Canto Twelve – Mom Matters
“Honey, I’m not trying to be mean to you or anything,” Valerie’s Mom said so that Valerie was clearly meant to understand that she was about to be very mean, but she wasn’t trying to. “You have to tell us where you are going and what you are doing… and who you are doing it with.”
“Oh, Mom. I’m not a baby anymore! You need to trust me.”
“I do trust you. I just don’t trust everyone you’ve been hanging around with in town.”
“You don’t trust Mary Philips?”
“Oh, I trust Mary fine, I…”
“Is it Pidney you don’t trust? He’s a football hero, you know.”
“Pidney is fine too, I…”
“Ray Zeffer? You don’t like Ray Zeffer?”
“I’m sure he’s a fine young man, but…”
“Then you don’t like Danny? He’s practically my best friend. He ain’t a girl like Jane and Wanda, or my cousin Stacy, but I can actually talk to Danny!”
“Valerie Elaine Clarke! You are jumping to conclusions again. You need to let me talk.”
Mom looked out the kitchen window at the table in the yard where Daddy Kyle and Uncle Dash were in serious discussion. It was farm talk. But it did seem an awful lot like older brother, Dash Clarke, was seriously lecturing younger brother, Kyle Clarke, about something that was seriously upsetting to both men. Was that worry on Mom’s face? Valerie wasn’t sure whether it was worry for Valerie, or worry for Daddy Kyle. But she was sure it was worry-wart levels of worrying.
“You do realize,” Mom said, “that Conrad Doble is a lot older than you are.”
“Yes, Mom, I know.”
“And you know he was in trouble with the law? He was involved in that whole wolf-dog thing when those attack dogs killed poor old Mrs. White.”
“Yes, I know. But I don’t even like creepy old King Leer. I try to stay away from him.”
“He’s a part of that club thing that Mary Philips is stirring up again.”
“You mean the Pirates? We are a 4-H Club softball team, Mom. They want me to play second base.”
“It’s a long time before summer softball comes around. And you don’t understand what it was like before when those Pirates were making trouble in the 70’s.”
“Mom, Brent was the leader of the Pirates then.”
“Well, yes. And your cousin is a fine young man now. But the Pirates tell such weird stories and get into such weird situations.”
“Werewolves and an undead Chinese wizard, huh?”
“Now, you know I don’t believe any of those stories were true. It’s just that…”
“You know that Torrie Brownfield had that hair disease that made hair grow all over his body. He was an awful lot like a werewolf!”
“Okay, but that’s not what I’m trying to say right now. That Doble boy is not trustworthy. He is capable of some very bad things. Maybe even drugs.”
“Believe me, I know, Mom. But I can take care of myself. And Pidney and Ray have both told King Leer to leave me alone or they would beat the snot out of him.”
Valerie’s Mom gave a brief chuckle. “Pidney could do it too,” she said. “Doble would be black and blue all over. I have great respect for Pidney Breslow’s football muscles. It’s just that…”
“I know. When a girl reaches a certain age… You know I had this talk with Daddy too.”
“Yes, well…”
At that moment, Daddy Kyle and Uncle Dash came storming in to the kitchen, the screen door making a sound almost like a gunshot as it slammed closed behind Uncle Dash.
“That goddam agent lied to me, Dash!” Kyle shouted. “He promised me more time, and now he doesn’t even admit what he actually said to me before. He shook my hand on it!”
“But he’s a government man, Kyle! You should’ve known better than to trust the goddam FHA like that. They wanted a chance to foreclose from the very start!”
Mom’s eyes were large and frightened as she looked at Daddy Kyle for answers, and Valerie was sure her own eyes were also.
“Kyle?” Mom sputtered, “Is something wrong?”
“Oh, it’s the goddam FHA… er,” Kyle looked at both Mom and Valerie and appeared to finally register the big scared eyes. “Um, it is something we should discuss later. Not in front of the Princess.”
Uncle Dash suddenly quieted himself as well. “Yeah, um… we’re not done yet, Kyle. But I promised Dad I would look after all of it before he died. I am not going to go back on my word. We’ll find a way. I just wish you hadn’t accepted those last two loans.”
“It takes money to farm, Dash. You know I didn’t plan on the hail or the combine breaking down so soon.”
“Hell, I know you didn’t, Kyle. We will find a way.”
Uncle Dash looked grim. Daddy Kyle looked sad. Valerie walked up to him and hugged him around the middle. She didn’t know why, but she knew it was a very important thing to do just then. And Mom was looking at her and nodding ever so slightly. Not everything Valerie did was wrong.
