I Love Claire by Tracey Bateman

Author:Tracey Bateman [BATEMAN, TRACEY]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780446558983
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 2009-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

12

What do you say to your kid when he just came in twelfth place—out of twelve contestants?

On the way home from the skateboard competition, total silence thickens the air in the van, and I’m almost afraid to breathe. If I open up discussion, I risk humiliating Tommy when he’s not ready to discuss it. If I talk about something else, he might think I don’t care.

I turn to Greg for support, but he’s driving, and his mouth is moving, so I figure he’s praying about his sermon tomorrow, when we’ll head back to Shepherd Falls. It’s been two weeks since the last fiasco, and I’m determined not to blow it this time.

He seems to sense I’m watching and turns to me. He grabs my hand without a word and presses it to his lips. “It’ll be okay,” he says, for my ears only. But I’m not too sure.

“Loser!” Oh, Lord. It’s begun. From the backseat, Shawn begins to mock Tommy. And being the bigger of the two, by quite a lot, Tommy is definitely not about to take any garbage from his younger brother. I hold my breath and wait. Nothing. Nada. Not a word. I raise my eyebrows and catch Greg’s eye again. He sends me a wink.

“Shawn, apologize to your brother,” I say. I mean, if the kid’s not going to speak up for himself, I’ll have to do the proper parenting thing and get on the one who actually tried to start a fight.

“I don’t care if he apologizes or not.” Tommy’s belligerent bravado cuts through me like a dozen knives.

“Well, I do.” I fix my gaze on Shawn. “Now, bud.”

“Sor-ry,” he says in a tone that tells me how unsorry he really is.

Without bothering to turn away from the window, Tommy shrugs. “Whatever.”

Usually the whole family shows up for things like this, but Rick had to work this weekend and Darcy didn’t want to bring Lydia around all the noise. Greg’s daughter, Sadie, and my Jake are tight friends, and we decided to let them stay with Darcy for the day. Ari had her own plans with Paddy, and Mom and Eli had already made plans to see the Festival of Lights at Silver Dollar City this weekend before she knew about the competition. So it’s just the four of us. And considering Tommy’s dismal showing at the competition, I’m sort of glad.

Today’s loss is disconcerting, mainly because Tommy has placed in the top three in every competition he’s been in. Not that I think he should always be the best, but for him to do this badly compared to how he’s done in the past surprises me.

“So what do you think happened, Toms?” I can’t help asking.

He just shrugs. “I suck, that’s all.”

“Oh, you do not! And don’t use that word.”

“Whatever.”

“And don’t say whatever.”

So much for letting my inner nurturer come out. But sheesh, the kid’s attitude stinks these days. And we were doing so much better. I think I’m going to have to ask Rick to have a talk with him.

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