If that statement were true, my family owed me millions of dollars. I should just count my blessings, take the money, and run. A pang of guilt fluttered through my heart and a picture of the Grinch and his growing heart flashed before my eyes.
“I don’t have any needs right now, so I guess I’ll just bank it for now.”
“That’s a smart and mature decision,” Mom said, kissing the top of my cheek. She picked up the Federal Express envelope and strolled down the hallway to the garage door. “I’m going to recycle this, and you need to hide that check before Mariah gets home.” The door slammed and she walked to the kitchen.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“Because your spoiled sister will argue the check belongs to her.”
“She’s right, you know,” Nikki said nodding at me.
“Hurry back, girls. I have Chicken Vesuvio warming in the oven. Mariah and Emily should be home soon, and we can all eat together.” Nikki followed me down the stairs and asked, “What’s with your mom and these family meals?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s decided to turn over a new leaf and actually be a mother.”
It was an interesting thought, but I wasn’t sure if I was keen on the speculation. Sure, I wouldn’t mind a nurturing mother who cooked meals and slightly participated in her daughters’ lives. But I hoped it was at a distant, to not suffocate us.
Emily and Mariah were wolfing down their chicken when Nikki and I entered the dining room. Mom set a plate in front of Nikki, then me. She then returned to the table a few seconds later with her plate filled with chicken and potato wedges.
“Girls, I have some news I’d like to share,” Mom said. She washed down a mouthful of food with a swig of her wine. “Starting Monday, I’ll be working at Borders.”
Emily had a coughing fit. “At the mall?”
“Where we work?” Mariah said pointing her finger at Emily, then herself.
“The check for my tuition isn’t going to bounce, is it?” Emily asked.
I sat dumbfounded, and not by the impulsive news by my mother. I wanted to bitch slap my sisters for acting immature and selfish. This was great news. I thought getting out and involved would finally rid Mom of her shopaholic tendencies and the dangerous funk she’d been in since Dad died.
“I think that’s pretty cool, Mom,” I said.
“I love Borders!” Nikki gleamed.
“Me, too,” Mom said with a smile. “That’s why I applied.” She then turned her attention to my sisters. “I felt it was time to get out and socialize with the world again. Oh, and Nikki, I’ll be playing Bunko with your mom on Thursday nights.”
“That’s awesome, Mrs. Collins. My mom really enjoys playing.” Nikki forked a piece of chicken and groaned in pure enjoyment. “Yum. Oh, and another thing…”
“Yes?” Mom’s eyes grew large from Nikki’s unfinished sentence. Apparently, she was so much in love with her meal; she found it difficult to concentrate on speaking.
“My god, this is so delish,” Nikki said. Her eyes were practically rolling to the back of her skull. All of us girls were right there in her moment of ecstasy. Mom sure did know how to cook.
“Doesn’t your mom get home at like one in the morning?” I asked Nikki.
“How are you going to pull that off?” Emily asked Mom. “You turn into a pumpkin at nine.”
Mom’s face turned ghostly white, and her fork stopped in mid-air to her open mouth. “Is that true, Nikki?”
“It’s true.”
“I guess I could always take a nap.” Mom started laughing and shaking her head. Her lips appeared happy, but her eyes darkened into despair. “How sad am I? I used to be able to pull all-nighters when I was your age. Now, I’m an old lady.”
Mariah jumped in. “You’re not old, Mom. Forty is the new twenty-five.”
I never considered my mother old. She was…Mom. They’re supposed to be invincible. And she was in tip-top shape, healthy and beautiful. After Dad died, I feared she’d try out her fountain of youth by auditioning for some reality show similar to Cougar Town.
“Yet, I feel sixty-five.” Mom laughed. “In fact, I’m tired now and ready to retire to the bedroom.”
Mom rose from her chair, snatching her wine glass and leaving her half-eaten chicken on the table for me to clean up, which really didn’t bother me. It just meant a second helping without the need of getting out of my chair. I favored the chicken over the potatoes anyway.
