So Much for Democracy (6 page)

“Do you think Mom will want one?” I ask Gordo. He shrugs, so I buy her one too.

I pull away the paper wrapping and hand Piper hers. Within seconds, she's covered in sticky orange juice, but she slurps loudly and grins at us.

“We'd better get back before they melt,” says Ebo. He's also bought extras for his parents.

“Race. Last one's a dirty rotten egg,” yells Gordo as he sprints across the sand. Ebo and Thema follow, and I swing Piper onto my back and run after them. I'm the slowest, of course. As we get close, Mom runs up to us. When she sees Piper, her hand flies to her mouth and her eyes widen in shock.

“What on earth have you done?” she asks. She yanks Piper out of my arms and uses her towel to scrub at Piper's mouth.

“We bought sun-spots. I have ones for you and Dad,” I say.

“How could you, Astrid? Those sun-spots, who knows where they're made? Or how?”

I stare at her.

“What were you thinking, giving one to Piper?” She wrestles the rest of the sun-spot out of Piper's fist.

Piper wails.

“Mom?” I glance at Piper. Tears are pouring down her face. “Piper's had them before. You know she has,” I say.

Gordo stares at Mom and then shouts, “You're crazy!”

“Don't be so dramatic, Gordo,” says Mom.

Gordo flings himself to the ground and flails his arms and legs. He's ready to have that temper tantrum now. Ebo steps back so he doesn't get kicked.

“It's true though,” I say.

Mom's lips tighten and I know I'm on dangerous ground, but I'm tired of Mom always saying no when everyone else says yes. Maybe there's something wrong with her, but why does she have to take it out on us?

“It's not my fault that you're irresponsible, Astrid,” she says.

The unfairness of her words slaps me so hard my eyes sting, and I gasp. “Irresponsible?”

“Letting Gordo out of the house when we were away is one example. Letting Piper get bitten by ants is another. Buying sun-spots made out of God knows what kind of water…”

I'm breathless, and I can only stare at her.

If Gordo was gearing up for a tantrum before, he goes still as a rock now. He opens his mouth, but no voice comes out.

Ebo says, “My mom has always let us have them, ever since we were little.”

“Well, that's your family,” says Mom. Her mouth is a fine, thin line.

“Come on, Thema, we'll let Astrid and Gordo talk with their mom,” says Ebo.

He and Thema walk down toward the water where their parents are swimming. Thema turns back to look at me, but I look away, because I know what the expression on her face will be, and I don't want to see it.

NINE

It takes Mom a couple of days to get back to normal, but by Tuesday she seems more or less okay. Not her old self, but not completely crazy either. She whistles as she rounds us all up, tells us the rules and hustles us into the car to go to school. I don't say anything about the weekend—I sure don't want to risk being grounded again—and I hope Mom was only temporarily stressed.

School is its normal boring self. Sister Mary drones on about Ghanaian geography, and Bassam tries to pull my hair. The only thing that's a bit exciting is when Bassam tries to talk to the soldiers over the wall, and Sister Mary grabs him by the collar and pulls him away. I don't think Sister Mary knows I'm sitting under the tree and can hear them, because she says, “Honestly, Bassam, if you were anyone else's son you'd be expelled for saying something like that. Now stop goading the soldiers and keep your opinions to yourself.”

Bassam hangs his head and says, “Yes, Sister Mary,” but after she leaves, he laughs and calls to the boys, “Did you see that?” Something about the tone of his voice makes me shiver.

It's a relief when school is over for the day and we can go home.

Mom's still cheery when she picks us up, and she chats on the way home about some new plant she and Thomas are trying out in the garden. We eat scrambled eggs for lunch, and afterward, Mom puts Piper down for her nap.

I go outside to read under the tree for a bit while the household is quiet. It's a little cooler today, and there are clouds in the sky. It might even rain. Thomas comes by, holding something behind his back, and when he reaches me, he says, “Guess which hand.”

“Right,” I say.

He holds out his right hand. It's wrapped around a bundle, which he places in my lap.

“What is it?”

“Open it and see.” He leans against the tree.

