Promise

by Judy Young

  “Hey, I brought this, too,” Yo-Yo said, pulling a bunch of cords and earbuds from his duffel bag. “We can listen in the truck.”

  “I thought your mom took your MP3 away from you,” Kaden said.

  “She did but she didn’t say anything about my adapter or earbuds,” Yo-Yo said. “Or about listening to your MP3.”

  Kaden grabbed his MP3 player and dumped it in Yo-Yo’s duffel bag. He went back to his dresser and pulled a pair of sunglasses from the top drawer just as Dad opened the screen door.

  “You guys ready?” he asked.

  “Ready, Freddy,” Yo-Yo said.

  They darted out the door.

  “Bye, Gram!” Kaden yelled as he and Yo-Yo raced past her cabin.

  “Thanks for letting me spend the night!” Yo-Yo yelled, too.

  As Dad walked past her cabin, he too called out. “I’m taking Yo-Yo home at six. We’ll be back for supper.”

  The three piled into the truck and they pulled out of the driveway.

  “I don’t have to be home by six anymore,” Yo-Yo said. “I talked Mom into seven.”

  “Good,” Dad said. “We can stay at the park until closing.”

  Yo-Yo rummaged through his duffel bag and pulled out the MP3 player and adapter. He handed the adapter to Kaden. Kaden plugged it into the truck and looked up just as Emmett’s welcome signs came into view.

  “Oh no,” Kaden said. “I forgot to call Emmett this morning. It was too late last night. Can you pull in real quick so I can let him know?”

  Dad kept on driving. “Just give him a call,” he said.

  “I didn’t bring the phone,” Kaden said.

  “Why not? Why do you think I got one for you?” Dad said. “There’s no point of having one if you don’t bring it.”

  “I didn’t think of it. I’m not used to having one.”

  “You can use mine,” Yo-Yo said. He searched through his duffel bag but came up empty-handed. “Darn, I left it on your desk. Remember, I had it out for the alarm clock.”

  “Can I use yours, Dad?” Kaden asked.

  “I forgot mine, too,” Dad said. Kaden noticed the smirk on Dad’s face.

  He wanted everything to go smoothly. They were almost to town now and asking Dad to turn back would only aggravate him, especially since it pertained to Emmett.

  “That’s okay,” Kaden said. “Emmett was going to come pick us up around nine. Gram will tell him.” Kaden was going to add Emmett would understand but decided not to light another fire.

  Dad pulled into the parking lot at Amazon Amazement. Before getting out, he pulled out his wallet and handed it to Yo-Yo.

  “Put this in the glove box,” he said. “I don’t want to lose it on any of the rides.”

  Yo-Yo opened the glove box and put it in. Kaden noticed there were two other wallets in the glove box as well.

  “You better put your MP3 out of sight, too,” Dad said. “You don’t want someone to break in and steal it.”

  Surprised, both Kaden and Yo-Yo stared at Dad. “Well, that’s how it’s done, you know.”

  Kaden knew Dad had been in prison for stealing but he never really thought about him actually doing it. He didn’t have time to think about it for long, because Yo-Yo started up.

  “I’ll put it in here,” he said, cramming it and all its cords into the glove box. “But what should I do with my duffel bag? Should I leave it in plain sight? It won’t fit under the seat but doesn’t have anything important in it, just a smelly T-shirt and some clean underwear my mom insisted I bring. She always says I should have two extra pairs just in case. I think that comes from when I was a baby and really needed some just in case, but I’m still wearing the same ones I had on yesterday and nobody would want to steal underwear anyway, but you can’t see if there’s anything else in here someone would want to . . .”

  Dad looked at Yo-Yo and said, “Zip it.”

  Yo-Yo stopped talking and held the duffel bag upside down. Nothing fell out. “It is zipped.”

  “He means your mouth,” Kaden said.

  Before Yo-Yo could say another word, Dad reached over and grabbed the duffel bag.

  “I’ll put it in back. You guys go on up to the ticket window. I’ll meet you there.”

  Dad got out of the truck. Yo-Yo shut the glove box and the two boys got out. They had started toward the ticket booth when Kaden thought about the sunglasses he was wearing.

  “I’ll be right back,” Kaden said to Yo-Yo. “I don’t want to lose these on the rides either.”

