Shucked (19 page)

She held out the peace offering. I
took it in my shaking hands. “Do you want me to open it now?”

My mom nodded. Her ponytail bobbed on
the back of her head like a carrot on a string. “Open it. You’ll love it, I
promise.” She rubbed my back in circles.

I squirmed away. She’d dumped me here
for the school year. A little present couldn’t make up for that. My fingers
worked under the tape, loosening it.

“Want my pocketknife?” Gramps reached
into his overalls, pulling out an ancient knife with a bone handle.

“No, thanks, I’ve got it.” At least I
would have if I hadn’t been so nervous. It was stupid, worrying so much about
my mom showing up. She and Mimi and Gramps were acting like we all sat on the
porch together every day. Like none of this was unusual. The whole thing was
totally messed up. I grunted and gave up, handing the box to Gramps.

With the grace of an expert at field
dressing deer, Gramps had the packaged opened in mere seconds. The open flaps
beckoned to me, promising me what I’d find inside would heal all the hurt
roaming through my soul. As if one tiny gift could do that.

And it was all I wanted, even though
I knew it was too much to ask.

With tentative fingers, I stuck my
hand inside. I felt around the packing material. It felt like grass, and
knowing my mom, it probably was. My fingertips rested on a cool surface. I
pulled the item out and held it in my hand.

“Wow, Mom.” My words caught in my
throat. “Is this what I think it is?”

Her huge smile betrayed the answer. She
reached out, taking the necklace in both hands. “Can I put it on you?”

I nodded, at a loss for words. Hanging
on the black cord was a gorgeous green gem about the size of my thumbnail. The
shaking only got worse as I felt the weight of the emerald on my chest. She’d
remembered. I never thought she’d paid that much attention to me or anything I
wanted.

“When you and I visited that tiny
Columbian town, I saw how entranced you were by that necklace. I’d bought it,
intending on giving it to you for your birthday, but when plans changed and you
had to stay here longer than I thought, I decided to send it to you. Or at
least I thought I did…” My mom sat back down in a creaky, paint-peeled metal
chair. “I’m sorry all of you got involved with this. I never meant for it to
happen.”

I waited for Mimi to lay into her,
tell her she’d screwed up, that maybe she should grow up and take some
responsibility for her actions. Instead, Mimi said, “It’s okay, Maggie. We know
you were just trying to right a wrong. And based on what’s happened here, your
instincts were right.”

Then, to my ultimate surprise, Mimi
stood up and held out her arms. My mother fell into them like a four year old
who’d just lost her lovie. I watched in stunned silence as the two women who
hadn’t seen each other for sixteen years shook and wept in a solid embrace. It
was just proof that even as adults, sometimes we still needed our mommies.

“Your father and I have missed you so
much.” Mimi kissed the top of my mom’s head.

“I was too embarrassed to come home.
I thought maybe you didn’t want me here.” My mom held out a hand to Gramps.

He nodded in her direction, which was
about as mushy as he could get. He blew his nose into the handkerchief he
always kept in his overall’s pockets and wiped his eyes. “Allergies,” he said,
nodding toward the tasseled corn.

They seemed like a perfectly normal,
happy family. Except for me. I stood still, not sure where I fit in. I’d never been
with my grandparents and my mom in the same space. Maybe when they were
together, I didn’t fit in anywhere.

I turned away, planning on sneaking
back into the house. A hard pressure on my arm stopped me. “Tabitha.” I looked
at Mimi’s strong hand gripping my bicep. She wasn’t going to let me get away.

I turned back to them. Mimi and my
mom both held out an arm, inviting me into their little circle. My breath
caught in my chest. Affection wasn’t my thing. I was more like Gramps. Stoic. Silent.

My mom wiggled her fingers, beckoning
me in. I plodded over to them, letting Mimi and my mom pull me close. I didn’t
open my eyes. If I did, I’d only see boobs from the two Amazonian women holding
me so tight I wasn’t sure I could take another breath.

