He pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Mr. Tom was grinning at Daddy. “We have visitors, Jack.”
“Becca! Tad!”
“Please let us stay with you!” Becca burst into tears and threw herself into their father’s arms. “Please, Daddy! Please!”
“Hey, hey. What’s this all about? Tad? How did you both get here?”
“We walked. We… we couldn’t stay there anymore.” Tad met his father’s eyes, the same deep blue as his own, and when he frowned, Tad felt the butterflies in his stomach turn into vultures.
“What happened to your face, son?” His father held out his other arm and pulled him into his embrace.
Tad buried his face against his father’s shoulder. He smelled of Life Buoy, the soap he’d always showered with, and for the first time, Tad felt safe.
“Grandpa Eleazar got mad at Tad when he back-talked him.”
“You talked back to your grandpa, Thaddeus?”
“I… I couldn’t stand it, Daddy. He was saying such horrible things about you, and I—”
“That’s Grandpa, Tad.” Daddy sighed and shook his head. “What did your momma have to say about him hitting you?”
When they’d all lived together—before Momma had said Daddy needed to find Jesus and when he hadn’t, decided she didn’t want him around anymore—it had been a rule in their house that only they could hit either him or his sister. Even then it was nothing more than a swat on their backsides, because usually it only took a stern look from their daddy to make them behave.
Tad’s face twisted. “Momma just got that look on her face and said she was going to her room to pray for me….” In spite of the fact that he was fifteen, Tad held on to his father as tight as he could.
“Son of a bitch!” his father growled. “It’s all right, son. It’s all right. Tom, would you mind….”
“I’ll leave you to get this sorted out and make some hot chocolate.”
“Thanks, babe.”
Tad saw the look they shared, and he realized there was more to their friendship than years of knowing each other.
“Are… are you going to make us go back there?” Becca sniffled, and their father dug in his pocket for a handkerchief. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, peanut. I’m going to call your momma to let her know you’re spending the night here. In the morning I’ll have a talk with her and your grandpa.”
Tad sagged in relief.
“Now let’s go get you two settled in.” Their father took Becca’s suitcase, and Tad took his own.
This was a small house, originally two bedrooms, but Momma had pitched a hissy fit at the thought that he and Becca might share a room, even with bunk beds. Since Daddy was in construction and knew how to do stuff like that, he’d torn down one wall and put up another, and he’d made the bigger bedroom—his bedroom—into two separate ones.
Tad could hear the murmur of low voices from the other room and hoped Becca didn’t tell Daddy too much. He was starting to not like Grandpa Eleazar very much, but the man was Daddy’s daddy, and Tad didn’t want to make trouble between them. He hurried with his unpacking and put his lucky seashell on the nightstand next to the twin bed. It was a small knobbed whelk, Georgia’s state seashell, which he’d had since the last time they’d gone to the beach as a family.
It had been a beautiful day, sunny, with a balmy breeze, and a few white clouds dotting the sky. Momma stayed on the beach, laying out the lunch of sandwiches she’d brought on a blanket. Daddy had gone into the ocean with Tad and Becca. He’d tossed them into the waves, and they’d howled and screamed with laughter. That was when the waves washed up the shell, and Tad had taken possession of it.
Finally, they’d gone back to where Momma was knitting a baby blanket for one of the young women in Grandpa Eleazar’s parish who was pregnant without a husband, although none of the kids was supposed to know anything about that. After they’d finished lunch, it had been time to pack up and go home, and on the drive they’d sung silly songs. He could tell Momma didn’t like them, and she’d have put a stop to it, but Daddy had said, “They’re harmless, Reba. Let them sing.”
Tad looked at the shell ruefully and gave it a little push. I guess it really wasn’t very lucky. A few months later Daddy had moved out.
Well, there was no point thinking about that over and over. He tried to look casual as he entered his sister’s bedroom.