Moon Rise by Marilee Brothers

Author:Marilee Brothers
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, young adult
ISBN: 9780982175699
Publisher: BelleBooks, Incorporated
Published: 2009-12-15T09:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

My mother's not an alcoholic. She only drinks when she anxious, bored, scared or celebrating something. Okay, maybe she has a little problem. But, she does go for days without drinking a drop. I know. I know. I shouldn't make excuses for her drinking. She already has an ample supply of excuses. She doesn't need my help.

When I saw Faye's condition, I was seriously freaked out, because when she drinks, she talks too much. I thought about all of the above as we drove to the school and came to the following conclusion: Our butts were in a sling!

"I only had two glasses of wine."

Faye was popping breath mints and peering at me through the dim dashboard light. “I think."

She couldn't remember how much she'd drunk. Great. Just great.

"Okay, okay.” I tried not to hyperventilate. “We need a plan."

It was hard, but I reined in my anger. I knew from past experience, it would only make things worse.

"Let me do the talking, okay?"

Faye nodded solemnly.

"Don't offer to shake hands. The woman has a nose like a bloodhound. If she asks you something directly, stick to simple answers like, ‘Yes. No. Just fine. I don't know.’ Or ... ‘You should ask Allie that question.’”

For the remainder of our short trip, we practiced.

Me: “How is your relationship with your daughter?"

Faye: “Just fine."

Me: (sarcastically) “Oh, really! That's not what I heard."

Faye: “You should ask Allie that question."

I was feeling better when we pulled into the school parking lot. Faye was reciting her lines like a pro. The parking lot was deserted except for Miss Yeager's Honda SUV. I parked the truck, turned to Faye and repeated the first line of our silly little ritual. “I'm stickin’ to you ... Like Elmer's glue,” Faye said, with a goofy grin.

We bumped fists and marched into the school, arm in arm. Drunken, screwed-up mother and freakoid daughter, ready and willing to do battle with the nosy school counselor.

Miss Yeager, looking extremely pissed, was waiting for us.

"Sorry, we're late,” I said, a frozen smile stuck on my face. I was relieved to see she'd tossed the bean bag chair in the corner and replaced it with three chairs set in a circle. Hers, of course, had a big, cushy seat and padded arms.

I made the introductions. Faye, as per instructions, did not offer to shake hands.

Before Miss Yeager could start firing questions, I launched into my cover story. “My mother's on cold medicine. It makes her a little spacey."

Ms. Yeager stared at Faye, blinking rapidly. “Over-the-counter meds?"

Faye said, “Just fine."

Miss Yeager frowned at Faye's inappropriate answer so I gave a little cluck of amusement. “See what I mean? Of course, over-the-counter. What else would they be?"

Fortunately, Faye pulled it together and we plowed through the first painful half hour. I could see Miss Yeager was getting frustrated by my mother's repetitive answers, but that was her problem. We were racing toward the finish line when Miss Yeager came up with the one topic that pushed all Faye's buttons.

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