Live Love Lacrosse (4 page)

Chapter 5

A Girl That Likes to Eat!

“MOM,” ADDIE CALLED into the screen door of her grandmother’s
house, “I’m going to Kimi’s house.”

“Okay,” her mother called from the living room.

Addie and Kimi hopped down the porch steps and onto the sidewalk.

“That was easy,” Kimi said.

Addie shrugged. “My mom’s cool.”

She said the words, but she wasn’t sure she believed them. She’d
been hoping her mother would ask to meet Kimi, to invite her inside, but that
didn’t happen. Maybe next time. Whatever. It didn’t matter, she was starving,
and Kimi promised lunch.

Addie counted the houses in between her grandmother’s house and
Kimi’s. They reached Kimi’s house. “Five.”

“Five what?” Kimi flung open the screen door. She gestured for
Addie to go in ahead of her.

“Five houses in between yours and mine.”

“See? That’s not far at all. We can do sprints on the sidewalk
between your house and mine.”

“Sprints? What are sprints? I don’t like the sound of that.” Addie
followed Kimi into the house.

“No one likes sprints, Addie, but they make you faster, and we
have to do at least a hundred a day if you’re going to make the team.” Addie
didn’t have a chance to reply because Kimi yelled, “Mom? I brought a friend
home. What’s for lunch? We’re starving.”

“I’m out back,” a small voice called from the backyard. “Come out
and let me meet your friend.”

“C’mon.” Kimi tossed her bag on the floor by the front door, and
they headed through the living room, the formal dining room, and through a
small kitchen to the back screen door. “Mom’s probably in the garden.”

Addie wasn’t prepared for Kimi’s backyard. She
couldn’t even call it a yard, even though it was the same size as her
grandmother’s yard. This was more like a miniature farm. There were short corn
stalks in one corner and all kinds of other plants growing in neat rows. There
was even a small greenhouse.

“Mom?” Kimi called out.

“In here,” Kimi’s mother answered from inside
the greenhouse.

She came out moments later, carrying a basket
full of something green. She was really pretty, even in faded jeans and an
oversized work shirt, her dark hair pulled back by a bandana.
 

Kimi ran up and gave her mother a hug. She kissed the top of her
daughter’s head. “Is this Addie?”

Kimi pulled out of the hug and then pulled Addie closer. “Yep. She
lives in that old green house near the corner of Miner Boulevard. Addie, this
is my mom.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Addie said.

“Very nice to meet you, too, young lady. Miss Kimi usually only
talks about lacrosse, but lately she’s been talking about a girl named Addie,
too.”

Addie felt her cheeks get warm. She wasn’t sure what to say, so
she said the first thing that came into her head. “She’s trying to get me to play
lacrosse.”

“Well, that was only a matter of time, hmm?” Kimi’s mother cupped
Addie’s cheek and smiled.

Addie smiled back. Kimi’s mom was really nice.

“Okay, girls, ready for some lunch?”

Addie nodded, but Kimi fell to the ground clutching her stomach.
“I’m faint from hunger.” She let out an exasperated sigh and then lay still.

Addie giggled at Kimi’s theatrics.

Kimi squinted one eye open, and whispered to Addie, “Is she buying
it?”

“I don’t think so.”

Kimi’s mother laughed. “Not in the slightest, but when you’ve
sufficiently recovered, grab the basket with the tomatoes, cukes, peppers, and
carrots. Addie, can you get that other basket with the lettuce and spinach?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Addie did as she was told, but was leery about the
vegetables they carried. They had, obviously, been grown in Kimi’s backyard.
Were they safe to eat? Addie’s family got their food from the grocery store or
from restaurants. Never from the ground. That was okay, though, since all those
veggies certainly weren’t for lunch, and she wasn’t going to have to eat them
anyway.

They headed back into the kitchen, and Addie’s
stomach growled loudly. She was a little embarrassed, but Kimi and her mother
didn’t seem to notice. Her stomach continued to fuss as they washed the lettuce
and other vegetables and then peeled and sliced most of them to make the
biggest salad she’d ever seen. Addie had fun learning how to peel and slice
cucumbers and carrots; she’d never done anything like that at home. But all the
time they were slicing and dicing, she was wondering where lunch was. Where
were the hot dogs or hamburgers? Chicken nuggets and French fries? Mac and
cheese, maybe? Yikes, she’d even take a tuna fish sandwich at that point.

They sat down at the round table in the kitchen and Kimi’s mother set
the huge bowl of salad in the middle of the table and then set down four bowls.
Addie’s eyes grew wide. No way. They couldn’t be serious about a giant bowl of
fuzzy green things for lunch. Where was the real food? And why were there four
bowls? There were only three people.

“Mom,” Kimi scolded, “we need protein.” She stood up from her
chair and headed to the fridge. “We’re lacrosse players. We have to keep these
engines stoked.”

