I was pretty sure that my dad deleted anything from me and never bothered to listen anymore. He’d stopped calling me back months ago. Now, I only heard from him when he wanted me to cover for him because he was going to be late to get the younger set. Okay, to be honest, he was my stepdad and his kids were only my half-brothers and half-sisters, but it hadn’t been a big deal until he walked out on my birthday last May.
He was the only father I’d had for ten years, so it cut deep when he stopped acting like a dad and caring about me. He even told his lawyer that I wasn’t his kid so he shouldn’t be paying child support for me. When I pointed out that meant I didn’t have to show up for his weekend visitations with the rugrats again, he flipped out. He wanted me there to babysit as if I didn’t get enough of that at Mom’s house. The counselor we all had to see kept telling me to cut my parents some slack. This was a transition time for them too and things would improve. Yeah, right! They hadn’t so far, and I was beginning to think they never would.
I headed for the gym and cheer practice. I’d try contacting my parents one more time before I called the daycare and told the owner that I’d be late to get the kids. As long as I contacted her before the elementary school got out, it should be okay. She could have one of her staff pick up Kevin, Cathy, and the twins from kindergarten. Of course, it’d cost Dad more at the end of the month and he’d freak, but what did he expect when he refused to answer his cell phone? What if it was a real emergency?
Ms. Walker waved at me from where she stood in a cluster of cheerleaders. “Hurry and change, Vicky. We want to get started early so you girls have time to decorate boxes for the food drive.”
While I was in the locker room, I tried each parent once more. And once again, they didn’t pick up so I called the daycare. The owner griped when I said I’d be late. She still agreed to collect my sibs at the elementary school when she got the other little darlings who spent their afternoons with her.
Cheer practice went really well. First, we walked through our routines. We had to change the steps so they worked in the gym for basketball rather than the football field. Then, we shifted into what I thought of as high gear. We did all the dances and stunts at normal speed. Ms. Walker stopped us a few times and had us start over so everyone was in step. When we finished up, she was happy and told us that we’d nail all of it in time for the pep assembly next week. Of course, once we got the proverbial carrot, then we got the stick. She had to remind us not to blow the routines at this Friday’s football game.
As soon as I grabbed a bottle of water and my backpack, I headed for the Commons to do the boxes. I wasn’t the first one in our lunchroom. When I arrived, Robin was in the art room storage closet, dragging out boxes to the open area between most of the folded up tables. Gwen and Porter had rolls of holiday paper, tons of ribbon, and spools of tape waiting on the remaining tables. The rest of the cheerleaders split up to help. Before I could jump in, the editor of the school paper, Adam Chambers, waved at me.
He was majorly annoying, but I couldn’t ignore him. If I did, he’d come up with some nasty sound bite in his next article. “Hey, Adam. What’s up? Are you here to help with the food drive?”
“Actually, it’s more for the publicity and the article in the paper.” Small, skinny with red hair, Adam tried to look tough in his black jeans and leather jacket. He never quite managed to pull it off. “So, give me some facts about how many meals we’re going to provide this year.” He held up his camera. “I’ll be getting photos too. I wish you girls were in your cheer uniforms.” He eyed Cedar and Kanisha, the two Native girls who continued to haul boxes to the center of the cafeteria. “Or track suits.”
“Sorry,” I said, although I didn’t mean it. “We don’t wear uniforms for practice, but we will be in them tomorrow to kick off the food drive competition. All of the clubs, teams, and homeroom classes will compete to see who can bring in the most nonperishable food items. We have prizes from area businesses for the winners.”
Adam took a picture of the boxes. “Like what?”
I waved Tom McNeely, the senior who was student body prez over. “Hey, would you give Adam the rundown on the prizes? I know we have coffee cards and gift certificates from Shamrock Stable. But, what else is there?”
“I have the whole list right here.” Tom opened his backpack and pulled out a binder. “Our student reps really deserve a ‘shout-out’ in your article, Adam. They must have hit up every business in Marysville for prizes.”
