From Money Makes it Deadlier:
Chapter 4:
Cold Pizza and Clandestine Contact
“Mom! We’re out of milk!” Katelyn Cantrell shook the very light box of cereal, opened it up, and overturned it above the table. A dozen stale cereal fragments tumbled out. “Mom! The cereal’s gone too! What am I gonna eat?” Desperate, she plucked up a piece that looked like it might have been a marshmallow once upon a time and tentatively stuck it on her tongue. It didn’t taste half-bad but it certainly couldn’t satisfy her hunger.
“Stop shouting! I’ll be down in a minute!” Thanks to a quirk of the house her mother’s exasperated cries floated down to the kitchen through the light fixture above the table.
“But there’s nothing to eat!” Katelyn repeated, staring up and addressing the ceiling lamp.
“Eat the pizza,” Lynn Berkley calmly instructed. “There should be four slices left.”
“For breakfast?” Katelyn whipped her head around and looked to see that the woman coming up behind her really was her mother.
Lynn shrugged.
“Sure. Why not?” She finished clickity-clacking her way into the kitchen as she donned her second-best pair of earrings. “I don’t want you to make a habit of it, but once in a while won’t kill you. You’re on vacation this week anyway.”
Katelyn leapt from her chair and scrambled to the refrigerator before her mom could change her mind.
“Katelyn Amelia Cantrell. Look at this mess!”
Aware her mom had just used her full name, Katelyn cautiously ducked from behind the refrigerator door.
“What?” Her question came out muffled due to a large bite of cold pizza still mostly filling her mouth.
“Young lady, we do not speak with food in our mouths, and this table has crumbs all over it.” Lynn waved at the kitchen table. “Please rectify the situation.” She placed hands on hips and waited.
Rolling her eyes and groaning, Katelyn trudged from behind her shelter, threw the remains of her pizza slice onto a napkin, and wiped the cereal crumbs and dust from the kitchen table into her hand.
“Use the washcloth and make sure you don’t miss anything.”
“Mom.” Katelyn managed to make the word last two full seconds. Snatching up the washcloth, she did as bid.
“What?” Lynn waited until the table had had a nice thorough scrubbing before cheerfully matching her tone to the whiny cadence Katelyn had used.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what, dear?” Lynn retrieved a slice of pizza from the refrigerator and took a delicate bite.
“Giving orders,” Katelyn complained.
Lynn laughed, laid the pizza on a paper towel beside Katelyn’s, and brushed her hands off over the sink. She moved over to Katelyn, placed both hands on her shoulders, and drew her back into a tight hug, pinning Katelyn’s arms in place. She lowered her voice like she had a deep secret to share.
“I hate to break it to you, Little Miss, but I am your mother. I get to give orders. And kisses.” She planted a big kiss on Katelyn’s right ear.
It earned another long, multileveled protest from Katelyn.
“Mom!”
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” Lynn tightened the hug before letting Katelyn squirm free.
“You’re so weird.”
“Why, thank you,” Lynn said. She returned to the cold pizza slices and picked up both. Holding Katelyn’s out to her, Lynn held her own slice up in a toast. “Here’s to lovely leftovers. May they not clog our arteries on the way down.”
Katelyn decided she liked this odd side of her mom. She didn’t get to see it often. Mostly she seemed to worry about money, but Katelyn guessed that was a job hazard from managing a bank. Today, her mom had chosen a navy-blue skirt with a white blouse. Katelyn studied her critically.
“Do I pass inspection?” Lynn turned to the side so Katelyn could get the full effect.
“You look …” Katelyn struggled to find the right word. She scanned the word magnets covering the front of the refrigerator. She sometimes looked up random definitions to stave off boredom or pass the time waiting for her Candy Crush lives to regenerate. Her eyes found just the right word. “Competent.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, love.”
They settled into their respective kitchen chairs and each enjoyed a full slice of cold pizza. They also split a slice before Katelyn’s phone pinged, destroying the comfortable mood. Her heart fluttered, going up with joy and sinking with sorrow for the lost moment. A quick glance at her mother reinforced the icky feeling she was getting.
The expression Lynn wore couldn’t be read easily. It was a carefully contained neutral thing, but child’s intuition told Katelyn, her mother wasn’t happy.
“May I answer the message?” Katelyn knew her mom hated the fancy smartphone because it had been a surprise gift from her dad. He’d programed it with his number and Kenny’s number. She had since added a dozen friends and her mother to the contacts list.
“Go for it,” Lynn said, attempting a smile. She got up quickly and cleared the napkins. “I’ve got to go to work soon, but Mrs. Ting will be here to stay with you.”
“I’m in seventh grade. I don’t need a babysitter,” Katelyn muttered absently. Most of her attention went into entering her code to unlock the phone.
“She’s not a babysitter. She’s a housekeeper who happens to be here when you are. Don’t stay on that thing too long, okay?”
“Okay.” Katelyn’s chirruped response didn’t satisfy her mom, so she flashed a bright smile. “Have fun at work.”
