Family Ties

“So you’re our chaperones?” I said without rancor.

“Sort of. Mom made me swear. Sorry, Birdy.”

“Some chaperones you are,” I teased. “You left us alone the first chance you got.” But then I thought about it. “Oh, she’s good.”

“Who?”

“Your mom.”

“Well, yeah, but… how do you mean?”

“She knew exactly what you and Sabrina would do.”

“He’s probably right,” Sabrina said.

“She even suggested we take the blankets.”

“Hold on,” Danny said. “Are you saying that Mom sent us out here on purpose? To… you know… go off by ourselves?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. She was young once,” I added. “She knows what it’s like.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right. I just never thought about her like that.”

’Cause you didn’t grow up like I did, I thought wryly, with Susan and Elizabeth and my mom pulling the strings. It also meant that Anne had known what Christy and I would be up to while Danny and Sabrina were off having sex on their own.

“Do you really think she did it on purpose?” Christy asked.

“Yep. She’s a pretty smart lady, your mom.”

“You can say that again,” Danny said.

“She’s a pretty smart lady, your mom.”

Christy looked at me and rolled her eyes.

Danny stared into the night and said, “Well, I’ll be…,” as the realization sank in.

The house was dark and quiet when we returned. We came in through the screen porch. Something seemed odd, but I didn’t figure it out until too late.

The girls had just walked into the house when a wicker chair creaked in the darkness behind me. I spun and dropped into a defensive stance. Rich

stood silhouetted against the moonlit yard beyond the screens.

“Rich…?” Danny said cautiously.

“Just go inside, Danny,” he said. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“It kinda does. Mom’ll be upset if you kill him. Dad too. Not to mention Birdy. Besides, I’ll have to find a new place to sleep.”

“Everything’s a joke to you, isn’t it?”

“You’re serious enough for the whole family.”

“All right,” Rich said slowly. “If I give you my word, will that be enough?”

“Your word?” Danny said, confirmation rather than question.

“I already gave it to Mom. But if you want…”

“Nah. That’s good enough for me. Come on girls,” he said to them, “the big dogs wanna bark at each other through the fence.”

“Rich…?” Christy said.

“Get her inside,” Rich said to Danny. “And turn on the light.”

Danny gave me an all-too-cheery wave before he hustled the girls into the house. He closed the door without a second glance and turned on the light a moment later.

I faced Rich and readied for a fight. He swung a right and I blocked it without even thinking.

“Relax, shit stain,” he said. He reached up again, and I realized he wasn’t trying to hit me. He put his hand on my temple with his thumb above the bandage on my brow.

“Keep your fucking hands off me.” I batted him away again.

“Suit yourself.” He nodded at my wound. “Keep it clean. Use Vaseline to keep it moist, and keep it covered with a bandage. It shouldn’t scar.”

“No thanks to you.” I felt my anger rising but kept it in check.

He looked at me and laughed. “You think you’re so tough…”

“You wanna find out?” I shot back. “Let’s go a few rounds without your gun.”

He simply laughed again.

“What, this is funny?”

“No, it’s a fucking disgrace,” he said at last.

“Yeah, well, fuck you too.”

“Aw, now you’ve done it,” he mocked. “You’ve gone and hurt my feelings.”

“Is there something you wanna tell me? Or are you just jerking off with

this macho bullshit?”

He surprised me with a laugh. “I’ll have to remember that. ‘Jerking off with this macho bullshit…’ That’s good.” Then all of a sudden he grew serious. “I don’t like you. But you’re a smart kid, so you probably figured that out.”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

“That’s fine. I don’t care whether you like me or not. All I care about is Birdy.”

“Gee,” I said sarcastically, “I never saw that coming.”

“Laugh all you like. But if you hurt her, I hurt you. Are we clear?”

The door to the house opened and Christy’s voice came through.

“Let me go, Danny! No! Let— me— go!” A hundred pounds of blonde fury stormed out of the house. She stopped when she saw Rich and me in seemingly polite conversation.

Rich actually smiled at me. “I’m glad we could clear that up,” he said, his voice deliberately light.

“Rich…,” Christy began. She stomped her foot to get his attention. “What did you—?”

“Relax, Birdy,” he told her. “Everything’s cool. We were just having a chat to clear the air.”

“Paul?”

I made a snap decision. “Yeah,” I said, and matched his tone, “just clearing the air.”

“Okay,” he said with a soft laugh that wasn’t quite a threat. He turned to Christy. “See? No trouble.”

She wasn’t convinced.

He bent and kissed her forehead. “I love you, Sis,” he said softly. “I only want what’s best for you.”

“I love you too.” She looked from him to me and back again.

“Time for me to hit the rack.” He glanced at me and said, “PT in the morning?”

He was messing with my head and I knew it, but I decided to go along.

“Any time.”