I left him talking to the reporter and went to help shift boxes around. Tom had obviously dressed for picture time. He wore a light blue shirt tucked into black slacks and even had on a striped tie. His blond hair wasn’t as long as some of the guys. It barely touched his collar.
“What’s the plan?” Porter asked me.
“I’ll show you.” I picked up a roll of red paper covered with Santas and spread it out on an empty table. Then, I brought over a box. “You bring the paper up and wrap it like you’re doing a present. Remember to leave the top open. Once it’s finished, tape on a sign. Each room should have a club box and a class box.”
“I have the list of who is sponsoring each club or team,” Gwen told me. “Mrs. Weaver says we’re having an assembly tomorrow morning to boost morale and get everyone motivated.”
I nodded. “Yeah and the winners are actually the local food bank and people who would otherwise go hungry. Like our cheer coach says, ‘We don’t want to lecture the students to get them to help out.’”
“Got that right,” Porter agreed. “This way, the race is on!”
We had sixty boxes to decorate and a lot of volunteers to do the work. For the next forty minutes, I circulated around the room, helping where I was needed. Olivia and I were taping bright green paper splashed with Christmas kittens onto a box when Dr. Danvers appeared.
“Vicky, your mom is in the counseling office.” Concern filled her face, and she wound a strand of curly reddish-brown hair around one finger. “You need to go.”
“What?” I glanced around the cafeteria at the other students, before I looked back at the counselor again. “We’re nowhere near finished. I called and left messages with both my parents. The daycare owner was picking up the kids at the elementary school today.”
“It didn’t work.” The school shrink bent and picked up my backpack. “Believe me. You want to go right now. I asked them to wait in the office, but I don’t know how much patience your mom has.”
“Not much,” I told the woman. This was Dr. Danvers’ first job, and she tried hard to take care of everyone. Sometimes, I thought she needed to follow her own advice of ‘owning what’s yours to own,’ instead of taking responsibility for everything. I smiled at her. “It’s okay.”
“Don’t stress over this,” Olivia told me. Native, African-American, and Asian, she was absolutely gorgeous and could be a total witch at times. “We’ve got it handled. See you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” I took my backpack from Dr. Danvers and carried it over to Robin. “My mom’s here. I have to go. Will you put this in my locker for me?”
“You know it.”
I started toward the main entrance, but I was too late. Mom stalked toward me, trailed by the four elementary kids. All of them had sunshine blond hair and sky blue eyes like their father, but Mom and I both had dark brown hair. She had brown eyes, not hazel like mine. She wore sweatpants, a red sweater, and running shoes, not her casino uniform, so she didn’t have to work more than one shift today. That didn’t surprise me. She’d already worked most of the Veteran’s holiday weekend. I’d handled everything from Saturday evening when Dad brought back the kids through Sunday and all day Monday.
She ought to have tonight off to spend with the kids. Then, why hadn’t she answered my calls or stepped up to take care of my sibs? When she got closer, Mom planted her fists on her hips and yelled, “Let’s go, young lady. You have work to do. And I don’t appreciate being left in the lurch.”
I winced. Well, thi
s was going to be embarrassing. “I called and left messages.”
“Since I didn’t call you back, why didn’t you do what you were supposed to do?”
No answer was necessary. I headed for the glass doors, and the lecture at the top of her lungs continued all the way out of the building. Finally, Mom paused for breath and demanded, “What were you thinking?”
“That I’m Sophomore Class Prez,” I said, “and the holiday food drive starts tomorrow. I realize you need a maid, a housekeeper and a babysitter, but you and Dad were the ones who told me I should participate in high school activities. You even helped me with my campaign last spring.”
Another glare from Mom. “I don’t have time to trail after you and pick up all the loose ends. I need you to be a help once in a while.”
“Try all the time.” I waited for her to unlock the doors of the Ford Taurus X. I put the five-year-old twins, Lance and Linda, into their car seats. At nine, Cathy could buckle her own seatbelt and so could Kevin. He smirked at me from the back seat. I knew he’d be even more of a pest now. He already figured I was the household servant and did his best to make trouble for me.
