No Time for Horses (21 page)

It was hard to believe my mother was
thirty-six. She sounded like such a kid. I sighed and shook my
head. “Are you going to ask me what I want for Christmas now?”

“Yes.”

“Fine,” I said. “I want one of Robin’s
puppies and then I wouldn’t be scared to stay home by myself.”

“Not in my house,” Rick said. “Dogs are
noisy, smelly animals. They wreak havoc on property values.”

“It’s not your house anymore,” I said. “You
haven’t lived there in seven months.”

“I pay the mortgage.”

“Not in seven months,” Mom said. “You stopped
paying the mortgage and taxes when you left. It’s why I work as
much as I can. I don’t want to move and lose the money I’ve
invested. Besides, kids need stability. They’ve had enough of a
transition with the divorce. They don’t need to be bounced around
like tennis balls.”

The phone rang, interrupting their new
argument about who paid more for our house. Ingrid listened and
then glanced at me. “Okay, I’ll send her right out. Thank him for
me. Arrange for him to come with Vicky to her next appointment. I
need to meet this boy.”

“What is it?” I asked when she replaced the
receiver. “Jack?”

“Yes. He says that the snow is sticking, and
it’s up to an inch on the ground. He wants to run you to the
grocery store so you can stock up in case the weather gets worse.
He can’t wait any longer. The roads won’t improve.”

“Okay.” I stood up, pushed my chair in, and
looked at Mom. “How much can I spend at the store?”

She thought for a moment and then said, “Two
hundred, and get a tree, a pesticide-free one. Organic would be
better.”

“What?” Rick glared at her. “There’s an
artificial Christmas tree in the basement, completely decorated.
Live trees just make a mess.”

“And they smell lovely.” Mom opened her
purse, pulled out some cash. “They have ornaments at the dollar
store. Get some construction paper and lots of popcorn too. I’ll
teach you kids what an old-fashioned tree looks like.”

Chapter
Twenty-One

Friday,
December 6th, 6:00 a.m.

I heard the TV news as soon as I walked into
the kitchen. I saw Mom in her recliner in the family room, bundled
up in her robe and slippers. She didn’t have an early shift at the
casino and must be doing the parent thing on snow watch. I crossed
to the counter and took a mug off the rack on the wall. When I
looked out the window over the sink, I saw nearly a foot of
accumulated snow on the deck. Wow, what fun! I’d have to shovel it
off later.

I poured a cup of coffee, added cream, and
went to join Mom, curling up on the couch to stare at the talking
heads. “What’s the latest word?”

“Snow day for all of you. The schools are
closed everywhere.” Mom sipped her coffee. “I had a message from my
manager at the casino last night. Business was really slow, so I
have the weekend off unless we get a sudden thaw.”

“Will we be okay?” I bit my lip, suddenly
worried about how much I’d spent on food last night. “If I could
get to the barn, Rocky would definitely pay me. She always has more
work when all the horses have to stay inside.”

“We’ll be fine,” Mom said. “We have food in
the cupboards, an organic Christmas tree in the garage, and movies
to watch. We can have a nice time together, and I’ll have time to
put together that parenting plan Ingrid wants.”

For once, Mom didn’t sound upset or
concerned. Had she been replaced by a pod person? I allowed the
silence to build up between us before I said, “I was really angry
with Rick yesterday, but I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“It’s my fault too,” Mom said, “and I’m
sorry. I should have realized how much of a control freak he was
and the way that he treated you was inexcusable. I ought to have
stood up to him a lot sooner, but he wore me down with the constant
pressure. He slammed out shortly after you left with Jack, and I
had a nice conversation with Ingrid.”

“She’s a good person. I didn’t know that when
I started talking to her, but she has a lot of great advice.”

“She certainly does.” Mom stood up and went
after the coffeepot. She came back and refilled both of our cups
then returned to the kitchen with the carafe. “I didn’t realize how
much being raised in foster care affected me. I kept thinking if I
tried hard enough to please Rick, we’d have a happy home and I
wouldn’t be abandoned. It didn’t work.”

“It takes two people to make a relationship,”
I said, “and he didn’t try half as hard as you did. I’m assuming
that he’ll be busy at the tire store today and won’t be coming for
the kids.”

