The Perfect Solution-A Suspense of Choices Read Online Free

his hair. Rubbing the excess from his face, Austin stared at himself in the mirror.
    "Well, she will not be throwing me out this time. I'll be there until my son comes home and for whatever time I feel necessary." He promised his reflection."You need to calm down fellow," he advised his mirrored image. "Maybe I should cut off the beard." He studied one side of his face and then the other. "Catrine has never seen me with it and I might scare the hell out of her. What the hell?" He shrugged. “It will be better than beating it out of her, which would still be better than what I will do to the person who took my son."

*****
    “ Mona Boots”
     
    Mona Boots untangled the ragged shoestring tip from the two-inch nail of her pointer finger. She examined the surface of the nail for any nicks or rough edges and thanked God that the nail had not broken. Some people would probably think she was a bit manic when it came to the condition of her fingernails, after all there were things of more importance in life. It had taken months to get her nails to grow to the desired length and she freaked at the idea of them breaking. No one knew more than she that there had been nothing and no one in her life that she could lavish such care, until today.
    Returning her attention to her shoes, Mona studied their dirty ragged tips in disgust. The toes of the once dazzling white Nikes were looking worn. They were peeling, wrinkled, and almost useless. Just like her body, her face, and damn near all of her life. She yanked the strings of the bow tight and sat back to admire her success. Success, that will be my motto from this day on, she vowed to her image in the mirror. In everything I attempt from this day forward, I will succeed or die trying.
    Straightening the edges of the turtleneck she was wearing she frowned at the way it made her look. Maybe the shirt was too dark. She looked like some kind of formidable espionage agent. Black jeans, black shirt, black stocking cap.
    "I guess I can do without this." Mona said out loud, yanking the cap from her head and letting the expensive braid job escape from its confines and fall heavily across her shoulders to her mid back. "I would hate to scare the boy; he's never seen me like this." She tossed the cap onto the desk.
    Today would be the day her son would finally be coming home. All of her days of loneliness would be over. Covering her stomach with the palm of her hand, Mona tried to rub away the tight knot of anxiety that had taken permanent residence. She was nervous, terrified. What if she wasn't able to be the perfect mother? What if something went wrong? What if she wasn't able to pull it off?
    Pulling a crumpled, well-studied photograph from her pocket, Mona smiled at the little boy in the picture. She loved looking at the picture and remembering the day it was taken. The sun had been shining as they sat inside the fenced in play yard of the restaurant. She had sat across the yard a few tables from him because he wanted to sit alone like a 'big boy'. In the picture he was sitting at a small table with various McDonald's paraphernalia scattered about. The joy radiating from him made the desire to have him with her burn in her spirit more than ever. He loved McDonald's, almost as much as she loved him. She would do and say anything in order to hold her son. Nothing would stand in her way. He would never be without her in his life again. He would be home soon and she would be with him forever.
    Mona slipped her arms into the sleeves of her 'Cowboys' starter jacket and walked to the rear of the house. She passed her bedroom and one of the bathrooms to get to the second bedroom in the house. This would be his room. Standing in the doorway, she checked that everything was in order. Toys on the shelves, comforter on the bed, gift waiting in its place for him to open. Everything was perfect. "Yes, he is going to love it here." She assured herself. She felt she had now made one giant step towards her