I thought that was really cool.
“Say bye to Darius!”
“Bye, Evie!” I called after her, but she ignored us both. Chip just shook his head.
In the driveway, Oma honked again.
“Well.” I slung my bag over my shoulder. “See you tomorrow.”
IRON GODDESS OF MERCY
Linda Kellner didn’t like to listen to music in the car. She always listened to the news.
She also didn’t like to talk very much.
“Hi, Oma,” I said as I buckled up. “Thanks for coming to get me.”
Oma nodded and then turned up her NPR.
That meant the conversation was over.
Like I said, I’d never been very close with Oma. Or with Grandma.
Linda and Melanie Kellner weren’t very demonstrative with their affection.
I thought maybe that was just how grandparents were, until I went to Iran. Mamou had practically smothered me with hugs and kisses, and even Babou’s reserve had cracked as we spent time together.
When we got home, Oma parked on Dad’s side of the driveway. I got out and punched in the code to open the door.
Grandma was at the kitchen table doing a puzzle while Laleh read. It looked like she had finishedDune,but I couldn’t tell what the new book was.
“Hi, Grandma,” I said, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Hi, Laleh.”
Laleh nodded but kept reading.
“Go get ready for dinner,” Oma said. “It’ll be done soon.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t actually have that much to do to get ready—just drop off my stuff in my room—but I took the opportunity for privacy to check the status of my testicles.
They were still red, but less angry-looking, and they didn’t hurt so much when I pressed on them.
I sighed with relief.
It was bad enough, explaining to Oma what happened and why I needed a ride.
I did not want to reopen the subject and ask her to take me to the doctor for broken testicles.
“Dinner!”
I put on a pair of clean compression shorts, to keep things supported, and headed downstairs.
My grandmothers had made ground beef tacos.
Mom always said the only spices Grandma and Oma knew about were salt and pepper, but that wasn’t technically true, if you counted the pouch of taco seasoning Grandma used.
I handed out plates, made two tacos for myself, and took my seat. I shifted a little, and tried not to wince, but Oma noticed.