I got in the passenger seat. “It’s not fair, Mom. You dump the kids on me all the time, and I barely get to see my friends. If it was up to you, I’d be off the cheer squad by now.”
“What are you talking about?” She yanked her seatbelt into place and started the engine. “You cheered at all the football games in September and October.”
“No thanks to you or Dad,” I retorted. “My friends came and babysat most of the time. Basketball starts in three weeks. Are you going to wreck that too?”
Another dirty look as she drove toward the daycare. “You know I work most Friday nights. If I’m not home and your dad doesn’t pick up the kids, you need to be there.”
“Wonderful.” I bit my lip and stared out the window, struggling not to cry. I didn’t need this. How long could I expect my friends to keep bailing me out? Mom pulled up in front of the daycare, a brightly painted two-story building. I got out and went inside to get eighteen-month-old Chrissy.
She giggled when she saw me and dropped the blocks back into the plastic tub. “Mama Vic. Me play, Mama Vic.”
“Yeah, I know, sweetie.” I scooped up the little blonde angel, and she about strangled me with a hug. “Let’s go home.”
An anxious smile on her face, Penny, the owner of the daycare met me at the counter when I came up to sign out Chrissy. “I’m sorry, Vicky. I tried to pick up the other children, but the elementary school refused to release them to me. It seems it is okay if I drop them off every day, but taking them…”
“Thanks for trying.” I filled out the time sheet, bouncing Chrissy on my hip. “Did they tell you what it would require for you to bring the kids here?”
“A note from your mom or dad.” Penny twined a braid around one finger then released it. She always reminded me of an old-time hippie in her long denim dress, knee-high socks, and sandals. “Do you want me to talk to them?”
“No, I will.” I took the diaper bag she handed me and carried Chrissy to the door. My little sister kept babbling. “See you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Penny gave me another strange look then pushed the stroller out behind me. “Vicky, why don’t I ever see you with your backpack anymore? My niece attends Lincoln High and swears the teachers live to give tons of homework.”
“I don’t have time for homework.” I opened the back door of the SUV. “I have five kids to take care of, a house to clean, meals to cook, laundry to do. I don’t need a high school diploma to be a nanny, do I?”
She didn’t answer, just left the stroller for me and went back inside. So, I was being totally snarky, and I was pretty sure she’d say something to Dad when he paid the bill. I didn’t care. Nobody in my family asked me how I managed to keep up my grades. Part of it was because of Mrs. Weaver and Dr. Danvers.
They adjusted my schedule so I would be able to do most of my homework at school. They also arranged for all my teachers to give me extra copies of the textbooks. I kept them in the basement at home, so Kevin and Cathy couldn’t destroy them. I read a lot of my books for the take-home English weekly logs between loads of laundry. When I went to Robin’s after the football games, I did school work there. And I did more at the barn on my breaks. I wasn’t really going to drop out of Lincoln High. Like Dr. Danvers had told me, I needed a diploma to get out of my mother’s house. And I’d get one, along with as many scholarships as I needed to pay for college.
I put the diaper bag on the floor and tucked Chrissy into her seat between Lance and Linda’s. Chrissy’s lower lip drooped. “Want horsie, Mama Vic. Want horsie.”
“I’ll get it, baby.” I opened her bag and pulled out the small stuffed purple unicorn, handing it to her. “Here you go. What do you say?”
“Fanks, Mama.”
My mother shot me one more of her evil looks while I loaded up the stroller. “I’m her mother, not you.”
“Chrissy’s a baby,” Cathy said from the back seat. “She hears the twins do it, so now she does too. She’s been calling Vicky that all summer.”
“Well, I don’t appreciate it,” Mom told me. “So, knock it off.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault.” I sat down and adjusted my seat belt. “You want them to call you ‘Mama’, try taking care of them once in a while.”
“Why do you think I work all the time?” Mom demanded. “I am taking care of all of you. And I need you to do your share, Victoria. You’re the oldest. I have to be able to depend on you.”
