in her backyard.
"I know that Eric pushing you around and Mercury getting killed like that are different." Jessica wasn't making sense. She tried again. "Eric is a lot of hot air and can hurt your feelings, but when your dad comes home to tell you that your dog is dead, its way worse".
This was an improvement in logic, and I could see her point. I could also feel the pumps behind my eyes preparing to spill tears. I choked. I had never really talked with a girl before, but now I was convinced they were more sensitive.
"I agree," I responded meekly and turned away to rake a tear from my eye.
"Mercury used to like to go hiking." Jessica began to ruffle Tammy's fur in affection. "But he wasn't much of a guard dog. He liked people too much."
"You loved him a lot, huh?"
"A lot."
I sighed. Jessica's memory of Mercury was making her sad. And the memory of what Eric had done was making me sad. I wished I had one of Jessica's grandfather's brooms to sweep those feelings away. Wishful thinking.
In the real world, Eric was a bully and bullies ruled schools, but eventually they went away and sometimes they had their lights punched out by someone who was bigger and badder. This much I knew. Uncle Vic had told me so, and so had my mom when I came home one day holding my nose. I recalled that bloody-nose day because Mom had lamented, "Life is full of crooked roads." She peeked at my nose and added, "And crooked noses!"
"Come onâlet's go!" Jessica beckoned. She wiped her eyes and reached into her pocket for a Kleenex. "Let's be happy."
Tammy barked and pranced.
"SeeâTammy wants to go," Jessica said. "You lead the way, girl."
We picked up the scent of our purpose, which was to see Joey, himself hurting from a stinging insult. Jessica began to bat the balloon again, and this time we kept it in the air with every possible part of our bodies, plus Tammy's snout. The balloon dropped several times, but we didn't mind.
Chapter 12
When we arrived, victorious in our efforts to keep the balloon afloat, we found Joey's mom squandering her time knitting. It looked like a baby sweater. She was seated in a lawn chair near Joey's tree, the webbed bottom of the chair sagging from the weight of years.
"Hello, Mrs. Rios," I hailed. "What are you knitting?"
"Coat for Rex."
I thought of Tyrannosaurus rex and the miles of yarn it would take to cover that monster. I asked, "Who's Rex?"
She explained that it was her friend's Chihuahua. Then she asked, "And who do we have here?"
"This is Jessica. She wanted to see Joey."
Jessica whispered, "Hi."
I was surprised that Jessica spoke in a near mumble. Just minutes before, she had preached such a strong message about bullies. She had seemed so confident that as we rolled through life all the hard edges would smooth out. Now her demeanor had completely changedâshe seemed bashful as a lamb.
"Jessica does gymnastics," I said.
"Have you been doing gymnastics long, dear?" Joey's mom asked. I noticed that her knitting had increased in speed.
"Since I was six." Jessica's smile was genuine.
"You must be about ... thirteen."
"Gee, everyone seems to be thirteen," I remarked lamely. I got the feeling that Joey's mom was suspicious of Jessica. I had to work myself into the conversation to keep it from being a showdown: overprotective mother versus the new girl. "I mean, Cory turned thirteen today, too. Isn't that something?"
They ignored me.
Joey's mom asked, "Do you know my son Joey?"
"Sort of. He doesn't go to the same school as me. But I met him Friday night."
I shoved my way into the conversation. "Hey, guess what I did today?"
Mrs. Rios ignored me again. She raised her head and called, "Joey, are you going to come down? It's almost dinnertime."
The leaves rustled, but, otherwise, there was no response.
"He's so stubborn," Mrs. Rios stated. She said that she had been trying to coax Joey down so he could get a good night's sleep for school tomorrow.
I needed to turn the conversation
"I know that Eric pushing you around and Mercury getting killed like that are different." Jessica wasn't making sense. She tried again. "Eric is a lot of hot air and can hurt your feelings, but when your dad comes home to tell you that your dog is dead, its way worse".
This was an improvement in logic, and I could see her point. I could also feel the pumps behind my eyes preparing to spill tears. I choked. I had never really talked with a girl before, but now I was convinced they were more sensitive.
"I agree," I responded meekly and turned away to rake a tear from my eye.
"Mercury used to like to go hiking." Jessica began to ruffle Tammy's fur in affection. "But he wasn't much of a guard dog. He liked people too much."
"You loved him a lot, huh?"
"A lot."
I sighed. Jessica's memory of Mercury was making her sad. And the memory of what Eric had done was making me sad. I wished I had one of Jessica's grandfather's brooms to sweep those feelings away. Wishful thinking.
In the real world, Eric was a bully and bullies ruled schools, but eventually they went away and sometimes they had their lights punched out by someone who was bigger and badder. This much I knew. Uncle Vic had told me so, and so had my mom when I came home one day holding my nose. I recalled that bloody-nose day because Mom had lamented, "Life is full of crooked roads." She peeked at my nose and added, "And crooked noses!"
"Come onâlet's go!" Jessica beckoned. She wiped her eyes and reached into her pocket for a Kleenex. "Let's be happy."
Tammy barked and pranced.
"SeeâTammy wants to go," Jessica said. "You lead the way, girl."
We picked up the scent of our purpose, which was to see Joey, himself hurting from a stinging insult. Jessica began to bat the balloon again, and this time we kept it in the air with every possible part of our bodies, plus Tammy's snout. The balloon dropped several times, but we didn't mind.
Chapter 12
When we arrived, victorious in our efforts to keep the balloon afloat, we found Joey's mom squandering her time knitting. It looked like a baby sweater. She was seated in a lawn chair near Joey's tree, the webbed bottom of the chair sagging from the weight of years.
"Hello, Mrs. Rios," I hailed. "What are you knitting?"
"Coat for Rex."
I thought of Tyrannosaurus rex and the miles of yarn it would take to cover that monster. I asked, "Who's Rex?"
She explained that it was her friend's Chihuahua. Then she asked, "And who do we have here?"
"This is Jessica. She wanted to see Joey."
Jessica whispered, "Hi."
I was surprised that Jessica spoke in a near mumble. Just minutes before, she had preached such a strong message about bullies. She had seemed so confident that as we rolled through life all the hard edges would smooth out. Now her demeanor had completely changedâshe seemed bashful as a lamb.
"Jessica does gymnastics," I said.
"Have you been doing gymnastics long, dear?" Joey's mom asked. I noticed that her knitting had increased in speed.
"Since I was six." Jessica's smile was genuine.
"You must be about ... thirteen."
"Gee, everyone seems to be thirteen," I remarked lamely. I got the feeling that Joey's mom was suspicious of Jessica. I had to work myself into the conversation to keep it from being a showdown: overprotective mother versus the new girl. "I mean, Cory turned thirteen today, too. Isn't that something?"
They ignored me.
Joey's mom asked, "Do you know my son Joey?"
"Sort of. He doesn't go to the same school as me. But I met him Friday night."
I shoved my way into the conversation. "Hey, guess what I did today?"
Mrs. Rios ignored me again. She raised her head and called, "Joey, are you going to come down? It's almost dinnertime."
The leaves rustled, but, otherwise, there was no response.
"He's so stubborn," Mrs. Rios stated. She said that she had been trying to coax Joey down so he could get a good night's sleep for school tomorrow.
I needed to turn the conversation
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