A Quiet Kismet

Chapter Eighteen

AGE 12

Jaimie was in town, helping us pack the last of our things. Which, by my account, wasn't a lot. Mom said since we were moving into a smaller house in Onassis that we would have to downsize.

That meant a lot of our stuff had been sold or donated. My old desk, two of three of our tvs, our stove, washer and dryer, lawn tools, and most of our old bedding, all sold. Clothes that I planned to pass down to Julia, old toys that we hadn't touched in years, a jewelry box my father had given my mother after Ruby was born, all donated.

I watched as pieces of my life were boxed and thrown in the back of a uhaul truck. Jaimie cried when she found the old measuring stick my dad used to document our growth spurts. We each had a different color for our markings. Pink was Delia, Blue Jorge, Purple Jaimie, Green me, and Yellow Julia. Ruby was too small when Dad stopped.

Julia took it better than the rest of us. She was excited about leaving. I was somber and grouchy, I think I yelled more than I had ever. "Don't put that in the donation box!" I yelled at her when I caught sight of my baby blanket in the box.

"You're too old for it Millie. Give it to another little girl." She scolded me.

I snatched the blanket out of the box and held it close to my heart. "Screw you Jules!" I snapped, stomping out of my room.

I didn't talk to Jules the rest of that day. During dinner, we ate take out on the living room floor, when Jaimie nudged my foot. "What did you do to Jule's? I heard her crying earlier. All she said was that you were being a jerk. What's up, Millie?" Jaimie prodded, with that natural maternal voice she had. Not judging, but patient. Ever so patient. I hated even that right now.

"She tried to donate Mr.Berry. I'll give up anything but him, he's too important." I mumbled, stuffing a spoonful of lo mein in my mouth. Julia popped an earbud out of her ear, apparently done pretending she wasn't eavesdropping.

"I didn't know!" She argued.

"Well you should have!" I retorted. "Why are you so happy about us leaving? Do you hate Gable that much?"

Jule's lip quivered and her eyes brimmed with tears. "No." She answered in a wobbly voice. "I just know Mama does, she's sad all the time now. I know she's tired of this place and she looks happy. Like she can start over and everything will still be okay."

I turned to Mom who was outside on the phone with our new landlord. She had the door shut firmly behind her so we couldn't hear what she was saying. So I knew she couldn't hear what we were saying.

This was why I knew I couldn't be mad at Jule's. She didn't care about Gable, she cared about us, about Mom. Her feelings, even as a child, came second to those she loved.

"I'm sorry." I said softly. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

Jule's nodded, and reached over to touch my hand. Her long slender fingers wrapped around my short stubby ones and squeezed it once. "I know you don't like the idea of moving. But think of it this way, as long as we're together, how bad can it be?"

Jaimie came up and wrapped her arms around Julia's tiny body, resting her head in the crook of her neck. "How did you get so smart kid?" She asked.

"I've always been smart." Julia laughed, "Y'all were too busy treating me like a baby to notice."

"I'll never underestimate you again then." Jaimie said decidedly. "Come on, let's go clean up the rest of the kitchen. We have a long weekend ahead of us."