Just Lucky

by Melanie Florence

Huh? “I’m…sorry?”

  “There’s a teenaged boy in the house, dear. I’d appreciate it if you covered yourself up a little more.”

  Mary was still smiling but it was forced. She put the plate in front of me, but I had lost my appetite.

  “Oh. Okay,” I managed. “I guess I can change into something else.” I poked at a piece of bacon.

  “Maybe before you eat?” she suggested, still smiling.

  “Oh. Sure.”

  I stood back up and headed upstairs. I didn’t feel like breakfast anymore. Especially not with Mary judging my perfectly acceptable shorts.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Class in the Kitchen

  I came back downstairs in jeans. I figured my T-shirt didn’t break any commandments or anything. Mary was at the table with her son when I walked in. I couldn’t help but notice that my breakfast had disappeared.

  “Lucky, you’re looking better.”

  Better?

  “Sure,” I said. I mean…what was I supposed to say? Her son was looking at me oddly. I was completely covered, so my clothes weren’t to blame for this.

  “Great! This is my son, Bobby. You’re in the same grade so you can do your work together. Why don’t you have a seat and we can get started.”

  I forgot she homeschooled. Oh. This was going to be weird.

  I sat beside her son who still hadn’t said a word to me.

  “Hi,” I said, smiling at him.

  He flushed and looked away.

  “Bobby, say hi to Lucky,” Mary instructed him.

  “Hi,” he muttered.

  Okay then. Off to a great start. Clearly we were destined to be BFFs.

  “I thought we’d start with English today…”

  The next few hours passed by, literally, at a snail’s pace. Mary’s method of teaching was to read out loud from a textbook, including study questions. In every subject. It was excruciatingly boring, but she was nice enough, and once we started talking about history, even Bobby joined in.

  I learned we only had half days with the expectation that we’d work on assignments ourselves, so that wasn’t so bad. By lunchtime my stomach was growling so loudly that even Bobby grinned. Robert Sr. wandered in for lunch. He was a contractor apparently and was working close enough to home that he could come back for meals. He was bigger than I remembered. Kind of lumbering and gruff. But he smiled kindly and asked how my morning was as he sat down to tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with us. Much as I wanted out of here, I had to grudgingly admit that they seemed fine.

  Bobby came out of his shell around his father, and they spent the entire meal talking about a car they were fixing up together. I ate my lunch in silence, eager to go back upstairs to text Ryan and try to call Grandma. She must be worried about me.

  “Do you think I could go visit my grandmother today?” I blurted out.

  Robert glanced over at me.

  “I think they probably want her to get settled in before you visit,” he said.

  “But she’s going to be worried about me,” I told him. “If I could just go for a quick visit, just to let her know I’m okay?”

  “Not today. But soon, all right?” He nodded, signaling that the conversation was over.

  “Well, when is Cynthia coming back?” I asked.

  He looked at me again, clearly annoyed this time.

  “Probably not until the end of the week. Now if you’re done, you can help clear the table,” he said before turning back to Bobby and resuming their scintillating conversation about engines.

  I stood up without another word and took some of the plates to the sink. Robert had dropped his napkin—yes, they used real napkins here—and I stooped to get it for him. I glanced up and caught him looking down the gaping neck of my T-shirt. I grabbed at the material, holding it against my chest. He met my gaze and held it, challenging me to say something. What could I possibly say?

  “I’m going to start on my homework,” I said, turning quickly and heading upstairs, feeling Robert’s gaze following me from the room.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Double Stuf or it Doesn’t Count

  I tried calling Ryan but there was no answer. I thought he might be asking Thomas out today, so he was probably stressing out and had his ringer off, planning what he was going to say. It was funny. Thomas clearly liked him but Ryan still thought he wasn’t good enough for people. That was his parents’ doing.

  I tried Grandma next. It took a couple of different receptionists before I was connected to her room. I almost cried when she answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Grandma? It’s Lucky.” My voice broke. It all hit me at once. Losing Grandpa. The fire. Grandma in the hospital. And me stuck with a foster father who was turning out to be kind of a perv.

  “Lucky girl! Are you okay?”

  Leave it to Grandma to forget that she was the one in the hospital.

  “Yeah, Grandma. I’m fine. I’m staying with a family in…I don’t know. The west end, I think? Just for a while. Just until you’re back home. Are you all right?” I asked.

  “I’m fine, sweetheart. Bored out of my mind. Can you bring me a book? Or a crossword?”

  “Yeah, Grandma. I’ll bring you something to do,” I promised.

  “And maybe some cookies or something. They gave me Jell-O for dessert here. Jell-O isn’t a real dessert!” she huffed.

  I laughed. Her hatred for Jell-O was well-known in our house.

  “Okay, Grandma. I’ll bring you some Oreos or something.”

  “Double Stuf or it doesn’t count,” she said. My eyes burned. That was one of Grandpa’s sayings. Oreos weren’t worth it if they didn’t have extra icing in them.

  “Double Stuf or it doesn’t count,” I agreed. “I miss you, Grandma.”

