Chapter Three
Chapter Three
For the next few days, I lived a life I’d never dared dream of.
My aunt took me to get my hair done: wash, cut, blow-dry, treatment, the works.
The stylist, Marco, said my hair was too dry, so my aunt had him add a deep-conditioning treatment on the spot.
When we came out of the salon, Jake looked me over and, for once, didn’t say anything mean.
“Okay. At least you look like a person now.”
My aunt shot him a look, and he quickly corrected himself. “Pretty. Really pretty. My sister’s the prettiest.”
Then she took me to the mall and bought me a whole closetful of clothes, everything new from the inside out.
I stood in front of the fitting room mirror and almost didn’t recognize myself.
The little girl in the mirror, in a flowered dress, with smooth, shiny hair... was that really me?
Jake slumped in the waiting area playing his game, complaining about how boring it was.
But every time I came out to try something on, he looked up.
Every so often he’d throw in a “That one’s okay” or a “Try a different color.”
In the end I got so embarrassed that I tugged on my aunt’s sleeve. “That’s enough. It’s too much...”
My aunt looked down at me, and suddenly her eyes welled up.
“Silly girl. Other little girls have closets full of clothes, and you didn’t have a single decent thing to wear.”
“I’m just making up for lost time, and you think it’s too much?”
At breakfast on the third morning, my uncle set down his fork and spoke gently.
“Winnie, what grade were you in back in Ohio?”
My hand froze. “Second grade,” I said softly. “Then my stepmom told the school she was going to homeschool me, so I stopped going.”
“Homeschool? Then who was teaching you?”
“Nobody. She said there was too much housework, so I had to help with that first.”
My uncle and my aunt exchanged a look.
My aunt set her bowl down hard. Her face darkened.
“How long?”
“Almost a whole semester.”
My uncle took a deep breath, picked up his phone, and went out onto the balcony. He was on the phone for over ten minutes.
When he came back in, his face was calm again.
“Next Monday you’ll start at Jake’s school. Same class as him.”
“It’s all taken care of.”
Jake came charging out of his room, eyes lit up. “For real? That’s awesome!”
He threw an arm around my shoulders and thumped his chest.
“Don’t worry, Winnie. I know everybody in our class. Anyone lays a finger on you, I’m the first one in there!”
My aunt smacked the back of his head. “No fighting.”
“How is protecting my sister fighting? That’s called being a hero!”
That afternoon, Jake offered to show me around the neighborhood so I could get my bearings.
He took me to the convenience store downstairs and taught me how to pick snacks.
“Potato chips, plain only. Dill pickle is a crime against humanity.”
“Spicy tortilla chips, you get this brand, the fire flavor. Legendary. The sweet chili one next to it is a total rip-off. Anybody who buys it regrets it.”
Then he took me to the little park next to our building and pointed at the swings. “Nobody fights over them this time of day. Go nuts.”
I sat on a swing, and he pushed me from behind.
The breeze off the ocean was warm and lazy.
On the way back, he suddenly stopped and looked at me, serious for once.
“Winnie, don’t ever go back to your dad’s.”
“My mom acts tough, but she really cares about you.”
“My dad too. He doesn’t talk much, but he notices everything.”
“You just stay here and don’t worry about it. This is your home. Don’t be scared of anybody.”
I nodded hard, my nose stinging. “Okay. I’m never going back.”
He grinned and pressed his last lollipop into my hand.
“Come on. Let’s go home and eat.”
That night, I lay in my soft, cozy bed hugging the big teddy bear, and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
What I didn’t know was this:
When happiness comes on too fast, sometimes the universe likes to dump a bucket of ice water over your head.
