Chapter 5

Jeremy walked in the door to hear screaming. It was coming from the living room, and it was the voice of his father.
“And why did you feel like it was necessary to insult my co-worker like that?”
“What?” His mother spat back “Asking her the truth? The truth as to why you’ve been gone so much lately?
“So you think I’m cheating on you?”
“I don’t know, Ben, but what else am I supposed to think?”
“I don’t know, maybe you could trust me! Maybe I’ve been gone so much lately because I can’t stand being around you!”
Jeremy had slowly walked into sight while they argued, having been hidden by the entryway wall before. His father’s back was to him, but his mother saw him instantly, and Jeremy could see the tears in her eyes. Clearly confused as to why she wasn’t arguing back, Jeremy’s father looked behind him and also saw him. There was a silence, as all three of them were not sure what to do.
“Jerem-” His father started in a much calmer tone, but Jeremy interrupted.
“Just don’t. Don’t try to tell me everything is fine. Don’t pretend anymore.”
“Jeremy, sweetie…” His mother said through tears.
“No.” Jeremy said. “I’m sick of it. I’m sick of both of you comforting me after I walk in on you arguing and telling me how much you love me. If you loved me, you wouldn’t argue. If you loved me, you would either work things out or get the hell away from each other if you hate each other so much. Leave Kyle and I out of it. We’re tired of being the adults, why don’t you guys try it for once in your lives?”
With that he walked quickly to his room and slammed the door shut. He didn’t hear any more yelling, and he didn’t care. He just wanted to sleep.

* * * * *
When Lana walked in her front door she was bombarded by her mother. It wasn’t a surprise, yet Lana found it ironic that as much as her parents ignored her, when it came to her mother, there was either one extreme or another. Most of the time it was a strange combination of both.
“Lana, where have you been? I’ve been worrying about you for hours!”
“Mom, I have a cell phone, you can call it if you don’t know where I am. And I left you a note, I was with my English group.”
“Well why couldn’t they have stayed here? This is a perfectly good working environment and…and I don’t see why you felt as though you needed to go somewhere else.”
Lana paused and realized where the conversation was actually going. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Nancy stumbled a little, and Lana involuntarily clenched a fist. “Mom, have you been taking medications?”
“Just some sleeping pills darling, I’m having the most awful time falling asleep.”
Lana’s tone turned sharp. “Mom, it’s 8:30 at night, you don’t need to go to bed for another few hours. How many did you take?”
“Don’t take that tone with me young lady! I only took about five.”
Lana sighed with relief. Five wasn’t good, but her mother had taken much more than that before and ended up in the hospital.”
“Y-your angry with me aren’t you?” Nancy said, beginning to sounds strange. “ I’m a terrible mother, I’m such a terrible person.”
“Mom, don’t talk like that.” Lana said, grabbing her mother’s arm before she fell down. “Let’s go to bed now, I think you’ll be fine. You didn’t take anything else did you?”
“No darling,” Her mother said, beginning to slur her words. “W-why am I feeling so strange?”
“You’re just sleepy, and we’re going to go to bed now, okay?”
Ironically, Lana thought to herself that she might make a good pharmacist with her gained knowledge of medicines her mother had over-dosed on. When she laid her mother down in her bed, Lana was suddenly overcome with emotion. She had done this so many times before, yet she suddenly felt overwhelmed and frightened. Ignoring better judgment, she went downstairs to pick up the phone.