  “I miss you too, Lucky girl. I can’t wait to see you.” I could hear the smile in her voice.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I said. I hung up and pulled up the transit app on my phone. It would take a while, but if I left now, I could get back into the city and down to the hospital before visiting hours were over. I pulled my wallet out. I had forty dollars and a transit card that was good until the end of the month. I could get her some books and cookies and still have money left over in case I needed something.

  I could hear Mary and Bobby in the kitchen doing the dishes. Hopefully Robert was gone. I figured I could get down the stairs and out the front door without them seeing me. I tiptoed down, heart stopping at every squeak of the stairs. I went slowly, knowing I could be caught and have to explain where I was going after Robert told me I couldn’t go see Grandma. But finally I made it to the hall and sidled my way to the front door. One more glance behind me and I was out, running up the street toward a bus stop and toward my grandmother.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The Visit

  I decided to add some flowers to the growing pile of things I picked up on the way to see Grandma. I was glad I did. Her room was okay. It wasn’t horrible or anything. But there was no color to it. No life. It reminded me of my room at the Wilsons. No personality.

  “Do you like them, Grandma?” She was fussing over the flowers. Arranging and then rearranging them in the water jug that we had repurposed.

  “I love them, Lucky. Thank you!” She smiled widely at me.

  “Are they treating you well?” I asked.

  “Yes. Everyone’s very nice. Did you bring Oreos?”

  “Of course!”

  She dug into them, taking three and setting them down on the tray in front of her. She picked the first cookie up and took it apart. She licked the icing, just like Grandpa used to do. I had never seen her eat an Oreo that way before.

  “Hmm. Now I get why he ate them like this,” she mused, sticking it back together before biting into it. I smiled gen
tly. I missed him so much. “Are those people nice? The one’s you’re staying with until I come home?” she asked.

  I thought about telling her the truth. I really did. But she couldn’t help, and I didn’t want to add to her stress with stories about my possibly pervy foster father. It was only for a little while anyway. I took a deep breath.

  “Yeah, they’re great,” I lied.

  “Wonderful! Have a cookie.” She pushed the package toward me. I took one and pulled it apart, just like Grandpa.

  “I brought you a couple of books.” I dug into the bag again. “I’ve got crosswords too. And a word search book.” I handed them to her, and she leafed through one of the novels eagerly.

  “Thank you, Lucky girl. I watch the TV, but they don’t have all the channels, and I swear, I need to exercise my brain or I’ll go crazy in here.” She grinned. I didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t crazy…but it felt like something in her brain wasn’t connecting. It’s why she forgot to turn the stove off or thought that Grandpa was just out running errands. She was fine today, but who knows if she’d even recognize me tomorrow.

  “No problem, Grandma. I have to get back. But I’ll come visit as soon as I can.”

  “Okay, sweetheart. I love you.” She put her book down and held out her arms for me. I leaned into her and held on tight.

  “I love you too, Grandma.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Trouble

  It was getting dark when I got off the last bus and walked toward the Wilsons’ house. I was glad I had seen my grandmother, and I had pretty much forgotten that I had been told I couldn’t go see her.

  At least until I walked in the front door and all hell broke loose.

  “Where have you been?” Mary shrieked before I even had time to kick off my shoes.

  “I went to visit my grandmother,” I told her, pretty calmly all things considered.

  Robert appeared behind her.

  “I said you couldn’t go,” he told my breasts.

  I tried to catch his eye and failed.

  “Yeah, well…she’s my grandmother, and she needed me.”

  I tried to walk past and go up to my room. Or the room I was borrowing anyway. Unfortunately, the Wilsons had other ideas and moved to block my escape.

  “Look, I was going to call and let you know where I was, but I don’t have your number. I didn’t think I’d be back after dark. I’m sorry, but she needed me. I had to go.” I figured that would smooth things over a little.

  “You’re not getting off that easy,” Mary said. “Our rules are for your own good!”

  “You have a rule that says I can’t visit my grandmother?” How was this such a big deal? “I’ll make sure to let you know next time I’m visiting,” I told her, trying to ease my way past.

  “You need permission!” she screamed. Robert patted her arm, pulling her out of the way.

  “All right. I think Lucky knows she made a mistake and can see that we worry, and next time she’ll make sure she asks for permission. Isn’t that right, Lucky?”

  “Yeah. Sure.” I nodded and slid through the space that was now open in front of me.

  “No dinner!” Mary called at my back.

  I ran for it before she could come up with something more creative. Like being tied to a chair or something. This was insane. How was I supposed to live with people who couldn’t understand that I needed to be with my grandmother? I closed the bedroom door and flopped down on the bed. Between the hymns and the homeschooling and the creepy father-figure who kept staring at my chest…I needed to get the hell out of here.

  ME:Ryan, you’ve got to get me out of here.

  RYAN:What’s going on?

  I spent the next hour rant-texting Ryan and trying to figure out how to live with these people until I could get back home. I was yawning by the time I said goodnight and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. Bobby’s door was closed. I realized he was the only one who hadn’t bothered to confront me when I walked in and felt a rush of gratitude. He might be the only halfway normal person in the house. Except that he couldn’t say a word to me without turning bright red.

