Meeting Miss 405 by Lois Peterson

Author:Lois Peterson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: JUV000000
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2008-09-30T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Taking Care of Business

When I show Dad, he props the white paper with my name in beautiful calligraphy on the bookshelf. Then he stands back and looks at it a long time. He picks it up again and looks at it some more. “You did this?”

“Miss Stella is teaching me calligraphy.”

“This is lovely work, Tan. Perhaps you’d like to send it to Mom.”

“I can take it when we go see her. You said we could go when she was settled in at Grandpa’s. Four weeks is a long time to get settled.”

He sets the paper back on the shelf and sits in his favorite chair, pulling me down with him. When I am comfortable on his lap, I think that maybe this was why Mom went to stay with Grandpa instead of staying home where I can take care of her. Maybe being home with Grandpa makes Mom feel as warm and safe as I feel in Dad’s arms.

When you feel depressed, I bet it is important to feel safe and warm.

Dad rubs his chin into my head. “Tansy, I have to tell you something.”

“What?”

“You have to listen. Think carefully about what I’m going to tell you before you get mad.”

I try to pull away to look at him, but he holds me close. “Tell me first. I can’t make any promises,” I say.

Dad takes a deep breath that I feel all down my back. “I told you that Mom was staying with Grandpa until she felt better,” he says. “But that was not quite true.”

“You lied?”

“Perhaps not quite a lie. But I let you believe something by not telling you the whole truth. Mom is very sick. Depression is like other diseases. To get better you have to have the right treatment.”

“I thought that all she needed was to sit and look at the water and be taken care of by Grandpa. While we take care of business here. And then she would be better and she could come home.”

“It will take a bit more than that.” Dad rubs my shoulder round and round. “We found a special doctor for Mom’s depression. He takes just a few patients for six weeks at a time on a special program. That is where Mom is. At Dr. Graham’s clinic.”

“Mom is in the nuthouse?”

“Tansy!”

I haul myself off his lap and stare at him. “Devin and Ryan are right! My mom is a nutcase and she is at the funny farm!” I’m yelling and crying, and I don’t care if the neighbors hear me. “You should have told me. I told everyone she was staying with Grandpa. You made me lie! You said we could go visit her. But she is a nutcase! And you never told me! I bet she will never come home now. When were you going to tell me that?”

I dash into my room and slam the door behind me.

In movies, people throw themselves on their beds and start crying loudly when everything’s gone wrong or someone dies suddenly.

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