I looked over what I wrote, and my stomach dropped. This was a joke, right? Katherine didn’t just have twelve kids, but twelve boys! I knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about the male species. I went to a private school for girls! How was I ever going to survive living in a house full of boys? Didn’t they speak their own language or something?
As soon as the plane landed, Uncle Richard was going to hear an earful from me. Knowing him, he was probably wrapped up in an important board meeting and wouldn’t be able to take my call, but I couldn’t believe him! Not only was he pawning me off on some woman I didn’t know, but he also was dumping me with a pack of boys. He said he was doing what was best for me, especially since he was never home, but over the past three months, I’d gotten the feeling that he just didn’t feel comfortable being a parent.
***
Richard wasn’t my real uncle, but I’d known him since I was a little girl. He was my dad’s college roommate, and after graduating, they became business partners. Every year on my birthday, he would bring me a bag of my favorite jellybeans and a card with fifty dollars in it.
In January, Richard became my guardian, and to make the situation more bearable for me, he moved into the penthouse on the Upper East Side where my family lived. At first it was weird with him in the house, but he kept to himself in the spare bedroom and soon we fell into a comfortable routine. Normally, I only saw him at breakfast since he always worked late into the night, but last week that all changed. When I came home from school, the dinner table was set with what must have been his best attempt at a home-cooked meal. Then he told me I was moving to Colorado.
“I don’t get why you’re making me leave,” I told him after ten minutes of arguing.
“I explained this already, Jackie,” he said, his face pained as if this decision was ripping him away from the only home he’d ever known and not me. “Your school therapist is worried about you. She called today because she doesn’t think you’re coping well.”
“First of all, I never wanted to see that stupid therapist,” I argued, slamming my fork on the table. “Secondly, how can she even suggest I’m not coping well? My grades are excellent, if not better than first semester.”
“You’ve done a fine job in school, Jackie,” he said. I could hear the but coming. “However, she thinks that you’re throwing yourself into your work as a way to avoid facing your problems.”
“My only problem is that she has no clue who I am! Come on, Uncle Richard. You know me. I’ve always been studious and hardworking. That’s what it means to be a Howard.”
“Jackie, you’ve joined three new clubs since the start of the semester. Don’t you think you’re spreading yourself a bit thin?”
“Did you know that Sarah Yolden received a scholarship to go study an endangered species of plants in Brazil over the summer?” I asked instead.
“No, but—”
“She got to publish her findings in a science magazine. She’s also first chair for violin and got to perform in Carnegie Hall. How am I supposed to compete with that? I can’t just have good grades if I want to get into Princeton,” I told him coolly. “My application needs to be impressive. I’m building it up.”
“And I understand that, but I also think a change of scenery might be beneficial for you. The Walters are wonderful people and are happy to take you in.”
“A change of scenery is relaxing on the beach for a week!” I exclaimed, rocketing out of my seat. Leaning over the table, I glared at Uncle Richard. “This is cruel. You’re sending me across the country.”
He sighed. “I know you don’t understand right now, Jackie, but I promise this is a good thing. You’ll see.”
***
So far, I still didn’t understand. The closer we got to Colorado, the more nervous I became, and no matter how many times I told myself that things would be fine, I didn’t believe it. I chewed my lip until it was raw, worrying over how difficult it would be for me to fit into the Walters’ lives.
When the plane landed, Katherine and I made our way through the airport to find her husband.
“Now, I told the kids last week that you’re moving in, so they know you’re coming,” she chattered as we pushed through the crowds. “Also, I have a room for you. I just haven’t been able to clean it out yet, so—oh, George! George, over here!”
Katherine jumped up and down, waving to a tall man in his early fifties. I could tell Mr. Walter was a few years older than his wife because most of his hair and scruff were completely gray, and age lines were starting to streak across his forehead. He was wearing a red-and-black flannel shirt with ripped jeans, heavy work boots, and a cowboy hat.
When we reached him, he pulled Katherine into a hug and stroked her hair. It reminded me of my parents, and I cringed and turned away. “I missed you,” he told her.