  The door to my own room was ajar. I walked in and found Robert standing by my bed with his back to the door.

  “Can I help you?” I asked warily.

  He turned. He had a plate in his hands.

  “I thought you might be hungry. Mary and I differ when it comes to punishments.” He smiled. He was actually looking at my face for a change. He handed me the plate, which held a sandwich—ham and cheese—a couple of cookies and an apple. “I don’t believe teenagers should skip meals,” he explained.

  “Oh.” I was genuinely shocked. Both by the fact that he had brought me food and that he wasn’t being skeevy. “Thanks. That’s really nice of you.”

  He set the plate down and smiled again.

  “No problem. I want you to be happy here, Lucky.” He nodded and walked past me, completely non-creepily. “Oh. And don’t tell Mary I snuck you food, okay? I don’t want to get in trouble.” He winked and retreated, closing the door behind him.

  Well, that was odd.

  I took a bite of ham and cheese and grabbed my phone to text Ryan.

  ME:You’re not going to believe this!

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Another Day, Another Lesson

  “Good morning, Lucky!” Mary trilled as I came down the stairs the next morning, appropriately dressed and not as hungry as she probably thought I was, thanks to her husband.

  “Good morning.” I nodded at Bobby, who was already reading a textbook. He nodded back and only turned slightly pink. Baby steps.

  “You must be starving! I made pancakes.” She plopped a plate down in front of me. They smelled heavenly. Ha. Heavenly. I should have said that out loud.

  “Thank you.” I cut a huge bite of fluffy pancake and was about to stuff it down my gullet when Mary interrupted in that sugary sweet way of hers.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked, eyeing me like an insect.

  “Sorry?” The fork was right there! My mouth was watering.

  “Don’t forget to say grace, dear.”

  Oh, for crying out loud.

  “Oh. Sure. Of course.” I lowered the forkful of pancake regretfully and closed my eyes. I talked to God in my head sometimes, but I didn’t appreciate anyone telling me I had to pray. I thought quickly…ummm…. Please keep my grandmother safe and let me go home soon…amen. I opened my eyes. Mary was still staring at me. “Okay then,” I said, gulping down the mouthful of slightly less mouthwatering pancakes before she could make me take communion or something.

  Once breakfast was over, Mary started our lessons. I had a hard time paying attention. She read in a monotone and then just made us answer the questions in the textbook. There had to be more to homeschooling for most people than just working our way through a textbook. It was enough to put you to sleep!

  I was just dozing off when she closed the book with a slam. I jumped.

  “There you go. Now go through the questions, and we’ll review tomorrow. Don’t forget the quiz on Friday!”

  I rolled my eyes and caught Bobby looking at me. Busted! I expected him to rat my disrespect out to his mom, but he grinned and stacked his books in a pile.

  I followed him up the stairs.

  “Boring, isn’t it?” he whispered. Was this a trap?

  “Yes! God! I mean, jeez! How do you stand it?”

  He turned his head and smiled.

  “I just tune her out. I’m way ahead of her, but I let her do her thing and work on other stuff in my head.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded.

  “Yeah, I passed her in the text about a year ago. I just didn’t have the heart to tell her. I’m doing university-level stuff,
but I just get books out of the library and work on my own and let her read whatever she wants.”

  I laughed out loud. I had misjudged this kid.

  “Don’t tell her though,” he said.

  “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Marvel vs. DC

  I was thinking that the Wilsons—for the most part—weren’t so bad. I mean, if I had to stay somewhere then I guessed this place wasn’t completely terrible. They were okay if you could get past the hymns and being forced to say grace and the homeschooling. Bobby had some comics that we were trading back and forth, and as long as I stuck to the rules, things went pretty smoothly.

  I still wasn’t sure about Robert. He was nice. As nice as the other two. But there was just something…off…about him. It was the way he looked at me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.

  “If you could only read one comic book series for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Bobby asked. He was lounging on the floor of my room, sorting through a pile of comics and dividing them into Marvel and DC.

  “Excellent question!” I nodded approvingly. Weird as this house could be, I actually felt like Bobby was a friend. I thought about inviting Ryan over for one of these comic book debates. He’d love this. “Ummm…Ultimate Spider-Man. Definitely. You?”

  Bobby looked toward the door, then back at me.

  “Deadpool,” he whispered.

  “Your mom lets you read Deadpool?” I blurted out.

  “Shhhhh!” He gestured toward the open bedroom door. “Of course not. My friend Dan collects them. I read them at his house. Don’t tell my mom!”

  “Absolutely not!” I promised. “My friend Ryan loves Deadpool. Have you seen the movies?”

  “Yeah.” He grinned. “Laughed my ass off.”

  “Right! Let me guess. You watched them at Dan’s?”

  He nodded, laughing.

  “You’re a secret badass, Bobby,” I told him, handing him a Daredevil comic to add to his Marvel pile. He was smiling in a way I hadn’t seen since I started staying with them. I suspected this was the real Bobby. I kind of liked him. I definitely had to invite Ryan over.