Promise

by Judy Young

  Kaden heard Gram’s screen door open and close again. Then Dad’s voice came through the intercom.

  “What’s his problem?” Dad said. “He won’t even talk to me.”

  “You can’t come waltzing into his life and expect him to be your long-lost buddy,” Gram answered.

  “A boy should respect his father,” Dad said. “I was trying to be nice and he got up and walked away.”

  “You’ve done nothing for him to respect,” Emmett said. “You’re just a stranger to him and you can’t deny it.”

  Kaden knew Gram and Emmett were both aware he would be listening. It surprised him because they usually turned off the intercom or went to the garden to talk. Kaden also wondered if Dad knew about the intercom system. It didn’t sound like he did.

  “I’m not a stranger,” Dad stated forcefully. “I know all sorts of stuff about him. I had all his pictures taped to my wall. I know he likes to fish, he helps you in the garden and Emmett in the shop, he goes to the fire tower. He does all the stuff I used to do when we came here in the summer.”

  “You only know that because I told you about him and sent you his school pictures,” Gram stated. “What did you ever send him?”

  “I wasn’t exactly some place where I could go shopping, you know.”

  “I don’t mean things. You could have written to him,” Gram said. “You may think you know him, but you don’t. And he knows nothing about you.”

  “I sent letters every so often,” Dad said.

  “You sent me letters,” Gram said, “not Kaden. And they were all about you. Complaining about the food, complaining about the work, complaining about everything. You never once asked about your son.”

  “I figured you’d tell him about me,” Dad said.

  “Well, you figured wrong,” Gram said. “It was your decision to stay out of his life. If you want to be his father now, you’ll have to prove yourself to Kaden, not the other way around. Now eat some dinner and lock the door behind you. I’m going to bed.”

  “I’m not hungry,” Dad retorted.

  Kaden heard Gram’s bedroom door close. At the same time, the screen door opened and slammed shut. He wondered why Gram said to lock the door. Gram never locked the door. Footsteps went down the porch steps and turned toward Kaden’s cabin. Kaden climbed out of bed, quietly shut the solid wooden door, and locked it. Back on the bed, he heard the footsteps stop halfway between Cabins Three and Two. Then he heard them again. But this time, they turned away from Kaden’s cabin and walked the other direction. Kaden gave a sigh of relief. If that was Dad, he was glad he didn’t come talk with him.

  Kaden lay on his bed, listening. Quiet sounds of dishes clinking together, the refrigerator opening and closing, and water running and then stopping came through the intercom. Then, surprisingly, the calming notes of a cello and Gram’s heavy wooden front door clicking shut. Through his open window Kaden heard the sound of Gram’s screen door closing. The creak of the porch stairs and footsteps across the gravel to his cabin. The sound of something being set outside Kaden’s closed door. Footsteps retreating across gravel. Emmett’s truck door squeaking open, slamming shut. The motor turning on and the truck pulling out of the drive.

  Kaden got out of bed and opened his door. There was a plate of food and a glass of milk.

  Sunday, September 11

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  LIKE A NORMAL FAMILY

  When Kaden awoke, he listened attentively to the sounds both over the intercom and through the window. It sounded like any Sunday morning. Gram was in the kitchen. Only the sound of birds came from outside. Kaden opened the cabin door. He cautiously stuck his head out. Nobody was in sight. But the white truck was still in front of Cabin Five.

  Kaden went into the kitchen and gave Gram a hug.

  “You stink. Go take a shower while I fix breakfast,” Gram said, but hugged him back.

  Kaden opened the screen door, looked both ways, and hurried to his cabin to get some clean clothes. Then he rushed to Cabin Four. After his shower, Kaden peeked his head out the door. Still clear, he thought, and laughed to himself. He had told Yo-Yo he watched too much TV. Kaden hardly watched any TV at all yet he felt like he was in a spy show.

  “I haven’t heard you practice that trumpet once,” Gram said as they finished their oatmeal. She had insisted on eating on the porch just like they always did. Kaden was glad Gram seemed back to her normal self. “If you get kicked out of band for not practicing, I’ll have to make another trip to that school to get rid of the other two days of study hall.”

