go to the football game … let’s head out to the mall . Stuff like that.”
“But Martha was having trouble keeping up the façade. Donald took Martha’s virginity over the summer, but hooked up with Sam when the school year started, and by Christmas Martha was having trouble hiding the baby.”
“No shit?”
“Nope, no shit.” He rubbed her back in long, soothing strokes. He ran his fingers down the graceful curve of her slim back, resting his palm atop the twin indentations at the base of her spine, drifting them back up to her shoulders, as she settled back against his chest.
“Well…”
“Yeah, Martha was pretty pissed when Donald and Sam got together. She was lashing out, I guess trying to prove Donald would be sorry for leaving her behind. And because she didn’t want to cop up to the pregnancy, the other kids teased her for gaining weight. She was miserable. But since she’d been keeping up a friendly face with Sam but dragging her name through the mud behind her back, Sam just got caught up in that stupid pettiness. Before my parents knew it, my sister was really depressed—nearly unreachable. When the kids went back after Christmas break Sam was on anti-depressants and Martha was missing school regularly. Of course Sam knew about the pregnancy, but everyone thought it was another boy she’d dated right after Donald dumped her.”
She paused and let out a big sob. Lucas kept his hand moving gently down her back and waited for her to begin again.
“I was so busy that I was only home for Christmas Eve and half of Christmas day before I flew out to a shoot in Fiji for a once-in-a-lifetime assignment from National Geographic Traveler . My job was very important then, you see. But while I was home Sam had lots of questions about boys and peer pressure and why girls her age could be so bitchy. We talked, but I had to go. She said I always had the right words for everyone else … but—but not for her. God, I didn’t even have time for her.” She whimpered, but forced herself to finish.
“When it really counted I wasn’t any help at all. During spring break in March Martha told the kids at school that the baby was Donald’s, and took the bus to my mom and dad’s. She shot Sam a minute before she turned the gun on herself. The baby died, too.”
Oh, no. Lucas was shocked into silence. Jane wept in huge gulping sobs that wracked her whole body. He lay on his back and pulled her to lie across his chest.
“And you figured you could share the right words with other kids so they’d know how to deal with things like that, right?”
Jane lifted her face and looked at Lucas. She couldn’t believe he figured her out so easily and so quickly. Nobody, not even her parents, truly understood her compulsion to shift her writing to a children’s audience. How important it was to empower kids of all ages to know how to deal with bullies, or peer pressure, or the stress of school, or bickering friends. God, or something awful like teen pregnancy.
She grabbed him by the neck and squeezed him tight. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said over and over, raining kisses all over his face and neck and shoulders. She pushed herself up and sat across his belly. Tears still ran down her cheeks, but she was getting a little color back.
“Nobody has ever gotten that before. Mom and dad humor me and tell me Sam’s death wasn’t my fault…and I know that. I do. They know the books are good and they’re important to children, but they don’t really see my need to get the words out. You know, I am a commercial artist by education and a journalist by experience. But mostly I’ve always been a writer, and I like to connect with my readers. My life was moving so fast there for a while. It was hard to find my place in the world. These books have helped me, too.”
His eyes widened. “So that’s why those kids were so crazy about you at Ben &
“But Martha was having trouble keeping up the façade. Donald took Martha’s virginity over the summer, but hooked up with Sam when the school year started, and by Christmas Martha was having trouble hiding the baby.”
“No shit?”
“Nope, no shit.” He rubbed her back in long, soothing strokes. He ran his fingers down the graceful curve of her slim back, resting his palm atop the twin indentations at the base of her spine, drifting them back up to her shoulders, as she settled back against his chest.
“Well…”
“Yeah, Martha was pretty pissed when Donald and Sam got together. She was lashing out, I guess trying to prove Donald would be sorry for leaving her behind. And because she didn’t want to cop up to the pregnancy, the other kids teased her for gaining weight. She was miserable. But since she’d been keeping up a friendly face with Sam but dragging her name through the mud behind her back, Sam just got caught up in that stupid pettiness. Before my parents knew it, my sister was really depressed—nearly unreachable. When the kids went back after Christmas break Sam was on anti-depressants and Martha was missing school regularly. Of course Sam knew about the pregnancy, but everyone thought it was another boy she’d dated right after Donald dumped her.”
She paused and let out a big sob. Lucas kept his hand moving gently down her back and waited for her to begin again.
“I was so busy that I was only home for Christmas Eve and half of Christmas day before I flew out to a shoot in Fiji for a once-in-a-lifetime assignment from National Geographic Traveler . My job was very important then, you see. But while I was home Sam had lots of questions about boys and peer pressure and why girls her age could be so bitchy. We talked, but I had to go. She said I always had the right words for everyone else … but—but not for her. God, I didn’t even have time for her.” She whimpered, but forced herself to finish.
“When it really counted I wasn’t any help at all. During spring break in March Martha told the kids at school that the baby was Donald’s, and took the bus to my mom and dad’s. She shot Sam a minute before she turned the gun on herself. The baby died, too.”
Oh, no. Lucas was shocked into silence. Jane wept in huge gulping sobs that wracked her whole body. He lay on his back and pulled her to lie across his chest.
“And you figured you could share the right words with other kids so they’d know how to deal with things like that, right?”
Jane lifted her face and looked at Lucas. She couldn’t believe he figured her out so easily and so quickly. Nobody, not even her parents, truly understood her compulsion to shift her writing to a children’s audience. How important it was to empower kids of all ages to know how to deal with bullies, or peer pressure, or the stress of school, or bickering friends. God, or something awful like teen pregnancy.
She grabbed him by the neck and squeezed him tight. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said over and over, raining kisses all over his face and neck and shoulders. She pushed herself up and sat across his belly. Tears still ran down her cheeks, but she was getting a little color back.
“Nobody has ever gotten that before. Mom and dad humor me and tell me Sam’s death wasn’t my fault…and I know that. I do. They know the books are good and they’re important to children, but they don’t really see my need to get the words out. You know, I am a commercial artist by education and a journalist by experience. But mostly I’ve always been a writer, and I like to connect with my readers. My life was moving so fast there for a while. It was hard to find my place in the world. These books have helped me, too.”
His eyes widened. “So that’s why those kids were so crazy about you at Ben &
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