She was talking to the aide, and then to Mr. Usher. Something about her didn’t look right, but he couldn’t figure out what. Mostly, he was looking at the pretty lady, but the distraction of the new woman made him forget why. Meggie, the pretty lady’s name is Meggie. Oh, yeah. Wes wanted him to speak to her, and he had. Three times. But she didn’t talk much. She was like Team Smile back at Riverwood. They never talked either. Eric was glad he wasn’t like that. He liked to talk. He liked to listen, too, but the pretty lady could only talk with her eyes. They blinked sometimes, and she tapped one of her fingers. Eric was sure she was trying to say something, but he could never figure out what. Eric had lived in group homes and other facilities for most of his life. Riverwood sucked. Yucky food and it smelled funny, like cleaning chemicals. Sometimes Mom and Dad brought him home to to visit, and he wanted to stay there.
