The outside temperature was still cold enough that Joey could see his own breath for just an instant before it faded away.
“I know things must be confusing for you right now,” Jenny said.
“Hey,” Joey said hotly, “contrary to popular opinion, I’m not exactly a little kid.” The anger and resentment got away from him before he could contain it. “So you can save the baby talk.”
Jenny took a step back and wrapped her arms around herself. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Me?” Joey couldn’t believe it. “It’s not me, Jenny.” He waved toward the house. “My house is filled with people I don’t even know. I can’t even talk to my mom without somebody hearing me.”
Jenny’s eyes narrowed. “Those are kids that your mom is counseling. All of them are missing their parents, brothers, or sisters. None of them had anywhere to turn.”
“So they have to show up at my house?”
“That’s kind of selfish, don’t you think?”
“Selfish?”
“Yeah. I think them showing up here says a lot for the kind of person your mom is.”
“They’re in my house!”
Glancing over her shoulder, Jenny said, “Why don’t you try to keep your voice down.”
“Because I don’t want to,” Joey said, exasperated. “This is stupid! My little brother disappeared last night! I thought my mom was going to totally freak out!” He let out a pent-up breath because his lungs were suddenly too full to breathe. “I get up this morning, she’s got a houseful of strangers. And she’s baking cookies like everything is all right. Everything is not all right!”
“Your mom is just trying to help those kids.” Jenny eyed him deliberately.
“She’s my mom. Not theirs.”
“I don’t think you realize what has happened here, Joey. These disappearances, they happened all around the world. A lot of people are scared. A lot more than just those kids in your house.”
“That’s not my problem.”
“It’s a good thing we’re not all as narrow-minded as you are.”
“Good for who?”
“Those kids in there need help, Joey.”
Unable to stand still any longer, Joey stepped off the porch. He gazed at the flower beds, remembering all the times he’d chased baseballs into them when he and Goose had played catch back there. The tire swing that Chris loved so much still hung from the tree above the covered sandbox he had helped Goose build three summers ago.
This was his house. His yard. And he had been invaded.
“Russia is threatening war,” Jenny said. “They think the United States is somehow responsible for all the disappearances. It’s all over the news.” She paused. “Are you listening to me?”
Joey wheeled on her from halfway out into the backyard. “What are you still doing here, Jenny?”
“I’m helping your mom.”
“Last night you seemed like you were in a hurry to get home.”
Jenny’s voice turned cold and measured. “Last night,” she stated, “I offered to come here and help you because your dad is over in Turkey, probably fighting for his life, and to be with you when you picked up your little brother. The only time I was ever in a hurry to get away from you was when I found out you’d been lying to me.”
Tears burned at the backs of Joey’s eyes but he refused to shed them. “Why are you here now, Jenny?”
“Because your mom could use some help. Because she asked me if I would help her if I didn’t have anything better to do.”
“And you don’t?”
Jenny was quiet for a moment. Her lower lip quivered for just an instant, then stilled. Her gaze turned cold and distant. “No, Joey, I don’t have anything better to do. I live with my dad. He’s an alcoholic. My mom couldn’t take it anymore, so she ran away. At least, that’s the excuse she used for leaving us when I was fifteen. I’ve put myself through school since then, got my dad up and going so it took him longer to finally get fired from jobs that he stopped showing up late to.” She took a breath. “I started to work at McDonald’s when I was sixteen because somebody needed to pay the rent in those crummy apartments where we lived. I work at Kettle O’ Fish to pay the rent in the crummy apartment where we live now. We’ve lived in that apartment for over two years. That’s the longest I’ve ever lived in any one place.”
Joey stared at her, not knowing what to say.
“I have to hide my money around the house because my dad will spend it on alcohol and beer if he finds it. These days, since I’ve been able to pay the bills, my dad works less and less. I don’t go to college because it would cost too much. I change jobs a lot because sooner or later my dad will find out where I work and come in there drunk and cause a scene.”
“Jenny, I—”
“Shut up, Joey!” Her voice was fierce. “I don’t want to hear ‘I’m sorry.’ I get that enough from my dad. ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t pay the bills or put food on the table or give me back any of my self-respect.” She paused.
Joey let the silence stretch between them, not knowing what to say. He got the distinct feeling that whatever he said would only cause her to take his head off.
“Do you want to know why I don’t date?” Jenny asked in a strained voice.
Joey didn’t answer. Too much was coming at him at one time, and he didn’t know how to deal with it.
“Because when I dated in the past,” Jenny said, “I heard my dad say things to me I never thought he would say. Awful things, Joey. He accused me of stuff I didn’t do. Stuff I don’t do. He talks to me the way he used to talk to my mom. Only I’m not her; I can’t yell back at him the way she did. And even if I did, things would just be worse. I watched each of them put the other in the emergency room when I