The bundle is a piece of cloth draped around something hard. I feel it, then say, “Oh, it's Piper's hippo!”

Thomas grins. “Do you think she'll like it?”

I pull the cloth off and run my hand over the smooth surface of the carving. The hippo is smaller than I expected, all round ears and snout and bum. It has stubby legs and pin-prick eyes. It seems to be smiling. “It's beautiful,” I say.

“I made it small for Piper to hold,” says Thomas. He takes it from me and cradles it in his hand. “See?”

“She'll love it,” I say.

“You can give it to her when she wakes up,” he says.

“You should give it to her.”

“No, Asteroid, you should.” He hands me back the hippo and wraps my hand around it.

I don't know what to say. Should I offer to pay him? Should I ask him him to give it to Piper so she knows he made it? Before I can answer my questions, Thomas says, “It's a new model for me. I think people will like this one.”

It makes me feel better to know he will be able to sell other hippos.

I run my thumb across the smooth wood one more time, then say, “Thank you, Thomas. It's really special. She'll love it.”

Dad comes home a few minutes later with Mr. Ampofo, Thema's dad. Their faces are serious when they walk through the door, and Dad says, “Astrid, where's your mother?” before he even says hello. I point to the living room, and the two of them march in. I follow, but Dad says, “We need to speak to your mother privately,” and he closes the door.

I'm caught between being angry and being curious, so I stand next to the door and put my ear to it in case I can hear something, but I can't.

“Damn,” I whisper, and after I try one more time, I go upstairs to change out of my uniform. When I come back down the stairs, Dad and Mr. Ampofo and Mom are standing in the doorway. They haven't seen me, so I stop and listen to what they're saying.

“It will be fine, Joanne. Come tonight and we'll talk more,” says Mr. Ampofo. He smiles at Mom, but she says, “I'm not sure we should be out on the roads. Richard, what do you think?”

“It will be fine, Joanne,” Dad says.

“But the kids. I don't want the kids going anywhere they don't have to. I want to know where they are at all times,” Mom says.

“Joanne, I think you're overreacting. The man's in jail. It's over,” says Dad.

Mom laughs a not-amused laugh and says, “Still.”

Her face is pale, and with shock I realize that she's really scared.

Dad must see it too, because he says, “Fine. We'll go tonight, and then for a day or two we'll keep the kids at home except for when they're at school. But really, it's over and it's all fine.”

Thema's dad leaves then, and Mom and Dad stand together at the doorway. I make a lot of noise coming down the rest of the stairs so they'll think I just got there.

“How come Thema's dad was here? What's going on?” I ask.

Dad glances at Mom, then says, “Nothing to worry about. A soldier tried to take over the government, but he failed and it's over. We're going to Thema's for dinner, so bring your bathing suit.”

“Oh,” I say. Suddenly I have so many questions. “How does a soldier take over a government? What does that mean? What does it mean that he failed? Is the government still the same government? Why did he do that? Aren't there about to be elections?”

Dad holds his hand up to stop my words. “Astrid, I really don't have the answers to all those questions. Now, I'm thirsty and your mother needs to lie down. We'll talk later. Go and tell Gordo we're going to the Ampofos' for dinner.” He takes Mom's arm. Her face is set in a mask of fear.

“Dad,” I say, but he mouths the words “Not now” and nods meaningfully at Mom. I back away. I've never seen a look like that on Mom's face, and it makes something deep in my stomach fall, as if the ground I thought I was standing on suddenly isn't there anymore.

“Dad?” But he's not listening to me. He leads Mom down the hallway, and she holds on to him like she needs his support to stay on her feet. I reach my hand out to the wall and lean into its solidness.

Evening takes a long time to come. I try to talk to Dad again, but he locks himself in the study and doesn't answer when I knock. I try to phone Thema, but there's no dial tone. So I head outside to look for Thomas, but Abena tells me he went home early today. The only thing I can do is sit under the tree and bite my fingernails while I wait.

When Mom and Dad and Gordo come out of the house to go to Thema's, I search Mom's face, but she smiles at me and hands me Piper before she climbs into the car.