Nikki glanced at her watch. “Oh crap, I’ve got to motor. I still have a history paper to write, and Boyd will be calling me soon.” She picked up her half-empty plate and headed to the front door. “Good night, ladies.”
“Bye, Nikki,” both Mariah and Emily said in unison.
I followed behind her. “Just make sure you bring back the plate clean this time.”
The last time she brought dinner home, she brought back the plate with caked on marinara sauce. Mother’s china needed to be hand washed and not placed in a dishwasher. Nikki’s excuse for not washing it was she just had a manicure.
“Oh man! You know I just had my nails done last night.” Seems she gets her nails done every night. “I’ll give you five dollars to wash it.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed her out the front door. “Forget it. You give me a ride to school every day. I’ll wash it.”
Nikki strolled across the grass, shoveling a forkful of potatoes every two seconds.
“What about your car?” I called out to her.
“Can’t I just leave it there?”
“Sure. But only if you have it all toasty warm for me in the morning!”
“You’re a pain, Collins.”
“Love you, too!” I yelled as Nikki entered her house.
Now with the assurance that Nikki was safely tucked away in her house, I could go back and enjoy my dinner. My taste buds were having a separation anxiety attack.
When I had walked Nikki out I heard Emily’s text ring at least eight times, and it rang again as I entered the dining room. “Just answer it already,” Mariah said in an annoyance tone.
“The jackass broke up with me. He’s pond scum and I’m not going to answer it.”
Obviously she was referring to Aaron. Emily was right, he was scum and I didn’t blame her for ignoring his text messages. If a guy breaks up in order to chase an easy prey, song and dance is over.
What confused me was she refused to acknowledge Aaron. But when Trent called the other day, she answered. That prompted me to ask her, “Trent broke up with you too, so why did you answer his call?”
“Well?” Mariah asked.
Emily released a heavy sigh and I knew what she was about to say. “You still have feelings for him, even after he dumped you for that bitch?” Then I recalled her warning message when he called for my number the other day. “So, the only reason you begged me not to get involved with him was because you wanted him back, and not to protect me?”
The frightened glare etched on Emily’s face confirmed that I resembled a raging bull, with smoke billowing out my flared nostrils.
“I was jealous,” Emily said, her eyes fixated on her dinner plate. “I’m sorry Parker. I hate always being so jealous of you.”
Nothing usually shuts me up when I’m in a heated argument. But Emily’s statement had me bewildered. “Say again?”
“Parker, you don’t need protecting,” Emily said. “You’ve always been strong, athletic, and beautiful. I’ve always been known as Parker’s big sister.” This was news to me. “Trent asked me out. The most popular guy in school asked me out.” She jammed her pointer finger hard into her chest. If she did it any harder she’d risk breaking her finger.
“Have you lost your marbles?” I laughed. “I’m tired of being in the middle. I’m known as Emily’s not-as-pretty little sister and Mariah’s not-as-smart big sister.”
Mariah’s fork stopped an inch away from her quivering lips. “Wait, so I’m not pretty?”
“You’re beautiful,” Emily and I said toge
ther.
“Don’t ever sell yourself shorter than that,” I added.
“Don’t be such a hypocrite,” Mariah said pointing her fork at me. “You do it all the time.”
I glanced over to Emily and she was shaking her head to agree with Mariah. Wow, rough day today. First I was verbally slapped around by Boyd, and now my sisters wanted to share in the fun. I felt the urge to defend myself, but somehow I didn’t feel like I had a leg to stand on.
“You’re right Mariah. Let’s set the record straight right here, right now. I think very highly of both of my sisters. I love them, I’ll protect them, and they are very smart, beautiful, and fun-loving.” I said it with conviction. But did they believe me?
“When’s the last time we all hugged?” Emily asked.