“You assume correctly.” Mom sank back into
her recliner. “He already left a message to that effect. He says
the earliest he’ll be around is next Friday. I’m going to talk to
Penny at the daycare and have her start picking up your brothers
and sisters at the elementary school when you go to the barn.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I put my mug on the end table.
“How about a muffin to go with the coffee? I’m having an almond
poppyseed one. Want the blueberry one?”

“Sounds good.” She hesitated then added
carefully, “I’m not going to call Rick and remind him to pick up
the kids anymore, honey. It’s not good for me or for them. He needs
to step up and be a ‘real’ dad.”

“It’s okay.” I split my muffin in half and
buttered it. Then I did the same with hers. “I’ll pick up the slack
when I can, and if we’re both busy, we’ll get Penny.”

“And Darby said she’d help too.” Mom smiled
at me when I returned to the family room and passed her the saucer
with the blueberry muffin. “Thanks. I’m not trying to harass you,
but I have to rent the downstairs apartment. If my hours at the
casino continue to be erratic, we’ll need that money to make ends
meet.”

I nodded and bit into my muffin. We watched
the TV news for a while. As usual, life in western Washington had
pretty much slowed to a standstill with the first snowflake. People
abandoned their cars on the freeway. Businesses closed. On a
commercial, I asked, “Can we put the tree in the living room this
year? I think it’s about time we started using the room instead of
saving it for special occasions that never happen.”

“Makes sense to me. Ingrid suggested we have
a family meeting and make up our own rules so all of us are more
comfortable here. I thought we’d invite Darby to join us.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “When will you know
about her friend who wants the basement?”

“This weekend.”

* * * *

Friday, December 7
^th
, 2:00 p.m.

It didn’t come as a surprise when Ms. Walker
called to let me know that the cheer competition for Saturday had
been postponed due to the weather. The snow hadn’t melted. In fact,
we had another four inches fall during the morning, and the
forecaster predicted even more. We’d probably be out of school on
Monday too.

Kevin and Lance spent all morning having
snowball fights with the boys in our cul-de-sac. The girls hung out
with their friends but that meant visiting other houses, so I
didn’t see them either. I took Chrissy out with me while I shoveled
off the deck. She got to throw snow between the rails. Fun times
for somebody not yet two years old. When we went back inside, Mom
and Darby were stringing cranberries on long lines of thread.

“What’s that for?” I asked, stripping Chrissy
out of her boots and snowsuit. “How can you cook them that
way?”

“Oh, we’re not cooking them,” Darby said.
“We’re decorating the tree with them.”

“Wow, that’s cool.” I carried Chrissy’s wet
clothes into the bathroom. She toddled after me. I heard the
landline ring and Mom answer the phone. Meanwhile, Chrissy followed
me to get a box of her blocks. I set her up in the family room,
building and knocking down towers amid giggles.

Mom replaced the receiver then looked at me
and Darby. “I’ve been laid off at the casino. They said they’re
cutting staff because it’s not going to pick up before New Year’s
Eve, and they’ll call me if they need me then.”

“I expected that when you told me about
Vicky’s accident and filing a medical claim.” Darby slid her needle
into another red berry. “You may pay for the insurance, but the
casino doesn’t like it when you actually try to use your benefits,
Gretchen.”

“That’s illegal,” Mom said. “They can’t
penalize me that way.”

“Oh, they’re not admitting what they do,”
Darby told her. “They’ll say it was the change in weather and lack
of business. On Monday, go file for unemployment.”

“I will.” Mom flicked a glance at me then sat
back down and picked up her strand of cranberries. “Don’t tell your
brothers and sisters about this, Vicky. I don’t want them
worrying.”

“I can keep a secret.” I turned on the stove
to heat up the teakettle. “Will you teach me to string
berries?”

“Yes, but make some popcorn,” Mom said.
“We’ll start stringing that next. When the kids are ready for a
break, have them make paper chains.”

“Is that why you wanted construction paper?”
I asked.

Mom nodded. She didn’t say anything and
neither did I. Okay, she probably expected me to critique her
old-fashioned decorations, but I thought it was kind of cute in a
down-home way. I knew that Kevin, Cathy, and the twins would get
off on making our tree special. I had bought some gold and silver
glass bulbs at the dollar store, but I couldn’t get a lot on our
budget.

