And how could I explain it to her? “Brad always worked hard. On the project, I mean. He treated me like an adult. And it was nice not being Chuck and Minni’s kid.” I slip on my gloves, avoiding her shrewd gaze. “But I guess that was all a lie.”
“I don’t think so, kiddo— Sorry.” She shakes her head as she carefully pulls the Jade plant out of the old pot and holds it over the new one to gauge how much soil she’ll need. “I’ve noticed a change in Brad over the last few weeks.”
I don’t say much since I’m not good at lying to my mom. “Oh?”
“He seemed happier. I think volunteering filled something in his life that was missing. I hope this doesn’t mess that up.” She hands me the Jade plant and then adds soil to the bottom of the pot.
I stabilize the plant in the new pot as she uses a cup to backfill around it. I try not to snap at her. “I wouldn’t do that. And we need volunteers.”
“But he might quit.”
My gaze darts to her face. “Did he say that?”
“No. He’d tell your dad first anyway. But he’s like that. If it’s going to cause you problems, Charlie, he’d quit.”
The thing is, I know she’s right. At least the renovations are on hold right now. “What I don’t understand is why. Why is it so hard for this town to treat me like an adult? It’s not even one person. It’s the entire town.”
Mom stares down at her hands. “I’m sorry.” She smiles at me with tears in her eyes. And my mom never cries. “I mean, I’m sorry, but I’m also not.”
“What are you talking about?” She’s kinda freaking me out. “Mom?”
“You were a wild kid, so curious about everything.”
“What’s that…? Wait. Is this about the time I was playing in the creek and hit my head?” I touch the scar above my brow.
She tilts her head and studies me. “You don’t remember what happened?”
The twisting knot in my stomach gets worse, and I’m not sure I want to know more. “I remember some of it. Not everything.”
“I should have realized.” She touches my leg, getting dirt on my jeans. “You’d just turned five. I’m so sorry, Charlie.”
“So you’ve said.” My words are harsher than I intend, but I can’t help it. “Tell me what happened, Mom.”
“Yes, of course.” She brushes the soil off her pants. “I wasn’t the mayor yet, but I was on the city council. Your dad was the football coach.”
“Dad coached football?”
She smiles, but it has an edge to it. “For a short time. He didn’t enjoy it as much as he thought he would.”
There’s something in her voice. I’m not sure I believe her, but I motion for her to continue. Now I need to hear it. How much don’t I know?
“It’s hard to find a daycare with evening hours. Sometimes I had meetings, and your dad had practice, so Harper watched you. She was a senior in high school. Anyway, one time, she was watching you. Around four in the afternoon, you dozed off on thecouch. Harper used that time to clean the kitchen. She liked to have the house tidy when we got home.” Mom presses her lips together and clutches the cup in her hands.
I place my hand over hers. “What happened?”
She looks dazed, and she blinks a few times. “When Harper checked on you, you were gone. She searched the house and the yard. Then she called Brad. She didn’t want to upset us if you were just hiding. You loved playing hide-and-seek.”
“Harper still blames herself,” I remember Brad saying when we were at the ER.
“I wasn’t hiding,” I guessed.
She shakes her head. “No. Brad called us. Then he called everyone he could think of. I swear the entire town of Dixon Hills was out searching for you that day. It was starting to get dark, and we were terrified of not finding you in time. Of course the police chief and his guys were helping too. It took hours, but we finally found you.”
“Down by the creek?” That part I remember. Playing in the creek. Falling. The pain in my head. I touch the scar above my brow.
“Yes. You had to get stitches. They kept you overnight at the hospital for observation. After that, the town decided to adopt you as their own.”
“That explains a lot.” The many times someone would see me out and say, “Get on home now, Charlie.” And why I never got away with anything as a teenager. “No one told me.”
