good spot.
Why try to take that from him? Besides, maybe I'll have Grandma
Wallace to back me now. And Grandpa too. Maybe things are about
to get better.
We talk a little more, and I can tell that Uncle Rod is antsy to go.
So I tell Caleb I love him and that I hope he can stay on here. Then
I hug Grandma Donna again, and I tell her that it might help Mom
if she would come visit sometime. "I mean, when Dad's at work," I
say quickly.
"Yes," she says sadly. "I'm not stupid, Ruth. I wouldn't dream
of coming around when Stuart's at home. That wouldn't help
anything."
I feel slightly encouraged as Uncle Rod drives us back to town. I
ask him to drop me a few blocks from the house and he just laughs.
"Don't want your old man to see who's bringing you home, eh?"
"Well, he might suspect that I've been to see Caleb. He might
figure out that you're involved somehow" And while that's partly
true, I am actually more worried about myself. I am trying to avoid
the tongue lashing I will surely get for having gone someplace with
someone from my mom's side of the family. Some Native American
heritage might rub off on me, for crying out loud.
To my relief, Dad's not even home when I walk into the house.
It's nearly three now, and I suspect I should hang around here and
lay low until Dad gets back. Maybe I can pretend like I haven't been
gone at all.
Dad gets home around five. As it turns out, he's been over at
his parents' house. Apparently they called him when Grandpa got
home from golfing, and they have spent the entire afternoon talking. Talking and talking and talking.
Now, if my life was bad before I told Grandma Wallace about
Dad, it's gone totally to hell now. Not only did Grandpa not say
anything to straighten Dad out but the tables have turned, and now
everyone thinks I went crying to Grandma simply because I'd been
"disciplined" for dating a boy without Dad's permission. That's the
picture Dad painted when he went to "smooth things over" with
them. Apparently they believed him too, because according to my
dad they're now convinced that both Caleb and I are real juvenile
delinquents.
"I'm sick and tired of the way you kids are behaving!" Dad yells
at me as he storms into the kitchen where I've retreated, thinking he
was done lecturing me. But it seems he is only getting warmed up.
I lean against the kitchen counter and stare blankly at him, bracing
myself for the second half.
"Getting your grandma all worked up over nothing! You should
be ashamed of yourself, Ruth. That poor woman already has high
blood pressure and diabetes, and now she's sick in bed from all your
stupidity."
He shakes his finger in my face now, so close that I can smell the
nicotine on it-although he pretends that he doesn't smoke. "I'm
warning you, Ruth Anne, don't you go shooting your mouth off to
them again-not ever again! It's bad enough your brother's gone
missing. I don't need you running around town trying to stir things
up, making things worse."
I'd like to say that I was trying to make things better. But I know
it's useless. I can't actually speak at the moment, and even if I could,
he wouldn't listen.
"And, just in case you didn't know it, you're grounded, young
lady! I don't want you going anywhere besides school and home
until the school year ends. And you'll be riding the bus from now on. No more running around with your stupid friends!" He swears now.
"It's probably those useless peers that are influencing you like this."
So many things I wish I could say to him. How I'd like to
straighten him out. I wish I could yell and scream too. I wish I could
tell him that he's a big, stupid jerk and that our messed up lives are
all his fault. I wish I were brave enough to ask him how he used
to feel when his mother treated him like this-and is he proud of
himself for being just like her? But, as usual, I keep my mouth shut
so tight that my jaw begins to ache. And then, when he is finally
done, I
Why try to take that from him? Besides, maybe I'll have Grandma
Wallace to back me now. And Grandpa too. Maybe things are about
to get better.
We talk a little more, and I can tell that Uncle Rod is antsy to go.
So I tell Caleb I love him and that I hope he can stay on here. Then
I hug Grandma Donna again, and I tell her that it might help Mom
if she would come visit sometime. "I mean, when Dad's at work," I
say quickly.
"Yes," she says sadly. "I'm not stupid, Ruth. I wouldn't dream
of coming around when Stuart's at home. That wouldn't help
anything."
I feel slightly encouraged as Uncle Rod drives us back to town. I
ask him to drop me a few blocks from the house and he just laughs.
"Don't want your old man to see who's bringing you home, eh?"
"Well, he might suspect that I've been to see Caleb. He might
figure out that you're involved somehow" And while that's partly
true, I am actually more worried about myself. I am trying to avoid
the tongue lashing I will surely get for having gone someplace with
someone from my mom's side of the family. Some Native American
heritage might rub off on me, for crying out loud.
To my relief, Dad's not even home when I walk into the house.
It's nearly three now, and I suspect I should hang around here and
lay low until Dad gets back. Maybe I can pretend like I haven't been
gone at all.
Dad gets home around five. As it turns out, he's been over at
his parents' house. Apparently they called him when Grandpa got
home from golfing, and they have spent the entire afternoon talking. Talking and talking and talking.
Now, if my life was bad before I told Grandma Wallace about
Dad, it's gone totally to hell now. Not only did Grandpa not say
anything to straighten Dad out but the tables have turned, and now
everyone thinks I went crying to Grandma simply because I'd been
"disciplined" for dating a boy without Dad's permission. That's the
picture Dad painted when he went to "smooth things over" with
them. Apparently they believed him too, because according to my
dad they're now convinced that both Caleb and I are real juvenile
delinquents.
"I'm sick and tired of the way you kids are behaving!" Dad yells
at me as he storms into the kitchen where I've retreated, thinking he
was done lecturing me. But it seems he is only getting warmed up.
I lean against the kitchen counter and stare blankly at him, bracing
myself for the second half.
"Getting your grandma all worked up over nothing! You should
be ashamed of yourself, Ruth. That poor woman already has high
blood pressure and diabetes, and now she's sick in bed from all your
stupidity."
He shakes his finger in my face now, so close that I can smell the
nicotine on it-although he pretends that he doesn't smoke. "I'm
warning you, Ruth Anne, don't you go shooting your mouth off to
them again-not ever again! It's bad enough your brother's gone
missing. I don't need you running around town trying to stir things
up, making things worse."
I'd like to say that I was trying to make things better. But I know
it's useless. I can't actually speak at the moment, and even if I could,
he wouldn't listen.
"And, just in case you didn't know it, you're grounded, young
lady! I don't want you going anywhere besides school and home
until the school year ends. And you'll be riding the bus from now on. No more running around with your stupid friends!" He swears now.
"It's probably those useless peers that are influencing you like this."
So many things I wish I could say to him. How I'd like to
straighten him out. I wish I could yell and scream too. I wish I could
tell him that he's a big, stupid jerk and that our messed up lives are
all his fault. I wish I were brave enough to ask him how he used
to feel when his mother treated him like this-and is he proud of
himself for being just like her? But, as usual, I keep my mouth shut
so tight that my jaw begins to ache. And then, when he is finally
done, I
Similar Books
