The Girl Most Likely To... by Susan Donovan Page B

the mayor of Persuasion quickly surveyed her state, then sucked on his teeth. He cleared his voice, and it came out in its usual gruff way, but tinged with sweetness. Scoot on in the washroom and fix yourself up, Kat.
    Yes, sir. She scootedgladlyand closed the bathroom door behind her with relief. She could hear the conversation just fine from behind the closed door.
    Daddy, you don't understand
    Sure I do.
    Kat pressed her ear up against the thick wood. Her knees were knocking, she was so scared. What would Big Daddy do? If he told her parents that she was here, her life would be over. Just the thought of her father knowing anything about this made her dizzy. She always knew that if he ever got the right excuse, her father's fists would find her face just as easily as they found her mother's. This would be all it took.
    Kat heard the creak of the floorboards as Big Daddy moved all the way into Riley's room.
    Are you out of your mind, Son?
    She needed somebody to talk to, Daddy.
    Didn't know talkin' could get so messy.
    I didn't touch her.
    You expect me to believe she just up and started bleeding like that?
    That's exactly what happened, sir. She started her period.
    What the?
    Kat could feel the laser beam of Big Daddy's stare cutting a hole right through the bathroom door. She took a step back.
    Virgil's been puttin' a beating on BettyAnn this morning. Kat was scared and she ran over here.
    There was an instant of silence; then Big Daddy moved again. He's doin' /what/?
    Hitting her. Beating her up. He gets drunk out in his studio, stays there all night fussin' over his stupid sculptures, then comes in and beats the shit out of BettyAnnlike everything's her fault.
    Another silent pause. Kat had to put her ear back against the door to hear Big Daddy clearly. Do you mean to tell me that you've known about this and never came to me?
    Riley's response was just as faint. Kat begged me not to say anything to anybody, because she thinks she's gonna be next if she tells.
    Big Daddy blew air out of his nose and groaned. Boy, she's damn right she's gonna be next, but only if something's not done to stop him. You better listen and listen goodif you ever hear about anything like this again in the future, you tell me. You understand?
    Yes, sir.
    I will never be angry if you come to me with the truthabout anything, no matter how bad it is, and that's a promise. Now, answer me, Son. Did you, or did you not, take that girl's virginity?
    No!
    All right, then. Big Daddy shifted his weight and the floor crackled beneath him. But something happened. I'm not blind.
    Kat couldn't hear Riley's answer, but the words had the rhythm of a confession.
    Big Daddy's response was angry: No son of mine is gonna ruin his life by getting a girl pregnant before he's even out of junior high school. It happens, but it's not going to happen to a Bohland. Do you understand?
    Yes, sir.
    Now go get some of them female pads out of the hallway storage closet and take them to Kat. I'm gonna have myself a nice little man-to-man with Virgil Cavanaugh.
    In the two days she'd been back from Persuasion, memories like that one had come hard at Kat, full of detail and out of nowhere. In fact, she was remembering events and conversations she hadn't thought of a single time since the night she'd hopped in Cliff Turner's truck and ended up right here, in Phyllis' Baltimore row house. It was as if Kat's disastrous visit had opened a can of past and pain, and now she couldn't get the lid back on.
    The knock at the door forced Kat to remember why she was there. After months of procrastinating, she'd finally called a real estate agent to look at Phyllis' place, and she'd arrived right on time. It didn't take Kat long to show her aroundthere wasn't a lot to seeand she waited to hear her opinion.
    If you're willing to spend about forty thousand for upgrades, you'll earn six times that at sale, no problem. Just replace the kitchen cabinets and countertops. Install new appliances.