“I’m serious. Get some fresh air today. Try not to give Mrs. Ting too hard a time. She has enough to worry about with her own family.”
Katelyn’s hands froze, poised over the button to see who had sent her a text message. She looked at her mom expectantly. When no further information was offered, she demanded, “What’s wrong with Mrs. Ting’s family?” Her tone said there shouldn’t be anything wrong. Mrs. Ting was the nicest lady ever.
Lynn was silent, and Katelyn knew that meant she was measuring how much to say.
“Her mother is dying from cancer.” Lynn’s soft tone couldn’t take the sting out of the announcement.
Katelyn sucked in sharply, not sure how she should feel about that news.
“Poor Mrs. Ting.” It wasn’t her mother after all, but it was somebody she’d met.
Lynn placed a hand over Katelyn’s wrist and squeezed, initially saying nothing. Then, she cupped Katelyn’s head between her hands and kissed her forehead.
Katelyn was too lost in thought to protest.
“Don’t worry about it, baby. There’s not much we can do except be understanding. Hug her for me when she gets in, all right?” Lynn released Katelyn and grabbed her purse. “I’ll pick up milk and cereal on the way home. Remember to set the alarm after Mrs. Ting gets here.”
Katelyn waved to let her mom know every instruction had been received. Her mood stayed melancholy until she remembered the unread text message. She’d waited so long her phone had gone to sleep, so she woke it up and accessed the message. She smiled half-evilly when she saw who it was from.
KDCbuttmunch (Cell): Hey shortstuf call me
Katelyn wrinkled her nose at her brother’s misspelled words and complete lack of proper punctuation. She doubted he’d even have the first letter capitalized if his phone didn’t do that automatically. As a condition of being allowed to text people, her mother insisted she use complete sentences and spell things correctly. At first it had been totally annoying, but by now, it was second nature. Katelyn wished her mom could make Kenny follow the texting rules. She hit reply and scrolled down to call. Her brother answered on the second ring, which was unusual for him. He must have been waiting for her call.
“Yo.”
“Yo?” Katelyn repeated dubiously. “You texted me, Buttmunch, and now ‘yo’ is all you can say? How about ‘Hi, Katelyn. Long time no talk. Thanks for calling.’”
“Whoa. Tone down the snot level, brat.” Despite his words, Kenny sounded amused. “I wanted to know if you would like to hang out sometime, just you and me. It has been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
The invitation stunned Katelyn into silence. She’d hardly seen Kenny since the divorce hearings. Her mom wouldn’t let her go to many of them, but she’d wanted to go just to catch a glimpse of him. They’d traded a few barbs by text message in the intervening years, but even calls were rare things.
“Did you ask mom?”
“No. I’m asking you, dumbbell. It wouldn’t make sense to ask her unless you wanted to hang out with me.”
That actually made sense, so she forgave him the arrogant tone.
Now fully recovered, Katelyn’s response gushed out.
“Of course, I want to see you. When can we meet? What will we do? I don’t have much money because of Christmas. There were a few gift exchanges at school I had to join.”
“Cost don’t matter,” said Kenny.
“Doesn’t,” Katelyn corrected instinctively. She bit her bottom lip. Mom said that was a bad habit.
“Are you always this annoying?” Kenny wondered.
“Yep.”
He chuckled at her honesty then settled into a rare moment of seriousness.
“Dad says, ‘hi.’ I’ll give you his gift when I see you.”
“I hope he didn’t spend a lot of money on it. Mom hates it when he does that. I think she feels bad that she can’t ….”
“Compete,” Kenny finished.
“Yeah, compete. That’s it.” The iPhone was only the latest in a long list of gifts. Katelyn had mixed feelings over the pricey offerings. Of course, she loved getting things from her father, but she didn’t like the strained expression they always conjured in her mother. She was old enough to understand this was just a different way for her parents to fight. Mom had once explained that part. Since her dad wasn’t around her, he sent things so she wouldn’t forget him, which was stupid. He was her father and an important man. Katelyn could never forget him even if she wanted to.
A sad beat passed between the siblings.
Kenny cleared his throat.
“Yo. I’ve got to split, but now that I know you’re in, I’ll talk to mom and let you know more details when I get them. Think about what you want to do.”
“Thanks, Kenny. I mean it.”
He grunted and ended the call.
Katelyn stared down at the phone. She smiled then frowned, suddenly having the urge to cry. She killed the urge with a dose of anger. She shouldn’t have to miss her brother this much. Truth be told, she missed her dad too, but at least she got to see him on TV late at night on the boring channel that replayed city council meetings. Why couldn’t her parents act like adults and work it out? They’d loved each other once upon a time.
What happened? The question was quickly followed by another. What will happen?
Katelyn couldn’t predict which way her mom’s decision would go. Mom was often lingering up in her bedroom staring at the framed high school picture of Kenny, but the topic was strictly off limits. Katelyn would bet her iPhone her mom would do just about anything for Kenny, but then why didn’t he live with them?
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