It feels as though I’m all alone now. My mom stares at the dashboard, flicking her red pen like a rap beat. My father, the driver, only talks when it’s essential. He keeps to himself, nodding and grunting whenever we ask something. Even from my stupid sister I would like to hear a phrase, a word, but she plays the mute. I can’t stand the silence. I’m not alone but it’s as if.
My parents are getting divorced. I know what divorce is. Amy’s parents got it a year ago. She said it’s when you have two homes instead of one. She said you have four parents instead of two. She said you get twice the presents at Christmas. But she never mentioned the silence.
Last week, I lost a tooth. It fell while I was sleeping. My mom came into the room to wipe the blood from my lips and change my pillowcase. My dad took the tooth, washed it and hid it under my clean pillow. He said there would be a present for me when I got home. The whole day at school, I kept hoping that it would be the end of the divorce. When I got home, it only was a ten dollar bill.
Grandma waits for us in front of her house. She’s old and smells funny. But I always have fun there with her. Grandma grabs me and Kate and lifts us up while she twirls around. I laugh and beg her to stop. She knows I don’t mean it. That night, we eat altogether. The silence lifts. Dad makes boring jokes that we laugh at. Mom and Grandma talk so fast it’s almost like a foreign language. I laugh and tease my sister, pretending that this, the family will last forever but I know that this is probably the last time we’re all together.
And as I think about it, Kate flips her spoon and throws mashed potatoes on my face…
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