Kansas Summer

Gone Country

For two weeks, life went on as normal for my second family.  Nancy and Sean seemed removed from their roles as parents, and still beat Morgan unnecessarily.  Luckily for her, my presence gave her peace.  She enjoyed my company and confided in me many things that she had kept from Sean and Nancy out of fear.  Even if I wasn’t a sister for her, just being a sibling was just as good.  She trusted me now, which was good, because I knew her trust would be put to the test when social services showed up.  Neither Morgan nor her parents knew my secret.

When we get home from school on Friday, Morgan and I find that Nancy and Sean aren’t home.  We both smile at each other.  Morgan drops her bookbag and beats me to the freezer.  She wrestles a carton of ice cream from the back and sets it on the counter while I dig through drawers trying to find a scoop.  By the time I find it, Morgan already has out two bowls.  I scrape out two giant scoops of ice cream and plop each in a bowl.

“We’re gonna have to clean this all up before Nancy gets home,” Morgan reminds me.

“I know that.  We will,” I grin.  “Here’s to a wonderful summer!”  I raise my spoon as a toast, and Morgan repeats my gesture.

“Cheers!”  She dumps her spoonful in her mouth, savoring it.  “It’s been so long since I’ve had ice cream,” she murmurs, “I’ve almost forgotten what it tastes like.”

“Well enjoy it,” I tell her, “You’ve earned it.”

Morgan dips her spoon into her bowl another time and finishes it even quicker than then first.  “It feels good to have earned something.”

That it is,” I chuckle, “That it is.”

We are all surprised when Nancy comes home five minutes later.  After we hear the key in the lock, Morgan and I freeze.  Nancy walks into the kitchen and nearly screams.

“What have you done?” she squeaks.

Morgan goes paler than normal.  “Mom, mom—I—I…”

“No excuses, young lady!  And you!” she turns her gaze to me, pointing her large black-and-white-painted finger at me, “I have just about had enough of your behavior!  You filthy, obstinate boy!  You have no respect for the rules of this house, and encourage your sister to break them!”  She reaches into the sink and pulls out a pan from breakfast that still has remnants of bacon grease on it.  Before I can do anything, Nancy slams the backside of the pan into the side of my face. 

Morgan screams as I fall to the linoleum floor, my head ablaze with pain.  The room spins, and spots fly in front of my eyes.  It hurts to think.  I try to shake it out of my mind and get up, but it’s more difficult than I think it is. 

When my vision becomes clearer, I see Nancy in the living room, yanking on Morgan’s hair and beating her with a belt, cursing her and me at the same time, while Morgan pleads for her to stop.  I reach out my hand in vain, but it doesn’t stop Nancy at all.

            Suddenly, there comes the sound of a key in the lock.  We all freeze: I on the floor, Morgan on the couch, and Nancy with her belt over Morgan in mid-swing.  You could hear a pin drop if not for voices outside the door.

            “I must say that it’s a surprise to see you.  You usually don’t come until September.”  That voice is Sean’s, but I do not recognize the other one.

            “I’m not making a regular stop.  In fact I’m far from my comfort zone.  I drove here all the way from…”

            “Nebraska?”

            “Kansas.”

            “Right.  Damn doorknob doesn’t want to open.”  The knob rattles before it allows the men entrance.  Upon surveying the scene, Sean stands in the doorway, blocking the other man’s view and gawking absurdly, like he wasn’t expecting to come home to a zoo.