Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [22]
“Tomorrow afternoon. Here.” Tammy scribbled the addresses of her children’s schools on a yellow sticky note. “Addison gets out of school at 2:30 p.m., and Tyler gets out at 3:00 p.m. Works out great.” She picked up her briefcase and left like a whirlwind, leaving Katy to ponder what had just transpired and to stew over the way Tammy had so effortlessly manipulated her.
The Brooks’ home was located in the west side Columbus suburb of Old Arlington. The affluent neighborhood sprawled between two rivers, the Olentangy and the Scioto, giving it a parklike feel. Many of the houses were Tudor style. With Tammy’s yellow sticky note stuck to her steering wheel, Katy followed the street signs through meandering, tree-lined streets to a brick elementary charter school and eased into a slow-moving lineup. She noticed teachers lined along the walkway, helping the students into their cars. On Katy’s rearview mirror hung a yellow card with a number that would identify her as Addison’s ride.
Addison stood in line on the sidewalk with her classmates. The blond second-grader wore a purple coat and pink boots and had a princess backpack slung over one shoulder. Katy pulled up to the curb, and a teacher opened the car’s back door. Addison started talking before she’d even buckled her seat belt.
“I’m surprised to see you, Miss Yoder. Why are you picking me up?”
“Didn’t your mommy tell you I’d be watching you for a while?”
“Yes, but I forgot. I’ve got dance class today.”
“You do?” Katy asked, easing the car back into the line of traffic. “Well, I’m not sure you’ll be going today. Your mom said she’d leave me instructions at the house.” Katy felt tense. Dance lessons? She turned west onto another suburban street. “We’re going to pick up Tyler now.”
“Okay, but where’s my snack?”
“What snack?”
“Tanya always brings me a snack so I don’t get bored. Sometimes she brings gummy bears or granola bars. But sometimes she brings me pop. I don’t like apples. I’m really tired of apples. So don’t bring me any apples. Without my snack, it’s so boring waiting for Tyler. Today’s going to be a boring day, isn’t it?”
“I hope not,” Katy replied, glancing at the sticky note again and watching for the street signs. “Do you know how to get to your brother’s school?”
“Sure, I know where it is. He thinks he’s big stuff just because he’s in sixth grade, but they don’t do anything fun. I don’t know why he brags about it.”
“Well, tell me if you see where we’re supposed to turn.”
“Okay. So why don’t you just take me to my dance lessons now? I can hang out with my friends, and then I won’t be bored.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure that out.”
“That was the street back there. You just missed it.”
“Ugh!” Katy wheeled into a driveway and waited for the opportunity to turn back. Soon she was in another lineup but feeling less apprehensive about the pickup procedure. When Tyler got in the car, he threw his pack on the floorboards and slammed the door. Then he looked at his sister and said, “Hi, brat.”
“Stop calling me that. Make him stop calling me that. He thinks he’s big stuff. But he’s not.”
“Be kind, Tyler. I’ll soon have you both home.”
“Put on the radio,” Tyler demanded.
“I don’t listen to the radio,” Katy explained. “Why don’t you look out the window and see how many snowmen you can find?” Such driving games always entertained her little brothers.
“Why don’t you listen to the radio?”
Seemed the car games weren’t as fun for Tyler as they were for her siblings. She sighed. “Some of the lyrics aren’t godly.”
“What’s that mean?”
“They talk about bad things.”
“No they don’t. Turn it on. Come on. My mom lets me.”
“Sorry, Tyler.”
She heard his seat belt unbuckle and then heard him rustling through his backpack. Katy glanced in the mirror nervously. “What are you doing, Tyler?”
“Duh. He’s getting his iPod,” Addison said. “He thinks he’s big stuff because he has an iPod.”
“Oh. Well, you need to keep your seat belt fastened.” Not that it mattered as they had already reached the children’s street. She’d barely pulled into