Chapter 3
It wasn't until Wednesday that I had a chance to ask my parents some questions. Monday was just too chaotic and too soon after I had found the pictures. Eva had come down with another ear infection that morning and I ended up cooking dinner while mom paced up and down with her and a hot water bottle. I didn't get a chance to talk to daddy because he had to go into town for some medicine. I felt sorry for little Eva. It was obvious she was in a lot of pain. Mom looked pretty worn out herself, so I thought it best to wait.
On Tuesday, Eva was feeling much better, so we picnicked at the ball field, watching the Shelby Tigers beat the Ashville Lions, 6-3 and 4-1 in a double header. My parents went to all of Danny's games, just like they went to all of Sam and Josh's. I had never really thought about it before. It's just what we did. If Danny or one of the boys had a game - football, basketball, or baseball - we went. Or at least daddy did. Uncle Rafe and Aunt Evelyn were at the games too. I had always assumed it was because we were like family, but maybe there was something more to it. Uncle Rafe never missed any of Danny's games, but every now and then he wouldn't be able to come to one of my brother's games, but daddy had never missed one. He was a teacher at Shelby high, so it was natural for him to come to those games, but he never missed the peewee or little league games either. I wondered if this meant more than I had ever thought.
Wednesday things were back to normal around our house, normal still being pretty chaotic, what with six kids and two adults sitting around a dinner table. I wasn't exactly sure how to bring up the subject of our family history. I didn't know what to ask first, because the questions I really wanted to ask couldn't be asked at all, not without letting them know what I suspected. Luckily, my mom solved the problem for me.
"So, Grace," she started while we were passing around the serving bowls and filling our plates. "Evelyn said that you were over there on Monday looking through the old photo albums. You have a history paper to do?"
For a moment my heart started beating loudly, thinking my mom might be suspicious, or that Aunt Evelyn might have noticed the missing pictures. But mom continued to cut up some food for Eva, not looking at me, so I figured my subterfuge was safe. If she had guessed something was up, she would have been watching me like a hawk. She could always read me very well.
"Yes, ma'am," I answered, carefully spooning some mashed potatoes onto my plate.
"Well, what is it about?" she asked. "Andrew...chew your food before you try to swallow," she admonished my little brother.
"It's a family history paper, about us...and our...history..." I said lamely, suddenly feeling unsure of myself. I really hated to lie to my parents, even if it was for a good cause.
Sam smirked at me from across the table. "A paper now? School's out in two weeks, why would you have to do one now?"
I glared over at him. "It's extra credit," I ad-libbed.
"Do you need help with your grade, Gracie?" Daddy asked, pausing with his fork raised, to look at me.
"No, no," I reassured him. Leave it to Sam to cause problems for me. "I'm doing just fine in history. I just thought it'd be fun." Sam laughed and I kicked him under the table. "A little extra credit wouldn't hurt...."
"Since when do you need extra credit?" Sam asked, his heel coming down on my toes. "The only extra credit work that would interest you is...Thomas..." he said in a singsong voice, as he fluttered his eyes at me. Josh and Matty laughed.
I could feel my cheeks turning red. I really should have expected this. Sam had always enjoyed making my life difficult. It was his favorite pastime. You would think that I would have learned not to react. "Samuel Walker...you...."
"Stop it. Both of you," my mom said, looking down the table at us. "Sam, stop teasing your sister. I think it's good that she's willing to do some extra credit work...maybe you should try it, instead of always harassing us to take the plane up."
I smiled triumphantly over at Sam, as he slouched down in his chair. He had gotten in trouble earlier in the school year for not doing his homework. He'd tell mom and dad he was done, or that he didn't have any, so that they'd let him fly. Mom had come up with a system where he had to list all his homework assignments in a special notebook and show that he had finished them before he could do anything. He hated it, but his grades had improved, so mom kept it up.
"Now, tell us about your paper, honey," mom my encouraged.
"Well," I began. "It has to be on our immediately family...grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents.... and what their lives have been like...uh...how they've changed...how they've been affected by...things..."