“You’re right,” Kimi’s mother said with a chuckle.  She turned to
Addie. “Do you like tofu?”

Addie’s eyes grew wide, which made both Kimi and her mother laugh.

“That would be ‘no,’ I gather. Kimi, get out the hard boiled eggs,
and the salmon.” She glanced at Addie, laughed again at Addie’s horrified
expression. “Scratch the salmon. Chicken maybe?” Addie nodded in relief at the
question in Kimi’s mother’s eyes. “Yes, chicken it is.”

Kimi brought out the requested proteins and brought a cutting
board to the table. She added the hard-boiled eggs and chicken to the salad,
mixed it up, and dished it out into the four bowls.

Addie couldn’t even begin to understand this strange world she was
in. It was like being a prisoner on a Kazon warship fed prisoner’s rations of
dirt-grown alien food. She had to suffer through it, or die.

With determination, she followed Kimi’s lead and used the organic
ranch dressing. She dribbled a little bit down one side of the bowl. If it
tasted horrible, at least she wouldn’t get too much in her system.

Just as she was navigating the smallest
forkful of salad to her mouth, the front screen door opened and then banged
shut.

“Where are my girls?” A male voice asked.

“Daddy!” Kimi leaped out of her chair and ran toward the front
door. “Are you home?”

“No, I’m at the movies,” her father joked and laughed heartily.
“Of course, I’m home.”

Kimi pulled her father into the kitchen. Her father was a short
Japanese man. Kimi looked like him a little, except that her father had a round
face and a round torso.

“Daddy, this is Addie.”

“Ahh,” he said, his face brightening as he turned to her. “The
famous Addie. It’s nice to meet a kindred spirit, a girl that likes to eat.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Addie choked out. She tried not to let
his last words penetrate her armor, but it was too late. Hull breach. She put
her fork down and bit down tears. Big-boned, Weeble, A girl that likes to eat.
Why did everybody have to say stuff like that to her?

“With your lovely blonde hair and your beautiful hazel eyes, are
you of German descent?”

Addie shook her head.

“Danish?”

“No.”

“Swiss?”

“Nope.”

“Scottish!”

Addie smiled. “Yep.”

“Your Scottish smile gave it away,” Kimi’s father teased. “Now if
my three beautiful girls will excuse me for a moment, I need to get out of my
Saturday professor disguise and put on some comfy weekend clothes.” He turned
and headed out of the kitchen.

“Would you like some sun tea?” Kimi asked Addie.

“Sure.”

“Mom makes it out back.”

“In the yard?”

Kimi’s mother nodded. “We use the natural energy from the sun to
make the tea.”

“That’s cool,” Addie said.

Really cool. She bet neither of her parents knew how to make tea
from the sun or grow lettuce in a green house. She picked up her fork and
stabbed at her salad. As luck would have it, she stabbed a piece of chicken.
Eureka, at least she could eat that.

Addie struggled through lunch mostly digging through the salad to
find the chunks of chicken and the carrots so she could avoid eating too much
of the green stuff, except for the cucumbers. She liked those. She managed to
get through half of her bowl while Kimi plowed through two.

Addie couldn’t take any more of the green stuff and moved it
around with her fork.

“Hey, you done?” Kimi stood up with her empty bowl. Addie nodded.
“Mom, we’re going out front to play lacrosse, okay?”

“I doubt I could stop you,” Kimi’s mother said. “Put your dishes
in the sink, girls.” She stood up. “I’ll be out back.”

“Growing dinner,” Kimi’s father said. “Can you grow a steak for
me?”

“You eat too much red meat,
hazubando
.”

“But it is a good protein source,
kanai
,” Kimi’s father
answered.

“You must have a balance in all things. All things in moderation,”
Kimi’s mother said.

“Except lacrosse,” Kimi quipped. “Quick.” She scooped up their
dishes and put them in the sink. “Let’s get out of here before they start
arguing about the benefits of garlic.”

“Garlic is a natural anti-biotic,” Kimi’s mother called after them
as they fled from the kitchen.

After a quick trip to the rest room, they sat on the front lawn
stretching. Addie asked Kimi if her family ate salad every day, and was
surprised to hear that they pretty much did. Addie couldn’t imagine her own
family doing that. Ever. She was so intrigued that she asked Kimi a thousand
questions about what they ate for breakfast and lunch and dinner. She grimaced
because it seemed like whole grains and fish and tofu and all kinds of fuzzy
green things seemed to play a big part. Apparently what they ate had to do with
the food’s nutritional value. She was just about to ask what kind of snacks and
desserts her family ate, if any, but Kimi plopped to the ground and showed her
how to do butterfly stretches. Even though Addie was sitting, bending forward
at the waist caused her to huff and puff a little.

