It's Not the End of the World (11 page)

I got back into bed and pulled the covers over my head. I was all set to cry, but the tears didn't come this time.

I must have been a crazy person to think that my silly diorama could work magic. Now I know the truth. My parents are not going to get back together.

And there isn't one single thing I can do about it! My mother doesn't think Daddy is a wonderful person. She was feeding me a bunch of lies. Val was right. Not that Daddy thinks much of Mom either. Well, I'm through fooling myself.

I rolled over. I wonder where Jeff is. I think he would have liked the way I screamed last night. I'm sorry he missed it. I'll bet he wishes he had some of those fried shrimp with him, breaded or not. He must be hungry by now. I hope he's okay. I don't want anything bad to happen to him, even though I did hate him for a while. If he doesn't come home Daddy won't be able to go to Las Vegas on Monday. Hey, I'll bet that's why Jeff picked last night to run away! Maybe he knew what he was doing after all. Except for one thing. He didn't hear them fighting so he doesn't know that they're hopeless. Poor Jeff! He ran away for nothing.

The phone rang, but I didn't jump up to answer it as usual. My mother came into my room. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"Karen, . . are you awake?" Mom asked.

I didn't answer her.

She stood next to me and shook my shoulder a little. "Karen, your father wants to talk to you."

This is the first time she's ever called him my father. I still didn't answer.

"Karen... are you okay?"

I could tell by her voice she was getting upset because I wouldn't open my eyes. So I got out of bed on the side away from where Mom was standing and I said, "I'm up and I'm fine." I walked from my room, across the hall, to hers. I picked up the phone. "Hello."

"Karen, about last night. . ." Daddy began.

"I don't want to talk about it," I told him.

So Daddy said, "Well, I want you to know it was just because we were so upset about Jeff."

"Sure," I said.

"And I don't want you to worry about your brother either. Because I've already hired a private detective and he'll certainly find him if the police

can't."

"That's good," I said.

"Listen, Karen, the only reason I slapped you last night was because you were hysterical. And that's what you have to do when someone's hysterical."

"That's okay," I told him. I haven't ever been hysterical before. I wonder if I ever will be again?

"Are you still flying to Las Vegas on Monday?"

"I don't know yet," Daddy said. "It all depends on Jeff."

"If he doesn't come home you're not going?"

"I'm not going anywhere till I know Jeff's okay. My trip can wait a week or two," Daddy said. "If you need me for anything I'll be at the store all day."

"Okay. Bye." I hung up and went back to my room. My mother was making my bed. She looked very tired. When she was done she sat on the edge of the bed and said, "Karen, about last night . . ."

I told her the same thing I told Daddy. "I don't want to talk about it."

But she said, "I think you should know that it was just because we were so worried about Jeff."

"Sure," I said. "I know."

"And we didn't really mean any of the things we said."

"How about Daddy taking us away from you? Can he do that?"

"No, of course not. That was just his way of hurting me. I told you, we didn't mean anything we said last night."

I didn't believe that. I think they really meant all the things they said to each other.

My mother blew her nose. When she was done she asked, "What happened to your Viking diorama?"

"It broke," I told her. "But don't worry about the mess. I'll clean it up."

"I wasn't even thinking about the mess. I just think it's a shame that it broke. It was beautiful." Mom stood up and checked her watch. "It's almost nine o'clock. I've got to run downtown to police headquarters. I found a picture of Jeff for Sergeant Tice."

"Which one did you find?"

"His school picture," Mom said, pulling it out of her pocket. She showed it to me.

"That's a nice one," I said.

Mom nodded. "Hurry and get dressed now, Karen. I want to go right away."

"Why can't I stay here and watch Amy?"

"Amy's not home. Aunt Ruth picked her up early this morning."

"Well, you go ahead and I'll stay here and clean up my room."

"I don't want to leave you alone," Mom said.

"But suppose Jeff calls and there's no answer. What will he think?"

"I never thought of that," Mom said. "You're right. You better stay here just in case. I won't be gone long."

