For Marie, Carol might be good for her. Sure, she was a shock right now, but Carol could help her finish up school and make sure she was taken care of. If she’d hoped for something normal, like I always had, this might be something she needed.
Was I selfish to want to disrupt it all by getting Carol to go away? Or if I left, would it somehow affect how Marie was treated by Carol? Would it ruin things for all of them to be normal?
My father left the table to sit at his computer in the family room. Not a word spoken to anyone. I wondered if he had any sort of plan at all. His quiet, tense disposition felt like he was just letting things fall where they might and hoping nothing fell apart under him.
I pressed my lips together, trying not to appear to be frowning, but I couldn’t help but feel I was secretly trying to clean up his mess. He didn’t seem to want to be here at all. He didn’t have the guts to stand up to Carol to stop her.
Jimmy thundered up the stairs. Marie walked up, heading to her room. I heard their footsteps. Jimmy’s were as loud as my heart in my chest.
Carol found containers to put the rest of the food away. I cleared the table of dishes. “You need to wash everything by hand before putting the dishes into the dishwasher,” she said. “And wash the pots and utensils separately and don’t put them in the dishwasher. Just dry and put them away.”
I wondered why she wanted everything done by hand, but she didn’t offer an explanation.
This was going to take longer than I’d thought. I cleared the table and soaked everything in soapy water. I opened the dishwasher, still full of dishes.
When I opened the cabinets, they’d been rearranged. Some items were new. I studied them quietly for a moment. I glanced at Carol to see if she’d noticed me hesitating. She had her back to me, saying nothing, but focused on clearing the table and wiping it down.
I couldn’t imagine being in a new house and rearranging everything. Things that belonged to other people.
I had let things go, wanting to leave. I couldn’t imagine how angry Marie was right now. In a sense, this had been her house for a while.
Carol dumped crumbs and a paper towel into the trash and then reached for the phone. She pushed the voice mail button and put the phone to her ear.
My muscles tensed, and I moved slower, trying to pretend I was focused on dishes. I waited, trying to hear what she was listening to. I could hear mumbling, but I couldn’t make out what was said.
Carol’s face changed, an eyebrow lifting. She looked at me.
My heart raced, and I felt my blood drain from my face. School? My stepmother? The guys calling and she hated that a boy was calling for me? I couldn’t imagine who it was or what the guys were planning.
Carol pushed a button on the phone and then passed it to me. “You’ve got a job?” she asked.
What? I dried my hands on my clothes quickly, reaching for the phone to listen.
“This message is for Sang Sorenson,” Uncle’s voice came through on the phone. In the background, there was the clanging of pots and other kitchen sounds. “Is she back yet? Luke’s out on Sunday. Came down with the flu. I can’t have him here getting everyone else sick. I know it isn’t the schedule we agreed to, but if you can help me out, give me a call.”
I hoped Luke didn’t have the flu. I thought it odd that Uncle was calling now. He didn’t really need me.
The guys might have asked him to. But I didn’t understand their plan. Why get Uncle involved?
What was going on?
I had to run with it. I saved the message and nodded slowly to answer Carol. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “The diner that opened up. I...” I stalled, unsure what to say, trying to figure out this plan the boys might have come up with.
The phone rang in my hand, startling me into dropping it on the counter.
Carol rolled her head back shortly. “My God, child. You’re a skittering mouse.”
“Sorry.”
She picked the phone up quickly and answered it. “Hello. Sorenson residence. This is Carol speaking.”
My skin prickled at “Sorenson residence.” It suddenly occurred to me if she managed to marry my father, she’d take that name.
Carol listened and instantly shot a look at me. “She’s here. May I ask who is calling?” Pause. “Yes, one second.” She covered the phone to talk to me privately. “Your friend Jessica is on the phone.”
Jessica?
How many people were the guys going to get involved?
I reached for the phone, feeling odd that I could have a phone conversation at all. Especially in front of her.
I wondered if my father could hear this. Such things had never been allowed before. Jobs? Phone calls? It was unheard of.
Carol remained nearby, watching me as I spoke into the phone. “Hello?” I said quietly.
