Chapter 22
Laura
Finally awake, she winced at the pain as she shifted to get more comfortable. It was impossible. Laura sighed heavily, still exhausted for being in the emergency room all night. She slept most of the morning and awoke by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She didn’t pick up but she did check her eight messages. The text message was concise and just what she needed to start her morning or rather her late afternoon. She got dressed slowly, smiling as she remembered the night before. They had laughed like crazy.
Instead of breaking in, Judith had a key and instead of doing any mischief they just sat in the cafeteria, ate bagged lunches, jumped rope in the gym and played music and danced on the auditorium stage.
The only real drawback she had from the episode last night was Tamika’s frightened reaction to it all. She’d lectured all the way home. She could still hear the conversation ringing in her ears.
“Breaking into a school. Have you lost your mind?” she’d said as she helped her into the car after staying at the hospital with her the whole time. “Do you have any idea how scared I was when the hospital called me last night?”
Laura had half smiled at the reversal of roles.
“It’s not funny, Mom,” Tamika added, still livid as she got behind the wheel and drove them home. “I can’t believe you did that. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”
“Oh, come on, Tamika. It was a prank. We ate bologna-and-cheese sandwiches, chocolate pudding, chips and drank ginger ale. We walked around the school and even erased and cleaned off some of the classroom boards.”
“That’s not the point.”
“It was a prank, something to do,” Laura said as they pulled up in front of the house.
“And you got hurt.”
“It was an accident. I could have slipped and fallen anywhere.”
“But you didn’t. You had no business in there and you know it. If it had been me you would have grounded me for life.”
“Yes, fine, I messed up. It was a stupid decision that got out of hand, no big deal,” Laura said.
“No big deal,” Tamika repeated, stunned by her lackadaisical attitude. “It was irresponsible and reckless.”
“It’s all right, it wasn’t like we broke anything.”
“Mom, you broke into the high school, you broke the law and then broke or rather sprained your wrist. Plus the doctor said that you have a mild concussion. How is that all right? There’s no way you should have gotten away with it.” She opened the front door.
“We didn’t. We have to pay a fine.”
“Not good enough. I’d be grounded, wouldn’t I?”
“Fine, I’m grounded. I’ll stay in tonight.”
“Mom, you sprained your wrist. You don’t have a choice. All I’m saying is that you have to think before you act. This could have been much worse.”
“Yeah, okay, that’s one drawback,” Laura said.
“Only one drawback. Are you kidding? You could have fallen and broken your neck or even worse.”
“Now you’re just exaggerating.”
“I am not exaggerating,” she said, helping her to the bed. “If I’d done something like that you would have a fit. As a matter of fact, I got the same speech when I messed up the kitchen last year.”
Laura exhaled. “You’re right, I was furious. Having a party like that when we were out of the house was dangerous and stupid and so was this.”
That was apparently the end of the reprimand since Tamika had taken the rest of the time to get her into bed and make sure that she’d taken her pain pills.
Laura looked down at the bandage wrapped around her wrist and the sling on her arm. The fall off the stage was an eye-opener. Maybe her days of youth were at long last over. She picked up the newspaper that had been left on the nightstand.
She skimmed the article. Apparently the police were more humored than angry since they hadn’t actually broken any laws other than poor judgment. The whole event had become a lavish joke as it was even written up on the front page with a screaming headline, After-Hours Alumni Revisit the Good Old Days. Looked as though they were off the hook. Of course, it helped that Grace, the mayor’s daughter, was with them and Judith was on the school board and Fran was the principal’s sister.
Laura went downstairs to the laptop, where she overheard the conversation going on outside on the front porch.
“How’s your mom feeling?” Sylvia asked.
“Better. I checked on her a few hours ago. She was still asleep. The doctor said that the pain pills would knock her out for a while.”
“Good,” Sylvia said. “Now would you please tell me what on earth she was doing at the high school in the middle of the night?”
“I have no idea. Hanging out, I guess.”
“Well, she’s gone too far.”
“Yeah, I think she knows that now,” Tamika said.
“Y’all talking about me?” Laura asked as she opened the screen door and stepped out on the porch. “Good morning, Aunt Syl. When did you get here?”
“Last night, and apparently none too soon. But you would have known that had you not jumped off the stage onto your wrist. And yes, I was talking about you. What the devil were you thinking? I thought I taught you better than that.”
“Yes, I know, dumb. Tamika was kind enough to point that out to me repeatedly last night, or rather early this morning. I think my days of hanging out are over.”
“Finally,” Tamika said loudly.
“So, what do you think about the house, Aunt Syl?”
“I saw it last night. It looks phenomenal. Your grandparents would have been proud of you,” she said to Tamika.
“Her mother’s proud of her too.”
“So, did you tell her yet?”
“No, not yet,” Laura said.
“Tell who what?” Tamika asked.
Both Sylvia and Laura smiled.
“I think she’s earned it.”
“Definitely, I think she has too.”
“What are y’all talking about? You sold the house?”
“Tamika, I can’t sell this house. It doesn’t belong to me. I’m just the custodian.”
“Custodian? So who owns it? You, Aunt Sylvia?”