Blah, blah, blah! While she pitched her guilt trip, Kevin kicked the back of my seat. He punctuated all of her angry words with repeated thumps of his feet. I wished I could yell at both of them to leave me alone. What was the use? I knew better than to argue with anyone in the family. I was the oldest. It meant I was responsible for everything, from the sun coming up in the morning to it setting at night.
“Do you have anything else to say for yourself?” Mom demanded as she pulled up in front of our split-level house. “I’m waiting.”
“I guess I’m just a bad person.” I shrugged and hoped it sounded like I didn’t care. “Maybe I better go live with Dad. His place is nearly as messy as this rathole. He and Tessa need a maid too, and I’d be able to finish high school if I lived with him.”
Fury slid into Mom’s face, making her cheeks bright red. She pointed to the front door. “Take the kids inside and get to work. Don’t you dare tie up the phone! I’ve had enough of your playing the martyr. Get your chores done by the time I’m home.”
I bent down and grabbed my purse off the floor, determined not to cry. “When will that be? Midnight? Two in the morning when the bars close? You don’t have a uniform so you’re not going to work.”
Her mouth tightened into a thin line. “All right. That’s enough out of you, Victoria Elizabeth Miller. Go to the basement. I don’t want to see or hear another word from you until tomorrow morning. Maybe you’ll act like a human being by then!”
Chapter Three
Tuesday, November 12th, 5:30 p.m.
Shunning us was my mother’s favorite punishment since she didn’t believe in hitting us. Being alone used to really bother me when I was younger. I hated being sent off by myself to sit in my room while the rest of the family talked, ate, played games, and hung out together. That was before the divorce. In the past six months, privacy was rare. I didn’t even have a room of my own anymore. I shared with my little sisters. Mom moved into my old room with the idea of fixing up and renting out the master suite. So far, this switcheroo was still in the testing phase, and I figured it sucked.
I stopped in the bedroom I shared with the girls to grab my nightgown, robe, slippers, and the cheer outfit I needed for school tomorrow. I paused in the kitchen for snacks and one of the frozen pizzas Mom bought for easy dinners. She wouldn’t miss it, and I wasn’t about to starve. We kept sodas downstairs so the kids wouldn’t drink all of them in a c
ouple days. And I was off to my new favorite place. I didn’t need The Magic Kingdom. Our daylight basement was enough of a wonderland for me.
I shut the door at the bottom of the stairs and locked it. I went across to the door that opened into the garage and locked it too. Alone at last. Yippee! I looked around the studio apartment. What did I want to do first? TV? Homework? A shower? Dinner? Wow, it had to be paradise. I wasn’t in charge of preparing a meal from start to finish that Kevin would complain about and Cathy would refuse to eat because there were too many veggies and not enough chocolate. I didn’t have to supervise bath time for the twins or scrub out the dirty cloth diapers that Penny, the daycare lady insisted Chrissy use. Yay, me!
I put my food on the counter in the little kitchenette when I heard the ringtone on my phone. I pulled it out and answered cautiously in case Dad had finally decided to get back to me. “Hello.”
“Hey, Vicky. It’s me, Tom. Are you okay?”
Tears sprang into my eyes, and I blinked hard. “What?”
“I heard your mom.” He paused. “Okay, that was dumb. I think everybody at school heard your mom. Well, maybe not the basketball team. They were in the gym.”
He obviously meant to cheer me up, but I couldn’t laugh, not yet. I sniffed and swallowed the sob in my throat, wondering why I wanted to cry now. I could deal with Mom dumping on me. What was so upsetting about kindness? “I’m okay. It’s not like it’s the first time she’s had a raging fit.”
“Yeah, well, what’s she so pissed about? You weren’t out getting high or drunk or selling yourself on a street corner. You were going all out so we could feed hungry people.”
I walked over to the bar stool and hitched up on it. “I also wasn’t available to take care of my younger brothers and sisters when she needed a babysitter.”
Silence and then he said, “Yeah, well, some bosses are like that.”
No Time for Horses Page 2