"Sounds like a pretty big assignment," daddy commented.
"Well, it doesn't have to be that big," I hedged. "I can, like, focus on a certain aspect.... of it all...and well, I thought...that it would be...interesting...to write a paper on you guys and…the war." I watched a frown pass quickly over my mother's face. "I know that mom doesn't like to talk about grandma and grandpa Williams, and....Michael," I said quickly, wanting to allay any misgivings my mom might have, "and well, you're mom and dad died when you were really young, Daddy, so there's not much history there...not interesting anyways, so I thought hearing more about you and Uncle Rafe in the war...." I shrugged, hoping that they would believe me and be willing to answer my questions. After all, it was just family history. Supposedly they had nothing to hide. "I realized that I don't really know much about you guys back then. I thought it'd be interesting and...uh...educational...to learn more."
"Who's Michael?" Matty asked, his mouth full of food.
"Nobody you need be concerned with right now," Mom answer, her face pinched. "Keep eating and don't talk with your mouthful."
I watched my parents carefully. It was obvious that my mom was very uncomfortable with the idea, but dad still looked open to it. I knew I could win him over, as long as whatever I did didn't upset mom.
Leaning forward, I looked over at daddy intently, focusing all my thoughts on him, trying to act as innocent as possible. "I know you were at Pearl Harbor, that would be exciting tell about. And Uncle Rafe was in the Eagle squadron. You were both shot down...and Aunt Evelyn was a nurse and you met mom in China and we lived in an internment camp for two years," I was getting excited now, even though I didn't really have to write the paper, we did have a pretty interesting family history. "None of the other kids have a family history like that," I pointed out unnecessarily.
"Uncle Rafe and Aunt Evelyn aren't really family, are they?" Matty chimed in.
"They're close enough," I said, looking over at my dad. "And it would make my paper more interesting. We call them aunt and uncle, right? And you were practically raised with Uncle Rafe." I looked between mom and dad, hopefully. I wanted to make sure that I would be able to ask the right questions...and if Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Rafe were off limits, then I didn't know what I was going to do.
"They are family," Daddy stated firmly. "Maybe not by blood, but they are family."
Mom cleared her throat softly, gaining my attention. She had a strained look on her face. "Grace, there are some things...about...China...and our...history...that don't need to be told to strangers," she said. "It's fine for you to know, and everyone else in the family, but we don't need to share it. Do you understand?"
I looked at her blankly. I didn't understand at first, but then it dawned on me. In my enthusiasm to get to the Truth I had forgotten that mom and dad didn't have the most conventional courtship. Mom had been married when she and I lived with daddy in China. She had technically been married, or so she thought, when she got pregnant with Sam. Most people around here thought that she and daddy had been married in China and that the small ceremony held here after Sam was born was just for ...sentimental reasons. I suppose letting anyone in Shelby know the truth was a pretty bad idea. Small town gossip was the worst.
"Oh, yeah, I guess I see what you're saying," I agreed, blushing slightly. "I guess I'll focus more on Pearl Harbor...and that stuff. Would that be okay, Daddy?" I asked, turning to him and smiling eagerly.
He looked at me and then he looked at mom. "I guess so. How about we talk about it after dinner, okay?"
"That would be great," I smiled, feeling rather triumphant. Everything was going just as I planned.
"What doesn't need to be told to strangers?" Matty whispered loudly to Josh, who was, as usual, sitting quietly and listening to everything.
Josh shook his head. "You're not old enough to understand."
"I am too!" Matty insisted.
"You are not," Josh responded calmly. "'Cause if you were, you'd know the answer."
Matty thought about it for a moment. "Mom...."
"No Mathew," mom interrupted, a small smile on her face. "This is not a topic for the dinner table. Now why don't you tell us what you found at the pond today...and why it hopped out of your lunch pail and across my kitchen floor?" she teased.
"Drew found it!" Matty said quickly.
"You brought it home!" Andrew retorted.
Eva knocked over her milk as Matty and Drew continued to fight. I was no longer in the spotlight, which gave me time to think about what exactly I wanted to ask my dad.
