Page 26 of Shining Through

It was dark by the time Tabitha arrived home. The cucumber sandwiches Olga served with tea had done nothing to quiet her appetite, so she hoped Fiona was in a cooking mood. The cherry tomato plant her mom kept in the kitchen window had ripened. Maybe she’d make that pasta dish with fresh tomatoes, oregano and black olives. Over dinner, Tabitha would share her good news about Vancouver, and then she would pack and go to bed early. It sounded like the perfect evening.

Fiona’s car was in its spot by the stairs that led up to the apartment. That was a good sign. But the trunk was open, which was definitely odd. Maybe she’d unloaded groceries and forgotten to close it. Stomach churning, she went upstairs.

Inside the apartment, chaos reigned.

The cherry tomato plant was in a box, along with the contents of their kitchen. The folding table and chairs where they ate were stacked by the front door. Boxes were everywhere, along with garbage bags and clutter. Fiona sat in the middle of the living room, amidst piles of record albums. She slammed a stack of Samara’s textbooks into a box with so much force, the floor shook. Tabitha didn’t need to ask what was happening. She’d witnessed this scene enough times.

“We’re moving.” Fiona looked up with narrowed, angry eyes, “Last night, I told Ken it was over. This afternoon, he called me at work to say that he’d rented our apartment. He wants us gone by tomorrow.”

“He can’t do that! We have a lease.”

“No we don’t.” Fiona used the sleeve of her Malibu Beach t-shirt to wipe sweat from her face. “It expired last year, and he was going to raise the rent, but I convinced him to let us stay on month to month. Now the deal’s off. Get packed.”

Tabitha looked around, flabbergasted and furious, that once again her life had been turned upside down in a matter of hours. “Where are we going?”

“A friend of a friend owns a building on Emerson with a vacant unit. It’s a one-bedroom and costs two-hundred more a month than this place, but it’s close to your rink.”

Even a one bedroom apartment was better than crashing on a friend’s couch, or moving into a motel room, both of which they’d done. But it meant Vancouver was a no-go. Defeated, Tabitha trudged down the hall to the room she shared with Samara.

Her sister was engrossed in sorting through the stuff she’d taken down from the wall. As Tabitha came in, she glanced up. “And how was your day?”

“Don’t ask.”

Tabitha went to the closet and hauled her clothes to the bed. She’d expected to be packing tonight, but not like this. How weird to think she would have come home to a different apartment?

There was no way she could waltz out of here to do something so frivolous, despite having convinced Peter, Olga and Brett. As much as she longed to break away from her family’s chaotic existence, it was all too easy to imagine that it would never happen.

The sound of paper ripping made her look up. Samara had torn the large poster of Harry K and was wadding it into a ball. “You’re throwing that out?”

“I’m tired of looking at it.” She wore a blank expression as she tossed it toward the overflowing wastebasket. The ball bounced off and rolled near Tabitha’s bed.

“I’ll get it.” She gathered up the ball, along with a few other pieces of trash that littered the floor. An empty water bottle. A red sock worn through at the heel. She tossed them into the trash, then grabbed an empty box and returned to her bed. She tossed in her clothes, then the pictures from her wall.

“Any word from Mr. Guyliner?”

“Yeah. He was excited when I told him I’d worked everything out so I could come to Vancouver. Only now I’m not.”

“How come?”

“Are you serious? Look around! How could I leave now, with Fiona a mess, and you—”

“Me, what?”

“Did you get any of your homework done last night?”

“Some. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Because I don’t want you to flunk out! And we’re getting kicked out of yet another apartment! And—”

“And you staying changes that how?”

“But I can’t just waltz off to Vancouver like nothing’s wrong!”

“Nothing is wrong! This is our life. Packing up our shit to vacate in twenty-four hours or less? I’d say we have it down to a science. You hanging around being all worried and responsible won’t make it any easier.”

“But I could help. You could get your assignments done for class.”

“Danté and Xtina can help. And I’ll get my assignments done. Seriously, do you think I’m going to jeopardize the career I’ve wanted since I was a little kid watching Pixar?” She gave an exasperated sigh, and turned her attention to the dresser.

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