Chapter Fourteen

 

Wednesday, November 27th, 1:00 p.m.

 

Since it was the day before Thanksgiving, we escaped from school early. The clouds had rolled in and it was raining, a usual Washington downpour. The windshield wipers slapped along with the country song Jack had on the radio. He drove me to the elementary school, but there was no way he could ferry the four kids to the counselor or daycare without car seats in his truck.

Since I had the morning off from delivery duty, nobody had fought the good fight with Lance and he didn’t have his coat. I peeled out of my letterman’s jacket, actually it was Jack’s, and wrapped it around him while we waited for the bus. “Do you know how silly you look, Lancelot?”

“I gotta ‘member my coat because I’m a big kid. Mr. Diaz said.”

“That’s right,” I told my younger half-brother.

The bus stopped, and we piled on. I dug the fare out of my pocket, mentally adding up the cost. I’d get it back from Mom because I’d ask her for it in front of Ingrid. In fact, I’d ask for bus passes for all of us. The story was that we couldn’t afford for me to sign up for Driver’s Ed this semester. It wasn’t like I could take her old S.U.V. to go get the kids.

When we arrived at the counselor’s office, I settled the kids in the waiting room. The receptionist provided them with cookies and juice. “Can they stay here while my boyfriend drives me to the daycare to get Chrissy?” I asked. “I don’t know what else to do with them.”

“No, I’m not babysitting them when you’re walking in the rain because you’re a kid too.” The receptionist picked up the receiver and pushed buttons. “Dr. O’Hara, Vicky is here with the older children. Can one of her parents go pick up the baby at daycare today? It’s pouring out there, and she shouldn’t push the stroller through that nasty weather. At least one of them will get sick.”

She listened to the answer then hung up. “Dr. O’Hara feels that adults should be able to look out windows and check the weather. She’s sending your stepdad for Chrissy right now.”

“Oh my Gawd! She’s so amazing.” I grinned at the receptionist. “If I had a grandmother, I’d want her to be just like Ingrid.”

“You do have a grandma somewhere.” The receptionist made a note. “I’ll mention to Dr. O’Hara that she should ask your mother about your extended family. At sixteen, you need to make connections with your biological father’s relatives for health reasons, if not for emotional ones.”

The bell jangled on the door and Jack dashed inside. “Hey, Vick. Don’t we need to go get Chrissy?”

“Not now,” I said. “Dr. O’Hara handled it.”

“Okay, then Robin called. She wants to know when we’re picking her up for your riding lesson. Are you ready?”

“Mom will freak if you leave us here.” Kevin came over and handed Jack one of the cookies. “She says we come first, and your silly horse stuff isn’t important.”

“Mr. Diaz says that Vicky needs to take care of herself first so she can take care of us,” Linda reminded him. “She should go ride. We can be good, and you’re big enough to watch us, Kev. You’re almost eleven.”

“He’s the man.” Jack agreed and crunched into the cookie. “What do you think, Kevin? If you can’t handle it, Vick and I will stay here. I’ll call Robin and tell her to cancel the lesson.”

“If you stay, Mom and Dad will totally lose it,” Cathy said. “They don’t like you ‘cuz you don’t let them treat Vicky bad.”

Lance nodded, then trotted over and passed me my jacket. “You go, Vick.”

“That’s right.” The receptionist threw in her two cents worth. “You go, guys. I’ll help Kevin out if he needs me. I don’t mind doing that, but I’m not babysitting.”

With all of them in cahoots, it was an easy choice to make. I headed for the barn with Jack. On the way to get Robin, we had time to stop for lunch at our favorite hamburger place. Oh yeah, I had so much to be thankful for this year, more than I’d ever thought possible. And I’d also have an opportunity to talk to Rocky about working part-time as a barn manager. Yippee!

* * * *

Wednesday, November 27th, 7:00 p.m.

 

We’d dropped Robin back at home before Jack drove me to my house. It meant we could have some much needed alone time. I pulled out my phone and checked my calendar. “Okay, so Rocky and I talked about my hours. I’m caught up on internship. She and Dr. Danvers had a discussion about my working part-time, and it’s a go.”

“Makes sense to me,” Jack said. “Danvers told my class that an internship can lead to a full-time job if you take it seriously. How many hours are you going to work a week?”

“Ten to twenty, starting this weekend. Rocky says she’ll pay me a bonus for each horse I train, and since she has eight youngsters that need to be ready for next summer, it’ll mean major bucks. I had to promise to wear a safety vest and leather gloves, as well as my helmet.”