“Not me, I’m not a Fraser.”
“Me?” Tamika asked as both her mother and her aunt smiled at her knowingly.
“You,” Laura said. “Your grandmother gave it to you years ago on the condition that you had to want it and earn it. I think you did both this summer rather well.”
“You’re joking, right?” Tamika asked. Laura shook her head, smiling. Sylvia mimicked her actions. “I own a house for real?”
“For real,” Laura said. “Do you want to sell it?”
“I get to decide?” she asked. Laura nodded. “Then no,” she said, looking up at the newly painted eaves. “But what about the taxes and the rest of it? What am I supposed to do about that? You don’t have a job anymore. That means no extra money.”
“Oh, I think we can handle that. At least until you’re making millions with your photographs.”
“Yeah, right. Winning the camp contest and getting published might have helped that along the way, but no big deal. I can do it some other time.”
“There are other options,” Laura said, handing her a flash drive.
“Like what? What’s this?”
“It’s the first draft of an article I wrote. It’s about a mother and daughter and a summer they spent in each other’s shoes.”
“You wrote an article for the newspaper?”
“No, I wrote it for a magazine. I also took the liberty of sending and suggesting that they might consider using some of your photos for the piece since it’s about our recent experiences. They agreed. They love your photos.”
“What? Are you kidding me? I’m gonna get published?”
“Looks like, yes,” Laura said.
“Mom!” Tamika squealed and jumped into her arms. “I can’t beli
eve it. Wait until Lisa hears this. I’m gonna be published in a magazine. Oh my God, this is going to look too good in my portfolio. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“You’re very welcome,” Laura said, giggling happily. “Go check it out.”
Tamika charged into the house and inserted the flash drive into the USB slot. A few minutes later, seeing her photos, she screamed again.
Sylvia chuckled. “I think she likes it.”
Laura smiled and nodded. “I think you’re right.”
“I’m published! I’m published!” Tamika screamed as she came running outside, blasting the screen door wide open. “For real, they’re gonna buy my photos?”
“Looks like. The magazine accepted the article and the photos. As a matter of fact, they’re talking about an ongoing series.”
Tamika screamed again. “I can’t believe this. I gotta call Lisa and Sean!” She went charging into the house again.
“Huh, looks like you have some more business to handle. I better give you some privacy,” Sylvia said as she saw Keith walk up the path. Laura turned and waved.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” he said. “I heard about the wrist. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just fine.”
Keith looked up at the outside of the building. “Wow, the place looks great. Looks like I’m gonna have to pay a bit more than I anticipated. But that’s okay. It’s worth it to help a friend out. I have the initial papers here for you to sign. We can discuss price later,” he said as he reached into his suit pocket and pulled out an envelope and pen.
“Yeah, about that, technically, I can’t sell you the house.”
“What do you mean? Why not?”
“Well, it’s not mine. It belongs to my daughter, always did.” Tamika came outside. “Tamika, you have an offer to buy your house.”
“You gotta be kidding me?” Keith said.
“No, the house and land were bequeathed to Tamika.”
“What does a teenager know about business?”
“Apparently a lot. Tell me, what exactly are you going to do with it, if she were to sell it to you?”
Keith smiled. “More than likely continue what was started. Refurbish it, maybe add some modern touches. Bring it back to the splendor it was with the needed conveniences.”
“Funny, I heard that you basically buy houses to tear down and resell the land. As a matter of fact, rumor has it that you already sold this house.”
“Where’d you hear that?” he asked. She didn’t respond. “It’s business, Laura, progress,” he said, directing his response to her.
“Well, not today. I think that Georgia will be just fine with one less mall. What do you think, Tamika?”
“I totally agree.”
“Big mistake,” he said.
“Not at all. You tried to get it two years ago from my mother and here you are again. Am I right?”
“I won’t dignify that with an answer,” Keith said, glaring at Tamika, knowing that she was the one who told her mother about his plans.
Laura smiled inwardly. “Goodbye, Keith.”
He turned and left without another word.
“How did you get so smart?” Laura asked, turning to her daughter.
“I learned it from my mom,” Tamika replied.
“Well, you want to know what I learned from my daughter?”
“What?”
“I learned to take a chance, to step out of my comfort zone, enjoy life and live a little bit, but not too much.”
“Know what I learned?” Tamika began. “Taking responsibility is harder than I thought. I don’t think I’m ready to be an adult just yet.”
“Actually, I’d say you are exactly ready. Tamika, you stepped up and took the lead and did an incredible job. I am so proud of you.”
“Ya think?”
“I know.” She winced, then sighed heavily. “Okay, that’s it, I’m tired of being sixteen again. It’s too hard and it’s exhausting. I guess being a mom doesn’t mean holding on to your child so tight that you strangle her dreams. It means letting go and letting her fly and being there no matter what.” Tamika nodded. Laura smiled. “You, sweetie, are so beautiful,” she said as tears rimmed the corners of her eyes.
“Hair and all?” Tamika asked.
Laura laughed and nodded. “Oh yes, most definitely hair and all.”
