The weekend came. Still no word from Mom. The mood around the house was getting tenser by the day, but Dad insisted we go about our lives as normal. He wouldn’t let us believe that anything terrible had happened. It was refreshing to hear him say it over and over again, but at the same time, I felt like we were lying to ourselves. Dad kept trying to call and email, but he couldn’t find out any useful information. I started to think (along with Dad and Jenna) that whatever system they had for getting in contact with family members was pretty worthless.
On Saturday morning, I was getting ready to go to my baseball game. I slid my puke-green jersey over my head. I was never quite sure why we had that color of uniform. We were the Tigers, not the Leprechauns.
I laced up the black, Nike cleats my dad bought me at the beginning of the season. Last season I was forced to wear ridiculous Puma cleats my parents found at a garage sale. They were so stupid looking. They were covered completely with dirt, and the laces were all torn up, but Dad always said, “Those cleats are in perfectly good shape. As long as you still fit in them and your toes aren’t poking out, those are the ones you’re going to wear.”
Well, my toes never poked out of them, but Dad bought me some new ones this season anyway after Mom left.
I grabbed my glove and hopped in the car. We had to stop by and pick up Seth on our way. Dad honked his horn when we pulled into the driveway and a couple of minutes later Seth came trotting out like a thoroughbred getting ready for the Kentucky Derby. As he plopped down in the backseat he said, “Hey, Mr. Hansen!”
When we got to the ballpark, Seth and I warmed up together. He had a “glow” about him. He was grinning the entire time we played catch. I thought maybe he was going to start making fun of Nicole and me again, but he never did.
We only lost by five runs. I went 0 for 3, but I did get a well-earned walk on a really bad call that should have struck me out. Daron then hit a home run, which drove me in pulling us within five, but that was as close as it got. Even when I was jogging around the bases after the home run, I heard my dad cheering for me. It was so embarrassing. I didn’t even do anything.
The memorable thing about the game, however, had nothing to do with baseball. It was what Seth told me while we were sitting on the bench waiting for our turns to bat. “So, guess what?” he said in a devious tone.
“What?”
“Chris Caulfield’s brother is having a party next weekend, and Chris said we could stay over at his place. His parents are in Florida or something for a few days.”
Chris Caulfield was a jackass as far as I was concerned, but he was a good friend of Seth’s, so I was forced to hang out with him by default. Chris’s brother was a junior in high school. He was in the same class as Jenna.
“What kind of party are you talking about?”
“What do you mean what kind of party? Juniors and seniors in high school are going to be there. It’s gonna be crazy!”
“Don’t you think we would look really stupid showing up at a high school party? We’re in seventh grade, Seth.”
“It’s not like we are showing up at their party. We’re just staying over with Chris, and if we happen to make an appearance at the party, so be it.”
“I don’t know, Seth. What am I going to tell my dad?”
“Just tell your dad you’re going to stay over at my house, and I’ll tell my parents that I’m going to stay at your house. They won’t check up on us.”
I knew that if my dad ever found out I lied to him, I wouldn’t see the sun for a very, very long time. “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“C’mon, man. It’s gonna be a blast! Think about it. No parents, no rules!” Not wanting to give Seth an answer, I stood up and cheered for Daron who had just gotten another hit. “Hey.” Seth tugged on my jersey. “You gonna come, or what?”
I turned around and sat back down on the bench, fidgeting with my batting glove.
“Well, are you?”
“All right. I’ll see if I can,” I said staring out at the field. I just wanted Seth off my back for a little bit. Not knowing about my Mom, I never had any intention of going to that party. I figured I could buy some time by telling him I would go. I didn’t bother reminding him about the little issue with my mom. He obviously didn’t remember, or didn’t care.
“Tight. It’s a week from today. On Saturday.”
When the game was over, we both got back into my dad’s car. “Great game, guys,” my dad said with what seemed like forced enthusiasm. “You almost had ’em.”
“Thanks, Mr. Hansen,” said Seth with that smooth, I-might-need-a-favor-someday tone of his. “And thanks for the ride too.”
I said nothing. I was tuned out, staring out the window at the sidewalk zipping by, the cracks in a constant rhythm. When we pulled into Seth’s driveway, he jumped out and said, “Thanks again, Mr. Hansen.”
“You bet, Seth. Good game.”
“Don’t forget about next weekend, Tim.” He gave me a wink as he turned around and headed for his front door. I couldn’t believe he brought it up right in front of my dad.
“What’s next weekend?” my dad asked.
I stared out the window of the car, refusing to look him in the eye. I was pissed. I had no choice but to lie. “Umm, nothing really. Seth just wants me to spend the night over at his house next Saturday.” My heart stopped beating for a minute.
“Oh. Okay. That reminds me. Don’t forget about our little ‘get together’ next weekend.” I had to think for a second and then I remembered. Dad was having a Saturday afternoon barbecue with some of the families from his firm. It was his birthday. I totally forgot about it and was surprised he was still planning to have the party. “Can you be around for that?”
