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On Friday, the big news was that Bojack had been sprung. There was quite a debate raging as to whether he’d figure he was in enough trouble or would be eager to make more. Would he lie low or come back raging? The jury was divided.
At lunchtime, the social studies teacher asked Emily which way she was betting.
“I have no idea, Kyle. I don’t know Bojack. I would hope he would keep his nose clean, for everyone’s sake, but of course I have no idea what he’ll do.”
“He’s not going to keep his nose clean. He’s been in and out of jail for years.”
“For what?”
“Mostly domestic violence, I think.”
Emily’s stomach lurched. “What do you mean? Whom did he hurt?”
Kyle shrugged. “I can’t remember when his last arrest was. I don’t exactly keep track. But I’m pretty sure he’s abused every woman he’s ever dated, and I doubt DeAnna’s mother would be any different.”
“What about DeAnna?”
“What about her?”
“Does he hurt her?”
“Emily, how should I know?”
Emily began to walk away, but Kyle grabbed her arm. “Don’t do it.”
She pulled her arm away. “Do what?”
“For once, will you just stay out of other people’s business? It’s not our job to get involved in this stuff.”
“Sure,” she said. Then she walked over to DeAnna’s table. Only then did she notice that Juniper had moved over to the table Blake usually sat at—the cool table. Juniper was sandwiched between Blake and Thomas. Chloe was perched on the other side of Thomas, though there was barely enough room. She looked miserable, as though she might fall off the end of the bench any second.
“Hi, DeAnna,” Emily said, sliding onto the bench across from her.
“What.” Her tone was flat and unencouraging.
“So I hear Bojack is coming home?”
“So.”
“So, is that a good thing?”
DeAnna looked at her, her eyes vapid. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I heard he was getting out of jail. Is that true?”
She shrugged and looked down at her American chop suey. “My mom bailed him out.”
“DeAnna, can I ask you an awkward question?”
DeAnna cocked her head to the side. “What?”
“Are you OK at home? Are you safe?”
“What?”
“I’m asking if you are safe in your own home. If you are in danger, from Bojack or anything else, we can help you.”
DeAnna slammed her fork down on her tray, splattering spaghetti sauce onto the table, then stood up and hissed, “Of course I’m safe. I can take care of myself! Just stay out of my life!” As soon as she had untangled her legs from the bench seat, DeAnna stomped toward the tray return. Emily stood too, though more slowly and less dramatically, and taking great care not to make eye contact with Kyle. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
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Given this prelude, Emily wasn’t shocked when DeAnna didn’t turn up at the ferry for their big trip to the batting cages. Emily was a little surprised to see that everyone else did—including Thomas, who handed her a check from his dad.
“Dad said you shouldn’t have to coach for free and pay for all this, so he wanted to help.” This time, she felt a little uneasy taking the money, but she still took it. She didn’t know what else to do. Emily had asked Chloe’s and MacKenzie’s mothers along for the trip, so they had four adults, sixteen teenage girls, and Thomas—one big happy family.
In the batting cages the emotional, hormonal teens turned into joyous little kids who just wanted more quarters. It was a bit too chaotic for Emily to get any real coaching in, but she managed to wedge in the occasional “Put your weight on your back foot” and “Loosen your grip on the bat.” She also heard James putting in his two cents. The two mom chaperones, sisters Gina and Heather, sat on a picnic table and talked, ignoring the entire scene, which Emily thought was entirely reasonable.
When Emily ran out of quarters, the girls all scooted over to the ice cream stand, some a little faster than others. MacKenzie and Lucy literally ran. Her team’s orders made Emily realize just how young these girls were: bubble gum ice cream in sugar cones; Superman with sprinkles; and lots of cotton candy soft serve.
Gina and Heather tried to pay for their kids’ treats, but Emily, without thinking, said, “Don’t worry, I’m not paying for it. Travis gave us money for this.”
The cheery smile fled Gina’s face. Heather’s smile stayed, but it looked strained.
Gina pushed the bills in her hand at Emily. “In that case, I insist. Our family doesn’t take charity from Travis Payne.” She spat the word “Payne.”
“I don’t think it’s charity,” Emily tried. “He’s just supportive of ...” Gina had already walked away, so Emily stopped talking.
Heather was still holding money out toward her. “She’s not upset with you, Emily. Her husband is very opposed to this whole windmill thing. Don’t take it personally.”
Emily took the outstretched money and looked at MacKenzie’s mom. “But you are for the windmills, aren’t you? So you guys aren’t on the same side in this?”
“Ah, we’ve disagreed on everything our whole lives.” She laughed. “This will all be over soon, and we’ll still be sisters. And just because I think the windmills are a good idea doesn’t mean I’m a big Travis Payne fan. He can be incredibly manipulative.”
“I don’t think Travis supporting the softball team has anything to do with the windmills.”
Heather looked thoughtful for a few seconds and then said, “I’m afraid it has everything to do with the windmills.” And then she rejoined her sister, leaving Emily standing and feeling quite alone.
Emily looked around at her charge and tried not to think about what had just transpired. She noticed Hannah wasn’t eating. “Don’t you want anything, hon?”
Hannah shook her head. “No, thank you, not hungry.”
Emily thought this probably wasn’t the case but wasn’t sure how to encourage her to join in, or if she even should encourage her to partake in something unhealthy. So instead she decided to join Hannah in her fast. She didn’t really need the sugar either.
James, apparently feeling no such conviction, enthusiastically ordered a triple scoop of maple walnut. As Emily looked around at all the youthful neon-colored desserts, she thought sure maple walnut was an old man choice. This thought made her heart warm.
The girls begged to go to Walmart afterward, but Emily refused. Though they didn’t let up with their petitions until they were actually on the ferry, Emily stood firm. “What’s so exciting about Walmart?” she muttered to James as the mainland shrunk behind them.
“To these kids, Walmart is the mall. Some of them don’t get off the island much.”