“Sorry about Keith,” Tamika said, genuinely feeling bad. “I know it’s hard losing a friend, even one who never was,” she added, thinking about Justin too.
Laura smiled at her daughter. “But it’s wonderful finding a daughter and a new friend.” She opened her arms and Tamika tumbled into them. They stood on the porch hugging as the love they felt pulled them closer and closer.
“Now, that’s what I call a welcome home.”
Tamika and Laura turned to see Malcolm standing on the porch step smiling at them.
“Dad, you’re here! You’re back!” Tamika exclaimed.
“My two favorite ladies,” he said happily.
“Malcolm, what are you doing here?” Laura asked.
Tamika released her mother, then slammed into her father, receiving a huge hug. “You’ll never guess what happened,” Tamika began.
“I was in the neighborhood,” Malcolm answered Laura, looking into her eyes softly, “so I thought I’d stop by. What happened to your arm?” he asked, seeing the bandage and sling.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later,” Laura said.
“But are you okay?” Malcolm asked.
“Yeah, I think I’m gonna be just fine now.”
“Dad, you’ll never guess what Mom did.”
“What?”
“She wrote an article about us and the magazine is gonna publish it along with my photos. Can you believe it?”
“Great, but what about the photo camp?” he asked. “I understand there’s another session this fall. You could attend after school.”
“Photo camp, who cares about that now? This is the for real deal. I’m getting published. Oh, this is too cool. Do you think that they might consider using my photos on a regular basis? I hope so. I guess we can figure that out later,” she said, then squealed again, “I still can’t believe it.”
“In the neighborhood, huh? All the way from Japan?” Laura said, finally getting a word in.
“Yeah, something like that,” he answered.
“Actually a crazy old lady suggested that I, and I quote, “‘get my tired workaholic behind off that island and come see about my girls.’”
“Aunt Sylvia,” Laura and Tamika said, laughing.
“Yeah, exactly. So I thought that it was about time I paid a bit more attention to my family.”
“But what about Japan, your boss, your job?”
“Japan will always be there. And the job, well, I’m pretty damn good at what I do. Trust me, they don’t want to lose me,” he said. She nodded, impressed. “If I get the promotion, fine. If not, that’s fine too. Don’t worry, our paycheck isn’t going anywhere. But what I couldn’t get is our vacation plans changed like I hoped. It looks like we have to cancel Martha’s Vineyard this year.”
“That’s okay,” Laura said.
“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Dad,” Tamika said.
“Good, but also—” he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope “—I stopped at home. Your friend Lisa was just leaving.” He handed her the envelope.
Tamika’s face saddened as she took the envelope.
“Sweetie, I’m sorry. Maybe you can go visit her sometime,” Laura said.
“Actually, I was thinking the exact same thing,” Malcolm said. “I spoke to her mother and father and they’re okay with it. That’s not a letter from your friend, that’s an online flight itinerary. You can leave tomorrow, if you want to go.”
“For real, to visit Lisa in California?” she asked.
Malcolm nodded. “That is, if it’s okay with your mother too. You’d have to trust her out there without you.”
Tamika looked at her mother. Laura smiled. She knew that her little girl had grown up so much over the past year and particularly the last two months. “Yes, it’s okay with me. Have a great time and be safe.”
Tamika squealed and hugged her mother and father. “I gotta call Lisa and Sean,” she said, then ran into the house.
“Sean?”
Laura glanced at Malcolm standing there staring at her. “I’ll tell you about that later too. That was a nice idea to give Tamika a ticket to see Lisa. Of course, we won’t be seeing her the rest of the afternoon.”
“That’s okay,” he said as they stood there like strangers. “I have some catching up to do with my wife.”
“Oh, really?” Laura said.
He nodded. “We’re gonna talk, I mean really talk, and I’m gonna listen. I don’t want to lose you, Laura, ever. So I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind me hanging around here for a while.”
“I’d like that.” Laura smiled and nodded happily. That’s all she ever wanted to hear.
“Did I tell you that you look fantastic?”
“Thanks.” They stood smiling at each other.
“Hi, Mrs. Fraser. I heard about your accident. Are you okay?”
Laura turned to see Sean walking up the path behind them. “Hi, Sean. Yes, just fine.”
He nodded. “Is Tamika around? I wanted to say goodbye since I have to go back to Boston tomorrow.”
“Sure. Malcolm, this is Sean Edwards, a friend of Tamika’s from Boston. He has family in Elwood, so he’s been down for a few weeks.”
“Hello, Mr. Fraser, nice to meet you, sir,” he said as he held his hand out to shake. The two stayed out on the porch talking while Laura went in to get Tamika.
“Tamika…”
“I called Lisa. She already knew that I was coming to visit. She’s excited too. She’s gonna call me back ’cause her and her mother are going out right now. I tried to call Sean too but I guess he went back already. He didn’t say bye.”
“I got a call from an Edna Hayes this morning. She left a message on my cell.”
“Right, I was gonna tell you about her. She works at the Elwood Antique Shop and I took some things in to show her—pictures and some things from Joseph Fraser mainly.”
“And…”
She Said, She Said Page 20
