Pick-me-up
Page 34
Chapter 19: Secrets
“So when were you going to tell me about school?” Katelyn finally said to Tim during the car ride home. Colton was quiet in the backseat except for the slurping noises from a candy cane he must have hidden. His hair had fake frost in it from landing in the tree when he tried to escape Tim’s grasp. Katelyn thought they had put all the canes back, but Colton was resourceful. She had to hand it to him.
Kayla stared out the window trying to catch more sights of Christmas lights, but they were at the outskirts of Ames, and only farm houses lined the highway. Sierra’s head was already drooping with early sleep.
Not one gift had been purchased. Katelyn decided against taking the kids to Wal-Mart. She’d had enough for the night. And, she didn’t quite feel the Christmas spirit at the moment. Tim’s secrecy tainted every thought.
“So?” she asked again. “And why didn’t you tell me about Angel?”
Tim sat in the passenger seat, and Katelyn couldn’t see his face directly since he was looking out his window. She heard him sigh.
“I didn’t want you to do this,” he finally said.
“Do what? Care? Make you face up to what you’re really doing?” She realized she sounded like her mom when she fought with her dad. How could Tim actually respond with an answer to those questions. Katelyn tried again. “How long have you not been going to school?”
She saw him shrug out of her side vision. “A couple weeks.”
“Why not go, Tim? What made you stop?” Real concern dripped with each question.
Katelyn turned to see him, his outline distinct in the low light. He rubbed his chin with one hand. She waited.
“School’s not for me. Yeah, it may be easier, Kate. But, it’s still crap. It’s still stuff I’m never gonna use.”
She stayed silent. Everything Katelyn wanted to say sounded too much like what her parents would say.
He started talking before she could come up with a decent reply. “I mean, at least when I was in regular school I could take shop and stuff. Hell, they had a whole automotive program that fed right into the community college down in Des Moines. This shit, this computer stuff, it’s all know-the-answer-to-facts bullshit I’ll never need.”
Katelyn wanted to come up with an argument about needing a diploma or GED in order to go on. That’s what her teachers and parents were always telling her. Never mind that none of her sisters were made to get their diploma or go back to school.
“A couple weeks ago a guy in class got an old Chevy GT, real bad shape, but we ditched school and worked on it all day. We did it again the next day. We had that thing running by the end of the week, Kate. It was mad perfect.” Tim’s voice was full of pride, but he barely talked louder than a whisper. “Anyway, his cousin has a shop in Ames and can get me some hours. I’ve gone over a couple times. I didn’t want to tell you ‘cause I was gonna surprise you with your Christmas gift.”
She turned his way, but quickly turned back since the car veered with her. She steadied it out and looked over to him. Tim wouldn’t look at her. She softened. “What is it?”
His voice took on a tease then. “You’ll just have to wait. Christmas is five days away.”
“Come on,” she begged. But, he didn’t answer.
They drove into the outskirts of Northrup. Katelyn slowed instinctively, knowing just where the cops hid at the bottom of the hill. The back seat was quiet. The girls were asleep. Colton was awake, curled up in the seat. His hands had disappeared into his pants.
In the driveway, before she turned off the car, she turned to Tim and grabbed his hand. “I won’t nag you, okay. But, you can still go back to school.” His eighteenth birthday was a month away. Katelyn wasn’t even sure what the age limits were on attending the alternative school, but there was always the GED.
Tim squeezed her hand. “I know. Let me see how this works out. I could make some good money at the shop. You’ll see.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss. They drove in silence. The car’s engine lulled the kids to sleep in the back seat.
“I wasn’t trying to keep Angel a secret,” Tim said out of the blue. “I didn’t want you to worry. She’s alright, ya know. You two should hang out.”
Katelyn laughed. “Yeah, maybe.”