I found myself living with my parents again, only this time they wanted me to pay 300 dollars a month worth of rent and they still expected me to live by their rules. My sister had managed to move out and she lived in a ramshackle trailer that smelled something awful. It was a mixture of mildew and sulfur(from the water). She did her best to fix it up and make it look decent and the truth is, I was jealous of her.

There’s less than a week, now, until school starts at my new high school. I do hope I don’t have to write up a “What I did on my summer vacation” essay. That would be totally embarrassing, and not a good intro to a new school.

I sat on the park bench crying my eyes out, stunned by the unreal encounter I'd had with my hospitalized father. In just one day he had gotten so much worse...

A dozen or so ducks had wandered up from the pond to come check me out. Quacking, shaking their little tails, unafraid, so darn cute. Now the ducks were making me cry.

"Sorry babies, I got nothin' for you!" I sniffed as I rummaged through my purse, hoping that somehow a bag of Duck Chow I hadn't realized I was carrying might appear in there.

Suddenly a flock of Canada geese---thinking my little friends were on to a handout---ran in and chased them all away.

"Oh," I gasped, "OH!"

And now the geese were in front of me instead, acting like I was supposed to recognize them as the more rightful recipients of whatever treats I had. I knew their type. Thugs. Schoolyard bullies. The alpha male reared his head, scornfully staring me down...

"Oh yeah?" I jeered, "I wouldn't give you nothin' even if I had it, you stupid goose. Damn right I'm talkin' to you! We're the only ones here, who else would I be talking to? Think your so bad don'tcha? Beating up on a these poor little ducks. Why don't you try picking on somebody your own size. Come on tough guy, right now! You and me!"

When from out of nowhere came a woman's voice: "Joy?"

“Her name is Tina Jeffers. All I know about her is that she’s Mercer’s niece from Alaska and is here for the summer. Oh yeah, and she likes to run. She’s running most evenings with the local high school cross country team.”

“Okay, okay–I’ll play it cool, but if she so much as looks sideways I want you to find a way to get rid of her.”

This last comment was followed by his slamming the phone back on its cradle and some expletives attached to comments about meddling women and his perception of their role in life.

Chapter 30: Strengthening Ties