Read Online The People in the Park by Margaree King Mitchell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Margaree King Mitchell
Ads: Link
to get to Columbia and back.
It felt good to get the car on the road. Mainly I wanted to clear my head. Traveling always did that for me. There wasn’t much to see between Kansas City and Columbia except vegetation, trees, and rolling hills. Out here on the road, I could forget about my life.
With my iPod playing, the windows down, the sunroof open, my mind moving in all directions but the present, and the brisk air caressing my face, somehow I arrived in Columbia. If I still had my car, I would have the top down. If! If a lot of things.
I passed familiar places I had visited with Callie, Melanie, and Stacie. And Steffy, too, even though I hated to admit it. We would shop, attend movies, and go to the student union on the campus of the University of Missouri.
Being on a university campus was a good place to get lost. Nobody knew me. I walked and walked and walked, mixing and mingling with the students, seeming to be one of them. I browsed in the campus bookstore and stopped for a chocolate concrete mixer in the student union. Tiring of walking, I drove around campus a while, passing the new science complex and new dorms under construction before heading to a new mall that had opened near the interstate.
I browsed around the Barnes & Noble bookstore. This was the first time I had been in Barnes & Noble without buying anything. When I was in elementary school, Mom used to pick me up from school at least once a month, and we went book shopping. Both of us carried armloads of books to the checkout counter. Today I just looked at the new titles and thought about my limited funds.
Being here made me sad, so I went next door to a bistro and had a sandwich and lemonade. Even though I sat alone at my table, there were no eyes looking at me with pity and whispering to their companions. I was totally off everybody’s radar.
My waiter tried to flirt with me. I wondered if he was a college student trying to make some extra money. He could be my prom date. I’m sure it would gross him out if he found out I was still in high school.
It was time to get back to Fairfield. I paid and even left a generous tip. For a moment, I pretended that life hadn’t changed, because nobody knew me here.
At the traffic light before entering the expressway, a panhandler held a sign: Out of Work, Need Food for Family.
I rolled down my window and gave him a couple of dollars. I heard him say, “Thank you very much.” And I saw the relief and thankfulness on his face.
I wished I had more to give him. What struck me about him was that he was a relatively well-dressed, middle–aged man, wearing slacks and a buttoned shirt. He wasn’t scruffy looking. He was clean-shaven.
That man could be Dad standing on the street trying to raise money for food for us. Then a horrible thought struck. That man would never be Dad. Dad would be in prison instead.
If that happened, what would become of me? What would become of Mom?
What’s wrong with me? I had just spent a peaceful evening by myself, and I was thinking of things that might never happen. Reality check.
As I entered the expressway, I realized that I hadn’t called Mom to let her know that I wasn’t coming directly home after school. She hadn’t called me either, which meant that she was also preoccupied with life.
I drove up to my house around nine o’clock. The first thing I noticed was the absence of cars out front. The lawyers and law clerks were usually there until at least ten. Only the security guards were still posted outside.
Dad’s car was gone. Lights on the top floor of our house were out. Only the downstairs hall light was on. I passed my parents’ bedroom. The door was open. Mom was in bed with a carton of ice cream. I grabbed a spoon from the wet bar in their room and crawled into bed with her.
I tried to erase the memory of the middle-aged panhandler from my mind, all the while being fearful that life as I knew it would end real soon.
Mom kissed me on top of my head. It
It felt good to get the car on the road. Mainly I wanted to clear my head. Traveling always did that for me. There wasn’t much to see between Kansas City and Columbia except vegetation, trees, and rolling hills. Out here on the road, I could forget about my life.
With my iPod playing, the windows down, the sunroof open, my mind moving in all directions but the present, and the brisk air caressing my face, somehow I arrived in Columbia. If I still had my car, I would have the top down. If! If a lot of things.
I passed familiar places I had visited with Callie, Melanie, and Stacie. And Steffy, too, even though I hated to admit it. We would shop, attend movies, and go to the student union on the campus of the University of Missouri.
Being on a university campus was a good place to get lost. Nobody knew me. I walked and walked and walked, mixing and mingling with the students, seeming to be one of them. I browsed in the campus bookstore and stopped for a chocolate concrete mixer in the student union. Tiring of walking, I drove around campus a while, passing the new science complex and new dorms under construction before heading to a new mall that had opened near the interstate.
I browsed around the Barnes & Noble bookstore. This was the first time I had been in Barnes & Noble without buying anything. When I was in elementary school, Mom used to pick me up from school at least once a month, and we went book shopping. Both of us carried armloads of books to the checkout counter. Today I just looked at the new titles and thought about my limited funds.
Being here made me sad, so I went next door to a bistro and had a sandwich and lemonade. Even though I sat alone at my table, there were no eyes looking at me with pity and whispering to their companions. I was totally off everybody’s radar.
My waiter tried to flirt with me. I wondered if he was a college student trying to make some extra money. He could be my prom date. I’m sure it would gross him out if he found out I was still in high school.
It was time to get back to Fairfield. I paid and even left a generous tip. For a moment, I pretended that life hadn’t changed, because nobody knew me here.
At the traffic light before entering the expressway, a panhandler held a sign: Out of Work, Need Food for Family.
I rolled down my window and gave him a couple of dollars. I heard him say, “Thank you very much.” And I saw the relief and thankfulness on his face.
I wished I had more to give him. What struck me about him was that he was a relatively well-dressed, middle–aged man, wearing slacks and a buttoned shirt. He wasn’t scruffy looking. He was clean-shaven.
That man could be Dad standing on the street trying to raise money for food for us. Then a horrible thought struck. That man would never be Dad. Dad would be in prison instead.
If that happened, what would become of me? What would become of Mom?
What’s wrong with me? I had just spent a peaceful evening by myself, and I was thinking of things that might never happen. Reality check.
As I entered the expressway, I realized that I hadn’t called Mom to let her know that I wasn’t coming directly home after school. She hadn’t called me either, which meant that she was also preoccupied with life.
I drove up to my house around nine o’clock. The first thing I noticed was the absence of cars out front. The lawyers and law clerks were usually there until at least ten. Only the security guards were still posted outside.
Dad’s car was gone. Lights on the top floor of our house were out. Only the downstairs hall light was on. I passed my parents’ bedroom. The door was open. Mom was in bed with a carton of ice cream. I grabbed a spoon from the wet bar in their room and crawled into bed with her.
I tried to erase the memory of the middle-aged panhandler from my mind, all the while being fearful that life as I knew it would end real soon.
Mom kissed me on top of my head. It
Similar Books
