Once a Gypsy by Danica Winters

Author:Danica Winters [Winters, Danica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781682303061
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2016-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The ride back to the campsite had been filled with stony silence. Helena was embarrassed, angry at Da for not standing up for her, and furious with Mam for barging into the restaurant and causing a scene.

Graham hadn’t done anything wrong. He had only been acting the gentleman, offering Helena a little meal after the events of the day. Yet, there was no use in arguing that point to Mam. She had made it plenty clear that Helena was nothing but a disgrace.

Helena glanced in the rearview mirror, at where Gavin and Rionna sat in the backseat. Their faces were pale, and Rionna’s eyes were red as if she had been crying. Gavin fingered one of his wayward curls, but his gaze never strayed from Helena until they pulled up to the trailer.

Another group of Travellers had pulled a trailer in next to theirs, and as soon as the back door opened, Gavin ran toward the new place. Helena got out of the car, stuffed the paper bag with her book under her arm, and walked after him.

“Don’t ye be getting no ideas. You ain’t going nowhere ’til we talk, girl,” Mam growled. “You’ve been runnin’ around like some brasser since your da got out. It’s comin’ to a stop.”

Helena bit her tongue. This storm would pass—Mam’s mood swings always did. Soon she would find herself back down in the bottom of a bottle, and Helena could escape until the next storm.

When Da had been gone there had been so many days like this. She used to imagine Da would come home, put his foot down, and take away the liquor—but from the state of her mam, he had just as little control over the rabid woman as Helena did.

He walked into the trailer, shoulders slouched and a broken look upon his face. He turned back and waved her in. “Come on. Your mam’s right. We need to have a chat.”

Her stomach dropped. Da couldn’t be taking Mam’s side. Helena hadn’t done anything wrong. Da had given Graham permission, so why was he acting as if she had done the family an injustice?

The sun had started to set, and the gray dusk felt heavy upon her as she made her way to the trailer. Even the weeds seemed to shirk away from the stagnant little aluminum box, as if they wanted to flee this place as badly as Helena did.

The vertical bars on the screen door reminded her of the spiked gate of the Limerick jail. She could only assume her shame and dread were like what Da had felt when he had entered the prison.

Mam opened the door and pointed at the laminate table. “Go. Sit. Down.”

Helena stared in at a bottle of whiskey, which sat uncapped and half-empty next to an empty glass. An extinguished ciggy sat on the edge of a filled ashtray. A red ring from Mam’s lipstick stained its yellowed end.

Da sat down at the small table and dropped his head between his hands.

Gavin raced by.

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