The room fell dead silent as the three of us hit the rewind button on our lives. The answer wasn’t hard to search for. It was never. Our parents never hugged each other in front of us. They never even hugged us. Hugging was foreign in this family.
“Should we hug now?” Mariah asked.
“I showered today,” Emily joked. “so, I’m good.”
We all stood from our chairs and huddled at the threshold of the kitchen, and hugged one another.
There was a sudden change in the barometric pressure, and that’s when I heard my mother’s voice from behind me. “Are you girls okay?”
“What do we do?” Mariah asked.
“Get her!” Emily laughed.
Emily and Mariah rushed towards Mom. My feet weighed themselves down and I wasn’t able to move. It just didn’t feel natural to dash over there and share in the jubilee with Mariah and Emily. But if I didn’t, I knew I’d have some explaining to do and I really didn’t want to get into it.
“Wait for me,” I playfully called out as I sashayed over.
“Oh my, I knew this day would come,” Mom said. “At least I take comfort in knowing the three of you will be together when I have you all committed.”
Everyone’s a comedian these days.
Chapter 9
I dressed for the day in my usual comfortable attire; a pair of blue jeans and T-shirt from Hollister. The temperatures were going to stay above normal through Friday, to which I certainly had no qualms about. It meant I wasn’t going to freeze my tooshi off at the football game.
Since there was allotted time between the end of the school day and tonight’s football game, I left my camera equipment in the ready-to-go position on my bed. I snatched my backpack, slipped on my tennis shoes and headed upstairs in hopes Mom made breakfast. For the first time ever, I was running ahead of schedule.
No one was in the kitchen. No one seemed to be stirring about. I peeked at my watch to verify if it was synchronized with the clock on the stove. It read seven-twenty, only two minutes ahead of my watch. Something was off and it didn’t sit well with me.
Down the hallway I could see the bedroom doors to both my sister’s rooms were open. If they had already left for school, the doors would have been closed. Their doors are always closed. I sprinted down the hall and came to a skidding stop and my tennis shoes made a hair-raising squeak against the hardwood floors.
I peered inside Emily’s room. Although her wooden blinds were closed, the sun managed to stream through. I noticed that her white, down-comforter was bunched up forming a peak above her head. Her hair was matted and her face was pale.
“Are you sick?” I asked in a hoarsen whisper.
Emily grunted and turned her back to me. I took that as a yes and padded into Mariah’s bedroom. She managed to block more of the morning sun with heavy black drapes. She was wrapped up like a cocoon in her zebra print blanket.
“Mariah, are you sick as well?”
“Well, duh,” she moaned. “Didn’t you hear the throw-up fest going on all night?”
“No. I sleep with a fan on, so I don’t hear diddley squat.”
It can be a drag being such a light sleeper. Every creak of the house settling, every rain drop that hits the window, any mouse scratching inside the walls would awaken me. At first I used to sleep with my iPod buds crammed in my ears. But every time a song played that I couldn’t get enough of, I’d wake up to listen to it. I didn’t get much sleep with that method.
A classmate told me how he used a fan to drown out nightly sounds, so I decided to give it a whirl. It worked liked a charm as long as I kept it on the highest setting.
Mom’s door was closed. I was afraid to knock in case she was sleeping, but I had to make sure she was okay. I quietly poked my head around the door and saw her sprawled across her bed. A waste can was in front of her nightstand.
What the hell was going on? I couldn’t understand how my entire family caught the flu bug, and I was immune. Good thing too, because I had a football game to photograph. It was strange to have a game mid-week, but we were playing a Catholic school whose games were always on a Wednesday night.
After I closed my mom’s bedroom door my cell phone jingled. “Hi, Nikki.” She moaned in my ear. “No way, you’re sick, too?”
“Too?”
“Everyone here, except me, is competing in the Collins Barf-fest.”
“I guess you’re on your own today,” Nikki made a gagging sound and the line went dead.