As soon as my mother left the house I went down to the kitchen. I was very thirsty. I felt like drinking a whole giant-sized can of pineapple juice. I gulped down two full glasses, then poured a third and walked into the living room. The smashed china baby was gone, but all the drawers in my mother's antique chest were halfway open and the floor was covered with photos. There were so many of them!

I put my glass on the coffee table, sat down on the floor and picked up a picture. It was of me when I was little. My two front teeth were missing. I was

standing next to a huge fish and crying. I remember I was really scared. I thought the fish could bite me. I didn't know it was dead.

There was another picture that showed all of us at a picnic. I must have been about eight. That was the day Jeff's kite got caught in the tree and I fell into the brook.

I found our baby pictures. And one of Daddy and Mom at a costume party. My mother was wearing some dumb-looking Cleopatra wig. She and Daddy were laughing.

I grabbed up the photos and stuffed them back into the drawer. Then I ran upstairs to my room and took my cat bank off the dresser. Jeff gave it to me for my last birthday. He said he knew I'd rather keep my money in a cat than in a pig. I pulled the stopper out of the bottom of the bank and dumped all the money onto my bed. There was $10.49. Good! The divorce book costs $7.95, Val said. So I have enough.

I got dressed, threw my diorama into the garbage and took out the vacuum. There was no other way to get rid of the blue sparkle all over my rug.

When my mother got back from police headquarters I was still vacuuming.

"You didn't have to do that," Mom said.

"I felt like it," I told her. "Did Sergeant Tice find out anything yet?"

"Not yet," Mom said. "But he will. Especially

now that he has the picture. That should help a lot. Jeff might even be home this afternoon."

"Sure," I said.

"You know what I'm going to do?" Mom asked.

"No, what?"

"I'm going to give Jeff's room a good cleaning. The closets and everything."

Why would she do a silly thing like that? Jeff likes his room messy. The messier the better.

Mom took the vacuum. "I want his room to look really nice when he comes home. You want to help?" she asked me.

"I can't," I said. "I have to go over to the shopping center. I need something for a school project."

Mom acted like she hardly heard me. "Be careful" was all she said.

The shopping center isn't that far from our house. I rode my bike straight to the bookstore. I had the paper with Val's information on it tucked away in my pocketbook. I asked the saleslady for The Boys and Girls Book About Divorce by Richard A. Gardner, M.D., published by Science House, Inc., illustrated by Alfred Lowenheim, with a foreword by Louise Bates Ames.

She seemed pretty impressed that I knew so much about it. She smiled at me a lot. Then she said, "I'm sorry, but we don't have that book in stock. We'll have to order it for you."

Imagine not having such an important book in stock! What is the matter with this bookstore? I asked her how long it would take to get it and she told me maybe two weeks. I said I didn't think I could wait that long and she smiled again and told me she'd put a rush on it and it might come through sooner. I had to pay in advance and write down my name, address and phone number. I don't know how I am going to last two whole weeks without that book!

26.

Sunday, May 9.

Dear Garfa,

How are you? I hope you're fine. Yesterday I ordered The Boys and Girls Book About Divorce. Did you ever hear of it? It's a very famous book and I need it a lot. I need it because Daddy and Mom are definitely going to get divorced! I've tried hard to get them back together. Honest! But nothing works. I have discovered something important about my mother and father. When they are apart they're not so bad, but together they are impossible!

Anyway, I hope you understand and won't be too disappointed, even if this is the first divorce in the history of the Newman family. Do you want to hear something funny? When Daddy told us he was flying to Las Vegas to get the divorce I still didn't believe it would really happen. Now I believe it! An-

other thing I think you should know is this-I don't look like Grandmother Newntan at all. I just pretended to agree with you. I don't look like anyone but ME! I hope Mattie is fine and that you are having fun. Love, Karen

Maybe I should have mentioned something about Jeff in my letter but I think that would upset Garfa even more. And I am hoping that by the time my letter gets to Las Vegas, Jeff will be home.

I folded the letter, put it in its envelope and licked it closed. I had to sneak an airmail stamp out of my mother's desk. I didn't want to ask for one because then I would have to explain why I was writing to Garfa. After breakfast I walked down to the corner and dropped the letter in the mailbox.