  “I don’t think Mr. Price could survive that,” Kaden said, grinning. Gram actually grinned back.

  Kaden got his trumpet and came back to sit on the porch steps. He leaned against the railing, his back to Cabins Four and Five. Squeaks and squeals poured out of the brass instrument but every once in a while he hit a pure tone.

  “That was a good one,” Gram stated. “Try it again.”

  Kaden kept trying, hitting more and more clear notes. He figured out if he held his mouth slightly differently the note would change pitches. After about five minutes, Kaden tried pushing each of the valves down as he blew. He had all but forgotten about his dad and didn’t hear him walking up the drive until he spoke.

  “You sure make a racket first thing in the morning,” Dad stated. Kaden turned around. Dad was smiling as he walked up to the porch holding a set of clothes. “I’m going to take a shower before breakfast.”

  “Breakfast is over,” Gram said, “but there’s coffee on the stove. And the shower is in Cabin Four now. We don’t use the shower in my cabin anymore. It’s a closet now.”

  Dad put his clothes on one of the metal chairs, went into Gram’s cabin, and returned with a piece of toast and a cup of coffee.

  “So, you’re playing the trumpet,” he said as he sat down on the top step opposite Kaden.

  “Just starting,” Kaden said. He picked a tall piece of grass growing beside the steps and twirled it between his fingers. All the tension of the night before seemed to have melted in the early morning sun.

  “I didn’t play in band,” Dad said. “Mom, I mean your grandmother—”

  Gram interrupted him. “He calls me Gram,” she said. “And I don’t have time to sit around talking. I’ve got a garden to tend.” Gram got up and walked around to the back of the cabin, leaving Kaden with his father.

  “She’s always a little gruff in the morning,” Kaden said.

  “I know. And in the afternoon, too—unless she’s changed,” Dad said, laughing.

  “And don’t forget the evening,” Kaden added, smiling.

  “Anyway,” Dad continued, “your Gram wanted me to be in band, but I didn’t want to wear those band uniforms. They looked ridiculous. But I’m glad you’ve decided to play an instrument.”

  Kaden thought about what Luke had said. At least Dad didn’t say he was a loser.

  “I don’t have a uniform yet,” Kaden said. “They’re getting new ones soon.”

  “So do you play sports?” Dad asked.

  “Just in PE,” Kaden said.

  “Are you going to try out for a school team?”

  “Not this year. You have to be in seventh grade.”

  “What grade are you in?”

  “Sixth,” Kaden answered. Gram was right. Dad didn’t really know anything about him. But he was trying to, and Kaden relaxed a little.

  “Oh,” Dad said. “Well, I’ve been asking all the questions. Do you have any questions about me?”

  Kaden had tons of questions. He wanted to know everything but he didn’t know where to start. “Not really,” he said, shrugging.

  “Well, I didn’t play on a school team either,” Dad said. “Mom was upset about that, too, but me and my friends just kind of hung out, you know?”

  Kaden didn’t say anything. He didn’t figure it was really a question. But it sounded like Gram had been a lot different with Dad. She wanted Dad to do a lot of things, like be in band
and play sports. But she hardly let Kaden do anything. Dad sat there, waiting for Kaden to say something, but Kaden just stared at the piece of grass he was twirling. Finally, Dad sighed.

  “How about playing a little catch?” Dad asked. “Go get that glove and ball. I’m sure you found them on your bed. I can take a shower later.”

  Kaden was relieved. Throwing a ball around was better than having to talk. He took his trumpet into his cabin and came out holding the new glove and ball in his right hand. An old mitt was on his left hand.

  “Where’d you get that old thing?” Dad said.

  “It was Emmett’s. He gave it to me for my seventh birthday.” Kaden held the new mitt and ball to his dad.

  “Well, take it off and use the one I gave you.”

  “No, you can use it. I’ll use Emmett’s,” Kaden said, still holding the new glove out to his dad.

  “Whatever,” Dad said. He roughly grabbed the new glove, put it on, and tossed the ball into it a few times as he walked across the crescent-shaped lawn. Kaden walked to the opposite end.

