After a few miles of country roads, we were back on the highway. Catherine asked, “How are you feeling, Mr. Giles?”
He didn’t answer. I saw Catherine exchange a fearful look with Wendy in the rearview mirror as we drove on in silence.
Jimmy finally did speak, his voice low and haunted. “Those people on the plane were doomed from the start. All of them.”
I thought about those passengers trapped in that plane with, literally, no way out.
He added, “We’re just like them. We’re doomed, too. We’re trapped, too. All of us.”
Arthur called up to him, “Amen, Jimmy. You take her easy now.”
Other kids muttered encouraging words, too.
The Lyles, stepmother and stepdaughter, looked at each other again. Did they think Jimmy was crazy? Maybe.
But I can tell you, the rest of us did not.
Dad left early today to help Reg unload a shipment of pumpkins. Mom made breakfast, like she always does. It was Quaker instant oatmeal for Lilly, and Life cereal for me (both products of the Pepsi food conglomerate).
I had my PSAT prep book next to me, opened to the vocabulary section. I read the words softly to myself: “
Mom sat down at the table with us. Her eyes were shining; she was eager to talk. “So, Lilly, you’re graduating this year. What are your plans?”
Lilly just shrugged, which is never a good move with Mom. “I asked you a question, and I would like an answer, please.”
Lilly spoke through a mouthful of oatmeal. “I don’t know.”
“You must have thought about it.” Lilly chewed silently. Mom tried, “Well, what would you
Lilly’s mouth was empty when she replied wearily, “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me what I should be doing one year from today? That’ll save us all some time.”
Mom turned to me with a martyred look. Then she turned back to Lilly and said, “Well, I hope you will be continuing your education. That’s what your college fund is for.”
“No way! I am through with school, forever. I have done my time.”
Mom said, “Okay. You have worked hard to graduate from high school. But what do you want next in life? A job?”
Lilly answered (laconically), “Sure.”
“So you’ll need a skill.”
“I have a skill. I’m a Food Giant cashier. Why not just pay me to do that?”
“We do pay you,” Mom protested. “We pay into your fund.”
“Or maybe Kroger would pay me. And not into a fund.”
“They wouldn’t pay you much, believe me. You have to have a real skill to make real money.” Mom got to the point. “Mrs. Nalbone’s daughter Kellie took a course to be a dental hygienist. Now she’s got a good job, in Dr. Wojahowitz’s office.”
This did not have the desired effect on Lilly. She screwed up her face in a look of horror. “A dental hygienist! You mean she puts her hands in other people’s mouths? Oh my God. That is so disgusting.”
Mom quickly added, “There are other courses, too. You could be a nurse’s aide.”
“That’s even worse!”
I said, “Yeah. What do you stick your hands into in that job?”
Mom was losing her composure. “Lilly! Please. You need a way to support yourself.”
Lilly smiled. “I’ll just do what you did. I’ll be a housewife, a traditional housewife.”
Mom shook her head emphatically. “No. You’re too young for that. Too young to get married. Too young to be serious about a boy. You’re barely eighteen. You shouldn’t even be thinking about marriage. You should be dating lots of different boys.”
Lilly laughed. “Oh, right. And where would I be finding these boys? At school? Uh, no. At work?” She held up her index finger. “Let me see: There’s Mitchell, in the meat department, but I think Del has her eye on him.”
I closed my book and smiled.
Mom said, “Mitchell is too old for you.”
I added, “Anyway, Reg says Mitchell is only interested in his own meat.”
Lilly rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Reg the Veg. Now, there’s a real catch.”
Mom frowned deeply.
“And then there’s Bobby.”
“Lilly! We don’t make fun of Bobby.”
“I’m not making fun of him. I just don’t want to leave him out.”
Mom got to the point. “I don’t think there’s anyone at the Food Giant for you.”
“How about John?”
“Who?”
“John, the assistant manager?”
“He’s too old for you.”
“He’s twenty-two.”
“And you’re barely eighteen.”
“I am legally an adult. It would be legal for me to date him.”
“What? He asked you on a date?”
“He did, in fact. Yesterday.”
“When he was supposed to be working?”
“He was working. He was setting up the Halloween display, and I said that I always loved Halloween, and he said he did, too. Then he asked me to go to a Halloween party.”
“A party? Where? At a bar somewhere? You’re not old enough to go to a bar.”
“At the Hungarian church.”
“At a church?”
“In the basement. He volunteers with the youth group there. He’s chaperoning the party, and he asked me to come.”
“He’s Hungarian?”
“No!”
Mom looked trapped. “Your father is always hiring new people. Young people. You can find a boy closer to your own age.”
“Like who?”
“Well… what about that Vincent boy? He seemed nice.”
“Dad fired Vincent,” I informed her.
“Fired him?”
“Yeah. A month ago.”
“For what?”
“Stealing.”
“He stole money?”
“No. Cleaning supplies and cold capsules.” Mom looked confused, so I went on. “People are stealing those things to make meth.”
That didn’t help. She looked even more perplexed. “What is that, Tom? A drug?”
“Yes. A very addictive drug that you can make yourself, at home, using those supplies. We learned about it