My mother spent all of Sunday morning washing and ironing Jeff's shirts. If you ask me she was just keeping busy so she wouldn't have to think about all the awful things that might happen to him.

That afternoon Aunt Ruth and Uncle Dan brought Amy home. Then we all sat around in the living room, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. Uncle Dan called my father a couple of times. Daddy didn't want to leave his apartment in case Jeff decided to go there. Mom called police

headquarters once, but Sergeant Tice wasn't in and there weren't any messages for my mother. It was a very gloomy afternoon.

At three thirty the phone rang and I jumped up to answer it.

"Hello, this is Mary Louise Rumberger calling. Is Jeff home?"

At first I didn't answer her. I didn't know what to say.

"Hello. . .'"she said again. "Is anyone there?"

"Yes," I told her. "I'm here."

"May I please speak to Jeff?"

"No . . . he's not in right now," I said. "Can I take a message?"

"Who is this? "she asked.

"It's Karen... his sister."

"Oh. Well, tell him I called and ask him to call me back."

"Okay. . . I'll tell him."

"What time do you think he'll be home?"

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe around five or five thirty." I don't know why I said that.

"Okay. Thank you," Mary Louise said.

"You're welcome." I hung up the phone and went back into the living room. "That was Mary Louise Rumberger," I said. "She wanted to talk to Jeff."

"I hope you didn't tell her anything," Mom said.

"I just told her he wasn't home right now."

"That was very good thinking, Karen," Aunt Ruth said.

"Is it a secret that Jeff is lost?" Amy asked.

"Kind of," Uncle Dan said. "Can you keep a family secret?"

"I guess so," Amy said.

An hour later Aunt Ruth ordered some pizzas for supper and I went outside to wait for the delivery truck. It was a good excuse to get away from everybody.

I sat down on our front steps. Mew ran out of the bushes and rubbed up against me. I picked her up. Her front paws smelled like mouse. Mew loves springtime. She sleeps a lot during the day and prowls around at night. The Great Gray Hunter, I call her. She brings a mouse or a mole to our door every morning. This doesn't make my mother happy. And to tell the truth, I don't like to be the one to get the shovel and scoop up Mew's catch. I love her a lot and I'm glad she's happy, but I wish she wouldn't bring home so many surprises.

In a little while I saw a girl walking up the street. When she got to our house she turned and came up the driveway. It was Mary Louise Rumberger. I knew it right away. And if I hadn't recognized her face I'd have known her by the Noxzema smell.

She said, "Hi. I'm Mary Louise."

I said, "I know. I'm Karen."

Then we just looked at each other until Mary Louise said, "I brought Jeff a book he wants to read."

"Oh, that's nice," I said. "You can leave it with me and I'll give it to him."

"I'd rather give it to him myself."

"Jeff isn't here right now," I said.

"Where is he?" Mary Louise asked.

I knew she'd say that sooner or later. "He's not home," I told her.

"I know," she said. "You already mentioned that."

This conversation might last forever, I thought. I'll keep telling her Jeff isn't here and she'll keep saying she knows.

"Well, where is he?" Mary Louise asked again.

"Who?"

"Jeff!"

"Oh, Jeff. He should be back soon."

"Do you know that somebody called my house Friday night looking for him?"

"Yes," I said. "That was my uncle."

"Why did he call my house? Didn't he know where Jeff was?"

"I guess he thought Jeff was with you. But really he was in New York visiting his friend from camp." There, that sounded pretty good.

"None of this makes any sense to me," Mary Louise said.

"It does, if you really think about it," I told her. "I didn't know Jeff was going to visit his friend

from camp."

"He doesn't tell you everything, does he?"

"I don't know," Mary Louise said. "I thought he

would have mentioned something like that. He was

supposed to meet me at the Y Saturday night." "Oh, well probably he didn't mention it because it

was a last-minute thing. He didn't plan to go. He

just went."

"Why didn't you tell me that when I called?"

"I don't know," I said. "I guess I forgot."

"How long will Jeff be gone?" Mary Louise