“How are you feeling, Mom?” I ask.

“Fine, sweetie. How are you?” she says. I glance over the top of the car at Dad. He shakes his head at me, so I climb into the back seat next to Gordo.

At Thema's, about a dozen parents are pacing, while a whole lot of kids race from house to house. Thema lives in a gated compound, so there are always lots of people around, but not like this. If it weren't for the looks on the adults' faces, this would be a party. Mom makes a beeline for Thema's mom, who hugs her and says, “Are you holding up okay?”

Mom nods and seems about to reply, but then she glances around and notices me and says, “Astrid, go and find Thema.”

“Fine. Don't tell me, then,” I mutter, but not loudly enough for them to hear.

Thema's in her bedroom changing when I find her.

“Bring your bathing suit?” she asks.

I lift my shirt to show my bathing suit underneath. It's an old one-piece covered in Canadian flags. I wish I had a pretty bikini like Thema's orange-and-pink one, but Mom doesn't believe in bikinis, so red-and-white maple leaves it is. I'm sweating like mad with the suit on under my clothes. When Thema's ready, we run from her room and jump into the pool. Ebo's already there, playing water polo with some other boys.

“Heads up,” he calls just before a polo ball smacks into the side of my head.

I wail as tears come to my eyes.

“Are you okay?” Thema and Ebo crowd around me. Ebo takes my arm and leads me to the side of the pool. Even with my head throbbing, I can feel every inch of his hand on my arm.

“You better get out for a minute,” he says.

“I'm okay,” I say, but I let Thema guide me to the shallow end, and we sit together on the steps until the throbbing subsides. Gordo and a bunch of younger kids cannonball into the pool. It's not meant for this many people, and there's hardly room to move. Every second or so, someone jostles me.

“How come there are so many people here?” I ask Thema.

“Dad called a meeting and told everyone from work to come tonight,” she says.

“Because of the man who tried to take over the government?” I ask.

“He said
there are things to discuss
.” Thema's an amazing mimic, and she even looks like her dad as she tucks in her chin and wags her head like he does. I laugh. I'm glad we're here. Thema and Ebo seem relaxed, and being with them makes me feel better too.

Gordo cannonballs right into an older boy, and a splashing fight breaks out. Chlorine stings my eyes as the spray hits me in the face.

“Let's go to your room,” I say to Thema.

“Okay,” she says.

In Thema's room, we put on some Bee Gees and lie down on her bed.

“I'm going to turn it down,” she says. “If Mom hears it, she'll come get us to set the table, and there are about forty people here.” She lowers the volume, then reaches under her bed. “Look what I got,” she says. She holds out a box. Inside, there's sheet music for a whole pile of songs. Thema pulls out the music and reveals a row of Narnia books.

“Where'd you get those?” I ask.

“My cousin in London sent them,” she says. Thema is lucky to have a cousin in London to send her stuff. She helps Thema keep up with new music so she can be ready when the time comes to go to London to study. The only books my cousins send are
Archie
comics, which even Gordo can read in an afternoon.

“You can borrow some,” says Thema.

Each book is a gem waiting to be cracked open—like a geode. That's what they're called, the gems that you crack open. From the outside they look like normal rocks, but inside they have rows of glistening crystals. Books are like that too. Maybe I can start with
The Silver Chair
. I've read it before, but not for a while. I run my fingers back across the spines and pull
The Silver Chair
out of the box.

“This one?” I ask. Thema nods, but then, with a grin, she pulls three books out of the box to reveal a lower level.

“Look,” she says. There are more down there, including some I haven't read before.

“Have you read these yet?” I ask. I long to take one, but I know it isn't fair unless she's already read them. She hands
The Magician's Nephew
to me. It has that new-book smell. I hold it to my nose.

“What are you two doing?” Ebo's voice comes from the doorway. My face flushes. Ebo must think my skin is the most peculiar shade of pink, because I blush every time I see him. I hold the book higher, to hide my face, and wish with all my heart that I'd get over him.

Thema moves over and Ebo sits down beside her on the bed. He hums to the music, then leans over and turns up the volume.