  Kaden jogged back to the truck. Dad had unlocked the cargo carrier and was lifting the lid.

  “Here. Put these in there, too,” Kaden said, jumping up on the back bumper and leaning over the tailgate to hand Dad his glasses. Dad quickly dropped the lid but it was too late. Kaden already had a good look inside.

  There was a bunch of stuff in the carrier now. A drill, a circular saw, a few other power tools, and one thing Kaden recognized: one of Emmett’s toolboxes. Kaden knew it was his. It was dark green with a Trout Unlimited sticker on it.

  “What’s all that stuff in there?” Kaden asked.

  “I’m doing some construction work,” Dad said to Kaden. He locked the carrier and walked off.

  Kaden didn’t move but as his father walked away, he called out, “Why do you have Emmett’s toolbox?”

  Dad stopped and turned around. Another big smirk crossed his face. He glared directly in Kaden’s eyes and said, “I’m borrowing it.”

  Dad walked rapidly away and caught up with Yo-Yo, who stood near the ticket booth, unfolding a map of the park.

  “Come on,” Yo-Yo called out impatiently to Kaden. “They’re opening the gates.”

  Kaden walked slowly toward them.

  “Two children, one adult,” Dad said as Kaden walked up. He handed the girl a credit card.

  “We should go here first,” Yo-Yo told Kaden. He pointed out a ride on the map but Kaden was thinking about the toolbox.

  “I’ll need some identification,” the girl said.

  Dad’s hand went to his back pocket. “Oh, heck, I left my wallet in the truck,” he told the girl pleasantly, a big smile across his face. “Didn’t want it to fall out on the rides. Do I have to have it? I can send one of the boys back for it.”

  “No, that’s okay,” the girl said. “A lot of people leave them in their cars.” She processed the credit card, handed him a slip to sign, and gave him a receipt. “Show that to the man at the gate and he’ll stamp your hands.”

  “Thank you,” Dad said.

  Kaden hadn’t been paying much attention to what Dad was saying to the girl but he distinctly heard her last words to his father. It felt like someone had knocked the wind out of him.

  “Thank you, Mr. Adams.”

  Pocketing the credit card, Dad turned to the boys.

  “Can we do the Amazon River Ride first?” Yo-Yo asked. It was obvious to Kaden that Yo-Yo hadn’t heard the girl’s words. “It’s the one with the piranhas. Can we do it first? Can we? Can we?” Yo-Yo was jumping up and down, he was so excited.

  Kaden wanted to join in and be as excited as Yo-Yo but he couldn’t. He couldn’t get the girl’s words out of his head. Without even having to see it, Kaden knew the credit card had Emmett Adams stamped on the bottom. He also knew the green toolbox shouldn’t be in the cargo carrier. He looked at his dad reading over the map. Dad didn’t seem to be a bit bothered about what he had done.

  Kaden could feel anger rising up inside of him. He wanted to confront his father but just like he had done at the tower when his dad first called out his name, he froze. With smiling people streaming past him, Kaden stood there, his fists clinched tight, wondering what he should do.

  Yo-Yo grabbed Kaden by the arm. “Come on,” he said, dragging Kaden toward the Amazon River Ride.

  Before they reached the ride, Kaden decided he would say boat rides made him seasick and insist Dad and Yo-Yo go without him. Then he would have some time to figure out what to do. Bu
t Dad beat him to the draw, dashing his plans.

  “You boys go on, I’m going to wait this one out. I really don’t want to get wet.”

  Kaden got in line with Yo-Yo.

  “What’s the matter?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “Nothing,” Kaden replied, trying to force a smile. “This will be a blast.”

  As they rode through thick tropical foliage, 3-D images of piranhas came out from nowhere, with snapping jaws appearing to be inches away from biting off their arms, legs, and heads. Deep in his own thoughts, Kaden hardly noticed them but Yo-Yo screamed and startled at every lunge, making the raft pitch to and fro and water pour over his head.

  “You look like a drowned rat,” Dad teased Yo-Yo when they got off the ride. “Your mom may be right. You may need those extra pairs of underwear after all.”

  “I’m glad we don’t have a camera. I don’t need another embarrassing picture to add to Emmett’s wall,” Yo-Yo said. Kaden shot a worried look at his father but this time Dad didn’t seem irritated at the mention of Emmett. In fact, he acknowledged him.

