Amsterdam 2012 by Ruth Francisco

Author:Ruth Francisco
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-01-15T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

One morning I found Mother in the backyard, jumping on the back of a spade, breaking up large clods of freshly turned sod. She was wearing overalls and red rubber boots.

“What happened to the lawn?” I asked.

“I figured it was time to start a garden. You kids don’t use the yard anymore.” She ripped open a forty pound bag of soil amendment. “Help me with this, will you, Ann?” I took the other side of the bag, and we dragged it across the dirt, shaking it as we walked until it was empty.

“Why aren’t you at work?” I asked.

Mom leaned her head back and rolled it side to side, stretching out the kinks in her neck. “I could use some water. How about you?” She walked to the patio and took a swig from a water bottle on the picnic table. She offered it to me.

“Mom! Tell me what’s going on.”

“Don’t get angry, pumpkin.” She took another swig and set the bottle down. “I was laid off.”

“Laid off? How come?”

“The agency lost a good chunk of their funding. High gas prices make the cost of running the city higher, and I suppose counseling for troubled teenagers is a low priority when it comes to running buses and trash collection. We’ll be okay. We’ll save on gas, and I’ll have time to do all the chores I used to pay to have done.”

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

“It’s all right. Lots of people are losing their jobs. We’ll be fine. Your dad has his own business. As long as we have a government, people will need accountants. We’ll just tighten our belts a bit. I do have something I need to talk to you about, Ann.” She looked sheepish and apologetic.

“Now you’re scaring me.”

She laughed uncomfortably. “I know it’s just before the fall semester, and I’m sorry this is so last minute, but I don’t think we can cover your tuition. If you worked a semester, your dad and I could save a bit. Maybe you could go back in January. Or transfer to a school in state.”

“I’ll lose my scholarship if I don’t go back.”

“I know, honey, but we simply can’t cover the difference.”

“What about Alex?”

“He’s been accepted at Berkeley, a full scholarship for tennis. We’ll cover his living expenses. You’ve had three years of college. He deserves to experience it. I’m sorry, pumpkin. Are you terribly disappointed?”

If anything I felt relieved. I didn’t want to go back to Canterbury without Peter. I didn’t want to have to answer questions. Without him I would feel different from everyone else, like a widow or something. But I had assumed I would go back and finish up what seemed like a dreaded obligation. Without school, what would I do with myself? “People are getting laid off all over the place, Mom. What makes you think I can get a job?”

“You could see if they’d take you back at your old summer job.”

“At St. John’s?”

“They liked you. They offered you a nursing scholarship.”

I had almost laughed when my supervisor made the offer.

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