The Madrona Heroes Register: Echoes of the Past

Chapter 8 - The Demonstration

The kitchen in the Jordan house had a door on one end that swung both ways. Generally Jay liked to keep the door propped open in one direction or the other to avoid accidents. But invariably his instructions would not be followed and someone would inadvertently swing the door into someone else’s face as they approached. Luckily, there was nobody on the kitchen side of the door this time as Binny shoved it sharply inward as she march determinedly to her parents. Binny entered the kitchen alone. Zach had made himself scarce knowing what Binny was about to do.

It was hard to tell the difference between Binny angry, and Binny angry and scared. At this moment she was clearly the latter. But while her parents were both experts at interpreting (if not addressing) Binny’s various moods, they were both too distracted to notice the subtle difference when Binny entered the kitchen.

“…Tell them.” were the last  two words of the sentence Julie Jordan was finishing as Binny arrived with a head of steam.

“Binny, for the hundredth time, can you please open that door gently. You can never tell when someone is on the other side.” Binny’s father admonished her sternly. Binny’s parents stood opposite each other at the far end of the kitchen – a large empty space between them.

Jay’s anger caught her by surprise, but as usual Binny was quick to recover her righteous trajectory.

“Why is the door even closed anyway? You always tell us not to close it.”

“Binny. Please modify your attitude. Now.” Jay chastised.

Julie sighed.

“And what do you mean, ‘telling them’?” Binny paraphrased her mother’s overheard words. “Who is they, and what will you be telling them?”

“No one, and nothing.” Julie responded, her face making it clear that Binny should get out while the getting was good. Binny ignored the advice.

“What can we do for you?” Jay asked, in a quieter than normal voice.

Binny’s curiosity about the conversation she had interrupted was only slightly smaller than her desire to reveal the day’s events. Binny’s eyes flickered briefly as she considered the path before her and chose, “I need to tell you something.”

This got her parents’ attention. They sat down at the kitchen table together. “What do you need to tell us,” Julie asked. The tiny note of impatience in her voice was almost undetectable amid the genuine concern for her daughter.

“Cassie can make herself disappear.”

There. She said it. She would show Zach that she was the most responsible of the Jordan children. Zach liked to make it seem like he was equal to their parents when it came to telling Binny what to do. But Zach was only two years older, and less mature in Binny’s expert opinion. Now her parents and Zach would have to take her seriously. Her sister was in danger!

Her parents started laughing. “We know. She disappears every time it’s bedtime.” “Or time to do homework.” “Or, for that matter, time to do anything she doesn’t want to do.” They laughed together and the tension between them seemed to dissipate a bit.

“It’s TRUE. Cassie can turn herself invisible. Truly.” Binny’s earnestness was apparent on her face. 

“Uh…” was all Julie could muster. Jay just sat there looking puzzled.

Jay took a deep breath, “Binny. We’re both sorry about before. We know you needed our attention and you didn’t get it as soon as you should have. But you can’t always be the center of attention. Sometimes other people are having important conversations. And if you need attention, sometimes, to accommodate the other people in your life you need to have just a little more patience.”