Page 45 of All I Ask
I look at her and shake my head. “Yeah, you are.”
“You can’t make me.”
“Oh, but I can.”
“Maybe we should talk about it,” Mom suggests. “She’s clearly upset.”
I didn’t want to come here tonight, but I did because Chastity wanted to see her grandparents. Now I’m starting to wonder if this isn’t an ambush. My parents are getting ready for another road trip. The summer tourists clean us out each year and then we spend the winter finding treasures to restock the store.
“Mom, you’re not helping.”
She touches Chastity’s arm. “She’s upset and needs support.”
“Well, I’m upset and could use some too.”
“We’re not talking about you.”
“We’re not talking about Chastity and homeschooling either,” I emphasize.
Dad clears his throat and grabs his phone as if he’s reading. Glad to see I have his help on this one.
“Why can’t we just discuss it?” Mom asks.
“Because there’s no reason to. I have no help as it is and taking on tutoring my daughter, who is pretty much smarter than me at this point, isn’t possible.”
“So you’d send her to school with those horrible girls?”
I laugh once. “You want to teach her to run away from them?”
I try not to ask for much from my parents. The apartment is the only thing they help with, which isn’t really help. It was vacant and it was in shambles. I lasted a whole two months in my parents’ house after Chastity was born before I decided cleaning, painting, throwing out whatever I could to fix it up was worth it.
After negotiating with my father, I had a fair rent set up, which is deducted from my paycheck, a clean place for me and Chastity, and a job. Of course, it was meant to be a two-year plan and I’ve extended it…a lot, but whatever.
Going back to school is really hard when you have no money or time.
“You should at least hear her out,” Mom chides as she takes a sip of her wine.
“No, because I’m not homeschooling her. Besides, when exactly would I do this? I work at the store six days a week, for minimum wage I might add, and…if I’m going to work on top of doing schoolwork, it would be for me.”
Chastity leans back in her chair. “You?”
“Yes, I would like to go and get my degree since I dropped out.”
“You want to go back to school?” My daughter stares at me like I have two heads.
Have I really never said it? “I guess. I mean, once you’re off to college it would be nice to have a plan.”
Since I doubt painting is ever going to be anything more than just an outlet, a backup seems necessary.
“Why haven’t you mentioned it?” Dad asks.
“Why would I?”
“Because we could’ve helped.”
Now I’m stunned. “Helped how? You and Mom have been going on and on about me being independent and caring for Chastity on my own, which I’ve managed to do. Why would I think that was an option?”
“You have been the one that demanded handling Chastity on your own, honey.”