“You’d better catch your breath, Addie, ’cuz we haven’t even
started yet. Ready for squats?”

“No, they sound horrible. I don’t even know if I want to play,
Kimi. I’m probably not even staying here for the whole summer. My mom and
dad’ll make up soon and then we’ll go back to Watertown.”

“They’re not getting divorced? That’s awesome, but you know what?”

“What?”

“You’ll be so in love with lacrosse by then, that you’ll have to
find a lacrosse team up there,” Kimi said undaunted. “And then, even though
we’ll live in different towns, we’ll play lacrosse together for Syracuse—”

“Just like Coach Cairns did.”

“Yup, yup, yup, so it’s up, up, up, Addie. We have a lot of work
to do.”

Grudgingly, Addie got up. What she really wanted to do was go back
to Grandma’s, get a snack, and read her book. Instead, she picked up a lacrosse
stick and learned how to use it.

Chapter 6

About Your Dad and Me

ADDIE LIMPED HOME from Kimi’s house after an entire afternoon of
running and strength training, catching and tossing, and scooping and cradling.
She felt her muscles tightening up as she reached her grandmother’s driveway.
She had learned more about lacrosse than she ever wanted to know, and Kimi told
her to keep stretching, but all Addie wanted to do was take a shower and then
fall into bed. And it was only five o’clock.

She dragged herself up the steps to the front porch and into the
kitchen.

“Addie Coleburn, get in here this instant.”

Oh, no, Addie thought. Mom was mad about something.

Addie shuffled into the living room where her mother sat on the
couch.

“Where have you been all day, young lady?”

“I went to Kimi’s lacrosse practice at the park and then to her
house after. I had lunch there. I told you I was going.”

Grandma scowled. “Make sure your mother hears you, next time.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.” Addie looked down at the rug. “Mom, can I
go upstairs? I have to take a shower.”

“Grandma’s making macaroni and cheese for dinner. We’re eating in
an hour.”

Addie’s spirits lifted. Real food. Finally.

“Cool. Where’s the—?” She was about to say “creep” but stopped
herself in time. “Where’s Troy?”

“He’s down the street playing basketball with some neighborhood
kids. I’m surprised you didn’t see him. You need to watch out for your
brother,” her grandmother admonished. She brushed back a loose strand of her
short gray hair. “You are his big sister after all.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Addie said. “I will.”

Her grandmother looked away, and Addie made her move toward the
stairs. Unfortunately her tightening muscles slowed down any chance of a speedy
getaway.

“Lydia, she has to take on more responsibility,” her grandmother
said. “Looking after Troy would be a good start. Especially when you get that
job at the plant.”

Addie heard the words, but they didn’t quite register in her
overtired brain. Was her mother getting a job in Syracuse? How could that be?
Weren’t they going home to Watertown? She opened the door to the room she
shared with Troy and stared exhausted at the top bunk. Certain she’d never make
it up the ladder, she grabbed the pillow off her own bed and fell into Troy’s.
She was asleep so fast, she didn’t have time to worry about brother cooties.

Someone shook her shoulder.

“Get up, Lardo,” Troy said. “Mom said dinner’s ready.”

Addie reluctantly opened her eyes. “Okay, I’ll
be right down.”

“Why are you in my bed? That’s gross.”

She made a split-second decision. “You can have the top bunk from
now on.”

“I can? Really?” Troy did two laps around the small room. “Thanks,
Addie. Sorry for calling you Lardo.”

“Whatever.” Addie sat up, aware of every single muscle that was
needed to do so. She finally managed to stand fully upright and stretched her
arms to the ceiling, groaning with every movement. She hobbled down the stairs
one slow step at a time, until she finally made it to the bottom. She took a
deep breath and vowed to kill Kimi the next time she saw her.

“Addie,” her mother called from the kitchen, “dinner’s on the
table.”

“Where in the world is she?” her grandmother
said. “That’s one child who’s never been late to a meal in her whole life.”

Troy burst out laughing as he sat down.

“Now, Mom,” their mother said. “This whole move has been tough on
them.”

Move?
Addie stopped in her tracks. Were they
moving? Moving away from home? From Daddy? Was she going to have to share a
room with the jerk on a permanent basis from now on? She took a deep breath,
even though the muscles in her back protested, and let it out slowly. She
shuffled to the kitchen and sat down in her usual seat at the small square
table.

Her mother did a quick double-take and
raised an eyebrow in question. “Are you okay, Addie? You look a little pale.”

Grandma grunted. “She’s fine, Lydia. It’s growing pains.” The
chair groaned as she shifted her weight to reach the casserole dish on the
table.

“You’re probably right.” Her mother smiled, but her face held a
worried expression nonetheless. “Kids bounce back from stuff like this, don’t
they, Mom?”

