Dreams Upon A Silver Pine Branch

Chapter 25: Parental Fight

The sound of raindrops hitting the pavement accompanied Bethany as she and a six-year-old boy breathlessly ran to catch a bus they nearly missed. The driver nodded to the pair as they showed him their bus pass and confirmed that the bus would take them to where they needed to be.

Finding two empty seats near a window, Bethany plopped herself down and was about to shut the whole world out by reading a graphic novel when the little boy tugged on her sleeve.

"Not again, Tony!" she growled lowly. "I already told you all I could about where we're going, what else do you need to know? Just be quiet and watch the rain or something, okay?"

"But I'm boreeeeed!" Tony whined. "And I really want to hear more about your friend."

"Johan is not my friend," the girl sighed exasperatedly, "I thought I've made it clear."

"Well, then you need to be friends!" Tony grinned. "You need a real friend, sis, especially after you quit modeling club. You seem sad about it, so maybe having a new friend can help."

"You do realize Mom is very specific about who we can and can't be friends with, right?"

"We don't have to tell Mom. Honestly, Beth, I don't understand a lot of the rules she has for us."

"Hey, now, those rules are set for our own good!" Bethany lightly patted Tony's head, much to his protest, "Although it does sound harsh, Mom has her reasons. You'll understand when you're my age, trust me. There are people worth befriending and people we need to keep our distance from. Otherwise, we would get hurt and we wouldn't like that, would we, little brother?"

"If you think Johan would hurt us, then why are we coming to his house?"

"Fair point," Bethany said, "but I wasn't talking about him specifically, just people like his family in general. Frankly, if I weren't desperate to get better at Math I won't bother agreeing to his terms of the deal. Also, if we were able to afford a babysitter I won't bring you along."

"It's not my fault you're stuck looking after me!" Tony pouted. "You could've taken Granny's offer to have her watch me. Instead, you told her not to worry about it. Now you're complaining? I don't get it. What's so hard about saying yes to Granny?"

"Granny offered that in front of Mom, remember? And Mom has been grilling me about my lack of responsible behavior. So, I'm babysitting to show her I can take on more responsibility."

"I wonder if Mom will be as strict with me as she is with you when I am older."

"Then pray, Tony. Pray that you don't have to grow up too fast."

***

About twenty minutes later, the bus stopped in front of a row of apartment buildings. Bethany and Tony said thanks to the driver and were ready to hop off but the driver told them to wait.

"You two really need raincoats," he said as he reached under his seat and pulled a couple of ponchos, "I've always kept extra for my passengers. Here, you take these. Don't get drenched."

"That's kind of you," Tony responded politely. "Have a good day, sir, and drive safe."

"No problem, kid!" the driver replied as he re-started the engines and drove away.

Bethany helped Tony put his poncho on and then checked the address Johan gave her to make sure she had gotten off on the right street. Squinting, she searched for the correct apartment unit.

"Apartment D4414 should be on the fourth floor of Building D, I guess," she muttered to herself, only half-aware of Tony jumping into a puddle nearby and dirtying his shoes while giggling.