“I’m glad she’s making you practice what she always calls, ‘good safety.’ Young horses can do stupid things.”

“I know. I know,” I said. “They want to run first, look second and think last.”

“That’s right.” Jack chuckled, then said, “Felicia’s all excited about shopping with you and Robin on Friday. She’s lined up my mom’s car. If you need me, you can always call.”

“That’s a major sacrifice,” I teased. “I know you’re looking forward to having serious game time with Nitro since the doctor released you. We’ll be fine. Besides, how can I shop for you if you’re there?”

“Now you know the real truth why I want to tag along.” He parked in front of my house and leaned in to kiss me.

I always trembled inside when he touched me. I threaded my hands in his night-dark hair and pulled his head even closer. His lips were soft on mine. Several kisses later, I slid out of his arms. “I have to go.”

“I don’t want you to ever go.” He traced my mouth with his thumb. “Do you know how I feel about you?”

“The same way I love you.” I arched up to kiss him again, a quick, light touch. “We’ve got a plan, right?”

“Yeah.” He smoothed my hair. “High school, college, and our own training barn in six years.”

“That’s right.” One last kiss and I was out of his pickup. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to go further than kisses. I was human, and I knew he was too. I just didn’t want to start having babies before I had a career to support them. And like I’d told Ingrid, Jack got me. He understood who I was and what I wanted, and he shared that dream.

Inside, I heard voices, and I headed for the kitchen. I found my mother and Darby cleaning up. There was no sign of the kids and that meant they had to be playing in their rooms. They weren’t hanging out in the family room watching TV. Mom glanced at me as I came in the door. “Where have you been?”

“It’s Wednesday,” I said. “Riding lesson, remember?”

“I don’t appreciate you leaving your brothers and sisters with a stranger.”

“Oh, here we go again.” I shifted my sports bag. “You were just down the hall. Dr. O’Hara’s receptionist said it was all right, and the kids were being great.”

Darby held up a hand before Mom could really start ranting and raving. “This doesn’t concern me so I’m going to my room. I have the late shift tomorrow, and your mom invited me for the holiday dinner. I’ll be happy to help fix it.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “Night, Darby.”

Mom barely waited until the other woman was out of the room. “You had no business refusing to pick up Chrissy.”

“Hello, do you even listen to your own shrink? Did you actually want me to bring Chrissy seven blocks in the rain so she was soaking wet by the time we got there? She’d have been sick by tomorrow. Do you even care?” I put down my bag. Obviously, we were going to have another one of our big arguments. “Are you her mother? Or have you been replaced by a pod person? It’s not the kid’s fault that Rick threw the screaming heebie-jeebies when he had to get his own daughter. And it’s not mine.”

“I never said it was.” Another glare before she subsided against the counter. “I don’t know how to talk to you anymore, Vicky. You keep acting like I’m the enemy. I’m not.”

“Okay, so now we’re going to have the ‘poor you’ routine. It gets old, Mommie dear. The only things I have are school, the horses, and Jack. You’ve been trying to take all of them away for the past six months.”

“I need a partner.” Mom dropped the dishcloth in the sink. “I know all of this is hard on you, but how do you think I feel? My husband left me because I didn’t want another baby.”

“Whoa.” I made a ‘T’ with my hands. “Too much information. I don’t want to know about that. You married Rick. Not me. Your relationship is between the two of you. He already cut me off six months ago. It took a while for me to figure out that I don’t have a father. Never did, never will. It’s not my fault.”

“I didn’t say it was.” A tear streaked down her cheek. “Now, Ingrid says I have to tell you about your biological father so you can reach out to his family. She’s taking you away from us.”

“Don’t go there! This started way before you lied to her.”

“I didn’t lie to her.”

“You told her that I was Chrissy’s mother.”

“She assumed it, and I didn’t have time to straighten things out before you threw a major teenage fit.”

“Bull. She’d been thinking it for weeks before she suggested I switch schools. How stupid do you think I am?” I took a deep breath and then lifted my chin. “You drove me out of this family when you and Rick decided I was your servant. I’m trying to connect with the kids so they see me as their older sister, but it’s not working. They keep seeing me as their parent, and it cuts deep when they call me ‘Mama Vicky’. They may not know they have a mother and father, but I do.”

More tears and she grabbed a paper towel. “I am their mother. I love them.”

“Sure you do.” I was so tired of all her crap. I pointed to the clock. “Did you make them do their homework before you turned them loose? Or will that be something else I need to pull together on Sunday night?”

“You don’t have to do everything, Vicky.”

“Want to bet? If I want it done and I don’t want to be screamed at for the next forty years, I have to. Did Ingrid talk to you about me getting a job?”

