Once Around the Carousel

Chapter Sixteen

In her thirteen years on Earth, Linda Stapelton had accomplished more than her parents had in their combined 77. Yet those same parents offered her zero accolades. They never reveled in her triumphs or let their egos catch a ride on the coattails of her successes. When she recovered from her final surgery, walking unassisted months earlier than the doctors predicted, her parents treated it as if she'd finally released them from a great inconvenience. And when praises of Lind's academic accomplishments were sung, Ed and Gloria accompanied them with choruses of: "It all comes so easily for her" and "She doesn't even work hard."

Saving Sammy was different. Her father rushed to the beach to tell her how proud she'd made him. For Linda, that would have been enough. Then Mr. Mosley came to the pavilion, and he and Ed told stories to the assembled throng of kids about when they were the teenagers on the beach. Through it all, Ed sat next to his daughter, his pride shining for everyone to see. Every so often, stopping the conversation, to put his arm around her, and ask about some detail of what she'd done. If Linda could have frozen a single moment in time, she would have relived that one forever. Eventually, though, the taste of even the sweetest moments blend with the bitterness of life's soup.

For Linda, that blending came when her father said he wanted to have a celebratory dinner at home. "Can Sharon come?'' she automatically asked. As Ed agreed, Eliza wondered aloud if a nice dinner at their house was even possible. Then said she wouldn't find out because she wasn't coming. Her remarks ran into a scowl from her father. His look brought Eliza into line. Reaching over, she grabbed Linda's hand, telling her that, of course, she'd be there.

Riding home with Sharon, Linda instinctively braced herself for a classic Stapletonian nightmare, shedding her good feelings before they could snatch away. Gloria's daily routine centered around a long afternoon nap. After which, she would get up, hopefully ready to fix dinner. But, unfortunately, Ed's early arrival had thrown her off, and she was none too pleased with the disruption.

Walking in the door, Linda saw her brother lying on the living room floor watching I Love Lucy with an empty bag of Chips Ahoy at his side. Lucy's escapades may have been in black and white, but the Stapelton family's reality was in Technicolor in the kitchen. Gloria's hair was matted down, and from the damp sweat stain on the back of her shirt, it appeared she'd slept hard through the hot summer afternoon. Linda looked to Sharon with apologizing eyes. When the girls did spend time at Linda's, there was little contact with her family, and it rarely involved meals. Sharon gave a half-shrug as if to say, "Oh, it's not so bad."

"Look, Ed, it's your little hero," Gloria slurred.

"Your mother's cooking your favorite Linny," Ed said, pointing to the telltale signs of Linda's favorite dinner: a box of Spaghetti, a can of grated cheese, and cut-up pieces of chicken.

Linda walked hesitatingly over to the stove. "It smells good, Mom."

Gloria set her spoon on the edge of the pan and watched it slide down, submerging in the beginnings of Alfredo sauce. "Your father told me what happened at the beach today..." she said, her voice drifting as she swayed and looked at the bubbles forming in the sauce. She then grabbed another spoon to fish out the first one, adding, "I guess you had quite a day while we all just stayed at home."

Linda looked back, hoping Sharon was missing what amounted to a mere vignette tagged onto the Stapelton family highlight reel. Sharon gave an uncomfortable nod towards the stairs. Then Linda realized what was missing - music. Since receiving a stereo for her birthday, Eliza played music from the moment she got up in the morning until she fell asleep at night.

"Where's Eliza? I thought she came home with you," Linda asked her father

"Your sister said she couldn't stand the sight of me and left to go tramping around," Gloria said, finally extracting her spoon from the sauce, which, now at a hard boil, had started to curdle and burn.