It wasn't until Wednesday that I had a chance to ask my parents some questions. Monday was just too chaotic and too soon after I had found the pictures. Eva had come down with another ear infection that morning and I ended up cooking dinner while mom paced up and down with her and a hot water bottle. I didn't get a chance to talk to daddy because he had to go into town for some medicine. I felt sorry for little Eva. It was obvious she was in a lot of pain. Mom looked pretty worn out herself, so I thought it best to wait.
On Tuesday, Eva was feeling much better, so we picnicked at the ball field, watching the Shelby Tigers beat the Ashville Lions, 6-3 and 4-1 in a double header. My parents went to all of Danny's games, just like they went to all of Sam and Josh's. I had never really thought about it before. It's just what we did. If Danny or one of the boys had a game - football, basketball, or baseball - we went. Or at least daddy did. Uncle Rafe and Aunt Evelyn were at the games too. I had always assumed it was because we were like family, but maybe there was something more to it. Uncle Rafe never missed any of Danny's games, but every now and then he wouldn't be able to come to one of my brother's games, but daddy had never missed one. He was a teacher at Shelby high, so it was natural for him to come to those games, but he never missed the peewee or little league games either. I wondered if this meant more than I had ever thought.
Wednesday things were back to normal around our house, normal still being pretty chaotic, what with six kids and two adults sitting around a dinner table. I wasn't exactly sure how to bring up the subject of our family history. I didn't know what to ask first, because the questions I really wanted to ask couldn't be asked at all, not without letting them know what I suspected. Luckily, my mom solved the problem for me.
"So, Grace," she started while we were passing around the serving bowls and filling our plates. "Evelyn said that you were over there on Monday looking through the old photo albums. You have a history paper to do?"
For a moment my heart started beating loudly, thinking my mom might be suspicious, or that Aunt Evelyn might have noticed the missing pictures. But mom continued to cut up some food for Eva, not looking at me, so I figured my subterfuge was safe. If she had guessed something was up, she would have been watching me like a hawk. She could always read me very well.
"Yes, ma'am," I answered, carefully spooning some mashed potatoes onto my plate.
"Well, what is it about?" she asked. "Andrew...chew your food before you try to swallow," she admonished my little brother.
"It's a family history paper, about us...and our...history..." I said lamely, suddenly feeling unsure of myself. I really hated to lie to my parents, even if it was for a good cause.
Sam smirked at me from across the table. "A paper now? School's out in two weeks, why would you have to do one now?"
I glared over at him. "It's extra credit," I ad-libbed.
"Do you need help with your grade, Gracie?" Daddy asked, pausing with his fork raised, to look at me.
"No, no," I reassured him. Leave it to Sam to cause problems for me. "I'm doing just fine in history. I just thought it'd be fun." Sam laughed and I kicked him under the table. "A little extra credit wouldn't hurt...."
"Since when do you need extra credit?" Sam asked, his heel coming down on my toes. "The only extra credit work that would interest you is...Thomas..." he said in a singsong voice, as he fluttered his eyes at me. Josh and Matty laughed.
I could feel my cheeks turning red. I really should have expected this. Sam had always enjoyed making my life difficult. It was his favorite pastime. You would think that I would have learned not to react. "Samuel Walker...you...."
"Stop it. Both of you," my mom said, looking down the table at us. "Sam, stop teasing your sister. I think it's good that she's willing to do some extra credit work...maybe you should try it, instead of always harassing us to take the plane up."
I smiled triumphantly over at Sam, as he slouched down in his chair. He had gotten in trouble earlier in the school year for not doing his homework. He'd tell mom and dad he was done, or that he didn't have any, so that they'd let him fly. Mom had come up with a system where he had to list all his homework assignments in a special notebook and show that he had finished them before he could do anything. He hated it, but his grades had improved, so mom kept it up.
"Now, tell us about your paper, honey," mom my encouraged.
"Well," I began. "It has to be on our immediately family...grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents.... and what their lives have been like...uh...how they've changed...how they've been affected by...things..."