“Yes, and I told her that I don’t see how it’s possible. I need you here to look after the kids. She told Rick and me that she’s going to have you start keeping track of your hours so we can pay you. She says that if we hired someone else, we’d be paying at least minimum wage.”

“Or more. You have five kids, remember? And I don’t know any teen that could do what I do when it comes to housework, cooking, cleaning, and laundry. My friends manage it because they step up for me, not you.”

Okay, so I was the resident witch, but I had things to get done tonight before bedtime. I left her in the kitchen doing the big crying routine. The tears would stop as soon as the audience left the theater. After sixteen and a half years, I certainly knew that much. I walked down the hall to the bedroom I shared with the girls.

Chrissy played with her blocks, stacking and tumbling them down. The other four kids were around a table, Skip-Bo cards laid out in front of them. I glanced at Kevin. “Homework’s done, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, and we all packed for Dad’s. I even did Chrissy’s bag with her special disposable diapers. I still don’t know if he’s coming tomorrow or not.”

“Neither does anybody else,” I said. “Thanks, Kevin. I should have known I could count on you.”

“Are you going to play with us?” Lance asked. “We can deal you in next time.”

“You should definitely deal me in so I can kick your buns.”

All four of them cracked up. Cathy jumped up and ran next door, coming back with a folding chair. “Girls against boys?”

“No, because we outnumber them.” I sat down. “We’ve got to be fair.”

“They can have Chrissy,” Linda said, “and then it will be three against three.”

“Not fair since Chrissy always chews on the cards,” I said. “No, we’ll play until I beat all of you.”

Lance hooted with laughter. “Then, we’ll be staying up till midnight.”

“Works for me,” I said. “There’s no school tomorrow!”

* * * *

Thursday, November 28th, 11:00 a.m.

 

It’d been a busy day, but not as crazy as some Thanksgiving holidays. Darby was a professional cook at the casino, so she organized everything. She’d stuffed the birds and put the two turkeys in the oven by the time I made the kitchen at six a.m. I didn’t remember buying them and when I asked, she said the casino always treated their employees. Between her and Mom, they’d done okay for holiday bonuses. They also had two hams that Darby froze for other meals.

I made the pies from scratch. I’d always liked doing those. Meanwhile, Darby set bread to rise so she could shape rolls later. By the time the kids arrived for breakfast, she had scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast waiting for them. Kevin was thrilled to pieces because he and Lance could play outside with their friends. Cathy and Linda invited theirs in for a movie day. Chrissy toddled back and forth between the kitchen and the family room.

When Mom joined us, she jumped in to help, creating her wonderful salads. I wasn’t sure what that was totally about. Did she want to make amends after the argument we had? Or did she want to show off her maternal skills to Darby? Either way, I wasn’t going to begin World War Three on a holiday, so I ‘went along to get along’ as Ingrid suggested during our last group session when we talked about surviving this holiday.

The girls helped me set the table in the dining room. We used the fancy china that Mom bought on sale before she married Rick. I even folded the cloth napkins, putting one at each place. Okay, so I’d have to do a special load of laundry, but the holidays only came once a year. The phone rang, and I answered the landline in the dining room. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“It’s me,” Rick said. “I’m not going to make it back from Bellingham to pick up the kids tonight. I’ll try to get them by noon tomorrow.”

I nearly said we hadn’t expected him, but decided to avoid a fight instead. “I’m shopping with friends. Mom and Darby will be at work. You can get them at the daycare.”

“Don’t take them to daycare. They’ve been there a lot this month, and I know they’re tired of it. Just keep them at home until I get there.”

“Rick, the good sales start at midnight.” I heaved a dramatic sigh before he could. “I’m going to hit the stores for Christmas. Did you want me to shop for you again this year?”

“No, Tessa will.”

“I hope you’ve asked her.” I heard the buzzer on the oven. “Got to go. I have to get my pies in the oven. Have a happy holiday.”

I hung up and turned to see Linda staring at me, struggling to hold back the tears. “Guess what, sweetie? Your dad won’t be back tonight, so we get to go to the movies after we eat. Why don’t you and Cathy go pick a chick flick for us?”

“How will we get there?” Linda asked. “Mommy and Darby gotta go to work.”

“I’m calling Jack. He can take the boys to a gross monster thing and watch zombies eat brains. It will be great. I won’t have to go with him. I can see a good movie with my favorite sisters.”

“All right!” Linda pelted back to the family room, calling for Cathy.

And I turned to the phone so I could dial up my fave hero.