“Yer a smart girl like yer mama,” Daddy bulldozed on, “but you lack her good old-fashioned common sense. Maybe the back of that tank knocked some sense back into yer head.”
I considered that to be salt in the wound. Tears pricked my eyes. Daddy was generally authoritarian to the extreme, but he was hardly ever downright mean. To me. I could tell he was stressed out about his upcoming IEA meeting on Monday, and the idea of signing Andrew and his parental rights away. It must be weighing pretty heavily on him. Guess he was shifting some of that weight onto me. I also suspected he knew he’d made himself look bad in front of Pete, so was punishing me for being the catalyst to revealing his true self in front of someone he held in high esteem.
Mikey openly glowered up at Daddy, and even Andrew stepped back into me as though offering his support with his nearness. One or both of them was about to say something. I didn’t want anything to upset the balance of Daddy skedaddling out of here, so I placed a hand on each of their shoulders, shaking my head in wordless communication.
Daddy’s fleshy lips drew together at the sight of us walling up on him. He yanked me out of my position and marched me into my room, where he instructed me to pack a suitcase for Andrew. I was to pack his nicest church clothes, and under no circumstances tell Mikey that he and Andrew were leaving for San Francisco.
Something fishy was going on, but I had too much of a headache to concentrate on it at the moment. I also wondered how stupid he thought Mikey was while he continued doling out stuff for me to do when I was supposed to be taking it easy. Daddy informed me he was taking Andrew into town to get a fresh haircut and a new suit for their all-important visit to “The Academy.” Then, without so much as a backward glance, he slammed out the door with an eager Andrew in tow. I pondered, again, what the heck kind of physical was so important that Andrew had to go all the way to California for it and decided to brave asking Pete about it tonight.
After a late lunch of nuked frozen burritos, Mikey and I leisured away the afternoon playing Chutes and Latters, the only game not likely to boggle my brain at the moment. Afterwards, I sent him in to watch TV while I showered and packed a suitcase for Andrew. I popped two more real Tylenol that Pete had kindly left for me, keeping my headaches at bay with clocklike precision of pill taking. I didn’t want to chance the severe headache coming back tonight with Pete here, determined to enjoy every moment, knowing it could be our last. I sighed, leaning over to stare at my reflection in the mirror, noticing I still had faint circles under my eyes, despite the good amount of sleeping I’d been doing. There was also a large purple bruise over my right shoulder, and my neck was still sore.
Aggravated by my unkempt looks, I blamed it all on the strain of worry and sleeplessness catching up with me. I wondered if a little mascara would help improve my appearance (and if it would be noticed by either Daddy or Pete). In the end, I compromised with one sooty layer that had the instant result of making my lashes feel decadent. After blowing out my hair, I brushed it where it didn’t hurt until it shone. Then, slipping out of my baggy sweats and into a pair of snuggly gray leggings, I topped it off with one of my handy-dandy five-dollar tees, this one in pink.
What could I do? Dress up for my date with my bed? Daddy would be suspicious if I was wearing anything that looked too good, and I desperately wanted him to leave. To keep my eyes off the clock, I couldn’t help straightening the bit of clutter that had accumulated over my sick leave. I was busy swiping some creamy vanilla onto my lips when Mikey wandered into my room, looking glum as only a kid can.
“Kadee, is Drewy comin’ back from his trip with Daddy to Pete’s school?”
“How’d you know about that?”
“I heard them talkin’ ‘bout it when they didn’t know I was listenin’.”
Apparently, I had a never-ending supply of sighs because another one leaked out of me, long and weary. I took his hand and sat on the bed. “I’m sorry you had to hear about it that way. Daddy wanted to keep it a secret . . . you know how he is. I was gonna tell you about it but didn’t wanna worry you unnecessarily.”
“Is he comin’ back?” Mikey pleaded.
I nodded my head, feeling confident in my answer. “Yeah, honey. He’s comin’ back soon. They’re just lookin’ around at Pete’s school, and he’s gonna see a doctor for some tests, and then they’re turnin’ right around and comin’ back home.”
Mikey plucked at my clean shirt with grubby hands. “Is he sick like our mama was?”
“No, of course not! It’s only a well-check, I promise.” I collected Mikey’s doubtful face between my palms, stared into his muddy-green eyes. “I want you to know, I’m not worried anymore. I have one of those strong feelin’s I sometimes get that Andrew’s not goin’ anywhere any time soon,” I said, trying to reassure us both.
Mikey nodded up at me. “I know. It’s cause I’ve been tellin’ Daddy ever chance I get not to sign him up for that bored school. . . . But I can’t stop him if I’m not there!”
“Nobody expects you to, honey. I don’t want you to worry—everything’s gonna be alright.” I bolstered this flimsy declaration with a tight hug.
“I don’t want Drewy to go away!” Mikey wailed, the gathering tears beginning to disperse into the thin fabric of my shirt.
“Shhh.” I rocked him back and forth. “Hey, remember? . . . The good guys always win—just like in Batman and Spider-Man.”
“Is Daddy a good guy?”
“Drewy’s a good guy,” I evaded. “One of the best. So everything’s gonna work out okay for him. Don’t you worry,” I soothed, thumbing away the salty streams rolling over cheek-hills.
“How do you know that?”
“I just do.”
Unable to deal another second, I snapped off the light and crawled into bed, dragging Mikey with me. Curling around him like a question mark, I whispered in his ear “Everything’s gonna be okay” over and over until we both fell asleep.
I awoke by an irritating light reflecting the back of my eyelids at me. This was followed by equally irritating laughter. Recognizing the low rumble right away, my eyes popped open.
“Looks like you have no shortage of dashing young men to share your bed.” Pete stood there with his casual hotness, prettying up the room.
“You’re back!” An insta-smile sprang to my mouth. “Mikey, Pete’s here,” I announced, shaking him out of his sleep.
“I hate to break it up, but if I let you two sleep any later, you’ll be up all night.”
Mikey pried his eyes open. “Hi, Pete.” He yawned hugely. “Is Drewy back yet?”
“As a matter of fact, he’s crashed on the couch, watching Youtube on my phone. We just got finished feeding the animals—Buttercup says to say hello,” he said, just when I didn’t think my smile could grow any bigger. He smiled back, and my heart did its backflip thing. “I’m fixin’ to rustle up some vittles right now.”
“I know what vittles is,” Mikey informed Pete before cannonballing off the bed into his arms. “It’s weally just a fancy word for food.”
“That’s right—you sure are a smart little guy, just like big brother.” Pete tossed him up and almost knocked my dang ceiling fan down (which would’ve been an improvement seeing as how it was both oversized and outdated).