“Even though we haven’t heard from Mom yet?” I was a little annoyed.
“I’m sure we’ll hear from her soon. Tim, if anything bad had happened to her, I’m sure someone would have notified us by now.” He never looked me in the eye.
“Yeah, I guess,” I said. Then it dawned on me. Families from the firm. Nicole’s family. “Yeah. I can be around for that,” I finally agreed.
When we got home, I went straight to Dad’s office. I wanted to facebook Nicole about the barbecue. I wanted to know if she was coming. When I walked into the office, Jenna was there. I was surprised to see her hanging around the house on a Saturday afternoon.
“Oh, hey,” I said.
She didn’t say anything back to me. She was staring straight at the computer screen reading something.
“Whatcha doing?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“All right.” I was pretty annoyed.
“Well, are you going to be on there very long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay, well, I kind of need to use the computer.” I got no response. “Jenna?”
“What?!”
“I need to use the computer! Jesus!”
“You’re gonna have to wait! I’m doing something here!”
Dad must have heard us yelling because he came up the stairs to see what the problem was. “What’s going on up here?”
“Nothing,” Jenna said.
Dad looked at me. “Tim?”
“Nothing, Dad.” I stomped into my room, slammed the door, and fell down on the bed. I lay there and stared at the ceiling. I heard my dad huff and puff and storm back down the stairs. After a few minutes I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I went to dial. I couldn’t remember Nicole’s number, and I hadn’t saved it to my contacts yet. I knew there was a two and a three and a nine, but that was all I knew. The number was back in Dad’s office. There was no way I was going back in there while psycho freak Jenna was guarding her lair.
I slammed down the phone. I was sitting on the side of the bed, so I leaned forward, put my elbows on my knees and stared out my window. It wasn’t much of a view. Just some tree branches and the sloping corner of the Mundahl’s house next door. Their house was white with black roof shingles. It always made me think of an Oreo. I loved Oreos. I wondered if Nicole liked Oreos. The tree outside the window started swaying back and forth in the breeze shading the Mundahl’s house ever so often. I took a deep breath as the big Oreo played hide and seek over and over again.
I walked back down the stairs after hiding out for a couple of hours. I was getting hungry. Dad was sitting in the kitchen staring at a piece of paper in his hands. When I walked in he quickly folded it up and stuffed it into his pocket. “What are you reading?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing. What was going on with you and Jenna?” He sounded pissed.
“I needed to use the computer and she wouldn’t even talk to me. I didn’t do anything.”
Dad sighed, walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door. “What do you want to eat?” We decided to throw in a frozen pizza. When it was almost ready, Dad walked upstairs to Jenna’s room. “Jenna, do you want some pizza? It’s almost ready.”
“No. I’m not hungry.”
“Jenna, I want you to come down and eat dinner with your brother and me.”
“I said I’m not hungry.” Her voice echoed throughout the house.
“Well, I expect you downstairs in five minutes, hungry or not.” Dad came pounding down the stairs. He said nothing. He just went right to the oven, took out the pizza, and cut it up. He handed me my plate.
“Where are we gonna eat?” I asked.
“I don’t care.”
“Can we go in the TV room?”
“Sure.”
I took my pizza into the living room, turned on the TV, and watched a little Sportscenter. Dad never came in. He ate his pizza in the kitchen. Jenna never came downstairs. She stayed in her room most of the night. I heard her come out every once in a while to use the bathroom, and I could hear her and my dad yelling at each other when he went up to check on her.
I fell asleep on the couch after eating my pizza. I woke up to my dad’s footsteps coming toward the living room. “So, you and Seth have big plans next weekend or something?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re staying over at his house on Saturday, right?”
After hearing about Nicole’s family coming over for my dad’s shin-dig, I had completely forgotten about the lie I told him. “Oh, yeah. Umm, we don’t have anything big planned, I guess. Just hanging out.” I lied again. The lightning bolt was going to strike me down any minute. Dad had to be able to see through me. I was a horrible liar. That’s why I almost never did it. I never got away with anything.
“All right,” he said. “Just don’t forget about the barbecue on Saturday afternoon.” His voice was stale, like he hadn’t even listened to me. As soon as the word, “umm” came out, a siren would have gone off in Mom’s head—her built-in lie detector. Not Dad. Not now at least. He didn’t even notice.
“I won’t forget.” Dad turned and started walking back toward the kitchen. “Dad?”
“Yeah?”
I hesitated, not knowing exactly how to word it. “Are the Thomas’s coming Saturday?”
“I think so. Why?”
“I don’t know. Just curious. Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“What was that you were reading in the kitchen? That piece of paper?”
“Oh, nothing.” He stumbled over his words. “Just something from work.” He quickly turned around and rushed back into the kitchen like a speed walker.