But there was something about it,
something comforting. I relaxed a little and put my arms around their waists. Maybe
this is how it should have always been, if they wouldn’t have had that big
fight over her pregnancy.

My mom broke the circle, dropping her
arms and taking a step back. “Now that we’ve got all of that settled, we need
to get out of here with that dogu. I need to return it to the museum right
away. There’s some debriefing to be done. Paperwork to fill out, that sort of
thing. Boring government junk.”

She took my hand, but I yanked it
away.

“You can’t just do that,” I said.

“What?” My mom looked confused, like
she really didn’t understand what she was doing.

“I live here now. You left me here,
not telling me when, or if, I’d ever get to travel with you again. I’ve made
friends.” I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I swore I wouldn’t cry in
front of her.

My mom’s eyebrows furrowed. She
looked at Mimi, who left her arm solidly around my shoulder. “What are you
saying?”

“What do you think I’m saying? I want
to stay here.” My vehement declaration surprised even me. I knew I was warming
up to the place, but until that second I hadn’t realized that I actually loved
it.

“A young girl needs a stable
lifestyle.” Mimi said, just above a whisper. My normally gregarious grandma was
walking a thin line. She’d lost her daughter once because of an argument
stemming from her granddaughter. I appreciated the risk she was taking by
standing up for me.

My mom’s eyes narrowed, anger
flashing in them. If she’d been a mutant, her lasers would have flattened us
all. “I can’t believe this. Tabitha, you’ve had experiences no other kid your
age has had. You’ve lived a million lifetimes in just fifteen years. Anyone
would be jealous to have traveled as much as you have. I can’t believe you want
to stay here, of all places, the most boring town in the world.”

“It may be boring to you because you
grew up here and it’s all you knew. But for me, it’s a big adventure, even if I
have gotten knocked down a few times.” I thought about Kailey and everything
she’d pulled. Mom was right, I wouldn’t have to deal with drama like that if I
left with her. But then I’d never learn how to cope with people. I’d be
surrounded by academics and locals, amazing people, yes, but not the kind of
people I’d have to deal with in college. I’d be at a disadvantage.

I wanted to tell her all of that, but
I knew my mom and she’d already stopped listening. If she was three, she would
have had her hands over her ears while yelling, “La, la, la!” Now it was her
hands on her hips and an irritated expression. She wasn’t used to anyone
telling her no.

“I need to get that dogu back. The
museum is waiting and they aren’t very happy with my little mistake.” She
glared at us. “And you’re a minor. If I say we’re leaving, then we’re leaving.”

“I’m sorry, Mom, but I want to stay.”
My resolve started to waver. Her stare got harder. It was a battle of wills,
and I knew deep down that I’d never been the winner. I wasn’t sure I ever would
be. “At least through the weekend. I want to go to the Harvest Festival.”

My mom sighed. “Fine. But, we’re
leaving Sunday.” She knew she’d won, but she’d have to give me something to get
me to come willingly. It was the first time I’d stood up to her. Maybe not the
last.

But for some reason I still felt like
I’d lost.

Chapter
Twenty-Nine

“I now have a closet full of dresses
that you can borrow,” Becky said, riffling through her closet and tossing
dresses onto the bed next to me after school. “Isn’t it great they let me keep
all of these?”

I fingered the dresses, running the
fine silk across my skin. The dresses were beautiful and I’d never worn
anything like them in my entire life. It might be my only chance for a long
time, too.

“What’s going on with you? I thought
you’d be more excited about the dance tomorrow!” Becky plopped down on the bed
next to me. “I’m sorry I gave you all that crap about Alex. It sounds like he
might really be into you. And if he’s not, I’ll clobber him!” She punched her
fist into her palm, then gasped, shaking her hand out. “That hurt!”

I laughed. “Leave the clobbering to
me, okay? I know how to do it without hurting myself.” Not that Alex would
break my heart. I trusted him as much as I trusted Becky. My mom always said
the reason I’d done so well traveling with her was because I was adapting, like
nature intended. I just never thought I’d adapt to normal life so quickly. It
was scary.