* * * * *

“Hello? Hello? Who is this?” Rosie said loudly into the phone, her seven-year-old eyes sparkling.
“Rosie, not so loud.” George said. “You’re going to scare the caller away you goober.”
“I’m not a goober!” Rosie said angrily, but then listened into the receiver as the person on the other end was apparently talking. “She wants Bella! Bella, phone!”
Isabella groaned and went over to the cluttered counter the phone sat on. She’d just got back from the bowling alley, she needed to get some homework done or she’d fail her math class. “Yeah?”
“Isabella…this is Lana.”
Isabella frowned, but said more carefully. “Hey Lana, what’s up?”
“I just…I’m not even sure why I called you. I, um, well I just had a run in with my mother and I sometimes do things without thinking much about it when I’m upset…”
Isabella nodded. “Don’t ramble or make excuses, I understand. I guess I’m just surprised you called me. Why not Jeremy or Aden?” Isabella could hear the voice on the other end quiver and sniffle a little. “Oh, Lana, don’t cry, I don’t know how to do crying.”
“I’m sorry, I should go, I don’t know why-”
“No! No, don’t go. It’s okay, I want to talk too. I meant to apologize for being so critical today. I know I’m a bitch sometimes-”
“No, not at all.” Lana said “You know ever since elementary school when we had a falling out I really missed you. You’re not a bitch Isabella, you say what you believe, and that’s something I wish I had.”
“Except when it gets you into trouble.”
“Do you know how much I’d love to have the guts to stand up to my Mom? To stand up and make her go to a therapist? Do you know how much I wish I could tell my friends how ridiculous they are when everything in their world revolves around who wearing what?”
“But don’t you get it, Lana? I’m not that brave either. There’s so many things that I want to tell my Mom about how my Dad is a fucking idiot and how I want her to leave him. Not like he’s around much anyway. But I don’t. I don’t say anything. I’m no different from you or Aden, and probably Tia too. That’s why it sucks so much, we’re caught…we’re caught in this net and we don’t know how to get out.”
“Caught in a net.” Lana said, quieter now and strangely calmer. “What is wrong with the world? We’re fifteen years old and we’re making metaphors for our problems in the form of nets?”
Unable to stop herself, Isabella laughed. “That didn’t even make sense.”
“I know.” Lana said, clearly feeling better. “But seriously, a net?”
“You come up with another one, princess, that’s the best I can do. I told you I don’t do the crying thing.”
Lana giggled. “So we’re messed up teenagers caught in a net. Makes us sound like fish.”
“You’re a fish.” Isabella said, laughing harder and wondering how the conversation had turned ridiculous.
“Or is your mother a fish?”
“What?”
“Never mind. Just never read William Faulkner.”

* * * * *

Aden sat quietly at the kitchen table, nibbling at a piece of toast he’d made himself. His mother, Claire, was fiddling with the cabinets, which wasn’t unusual. His mother was quite a cook, and one of the things she was most obsessed about was her kitchen. Every other week things were re-arranged. Aden barely knew where to get plates and dishes from in his own kitchen, because often times they showed up in different cabinets at various times. Somehow the re-arranging made his mother happy, and her kitchen was never anything short of spotless.
“Mom?” Aden said quietly, almost hoping that she wouldn’t hear him.
“Yes, honey?”
“I…well, I was wondering if we were going to celebrate Rash Hashanah at all this year.”
Aden’s mother gave him an odd glance, but shook her head. “Honey we haven’t gone to the Synagogue in years, I’m almost surprised you remember what Rash Hashanah is.”
Aden nodded. “I just…I mean, I just got to thinking about it. Whatever.”
Claire stopped fiddling with the cabinets. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
Aden did not look at her. “I don’t know, when’s Dad coming home tonight?”
“Oh.” Claire said shortly, her inquisitive smile faded. “Aden, we don’t need-”
“Do we?” Aden said, without emotion. “Pease just do me a favor and don’t wait up for him tonight?”
Claire nodded, but her face was worried. He knew she’d be worried about his father, especially when she didn’t wait up for him. Whenever she went to bed before he came home he often passed out before even making it to the bedroom. To Aden, this was the best situation. His father could sleep wherever he wanted, so long as he didn’t hit Claire before he passed out. Yet Claire couldn’t help but worry about her husband, who would likely one day kill himself somehow by either drinking too much or getting into a fight with the wrong person. That was why she waited for him. She loved him.
Aden still could not understand this, but so long as his mother went to bed early tonight, he considered it a minor victory.

* * * * *

Tia held Lucy as she pointed out a picture in the book she was reading. “See, darling? The duck turned into a swan.”
Lucy smiled. “He’s so beautiful now, but Tia, he was so beautiful before too.”
“But he was an ugly duckling, Lu, he wasn’t supposed to be beautiful that’s why all the other ducks made fun of him.”
“But I liked him before too.” Lucy insisted. “He was just a good of ducky before he became beautiful, why did he have to look pretty for all the other ducks to like him?”
Tia looked at her little sister, quite surprised something so profound had come from a six-year-old. “Well, Lu, you and I know that it doesn’t really matter what’s on the outside, only what’s on the inside.”
“Tia why are you sad?” Lucy said, her large, green, child-like eyes gazing up at her.
“I’m not sad, sweetie, why would you think that?”
“Because you are sad. I don’t want you to be sad, am I making you sad?”
Tia shook her head. “Lucy, you make me happier than anyone else in this world. Never ever think that you make me sad.”
“Does Uncle Mac make you sad?”
Tia was taken aback, and she took several moments to collect herself. “Lucy, it’s time for bed now.”