Her grandmother gave a reassuring smile. “Who’s ready for some of
my world famous mac-n-cheese?”

“Me, me, me,” Addie and Troy said together like starving little
birds.

Addie sighed as she took her first bite. She hadn’t realized how
hungry she was. It didn’t take Addie and her family long to polish off every
crescent roll and cheese-laden macaroni in the dish. They even finished off the
last gallon of milk. Troy and Addie always liked eating at Grandma’s. She never
made them eat fuzzy green things like broccoli or asparagus like Mom tried to
do every now and then.

Addie sat back and patted her stomach. She stood up from the table
to put her dishes in the sink and remembered how sore she was. Even though it
was only six-thirty on a Saturday evening, she wanted to go back to bed. Maybe
she could keep her eyes open long enough to read a little.

Her mother swept her gaze over both Addie and Troy. “Come out to
the front porch with me and Grandma.”

Addie exchanged a glance with Troy. This was new. Mom and Grandma
usually went out on the front porch after dinner so Grandma could smoke, but
they had never been invited. Something was up.

They headed out to the porch, the summer sun still high in the sky
and Addie and her brother sat down on two foldup metal chairs that had
mysteriously appeared. Addie had never seen them before.

The corner chair groaned under Grandma’s weight as she sat down.
She reached for a pack of matches and lit a cigarette. Addie hated the smell,
so she moved her chair to stay away from the smoke. Grandma was quiet. Yep,
something was definitely up.

“Addie, Troy,” their mother began, “about your dad and me . . .”
She trailed off as if searching for the right words.

Addie was on full-alert. What about her dad? Mom looked upset and
tired. She usually kept her hair pulled back into a neat pony tail, but stray
wisps of hair flew out everywhere. Even her hazel eyes looked tired and dull.

Her mother got a reassuring nod from Grandma and took a deep
breath. “Your dad and I might get a trial separation.”

“What does that mean?” Addie blurted. “Are we moving here? To
Syracuse? Is Daddy moving, too?”

“If they’re separated, Lardo, he won’t be moving with us. Being separated
means they’re not together anymore.” Troy rolled his eyes as if he was talking
to the world’s biggest idiot.

“I know that,” Addie said weakly. She looked up at her mother with
expectant eyes. “It’s just that Daddy said . . .” Like her mother, she couldn’t
figure out what to say.

“What? What did that father of yours say?” Anger flashed in her
grandmother’s eyes.

Addie didn’t much like her grandmother at that moment. She was
always mad at Daddy. Addie looked at her mother instead. “Just that he said you
were mad at him and he, um, he wanted to apologize to you when you cooled
down.”

“He said that?” her mother said, putting a hand over her heart.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“He wishes.” Grandma shook her head in disbelief. Ashes poofed up
out of the ashtray as she jabbed her cigarette out.

“Mom,” Addie’s mother said, “you’ve always been too hard on Tim.”

“Timothy Coleburn is . . .” She continued to jab her already
extinguished cigarette in the ashtray as if she was fighting back some not nice
words. “You never should have married him, Lydia.”

“He’s always done right by the kids.”

“Why in God’s name are you defending him?” Grandma lit up another
cigarette.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t be defending him, especially after . .
. Mom, I’m just not sure if moving out so quickly was the right thing to do.”

“You did the right thing, Lydia.”

Addie stood up. Troy stood a second later.
They tried to look invisible as they waited for their mother to either talk to
them or to tell them they could go. After several more uncomfortable minutes,
it was plainly obvious that their mother and grandmother were talking as if
they weren’t even there.

“Mom, we’re going inside now, okay?” Addie took a step toward the
front door.

“Yeah, you kids go on.”

Addie wanted to burst out running, but forced herself to calmly
open the screen door. She gestured for Troy to go in first. Normally he would
have suspected that she was going to trick him somehow, but he must have been
in as much shock as she was and walked right past her.

“I’ll be up in a minute so we can switch our beds, okay?” Addie
whispered. “I want to wipe the table down first.” She walked over to the
kitchen sink, grateful that Troy headed toward the stairs without an argument
or snarky comment.

She didn’t really want to wipe the table, even though she did, she
simply wanted to hang around the kitchen and listen to Mom and Grandma talk.

“Seriously, Lydia,” Grandma continued, “why do you even care what
he thinks? He wasn’t thinking of you or the kids when he was spending so much time
with that floozy, now was he?”

“The floozy has a name, Mom. Her name is Sheila.”

Addie gasped.
Miss Sheila? From next door?
Why were they
calling Miss Sheila a floozy? What was a floozy, anyway?

Addie double-timed it up the stairs and into her room. She shut
the door behind her and leaned against it. Troy stopped pulling the sheets off
his bed.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I guess. You?”

“I guess.”

Without another word they switched the sheets on the beds and then
cleaned up the rest of their room without being told.