“So what’s got you down? I know
you’ve got the whole I’m-mopey-and-nothing-can-make-me-feel-better attitude
going, but you’re even more quiet than normal. Tell me what’s up.”

A million words ran through my mind. I
couldn’t tell her everything, only bits and pieces. Enough to satisfy her curiosity
while still protecting my mom’s business. “My mom’s here.”

Becky gasped. “What? Are you kidding
me? Why?” She backed up, promptly falling off the bed and landing on the floor
with a thump.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” I jumped
up, holding out a hand to her.

“Yeah, fine. Sorry. My comforter must
be slippery. Being clumsy doesn’t help either. Wow, is it a secret because I
think someone would have passed that around by now.” Becky limped over to her
closet. If I hadn’t seen her in action, I never would have bought the
supermodel job.

I shrugged. “She didn’t tell me not
to tell anyone. I guess it’s okay for people to know.”

“Wow, so are you, um, leaving with
her?” Becky didn’t look at me when she asked it. Like she already knew the
answer, but didn’t want to admit it.

“She wanted to leave last night, but
I convinced her to stay through the weekend.” The tone of my voice wasn’t quite
what I wanted it to be. Sadness crept through it, wrapping its dark tentacles
around each word.

Becky turned around, her eyes wide.
“You really want to stay, don’t you?”

I nodded.

“You like it here? I mean, I thought
you might be warming up to all of us, but to think you’d rather stay than go
back to that amazing, exotic life you’ve always lead. It’s just incredible,
Tabs! Farm life won you over! We won you over!” Becky did a little dance.
Supermodel? Perhaps. Professional dancer? Never.

“Maybe. We’ll see what I think after
the festival. What if it’s lame?” I kept a serious look on my face, my mouth
straight, eyes steady.

“Lame? Don’t you dare call the
Harvest Festival lame. It’s the best weekend in the year. The carnival with
stolen kisses on the Ferris wheel. Watching locals do their best musical acts
on stage. The parade, oh my God, it’s the biggest parade in a fifty-mile radius
with horses, Shriners riding mechanical camels, and fire trucks.”

“Sounds fancy.” I winked at Becky,
letting my smile burst free.

“You!” She grabbed a pillow and threw it
at me.

I ducked, but it was too late. She’d
already hit the top of my head. “I was just kidding!”

Becky pointed a finger in my face.
“You do not kid about the Harvest Festival.”

“Okay, okay.” I held up my hands. “I
give.”

“Say you’re sorry or you can’t have a
dress.” Becky held the pile of dresses to her chest.

“I could take them from with you
lethal force.” I took a step toward her, then fell into a fighting stance. “But
I won’t. Sorry, Becks.”

“Hey, you’ve given me a nickname.
Just another indicator of how much you loooooove Springdale.” She twirled away,
the dresses floating out in a carousel of color.

“Fine, I admit it. This place isn’t
half-bad.”

“I’ll settle for that.” Becky laid
the dresses out on the bed again. “Now choose. But, let me just give an
opinion, I think you’ll look incredible in the orange.”

“You only want me to wear the orange
dress because you won’t wear it with your red hair.”

Becky put a hand on her hip and stuck
her lower lip out. “Really? Do you think I’m that shallow?”

“Yes, I do.” I stuck my tongue out at
her. Grabbing the dress, I held it up in front of myself and looked in her
floor-length mirror. My reflection smiled back at me. Dark hair hung at my
shoulders just above the sleeveless bodice. “Maybe you’re right. Can I try it
on?”

“Of course I’m right and yes, you
absolutely must try it on right now.”

I stripped out of my clothes and
shimmied into the dress. “Admit you were being vain about the color. And then
zip me up.”

“Fine, you were right about that.” She
zipped up the back of the dress. “Take another look in the mirror and tell me I’m
a genius.”

I spun around and the effect was
stunning. Long, sheer tulle hung down the back of my legs to my feet. In front
the dress skimmed about three inches above my knees. Not too Amish, but not too
slutty. Perfect.