“Hey,” Jessica said quickly. “Kota’s here. One second. Talk about camp. Like tell me what happened.”
What were they doing? Couldn’t he have waited for me to get back upstairs and use the cell phone? I faked a smile, even though it was awkward. I did my best to come up with something to sound like I was just chatting with a friend. “Oh, uh, camp was fine. It...was cold. The first night, I couldn’t sleep very well. I didn’t even realize my sleeping bag was heated.”
“I’m here,” Kota said.
I paused. I was nervous talking to him. He’d been so unhappy with me, yelled at by Victor over me. I’d kissed Gabriel and he’d seen it. He’d said he couldn’t stop picturing it.
I had made a mess of things. Yet here he was, talking to me, reaching out to me for some unknown reason. With Carol looking at me, I had to force myself to stay on task. “Eventually we got it to work,” I said quietly. “Someone eventually showed me how.”
Kota continued. “Don’t react to what I’m saying. We’re testing boundaries with Carol when it comes to you. We’ll just talk about camp a bit and see how long it takes before she says you’ve got to go. Did you like the food at camp?”
“The food was okay,” I said and then leaned against the counter. “Actually, I ate mostly Pop Tarts.”
Kota chuckled, and hearing the sound softened my fears a little. “Aren’t you tired of those yet? Anyway, after I get off the phone with you, it’s okay to tell her about Uncle and the job. Tell her you’ve got a job with a schedule, Jessica is your friend who lives on this block and you sometimes spend the night at her house. My mom will verify anything. We may bring in another girl that’s more your age for this. Let’s test your leash, so to speak. The more you’re out of the house, the better. Tell me about Mrs. Rose and the hike.”
I suddenly understood. Carol was normal. If I established this was what was normal for me, she’d possibly accept it. It’d be weird later if I never went anywhere right from the start and then suddenly had social and other obligations.
Between school, a job, and a friend I went to see, I’d have plenty to occupy my time, and plenty of reasons to be away from here.
Was that the plan? That I’d stay and just get out when I could?
What about moving?
I relayed to him the crazy hike and the cave experience from camp. Carol went back to wiping down the table and other things around the kitchen, always within earshot. I ran the water q
uietly, washing, rinsing and putting dishes in the dishwasher while talking.
“Okay, let’s not push it,” he said after a bit. “Say: Okay, I’ll ask, and then ask her if you can come over on Sunday, or if she can come over and study. We don’t care about the answer. Just want to hear what she says.”
My nerves electrified and I swallowed. I tried to automate this, do it without thinking so I wouldn’t chicken out. “Okay, I’ll ask.” I paused in my washing and turned.
Carol immediately stopped, holding a damp paper towel in her hands. Her eyebrows arched, expecting.
She knew exactly what this was. She didn’t seem irritated, though. That was good, right?
I kept the phone by my ear to be able to hear Kota. “She wants to know if she can come here to study on Sunday, or if I can go to her place to study.”
“You can’t go anywhere where I haven’t met the parents,” she said in an almost singsong tone.
“She can meet her anytime,” he said in my ear. “She’ll be here Sunday morning.”
“She...said her mom will be there Sunday morning if you’d like to come by. They live only a few houses down.”
Carol made a tight smile and then nodded. “It might be nice to meet some neighbors.”
Kota blew a breath into the phone. “We’ll try to keep that under control. Tell her to come by anytime.”
“She said come by anytime.”
“We will. Now you’ve got to finish the dishes and your room.”
“I have to go,” I said, turning back to the sink to look at it, my heart beating so quickly. She...was acting normal. This gave me some hope.
“Don’t forget to talk about the job and see how much you can work there. We’ll add more things over time. Don’t worry.” He paused and then spoke softly. “I’m with you, Sang. I’m right here.”
There was desperation in his voice, a concerned tone.
I wish he hadn’t said it, as I was tearing up looking at the sink. “Talk to you later,” I said quietly, trying not to let my voice quiver.
He paused for a long moment and then said quickly, “Miss you already.” He hung up after that.
Did he mean it? Elation spilled through me, wishing he’d said more. I put the phone back on the hub and sought to control my feelings. “Thank you,” I said quietly.