I got out the bag of popcorn and measured a
scoop into the electric popper. While it snapped and cracked into
the bowl, Mom got up. She came over and pulled the food coloring
out of the cupboard. “What’s that for?”

“Let the popcorn cool a little and then mix
in some red. Make the next batch green. Then do a blue and yellow
one too. It will look super fancy, but it won’t change the flavor
if Chrissy eats some.”

“You got it.”

“We’ll need to tie up the tree,” Darby said.
“If she tries to climb it, the tree won’t fall on her.”

“No worries.” Mom went through the storage
cupboard and removed aluminum pie tins. “Get the scissors, Vicky.
You can cut out stars while you’re waiting on the popcorn. I used
to tie up the tree when I had cats, since they always thought I had
it just for them.”

I shook my head, trying to remember those
days. “What happened to your cats?”

“I gave them away when Rick and I started
dating. He didn’t like them.”

“You should have given him away,” I muttered
and went on a quest for a marking pen. I’d mark out the stars
before I cut them from the aluminum pie tins.

I got a long look from Mom before she said
gently, “If I’d never married him, I wouldn’t have your sisters and
brothers. I wouldn’t take a million dollars for any of you.”

“You know that if I get a puppy for
Christmas, Cathy is going to start harassing you for a kitten.” I
carefully drew a star in the middle of the aluminum. “Once they
figure out that nobody is allergic around here, the house will be a
zoo.”

“Well, that should keep Rick outside,” Mom
said, “and no, you can’t bring a horse here.”

I laughed. I didn’t tell her, but today I
actually liked my mother.

“Boom!” Chrissy yelled from the family room.
“All go boom, Mama.”

“Good job,” Mom called. “Make me another one,
baby.”

* * * *

Friday, December 7
^th
, 6:00 p.m.

We’d finished up most of the decorations by
dark. Darby made a giant chicken potpie for dinner. While it
cooked, she started a batch of sugar cookies. She said that we’d
cut them out, bake them, and frost them. We’d have some to eat and
more to hang on the tree. During the afternoon, Mom taught me how
to slice fruit and dry it in the oven. We’d hang the apples too. I
told her if we added in carrots, Aladdin would definitely come home
with me.

Cathy and Linda were the first kids home.
They set the table for dinner, excited about bringing up the tree.
Kevin and Lance charged inside, slamming the front door behind
them. Mom gave them a stern look. “Do that again and you’ll be
showing me you know how to enter this house like civilized
people.”

“We’ll be good,” Kevin said super-quick.
“Sorry, Mom. Did Dad call? Is he coming?”

“Afraid not,” Mom said. “You know how busy
the tire store gets when it snows. You won’t see your father until
next weekend.”
Kevin and Lance high-fived each other. “All right! Can we go out
and build a fort after dinner?” Kevin asked. “All of us are going
to do it. We’ll throw snowballs across the street.”

“Not tonight,” Mom said. “We’re putting up
our tree.”

“A real one,” Linda said, satisfaction in her
voice. “It stinks pretty in the garage.”

I choked hard on my laughter. What a great
description. I hugged her on my way to collect Chrissy. “Come on,
girls. Let’s go wash up for dinner.”

“Aren’t you glad we’re home, Kevin?” Lance
followed us. “I am. We got to play outside. You didn’t have to make
us sandwiches or watch us. And Tessa didn’t yell at us for using
the bathroom too much.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the biggest
blond boy who tagged behind us down the hall. Kevin finished
stripping off his wet jacket. “Give me that and I’ll hang it in
here to dry. How long have you been watching the little ones?”

“Forever,” Kevin said. “You’re not at Dad’s,
Vicky. And all Tessa has done for the last two months is puke.
That’s why she gets all mad if people are in the potty too long.
She’s not mean. She’s just sick, and she cries a lot now.”

I stopped in front of the sink and turned on
the water. Okay, so I hadn’t met Rick’s new girlfriend. Call me
suspicious. If she was constantly ‘tossing her cookies’ as Mom
always used to call it, combined with being overly emotional, Tessa
might be pregnant. I wondered if I should say anything to Mom about
it.
No
, I decided. I’d bring it up with Ingrid the next time
I saw her. I had a counselor for a reason. She was supposed to help
me with the questions nobody else wanted to answer.