It was my turn to moan. “Crap.”
I nuked a couple of sausage links and shoved them in my mouth and headed out the door. Nikki’s mom was approaching the driveway when I locked the front door behind me. She was a beautiful woman, with short, frosted blond hair. Her eyes were a dazzling blue, like Nikki’s. I smiled at her pumpkin print sweatpants and orange T-shirt.
“Here’s the keys,” she said to me.
“Thanks, Mom. Did you call Nikki in yet?” For a few years I’ve been calling Nikki’s mother, Mom. Mainly because Nikki and I are more like loving sisters than neighbors and best friends.
“I will shortly. Would you like me to call Mariah in as well?”
“Could you? I don’t think my mom has the strength.”
The morning sun greeted me smack dab in the pupils of my eyes when I turned out of the subdivision. It was a telltale sign winter was vastly approaching. Soon it would be completely dark when I get up for school, and the sun would just be breaking through the horizon when I leave. Ugh, how I hated the winter season with a passion.
I pulled into the parking lot and sighed in relief that I made it to school without incident. It wasn’t easy driving blind, even with sunglasses on. And to add pleasure to amazement, I was able to snatch front row parking, which was a first.
“Collins!” I heard someone yell when I got out of the car.
I glanced two cars over and saw Boyd sitting on the hood of his car talking to Trent and Devin, who were standing in front of him. “Good morning fellas.” There, that was friendly, I thought to myself. Boyd should be proud me.
“Where’s Nikki?” Boyd asked.
“She and the rest of my family seemed to have caught the flu bug,” I said taking a few steps towards them.
“Whoa, step back Collins!” Devin said, making the sign of a cross with his fingers. “It’s only a matter of time before it hits you then. We can’t afford flu germs.”
I grimaced and wiped imaginary crust away from my lip with my middle finger. All three boys laughed.
“Are you ready for the game tonight?” Trent asked me.
“Trigger finger and eyeball are well-rested,” I said. “How about you guys?”
With just one simple question they turned into a bunch of Neanderthal men by grunting, making strange gestures, and high-fiving one another. I shook my head and left them before I witnessed something that would require therapy.
It felt strange to walk to my locker without Nikki. She was not only my best friend, but my shadow. I felt oddly naked. When I opened my locker, a piece of paper folded into a square hit my shoe. I could only imagine what wonderful words were written on the inside. At least it wasn’t written across my locker in fingernail polish.
&
nbsp; I retrieved my writing notebook and picked up the paper and shoved it in the back pocket of my jeans. I still had time to freshen up my face in the bathroom, and read my love letter in private.
All the stalls were empty and I was alone. I placed my notebook on the sink and wiped away some black goop that had gathered in the corner of my eye from my eyeliner. At the same time, I snatched the note from my pocket and unfolded it.
In black ink the words Fugly Bitch was written in calligraphy. Maybe it was because each letter was written with such elegance, that I actually smiled. Amazingly enough, the words didn’t transform me into a raging lunatic. Whomever the letter was from had failed miserably in their attempt to get under my skin.
For a few seconds I contemplated whether to keep the note or not. I decided not. Instead, I wet the corners of the paper and slapped it against the mirror, pressing hard until it finally stuck. It seemed such a waste to throw such beautifully profound words away. I thought all the girls in my school should see it.
Since Nikki wasn’t in school, I decided to skip lunch and head to the girls locker room and change into my gym clothes to lift weights. It was an open gym and many students either on their lunch hour or study hall would work out instead.
On days I felt exceptionally fat, I’d talk Nikki into skipping lunch and working out with me. Because I ate probably more than half of the pot roast the night before and three helpings of chicken vesuvio, I felt a tad bloated and my jeans were fitting a bit too snug.
I pulled my hair up in a ponytail as I walked out of the girls’ locker room. There was a water fountain in front of the weight room, and I decided to get a drink before diving into pure torture.
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