Chapter 13: Self-Control

It was late May, and Leah had joined Drew in bed on Saturday night, the beginning of the three-day weekend for Memorial Day. He was stressed because wet weather had kept the whole family cooped up inside, causing all kinds of unhappiness.

Val had kept control of her temper, surprisingly, but Ted’s behavior had seriously regressed. He was storming and shouting, angry over nothing.

Even 10-year-old Tim gaped at his older brother, disbelieving what he was seeing. Hearing him shout at Nia, Leah stormed out of the kitchen.

“Stop it! Leave Nia alone!”

“Shut up! You’re not my mother!”

Nia gasped and staggered into Val’s arms. Val’s arms!

Leah froze and just stared at him, eyes wide. She answered him, sadly and quietly.

“No. No, I’m not.”

She turned on her heel and returned to the kitchen, looking down at her feet.

Andrew walked inside then. He had been outside cleaning up before the weather deteriorated further. He was unhappily surprised by what he found. Val was trying to soothe Nia, weeping in her arms. Tim was staring into space, silent but teary. Drew heard his sister sniffling from the kitchen.

And on the opposite side of the living room, Ted stood red faced, scowling, with clenched fists at his sides.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothin’!”

Ted stormed off to his bedroom and slammed the door.

Not knowing what to do, he asked, “Nia, are you alright?”

Sniffling, all she said was “Ted...”

Val spoke up, abruptly.

“I’ve got her; you go talk to Leah.”

Drew felt his gut clenching and anger taking hold.

“What did Ted do?” he thought, walking into the kitchen. His sister was sitting at the table, feeling morose. With her wet eyes glittering, she looked up.

“Ted was raging at Nia, and when I came out of here to yell at him, he cried, ‘You’re not my mother!’ Wait, stop. You’re right to be angry. He’s being an asshole. But don’t go scream at him or hit him.”

“But, he can’t, no! It’s hard enough here without him...”

“Yes, yes, I know. But you can’t make it worse. He’s right, I’m not his mother. Our mother. I’m trying to keep control of my feelings, Drew, and think. What would Mom do?”

“Shit. I know what Dad would do: beat him until he can’t sit down.”

“That’s my point exactly. Knowing this, Mom would intervene. She would talk to Ted first. Then, if that didn’t work, she would beat him into next week.”

“Heh, you’re right about that. Mom could be scarier than Dad.”

“You can’t let this go, I know. He has to get along with us; he has to grow up. If you can manage to stay calm and just talk to Ted, we can get past this, maybe. And if you can’t get through to him, then I will beat him. Thoroughly.”

As she had hoped, this last remark helped abate some of Drew’s fury.

Coming out of the kitchen, Val stood in front of Drew. Suddenly, she felt protective of her little sister and wanted action.

“I know, I know. Val, Leah and I have a plan. She can explain things for you three while I’m in the boys’ room.”

Drew rapped twice on the door and let himself in. With just Ted and Tim in the room, they had taken the bunk beds apart, so both were on the floor as two regular twin beds placed against the walls. Drew sat on the free bed and spoke in a reasonable tone.

“I want to know...”

Ted ignored him and blurted out, bitterly, “She’s always bossing me around. She’s not my mom!”

In return, Drew paid his outburst no attention.

“I want to know, Ted, what you want to do. Leah’s not your mother, and I’m not your father. You don’t have to live here with us. You don’t. Remember Ms. Kumar, from Social Services? I still have her number. I’m sure something can be worked out with her.

“The thing is, Leah and I are teenagers just like you. We’re not qualified to be parents—well, parents of 15-year-old guys like you. Leah and Val are biologically old enough to have babies, but that’s a different ballgame, babies are a different kind of parenting. Think about it, a baby is a tiny thing that eats, sleeps, and shits. That’s all they do; it isn’t mentally hard to parent babies.

“Of course, you’re going to be angry about what has happened to you. It’s very understandable. Every day, I think how much better our lives would be if Mom and Dad were still with us, just like you must do.