  “I remember Emmett’s wall,” Dad said. “And that’s a good idea. There’s a gift shop over there. Let’s go buy a camera.”

  Yo-Yo moaned but had a huge smile on his face as they followed Dad across to the gift shop. Dad didn’t pick out a cheap throwaway camera. He chose a digital camera. The most expensive one in the display case. Kaden stayed close to Dad’s side as the woman rang it up. He wanted to take a good look at the credit card to see if it really said Emmett Adams on it. Maybe I just heard wrong, Kaden hoped. Or maybe the girl thought Dad looked like someone else. Some other Mr. Adams. Kaden looked carefully at the card Dad handed the woman. It didn’t say Emmett Adams. This time the card said Michael Smith.

  On the next ride, only two people could ride together. Kaden convinced Dad to go with Yo-Yo. As they left, Dad handed Kaden the camera.

  Kaden sat down on a bench. I should take it back, he thought. But as soon as he got in the gift shop, he had second thoughts. Dad will want to know where it is.

  He stood in the middle of the shop, his stomach feeling like it was being twisted into a knot.

  “Is something wrong?” the woman behind the counter asked. “Do you want me to call security?”

  Kaden never thought of contacting security but thinking about it now made him more anxious and more indecisive.

  “No, nothing’s wrong,” he said quickly, and ran back out. Yo-Yo and Dad were just getting off the ride, both laughing.

  “You’ve got to go on that with me, Kaden,” Yo-Yo said, pulling him to the line. “It was so amazing but I’m not going to tell you a thing. You’ve got to experience it.”

  Normally Kaden would have loved the ride but all the surprise twists and turns and dips and dives left his already churned-up stomach feeling even worse. When they got off, Yo-Yo went running up to Dad, who was waiting on a bench.

  “Kaden threw up,” Yo-Yo said, “but thank goodness not on the ride. In the trash can over there at the exit gate.”

  Yo-Yo pointed to Kaden, who was wiping his mouth with a tissue some woman had given him. Dad stayed on the bench.

  “He’ll be okay,” Dad said. “I didn’t know he was such a wimp. But there’s a movie about rainforests. We’ll go watch that to give his stomach a chance to calm down for a while.”

  They had to buy extra tickets to see the movie. Kaden and Yo-Yo stood to the side while Dad went up to the ticket window. Yo-Yo chatted on and on but Kaden didn’t listen. He just watched intently as his father reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card. It was Emmett’s again. Kaden knew by the color. Emmett’s card was brown. Michael Smith’s was blue. Kaden’s stomach tightened again.

  In the theater, Kaden stared unseeingly at the screen. Like Yo-Yo with Luke, he knew he wouldn’t let Dad get away with it. That wasn’t an option. He also knew he didn’t want to do it here, in front of Yo-Yo and all these people. Walking out of the theater, he had a plan and that made him feel somewhat better.

  For the rest of the day, Kaden did his best to avoid having any confrontations with Dad. Going on rides with Yo-Yo made that easy to do but just about every time they got off a ride, Dad stood waiting with something in his hands—hamburgers, sodas, ice-cream bars—and Kaden felt the sinking pit in his stomach growing deeper and deeper.

  “Don’t sit this one out, Dad,” Kaden pleaded at each ride. Dad looked pleased Kaden was begging him to join them. To anyone listening, it would have sounded like the boy really liked being with his father. But Kaden felt sick whenever Dad turned him down. He wasn’t disappointed his father wouldn’t go on rides with him; he just wanted to keep Dad from using the credit cards. But when Kaden and Yo-Yo got off the last ride of the day, Dad was waiting with two intricately carved lizards, one for each of them.

  “Sweet!” Yo-Yo said excitedly. “Thanks!”

  “Yeah,” Kaden said emptily. He had no room left for pretend enthusiasm.

  “You don’t sound too thrilled,” Dad said. “Would you rather have something else?”

  “No, I just don’t feel good, that’s all,” Kaden said truthfully. “It’s been a long day.”

