Page 21 of Bad to the Bone

The seconds tick by slowly, making me anxious.

I’ll let you know. Good night.

“Hey, are you ready?” Kim peeks around the door.

“Yeah, ready.”

“What’s wrong.”

“Nothing, I’m just a little worried about a friend. He’s been...not himself lately. I think I should take a trip out to see him next weekend.”

“Yeah, definitely,” she roots through the bag I just finished filling. “Guess who’s coming with us?”

“Tell her she doesn’t have to dress fancy.”

“Why don’t you tell her. I think she’s had enough of me for one night.” Kim frowns. The worst, it seems, is over but the damage is still pretty fresh.

I kiss her forehead and go to knock on Shannon’s door.

“Hey are you ready? Is it safe to come in?”

“Sure.”

Shannon’s room is exactly what you’d expect a girl like her to arrange. Everything is in fun patterns and feminine colors. The shelves and walls are covered in equal parts jewelry, stuffed animals and awards.

“So Kim convinced you to come with us. Family road trip,” I say, trying not to sound like a meddling boyfriend.

“Yeah,” she nods.

“Listen, I can’t handle one word answers tonight. Just level with me, okay?”

“She doesn’t get it. She’s such a fucking push over it makes me fucking crazy.”

“You know how to cuss?” I can’t help but to feel a little scandalized by her choice of language.

“Oh come on, Zayne. She is infuriating. I know she wants to see the good in everybody, but not everybody is all that good.”

“You’re right. It’s exhausting and infuriating.”

“Exactly!”

“And it’s also what makes her one hell of a teacher. Have you ever seen her teach? I mean really just sat back and watched her teach?”

“No,” Shannon pauses, sitting on the edge of her bed.

“She has the whole room in the palm of her hand. Even boring shit seems pretty cool the way she tells it. She sees every student as capable of learning what she has to teach. She busts her ass finding the best way to reach everybody. She cares.”

“I know she cares, we all do. But you and I know you gotta open your eyes. Why doesn’t she?” Shannon’s shoulders slump forward, burdened with profound disappointment and despair. I remember that feeling. That’s how I felt when I realized that my mother was never going to stand up to my father. She was never going to leave. She was never going to save me from him.

“She gets it, she just chooses to see things differently,” I sit down beside her and throw an arm around her shoulders, big brother style. “And that’s why we love her. She isn’t weak. She isn’t broken. But if she gives up, if she just says hey, this person is beyond saving, how does she keep doing what she does? And believe it or not, she is trying to protect you and me the best way she knows how. That’s a hell of a lot more than I can say for my mom. So cut her some slack. And dress casual, we’re not going to the Taj Mahal.”

I give her a tight squeeze and step out of the room. I think I can handle this big brother thing. While the ladies finish packing I take a moment to book us two rooms at a spa a few hours away.

Twenty minutes later we are in the car, taking all of the backroads to the highway.

“Where are we going?” Shannon calls from the backseat.

“You’ll see when we get there. Just trust me.”

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