  “Ready?” Dad asked. His voice had lost its friendliness.

  “Ready,” Kaden answered.

  Dad threw the ball, hard and fast. It landed in Kaden’s glove with a loud smack. Kaden’s hand stung but he didn’t say a word. He tried to throw it back hard but didn’t have the force behind it. Dad caught it and threw another fastball. Kaden was good at catch. He and Emmett threw the ball back and forth all the time. Emmett threw some zingers, too, but it wasn’t the same and Kaden knew it.

  Kaden kept catching whatever was thrown at him. He knew his dad was mad at him for not using the new glove but it wasn’t that he didn’t want to use it. Kaden just didn’t want Dad to use Emmett’s. It had been a special present.

  That’s stupid, he told himself as he threw the ball back. Dad’s been nice all morning and he did get a new glove for me. He’s trying but I’m the one being a jerk. Kaden caught another ball and called out, “Let me try that glove for a while.”

  Dad smiled as they switched gloves. He didn’t throw any more zingers but started acting more like the way Emmett acted when they played catch, saying, “Here’s a pop fly,” and “Let’s practice some grounders.”

  When they tired of playing, the two walked back to the porch.

  “You’re pretty good,” Dad said. “Ever thought of signing up for Little League?”

  “Too late now,” Kaden said. “They only play in the summer.”

  “Well, you should try out at school when you get to seventh grade,” Dad said, sitting down on the porch steps. “So what do you want to do now?”

  “I don’t know,” Kaden said. “I have some homework. Gram will ask about it at lunch.”

  “Well, then get to it. I’ll take a shower and we’ll watch a game after lunch.”

  “Can’t,” Kaden said. “We don’t have a TV.”

  “Really? I guess I didn’t notice,” Dad said.

  “If there’s anything we really want to watch, we go down to Emmett’s,” Kaden explained.

  “So how do you know what’s going on in the world? Your Gram doesn’t even get a newspaper. I found that out yesterday,” Dad said.

  “We read the paper at Emmett’s, too. Or he brings them up here. Sometimes, it’s a few days old but Gram says if there’s ever any news that’s going to directly affect her life, she’s sure someone will drive up here and tell her. Otherwise, hearing what happens can wait a few days,” Kaden said. “Did you have a TV and newspapers when you were a kid?

  “Of course,” Dad said.

  “Even here, in the summer?”

  “The newspaper was delivered here every morning,” Dad said, “but we didn’t have TV up here. That was one of the reasons I didn’t want to come anymore. I was pretty bored around here.”

  “It’s not so bad. I do a bunch of stuff with Emmett and I like hanging out at the tower.”

  “So what else do you have to go to Emmett for?” Dad said. “Sounds like the old man’s gotten in pretty tight around here. But he always was butting into things that weren’t his business. I wouldn’t trust that old fool too much if I were you.”

  “Emmett’s always been good to us,” Kaden said defensively, the tension instantly back in play.

  “I shouldn’t have said that to you,” Dad said. His voice was back to friendly. “I’m sure he’s helped out a lot. But I’m here now and can take charge. Go tell Gram we’re going into town.”

  “Town? Nothing’s open on Sunday except Pillie’s,” Kaden said, “and I really don’t—”

  “We’re not going to Promise,” Dad interrupted. “We’re going to Chapston City.”

  Kaden was relieved. He didn’t want to show up with Dad at Pillie’s.

  They were gone the rest of the day. When they pulled back into the circle drive, Gram was inside fixing dinner. Dad backed the truck up to the porch steps and opened the cargo carrier. There were only two things in it. An old sleeping bag and a large box.

  Kaden held the screen door open as Dad hauled the box into the living room. Gram stood in the kitchen, her hands on her hips.

  “Who said I wanted a TV?” Gram stated, seeing the words printed on the box.

  “Nobody. I wanted it,” Dad said.

  “And just where do you think you’re going to put it?”

  “It will hang over there on the wall. When you want to watch it, you can just pull it out in front of the window and push it back when you’re done. If we angle it right, we can watch while we eat.”

