I had eaten my lunch, taken my first bath since we got here, and was watching Stranger Things on my laptop when Grandpa came back. From the way he was beaming, I figured he had good news. And he did. The inspection had found a couple of problems that needed to be addressed, but nothing that would necessarily scuttle the deal, as he put it. The inspection had taken the better part of almost five hours and had involved a staggering amount of gadgets to do things like look for water in the walls; Grandpa felt that he'd gotten a highly detailed picture of the house's condition. I volunteered to help paint; some of the rooms had highly questionable color choices. We had celebratory pudding, then I went to take a little nap. The fever was still hanging in there; even though my sinuses were feeling better, my throat still hurt and Grandpa, taking a look with a penlight and the end of a spoon, said that my throat was still red and had white patches.
"Well, I think it's time to go old-school, as you kids say," he said, frowning a little. He spooned some table salt into a glass, added warm water, stirred to dissolve, and handed it to me. "Go gargle."
"Ew," I said.
"Go." So I went. And yeah, yuck.
"I think I just hit my sodium intake for the day," I said, coming out of the half bath and making a face.
"You're young, you can take it," Grandpa said callously. "Do you have throat lozenges?"
"I bought some on the way to school the other day," I said, and went to my backpack, but they weren't there. "I must have left them in my locker."
"Well, here's a peppermint," he said, handing it to me. "I'm going to pop to the store and get you some. Any favorite flavors?" I requested the Ricola lemon mint ones, and he nodded. "Go back and take it easy, punkin," he directed, and left. So I went back to my binge-watching. Steve was being a dick to Nancy, but he still had the best hair in the cast. The mystery of Will was engrossing.
Grandpa came back with the lozenges, some Otter Pops, and a carton of chai tea concentrate, so I could have a choice of hot or cold, depending on how my throat felt. "Tomorrow's Friday, so if your fever hasn't broken by then, you're going back to the doctor. You don't want this to hang around. But if you're feeling better, punkin, I'd like to go and make some calls, get the ball rolling on relocating here. I got a call when I was out from the realtor, that's why I was gone so long. The seller has agreed to have the electrical panel fixed and take a little off the price because the fridge is on death's door." He looked cheerful and I smiled.
"I think I can be by myself for a few hours without burning the place down," I said, and he ruffled my hair.
"Sometimes it doesn't seem possible that you're sixteen," he said. "Well, call if you need anything, and I expect you to gargle a couple more times today." I made a face and he laughed. I never would have pegged him as a sadist.
After he left, I went out and fixed myself a cup of chai. The fog had rolled in again and it was making things a little chilly. I checked messages and found a new pre-calc assignment. This one was harder since I hadn't heard the teacher lecture, but I thought it wasn't insurmountable. Around five, I was hungry and went out to the kitchen, chucking a bag of broccoli into the microwave and dishing a good-sized bowl of mac and cheese up, awaiting its turn in the microwave. I stirred a handful of the broccoli florets into the mac and cheese to disguise its taste and sat down at the table. I looked up, startled, as the door opened. Mom was home early.
"I didn't take any additional projects," she said in response to my surprised look as she hung up her coat. "Clammy out there. We're supposed to have cold, rain, and fog for the next four or five days, the weatherman says."
"So that's subject to outbreaks of reality," I said, and she laughed and went to the fridge after looking at my bowl.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Fever's hanging in there, my throat still hurts. But my sinuses feel a lot better. I've never had a sinus infection before."
She looked a little startled. "I thought you had." I shook my head and finished my mac and cheese. I got up to take my bowl to the dishwasher, prepared to go after her if she said that I should have gone to the doctor earlier. I'm generally really healthy, it's not like I go around licking doorknobs or anything, so I haven't spent a lot of time at a doctor. "Look, Delia, I know we've asked a lot of you in order for Stan to pursue his skating. I've had a talk with Dad and I realize now how unfair this has been." She sighed. "Originally, I thought that he'd get bored in a few years and quit, but then we'd made an investment in his training, and then when he didn't, all the different costs kind of crept up on us. I certainly didn't expect him to take off when he hit the senior level." She looked puzzled.
"His artistic expression is crap. He waves his arms around like a confounded duck and think he's checked off that box. His jumping's got a lot stronger." Mom smiled slightly.
"And this... I thought the stipend Stan gets from the association would go farther. I was unprepared for what this center would mean. But I can see where we started focusing on Stan too much and you got the short end of the stick. Even with Dad's help and the new budget, both your dad and I are still going to have to work extra; we maxed out our credit cards and we didn't make much money on the sale of the house in Michigan. But I realize what I did, and I'm sorry, honey. I've disappointed Dad, which I really hate to do, and I've done some serious damage to our relationship."