  On the way home, Yo-Yo fell right to sleep. Kaden thought that seemed like a good idea. By sleeping, he could avoid conversation with Dad. He shut his eyes but too much was going through his mind and all he could do was pretend to be asleep. They had driven about five minutes when Dad turned on the radio. An oldies station came on. It was in the middle of a song but Kaden instantly recognized it and the lyrics made his stomach tighten up again. It was the song about needing trust and faith. The song also had a line about not making the same mistake twice. Kaden fought back the tears forming under his closed eyes but couldn’t fight back the hurt of knowing his father was making the same mistake twice.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  IN TROUBLE

  When Dad pulled into the circle driveway, Gram was waiting on the porch. Kaden saw her stand up and cross her arms. He knew that wasn’t good.

  Dad parked the truck between Cabins Four and Five and headed toward the porch like there wasn’t a worry on his mind. Kaden slowly followed behind.

  Gram waited until Dad was at the porch. Then she yelled to Kaden, “Stop acting like a guilty turtle and get up here, on the double!” Kaden sped up.

  “Where have you two been?” Gram said. She said “two” but she was looking directly at Dad.

  “It’s only seven twenty,” Dad said. “We dropped Yo-Yo off right at seven and headed straight home.”

  “You told me he had to be home at six.”

  This wasn’t what Kaden thought Gram would be mad about.

  “Yo-Yo called his mom and she said he didn’t have to be home until seven,” Kaden said. He didn’t feel like defending Dad but it was the truth.

  Now Gram glared at Kaden. “So Yo-Yo called his mom, did he? I’m glad someone takes responsibility around here. Neither of you let me know about the time change. And what about you, Kaden? Why didn’t you call Emmett?”

  That was what Kaden had expected and he didn’t have an excuse.

  “I forgot,” Kaden said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

  “You must have thought about it when you drove past his house. That fancy phone of yours doesn’t work?”

  “I forgot it, too. And Yo-Yo accidently left his phone on my desk and Dad said he forgot his, too. But I did ask Dad to stop,” Kaden explained. The tears he fought back in the truck now streamed down his cheeks. “But he had already driven past and wouldn’t turn around. I really am sorry, Gram, really.”

  “Sorry doesn’t cut it,” Gram said, but then turned her wrath back on Dad.

  “And what’s the matter with you? A grown man can’t let bygones be bygones? What kind of example are you setting for that boy, refusing to let him at least try to be responsible?” Gram said. “You could have turned around.”

  “There are some bygones a man can’t forget,” Dad said. He turned his head and spat. />
  Gram turned silent. Like the calm before a storm, Kaden knew Gram was fuming.

  “Go to your cabin, Kaden,” Gram said flatly. “But first bring me those cell phones, both yours and Yo-Yo’s. A phone is a tool and it takes responsibility to use tools.”

  Kaden walked to his cabin. His pillow was still on his desk. It seemed like years since Yo-Yo tossed it at him. Under the pillow were the two phones.

  “I’ll let you take Yo-Yo’s back to him Monday when you go to school,” Gram said as Kaden handed her the phones. “But I’ll hang on to yours until you show me you know how to be responsible. Now, go on back to your cabin.”

  As he sat down on his bed Kaden heard Gram through the open window.

  “Just where did you take those two all day?” Gram asked.

  “We went to Amazon Amazement,” Dad said. “I have the right to take my son to an amusement park if I want.”

  “You don’t have the right to take him anywhere without my permission and you know it,” Gram stated. “I have total custody of that boy.”

  “Only while I was in prison.”

  “You’re still on parole,” Gram said. “I won’t deny you access to your son but you still have to have my permission until your parole is over. Besides, I wasn’t talking about doing something with Kaden. I was talking about taking responsibility. When are you going to start doing that?”

  “When are you going to start trusting me?” Dad said.

  “When you show you can be trustworthy,” Gram stated, and that was it. Gram was done. Kaden heard the screen door open and close and then Gram’s footsteps over the intercom. Through the window, he heard Dad go down the porch steps and head toward Cabin Five. Then the truck started and Kaden heard gravel scatter as it skidded out of the driveway.

  Tears welled up in Kaden’s eyes again and rolled quickly down his cheeks. This should have been the best day of his life. He had dreamed of days like this for years. He and his father, together like other sons and fathers, at someplace really awesome. Dad, Yo-Yo, Amazon Amazement. It had all the right ingredients for a perfect day. It should have been. But it wasn’t. Instead, Kaden felt it was the worst day of his life.