Cindi Myers Things I Want to Say (epub)

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.That said a lot about the kind of man his dad was.He was a man who fixed things.The kind of man who hated any kind of disorder or uncertainty.Which was probably why he clashed with Casey so often.The way Casey saw it, the world was all about un certainty.Instead of wearing yourself out trying to set everything and everybody straight, you were a lot better off taking things as they came and dealing with them the best you could.“I talked to the counselors at school and they’re going to let you take your finals the week before classes start this fall,” his father said as he fit anew screw into the tip of the drill driver.“What if I’m not home by then? Grandpa—” But his words were cut off by the scream of the drill as the screw bit into the sheet metal of the gutter.“You’ll be home by then,” his dad answered when he’d shut off the drill.“You can’t afford to miss any more school.”End of discussion, at least as far as Dad was concerned.But Casey had more to say on the subject.“I’ve been thinking.Maybe I could finish school online.They have this stuff called distance learning, where you study at your own pace.”“You don’t study now, with your mom and I and all your teachers on your case.I’m supposed to believe you’ll volunteer to do it on your own?”“I don’t mind studying if it’s something that interests me.The teachers at school make everything so boring.”“I don’t see how a computer is going to make math and history and English any less boring.Hand me another one of those screws.”Casey handed up the fastener.“We could try it.” Yeah, the subject matter would be the same in the online courses, but he liked the idea of being more in charge.For instance, he could decide whether to do English or math first, and how long he’d spend with each class, instead of having a schedule dictated by others.“No.I don’t see why I should pay for you to take special classes when there’s a perfectly good high school not two miles from our house.”Casey could have argued that the high school wasn’t all that good, but what was the point? Dad had made up his mind.He was always right.The thing to do now was to wait and go to Mom with his plan.She at least considered his point of view.Maybe she could sway Dad to let him give this a try.“I know you think I’m too hard on you, but it’s because I know you can do better.And I know life will be easier for you in the long run if you apply yourself more.” He leaned back and studied the gutter.“Does that look straight to you?”“Yeah, it looks good.” Casey didn’t know what to say to the apply yourself remark.It was one of those clichés parents and teachers threw around, but what did it mean, exactly? If he preferred to focus on things that interested him, how was that not applying himself?“Your mom says you’ve been a real help with your grandfather.”The change of subject caught him off guard.“Yeah, well, he cooperates a little better with me on some things.Maybe he’s embarrassed because Mom’s his daughter.” It had freaked him out a little, the first time he’d helped the old man change clothes, or worse, when Grandpa wet his pants and Casey had to clean him up.He didn’t do that so often anymore and besides, after the first time it had been sort of routine.He’d gotten into the habit of talking them both through it, making like it was no big deal.“I’m not happy about the way you ran off without telling anyone, and without finishing school,” Dad said.“But I’m glad you’re a help to her.”Dad wasn’t the type to go around handing out praise left and right, so having him ac knowledge that his youngest had done something good for a change made Casey feel about a foot taller.“I’m glad I could help her, too.”“Good.” Dad nodded and climbed down the ladder.“That should do it.Now let’s see about getting that porch light replaced.”“Right.” One job done, time to move on to another.Casey would never understand this kind of methodical approach to life, but he guessed that was okay.He’d just do like he did with Grandpa—keep talking and keep moving along.It saved everybody from a lot of awkward moments that way.13My heart is like a singing bird.—Christina Rosetti, “A Birthday”Karen returned from shopping to find Tom, Casey and Martin on the back porch, arguing.She followed the sound of raised voices and found the three of them gathered around the back steps, scowling at each other.“What’s going on here?” she asked [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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