"Sounds like a pretty big assignment," daddy commented.
"Well, it doesn't have to be that big," I hedged. "I can, like, focus on a certain aspect.... of it all...and well, I thought...that it would be...interesting...to write a paper on you guys and…the war." I watched a frown pass quickly over my mother's face. "I know that mom doesn't like to talk about grandma and grandpa Williams, and....Michael," I said quickly, wanting to allay any misgivings my mom might have, "and well, you're mom and dad died when you were really young, Daddy, so there's not much history there...not interesting anyways, so I thought hearing more about you and Uncle Rafe in the war...." I shrugged, hoping that they would believe me and be willing to answer my questions. After all, it was just family history. Supposedly they had nothing to hide. "I realized that I don't really know much about you guys back then. I thought it'd be interesting and...uh...educational...to learn more."
"Who's Michael?" Matty asked, his mouth full of food.
"Nobody you need be concerned with right now," Mom answer, her face pinched. "Keep eating and don't talk with your mouthful."
I watched my parents carefully. It was obvious that my mom was very uncomfortable with the idea, but dad still looked open to it. I knew I could win him over, as long as whatever I did didn't upset mom.
Leaning forward, I looked over at daddy intently, focusing all my thoughts on him, trying to act as innocent as possible. "I know you were at Pearl Harbor, that would be exciting tell about. And Uncle Rafe was in the Eagle squadron. You were both shot down...and Aunt Evelyn was a nurse and you met mom in China and we lived in an internment camp for two years," I was getting excited now, even though I didn't really have to write the paper, we did have a pretty interesting family history. "None of the other kids have a family history like that," I pointed out unnecessarily.
"Uncle Rafe and Aunt Evelyn aren't really family, are they?" Matty chimed in.
"They're close enough," I said, looking over at my dad. "And it would make my paper more interesting. We call them aunt and uncle, right? And you were practically raised with Uncle Rafe." I looked between mom and dad, hopefully. I wanted to make sure that I would be able to ask the right questions...and if Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Rafe were off limits, then I didn't know what I was going to do.
"They are family," Daddy stated firmly. "Maybe not by blood, but they are family."
Mom cleared her throat softly, gaining my attention. She had a strained look on her face. "Grace, there are some things...about...China...and our...history...that don't need to be told to strangers," she said. "It's fine for you to know, and everyone else in the family, but we don't need to share it. Do you understand?"
I looked at her blankly. I didn't understand at first, but then it dawned on me. In my enthusiasm to get to the Truth I had forgotten that mom and dad didn't have the most conventional courtship. Mom had been married when she and I lived with daddy in China. She had technically been married, or so she thought, when she got pregnant with Sam. Most people around here thought that she and daddy had been married in China and that the small ceremony held here after Sam was born was just for ...sentimental reasons. I suppose letting anyone in Shelby know the truth was a pretty bad idea. Small town gossip was the worst.
"Oh, yeah, I guess I see what you're saying," I agreed, blushing slightly. "I guess I'll focus more on Pearl Harbor...and that stuff. Would that be okay, Daddy?" I asked, turning to him and smiling eagerly.
He looked at me and then he looked at mom. "I guess so. How about we talk about it after dinner, okay?"
"That would be great," I smiled, feeling rather triumphant. Everything was going just as I planned.
"What doesn't need to be told to strangers?" Matty whispered loudly to Josh, who was, as usual, sitting quietly and listening to everything.
Josh shook his head. "You're not old enough to understand."
"I am too!" Matty insisted.
"You are not," Josh responded calmly. "'Cause if you were, you'd know the answer."
Matty thought about it for a moment. "Mom...."
"No Mathew," mom interrupted, a small smile on her face. "This is not a topic for the dinner table. Now why don't you tell us what you found at the pond today...and why it hopped out of your lunch pail and across my kitchen floor?" she teased.
"Drew found it!" Matty said quickly.
"You brought it home!" Andrew retorted.
Eva knocked over her milk as Matty and Drew continued to fight. I was no longer in the spotlight, which gave me time to think about what exactly I wanted to ask my dad.