  “We’re not watching TV while we eat,” Gram stated.

  “We did when I was a kid.”

  “Well, we don’t anymore.”

  “You’ve certainly changed. What’s gotten into you?”

  “I’m just not repeating history,” Gram said, but she didn’t say the TV had to go.

  Dad barely had the TV out of the box before dinner was ready. As they sat down to eat, Gram brought it up again.

  “So I take it you’ve gotten a job during the last two weeks,” she said.

  “No, I’ve been looking,” Dad said. “In Chapston City.”

  “Then where’d you get the money?” she asked.

  “Where my money comes from is my business,” Dad said. “And I should be able to buy a gift for the family without getting the third degree.”

  Gram didn’t say any more. After supper, she sat on the porch. Kaden did the dishes and then helped his dad mount the TV to the wall. It took all evening but as soon as they turned it on, Gram came back in the cabin. With Gram in her chair, Dad stretched out on the couch, and Kaden sprawled on the floor, the three watched the ten o’clock news. Just like a normal family, Kaden thought.

  When the news was over, Gram picked up the remote and turned off the TV.

  “I don’t think there was anything I heard I really needed to know,” she said, “but I do know it cost you a lot for me to hear it. Now, it’s way past bedtime for Kaden and me. Turn off the lights and lock the door behind you.” Gram took the remote back in the bedroom with her.

  Saying good night, Dad went to Cabin Five, and locking Gram’s door behind him, Kaden went to his cabin. He closed his wooden door and locked it, too. Climbing into bed, he heard Gram’s bedroom door open and footsteps cross the living room.

  “Did everything go okay today with your father?” Kaden heard through the intercom. “I was worried about him taking off with you like that.”

  “Everything went just fine, Gram. We had a good time.”

  “Good. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Kaden didn’t know why Gram would be worried. He lay in bed until he heard Gram go back in her room. Then he quietly got up, unlocked the door and opened it wide, letting the evening air come through the screen door as it usually did.

  Monday, September 12

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  TOWN CRIER

  “Whose truck is that and what’s it doing in the middle of the driveway?” Doris asked when Kaden ste
pped onto the bus. “I had to drive on your lawn to get around it.”

  Kaden hesitated but knew he couldn’t hide the fact a white pickup sat in front of Cabin Five.

  “It’s my dad’s,” Kaden said.

  “He’s home?” Doris seemed genuinely surprised.

  “Yeah, we didn’t think about the bus. This afternoon, I’ll tell him to keep it parked out of the way.”

  “When did he get here?” Doris asked. “I can’t believe I haven’t heard a word about this, not one word.”

  Doris heard all the gossip in Promise and spread most of it. They had kept quiet about Dad getting out of prison but Kaden knew that the whole town would learn about it as soon as Doris dropped off the elementary students. Doris wouldn’t be able to get over to Pillie’s fast enough. Pillie always had a crowd for morning coffee and Doris would have a good-size audience.

  “Saturday,” Kaden told her.

  “So he’s back in Cabin Five, huh? Is he staying long? Does he have a job? How did he look? I haven’t seen him since your grandpa died. And what was in that big box in the back of his truck?”

  Doris kept up a steady stream of questions and comments. Kaden answered them, knowing there was no point in trying to hold things back, but was glad Emmett didn’t live far away.

  “Do you know Dennis is at the cabins?” Doris asked Emmett as he held open the kitchen door.

  “Yeah, I saw him Saturday. Go on in. I need Kaden to help me carry some things in from the garden.”

  Kaden followed Emmett around to back of the shop. Two bushel baskets of corn, beans, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes were waiting but Kaden knew Emmett was using the garden to talk to him in private.

  “So how was yesterday?” Emmett asked. “I figured it would be best if I stayed away.”

  “Long,” Kaden said. “Started out kind of rough but not like Saturday night. Just uncomfortable. But it got better as the day went on.” Kaden didn’t tell Emmett what Dad said about him. Or about the way Dad threw the fastballs at him.

  “Good,” said Emmett. “It will take some time to get adjusted. You know, people can change if they want to. We’ll see how it all works out. And your Gram? How’s she holding up?”