak to Ms. Hall. She means well, but she is inexperienced."

"I will leave it in your hands then." Patrick stood. "I will be picking Justine up after school. She has an appointment with a counsellor."

"I remember when my father died. It took years for me to work things out. I wish my mother had thought to bring me to a counsellor. Though it probably wouldn't have helped. I wasn't nearly as smart as Justine." He shook hands with Patrick. "My door is always open, Mr. Constance."

Justine was still quiet when he picked her up after school.

"The principal came and talked to Ms. Hall while we were out at recess. She sort of apologized, but I still don't think she likes me."

They arrived at the address to find a pleasant looking red brick house. The sign in front said 'Balanteen Art and Play Therapy'.

"This doesn't look so bad," Justine said, "I like art." The inside matched the exterior, with what Justine called a nicely understated look. She walked around and peered at the paintings while they waited.

"This is cool, Dad."

"I'm glad you like it," Mrs. Balanteen said. "Your mother did most of the design work." The counsellor was an older woman wearing clothes that would be as comfortable on the floor as in a chair.

"You knew my mother?" Justine went from quiet to excited in an instant.

"Let me talk to your Dad for a few minutes, then we'll talk about your mother." She waved to the chairs and Justine plunked herself into one.

"What are you waiting for?" she said. "Go, talk."

Mrs. Balanteen laughed and opened the door to her office. Now that he knew, Patrick could see Ingrid's touches in the decor.

"This was done after she learned about the cancer," he said. "She used much softer colours after."

"It was the last job she had before she had to quit. I was at her funeral."

"I don't remember much about that."

"I understand." She pulled out a pad of paper. "I'm Mrs. Balanteen. When Lee called me, I was very concerned, but seeing Justine for myself, less so. If she is so eager to talk about her mother, she is working through the loss well. Still, talking with her will do no harm, and maybe help her deal with the children at school.

"I have a few simple rules. I will not talk about any of the sessions without Justine's permission and without her in the room. The only exception is if I think she is a danger to herself or to others, or if there are signs of abuse. That's just the law. I will tell you in general terms how she is doing and if there are specific things that you can do to help."

"That all sounds good." Patrick stood.

"You don't want to know how much this will cost."

"If it helps Justine, any cost would be worth it."

"Lee told me, and I didn't believe her. Now I owe her a bottle of wine." She put the pad down beside her. "Ask Justine to come in."

"Justine, it's your turn," he said. He'd barely finished the sentence before she was in the room and the door closed. Patrick picked up an old magazine and started reading.

When she came out she was practically bouncing.

"I'll meet you in the car," he said. "I probably need to pay Mrs. Balanteen."

"I won't charge you for this session, Mr. Constance. Future sessions will be a hundred dollars each."

"All this weekend she has barely moved and now she is practically flying."

"She had a very stressful week, then talked about a great many issues with Lee. That takes a great deal of energy. She will bounce back to her normal self. You did very well to just let her find her own level. Shall I make an appointment for two weeks?"

"Mrs. Balanteen was Mom's last client before she died." Justine said when they got in the car. "She asked Mom to create an atmosphere that was calming, but not deadening. The colours come from a picture of India that she has in her office. It is just this landscape, but the colours are amazing. She was at Mom's funeral. I don't remember her, but she said that was OK. She wants to see pictures of my room too. We can just talk or I can draw pictures. She is so cool."

"I'm glad you like her," Patrick said. "I talked to Mr. Houston today. If you need to talk at school, he said you're welcome to go and talk to him, and you don't need to yell at Ms. Hall first."

"Thanks, Dad."

When they got home, she ran to the phone and called Ms. Palenz.

"I wanted to thank you for getting Mrs. Balanteen to talk to me," Justine said. "She is so cool. She knew my mom."

Justine talked a while longer before she hung up then she hugged Patrick before setting out her books.