The alarm rang at three A.M. I sat up and grabbed it. Decision Day. Should I leave? Biggy usually swooned into bed, and then lapsed into a coma. Once asleep, he was hard to wake. This morning, though, he rolled over. “S’up?” I stood and made up my bed. “Paper routes.” Maybe he heard somethingContinue reading “Chapter 20 Should I Stay or Should I Go?”
Category Archives: To Daddy chapters
Chapter 19
My Face in His Mirror The Marines notified Mother a month after Daddy had cut off our allotments. A copy of her letter went to Daddy’s address. “I ditched him in California, so now he’s getting back at all of us,” she had said. She stored the letter in the hall closet, inside a BusterContinue reading “Chapter 19”
Chapter 18
The Devil and Curtis Pye One buyer showed up the next day. “Twenty. That’s all it’s worth.” “That’s not fair. It cost me three hundred and fifty dollars.” The man had a red Van Dyke goatee and a purple complexion. “It’s $175, plus a hundred to fix the wheel. Should I risk $275 on aContinue reading “Chapter 18”
Chapter 17
For Sale I watched TV after everyone left. For the thousandth time, Brutus grabbed Popeye by the top of his head. Popeye fists flailed like a windmill, but they never touched Brutus. That was me, but I couldn’t rely on a can of spinach to win my battles with Biggy. If I stayed in Oklahoma,Continue reading “Chapter 17”
Chapter 16
Blue Chunks “What happened?” Zandy sat on the arm of my chair. “Why did it happen?” Marsha asked from the couch. Her four daughters filled the other two cushions. I looked at no one. “It was an accident,” Mother said. “No it wadn’t!” Biggy said from the kitchen door. “Don’t lie for him.” “Shut it.”Continue reading “Chapter 16”
Chapter 15
Two Kinds of People Despite what Sammie had said, life had been better when I’d been the most invisible kid in high school. I felt too miserable to do anything but write. I had journaled since Mother paid three dollars for the portable Remington a couple of years ago at a garage sale, and todayContinue reading “Chapter 15”
Chapter 14
What if a Marine Trained You? Something hit my back and I started shaking. “Dude! Epic fight!” “Sammie Davis! Don’t do that!” I shot a nasty look. “You scared the poop out of me.” “Sorry,” she smiled. “Didn’t mean to startle you.” I wish I could smile like Sammie Davis Jr. She smiled winningly. She smiledContinue reading “Chapter 14”
Chapter 13
Careless People Sixth-hour study hall was a gift: an entire hour in our high school library. I finished The Outsiders, a tiny masterpiece written by a girl my age about life in her city. Not New York, not Los Angeles, not Dallas. Tulsa, not even two hundred miles away. Can it be that simple? Can I writeContinue reading “Chapter 13”
Chapter 12
Stood Up I worked Saturday’s two-hour lunch rush at the Freeze, then read a quarter of The Outsiders. I couldn’t decide whom to root for: the socs were rich; the greasers were poor like me. But the Andersens were greasers. Just before I started my routes, MBe plopped at my table. “Has O’Murphy called you?” I shookContinue reading “Chapter 12”
Chapter 11
Out of the Blue After I finished my Saturday routes, I drove by O’Murphy’s house. That’s how I learned how the slightest act could cause the greatest consequence. She called an hour later, out of the blue. “Cutie? This is Murph.” “I. Uhh.” That used up just about every word I could think of. “Did youContinue reading “Chapter 11”
