Chapter 3: A constant Reminder
AN: Oooooo….back again. Damn it! Still don't own HA. I'm not sure how strange my writing dialect might be. You see I write like I talk and you are reading the writings of a real life southern belle. So if it sounds strange at times, that's why. So as HA turns…..
Olga rushes over to hug her parents. She looks around for Helga. She sees her slumped in a chair at the end of the row. She quickly walks over to Helga. She looks her baby sis up and down. She's sitting with her arms crossed with a scowl etched across her face. "Hi Olllgga!" Helga stretches out her name so she can put as much sarcasm in the pronunciation as possible. Helga sounds so much like him she thought. She even looks like him at time, especially the eyes. Olga bends down and grabs Helga's face in her hands and places a big lipstick kiss on her forehead. "Hello Baby Sis! I hope you are doing well " she says smiling at Helga. Helga reaches up to wipe the lipstick kiss off of her forehead. "Fine Olllgga!" There was that sarcasm again. She didn't blame Helga for the way that she felt. She deserved all of the resentment that Helga gave her. She was determined to set it right. She's finally going to do what should have been done years ago.
The ride home so far had been uneventful. Up til now she had been doing all the talking. Telling her parents about her student teaching in Alaska. Helga just stared out the car window. "Olga" Her dad began "It is so good to have you home! The girl," he points his thumb back at Helga, "has been getting into trouble at school and has to go see some shrink." Olga hated it when Her dad referred to Helga as "The Girl." If he wasn't calling her by Olga's name then he was belittling her by not giving her a name at all. " I'm telling you olga," he continued " that girl ain't nothing like you!" Helga breathes out a barely audible growl at this statement. " Dad" Olga starts, "Helga's fine the way she is." Big Bob stops the car with a jerk. Oh no!, Olga thought she challenged his authority. He turns around and looks at Olga. Olga notices Helga out of the corner of her eye staring dumbfounded at her too. "If she's so fine Olga " Bob said looking from Helga to Olga "Then she wouldn't need some head shrinker trying to straighten her out. YOU never needed some THERAPIST and YOU turned out GREAT!!" He turns back toward the road and jams his foot on the gas spitting snow as he took off. No one spoke the rest of the way.
****Flashback*****
His U-haul truck was packed, his house empty. Two young teens hug each other good-bye. "Will you write to me" Olga says with tears in her eyes. "Absolutely, as soon as I get settled in my new home." He finishes with a light kiss on her lips. His dad yells that it's time to go. "Well I gotta go" he says as he hugs Olga one last time. "Helix Gerald Carter" His father Yells, "I said It's TIME TO GO! Helix let go of Olga and got into the car. She watched him drive away until he wasn't even a spot on the horizon.
The family arrived home. Olga watched her parents. Her dad settled into his recliner in front of the TV and her mother was fixing a smoothie in the kitchen. Helga had headed upstairs to her bedroom. Once again her parents widen the abyss that has formed between her and Helga by comparing the two of them. Why couldn't they get it through they're thick skulls that Helga was her own individual person. She was a wonder all unto herself. Helga had talents she was sure of it. Maybe if her parents…..NO! not her parents…If she had taken some time and payed more attention to Helga perhaps Helga would be more open to share her gifts. She had to stop blaming her parents. For once, This was her spilled milk and it was high time she cleaned it herself. Olga was now standing in front of Helga's bedroom door. She heard nothing but cold silence ring like a graveyard bell through her soul. To her parents Helga represented a past that they would assume forget. But that Olga mused is the Irony of it. You can't completely forget something staring you in the face every day. And for that Big Bob and Miriam Resented Helga's Presence. She was and is a constant reminder of the one time their perfect daughter was not quite perfect enough. Helga is her living trophy of her fall from her parent's grace.
****FlashBack***
"Are you sure about this?" Crystal Asked. Olga slowly and solemnly shook her head yes. "Damn" Crystal Hissed. Olga had never heard her swear before. "So how late are you?" crystal asked looking at Olga's pale face. "Two Weeks" Olga whispers. Suddenly Crystal Pipes up, "You may not necessarily be pregnant. I knew this girl once who would go months at a time with out a period. The doctors said it was her hormones or something. Look, lets give it another week and see." Looking for anything at this point to cheer her friend up. "You really think it could just be my hormones?" Olga says hoping her friend was right but not all certain that she is. "like I said give it a week if you don't start by then we'll switch to plan "B""
"What's plan B?" Olga asked standing up. "don't know" crystal jumps up from the stoop,"but we have a whole week to come up with it." A week passed by and still Olga's period still had not started. "Okay Crystal" Olga said as the two walked the path in the park. "What's Plan B?" "Well "Crystal said while chewing on her lip, "how much money have you got?" I have a ten dollar bill daddy gave me for making honor role again." Olga says while pulling a folded bill from her skirt pocket. "I have a five spot. That just might be enough to do what we need to do." Finishing her statemnet Crystal grabs Olga's hand and heads for the local Grocery store. "Why are we here?" Olga whispers to Crystal. "Well, if you think that you are 'you know what' then you need a test." Crystal scans the shelves and suddenly grabs a box from the bottom shelf and shoves it into her book bag. "What are you doing" olga sked shocked at what she just saw her friend do. "I don't want to steal anything" "We'll pay for it ! Just in a round about way." Crystal said in a matter of fact voice." Look , we both go to school with Yolanda Johansen. If we go up to the front and pay for this straight up. Yolanda's Mother will be giving Both our parents a call." Crystal stands with one hand on her hip and one in the air as if she just finished a major speech. She then grabs a candy bar from off of the shelf and takes it to the front. "Hello Mrs Johansen" both girls said at once. "Hi girls, what are you up to today?" smiled Mrs Johansen. "oh we thought we would split a candy bar before starting our homework." She says as she hands Mrs Johansen a Five dollar bill. Mrs johansen rings up the sale and hands Crystal back her change. Crystal turns around then turns back toward Mrs Johansen. "Excuse me, I think you gave me this by accident." Crystal says handing the lady a ten dollar bill. "Oh My how did that get in with the ones? Well thank you girls for being so honest. Here have another candy bar on me." She hands Olga a second candy bar. The girls leave the store. "Wheh! That was close!" said crystal wiping her forehead. She then opens her candy bar and begins to eat it. "She thought we were being honest" Olga said looking at the candy bar in her hand. Suddenly the first wave of nausea hit Olga and she vomitted in the gutter a block from the store.