I considered this. "I get that you're sorry, and I understand how it happened, I was there, after all. But in the interest of honesty and fairness--and I'm actually making an effort because of Grandpa--I don't think you really realize what you guys have done to me. It's been made clear to me that I'm not special, and I hate to think of what I'd be like if I hadn't had teachers who encouraged me to work hard at school. I'd have nothing, and no self-esteem. Even that's kind of shaky. After Heath, I question people's motives in wanting to get to know me."
"Wait, who's Heath?" Mom asked, puzzled.
"Heath Eastner, a boy back home. He pretended to be interested in me, but it was just a way to weasel into my brother's group of friends. He told me when he finally made that exalted status, and that's why I went to the prom with my friends rather than with a date."
"I didn't know you were interested in anybody," she said, then flinched as she realized what she'd said.
"Moving on. I can see where you and Dad might think that asking where I'm going and stuff like that is an indicator of caring, but just so you know, I'm not likely to be appreciative. I've been getting myself to school and work just fine without reporting my movements, and I like it that way. In fact, you have no idea how angry and resentful I am, but you're probably going to find out. Even a sincere apology is inadequate, it doesn't make up for over ten years of neglect. Finding out that my college money had been taken broke my trust in you and Dad, and it kind of justifies my loathing of the skater." I was surprised how much I didn't like my brother. Mom looked worried. Well, she ought to be. "I'm working with my earth sciences teacher and the guidance counselor to help get me into college. And if I hear one more word about alternatives, I can't be held accountable for my reaction. A gap year would be fine if it was something I wanted to do. I don't. Community college is a good option for a lot of people. I want to go to a four year school where I can finally take part in everything that's on offer. Finally I will get the opportunity to shine, to show what I can do and if you attempt to take this away from me, remember that in about a year and a half I'll be eighteen and I don't need your permission. I've been good. I've sacrificed pretty much everything, up to and including everything but the most basic level of attention from people who really ought to be interested in me. Honestly, if you can't be bothered to check the tags of my clothes or remember that I don't look good in some colors, either don't bother or just give me a gift card, because it was a pain to have to return all my Christmas presents. These are my plans, and you can either help me achieve them or do me the favor continuing to treat me like an afterthought and get out of my way." I coughed, and, remembering Grandpa's instructions, got a glass and fixed the saltwater.
I came back, rinsed the glass out, and drank some water. Bleah. I considered taking an apple with me, but decided against it as I don't find salty apples a treat. Maybe later. Mom was still sitting in her chair, her dinner half-eaten. I shrugged mentally and went back to my room. I wanted to find out what happened to Will. The string of Christmas lights was freaking me out.
Oooh. What if it wasn't really Will?
Grandpa called later to check in, and I was able to tell him that the fever was finally gone. "I'll be able to go to work this weekend," I said optimistically.
"As a personal favor, punkin, I wish you wouldn't," Grandpa said. "You can still be contagious even after a fever for a couple of days, and I'm sure you don't want to infect somebody else. Your temperature might be normal right now, but it could pop up again after a little. Besides, it gives you a couple of days to finish recuperating, so that when you go back to school you'll be at a 100%."
I considered this. "Ok, I'll call my boss," I said, a little begrudgingly. I'd be losing an entire week of work income, though, and my savings gap nagged me. Well, I'd heard that there were more shifts available during the summer when people went on vacation. I could take advantage of that. When we did, I called the library and explained my situation. My boss was fully supportive and said he'd see me on Monday.
"You're one of our most efficient pages," he said, and I could hear a smile in his voice. "We miss you, but your health is more important." That was nice.
Later on, Mom appeared with an apple baked with allspice and a scoop of ice cream. I was really surprised, I thought she'd be keeping her distance. In return, I told her about my conversations with Grandpa and the circ director at work. "I think that's a good idea," was all she said. Then we talked a little bit about Grandpa's new house--she wasn't sure where it was--and she went back out with my dish.
Dad came home, and I was struck by the new lines in his face. He stopped by my room to ask how I was. "Yell if you need anything," he said, then rephrased. "Let me know if you need anything." I nodded and popped another throat lozenge. I was a little bemused by the attention and started the second season, wondering what the gross sluggy things would do to poor Will. At least you've got that going for you, I told myself. No upside down, none of my friends had evidenced strange mental powers, and I'm not gagging up slugs.