Page 11 of Behind the Bars

She’d never admit it, but one of her full-time jobs was making sure I was okay. Part of me hated her for watching over me the way she did, but mostly I was thankful to have a sister as caring as her. She and my mom were above and beyond the definition of love. Yeah, high school sucked, but at least I knew when I went home, I’d beokay.

Every night, the three of us ate dinner together at the dining room table. Mom always cooked, too. We never ate takeout. She’d learned to cook from Grandma, and she always went the extra mile. She said comfort-food and conversation were staples of her childhood, and she wanted it to be the same for us,too.

“How was school?” Mom asked, setting a roasted chicken on the table next to all the side dishes she’d prepared. Dinner always felt like a feast. Even though we didn’t have much, we always had food on our plates, which was more than some people couldsay.

“It was good,” Katie said, scooping up some mashed potatoes and placing them on her plate. “Brooke has a new boyfriend.” Brooke was Katie’s old best friend, and after the incident, they never talked. Katie said she didn’t mind, but she sure seemed to still know a lot about the ins and outs of Brooke’slife.

“Again?” Mom rolled her eyes, sitting down in her seat. “Didn’t she just start datingTrey?”

“Travis,” Katie corrected. “Trey was three boyfriends back, but now she’s withTyler.”

“She sure likes the letter T,” I said with agrin.

“She likes all letters if they’re attached to a boy’s name.” Katie laughed. “But ya know, she likes making baddecisions.”

“As long as you’re not following her bad decisions,” Momsaid.

“Trust me, Mom, I have no time for high school boys. They are so last year. I’m waiting until college to even considerdating.”

“Well, if you ever become friends with Brooke again and she’s interested in the le-letter E, keep my name in mind,” I joked, biting into my chickenleg.

Mom raised an eyebrow at me. “Someone’s in a goodmood.”

“I had a good day.” I witnessed it happen—Mom’s eyes watering over. “Don’t cry, Ma,” Igroaned.

“I’m not gonna cry,” she lied, wiping her eyes. My mother was an emotional lady. “I just haven’t heard you say you had a good day in a long, longtime.”

“Every day is fine,” I toldher.

“Yeah, but notgood. It’s just…” She sniffled and kept wiping at her teary eyes. She gave me a smile, the kind that made me feel her love. “I’m just really happy you had a goodday.”

I shrugged my shoulders and continued toeat.

Mom wasn’t over it, though. She crossed her arms and rested them on the table, staring at me with stars in her eyes. “Any reason?” she wondered out loud. “For the goodday?”

“Nope,” Ireplied.

“He spoke to a girl,” Katieblabbed.

“Katie!” Ihissed.

“Eli!” she hissedback.

“A girl?!” Mom hissed with her own excitement. “Tell memore.”

“It’s nothing,” I toldher.

“He’s right, it’s nothing. She’s not right for him,” Katieagreed.

“Why is that?” I asked, somewhat offended. “Because she’s popular and cool and I’mnot?”

Katie’s eyes grew gloomy. “No, Eli, of course not. It’s just that girls like her are a dime a dozen, and you deserve something with more meaning, someone who understands youmore.”

“Maybe she does understandme.”

“Maybe, but there’s a much bigger chance she doesn’t,” Katieargued.

Mom kept smiling at the exchange between my sister and me. She always found it comedic the way Katie and I talked things out. She just stood by as a mediator most times. “Well, you know what Ithink?”

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