Page 104 of Summer Breakdown
“As you know, it’s your mum’s birthday soon,” Frankie says. When she gets nervous, she starts talking like she’s performing a seminar. “I want to get her some things and thought maybe you could help me pick?”
There’s silence, then some more looking. Frankie’s about to pass out. It’s a good thing they haven’t moved from the side of the road.
“Frankie,” Marcel says, after a tense fifteen seconds where Frankie thought they’d never talk to her again.
“Yes, babe?”
He rolls his lips, shuffling in his seat. Frankie checks the rearview and, sure enough, Lani’s eyebrows are rising. “Do you have any chores you need doing?”
Frankie frowns. “Chores?”
“Yeah,” Marcel replies. “Like, do you want us to wash your car?”
Rude. Also unnecessary because this car, clean or dirty, is a heap of shit. “A dirty car just makes sense!”
“Uhm,” he says, looking out the window, “or we could do your laundry.”
“What do you want to do chores for?”
Lani steps in when Marcel turns bright red. “Because then you could pay us, and we can get Mama things for her birthday.” Oh.
“I saved my lunch money,” Marcel says, “but then we had to replace the wheels Lani has at Dad’s.”
“What?” A feral need to protect them rushes over Frankie. Mike is also three seconds away from getting whacked, and he’s not making it easier on her. “Why did you?”
“I broke them,” Lani replies, looking at her lap, as if there’s any reasonable way a girl of her size could have broken a set of wheels she desperately loves. As if there’s a reason to ask a four-year-old and a teenager to replace something she needs to move around.
“So?” Frankie asks. “Lani, they’re wheels. You need them. It doesn’t matter if you broke them.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” she says, her little eyes wide. “We were trying to get them outside without hitting Daddy’s table.”
Frankie is fuming. Jasmine will be fuming when she tells her later. Why is there furniture in the way of Lani being able to move around the house?
“We don’t get pocket money or anything, Ma just gives it to us,” Marcel says, “and I didn’t figure out to save it for her birthday until too late. We didn’t get her anything any year.”
“That’s not true,” Frankie replies. “Lani, you made her a scrapbook, and Marcel, you made her breakfast.”
“But she likes pretty things too,” Marcel replies. He looks so young when he’s nervous.
Frankie smiles. “Oh, you guys are so sweet. It’s what I meant when I said you can help me pick. They’ll be from you.”
“But you would have paid, and we didn’t do anything for it.”
“You’re kids,” she replies. “You’re not supposed to have to do anything. You help around the house and you’re lovely all the time. That’s all I would ever want you to do.”
Marcel chews on his lip, turning to look at Lani.
Frankie sighs. “You can make me a cup of tea every day for a week.” Lani squeals, and Marcel laughs.
“Okay. Thank you.” He leans across the console, and Frankie almost dodges his arms because she thinks he’s reaching for something other than her, but then he hugs her. For the first time ever. She needs to tell Jasmine immediately.
“I told Jasmine we’d send a photo, so get in,” she says, opening the camera on her phone and then spinning it so Lani’s smile is between them. She sends it with the noteMarcel hugged me. I’m trying to be cool about it.
“Ready to go get the best gifts anyone has ever seen?” Frankie asks, as she turns the car on.
Lani cheers, and Marcel laughs. She hands him her phone.
“Pick something good,” she says.
