Home Front

Michael looked away. He understood how that could happen, how you could forget someone. Hadn’t he done it himself, hadn’t he forgotten Jolene while she was standing right beside him?

Michael didn’t realize how long he’d been silent, but then Seth cleared his throat and said, “Thanks for the Coke, Mr. Z. I better get home. My grandma calls the National Guard when I’m late—and in our family, that’s no joke. She calls Ben Lomand, and he chews me out. ”

Michael smiled. “Good to talk to you, Seth. Tell your dad I say hi. ”

When the kid walked away, Michael added, “You should come around sometime, see Betsy. ”

Seth turned to him. The sadness in his dark glance surprised Michael. “I wish. ”

* * *

If Dante had lived in modern times, Michael had no doubt that going to the mall with your daughters would have qualified as one of the circles of hell. Especially when you were there to find a birthday present for your twelve-year-old daughter’s on-again best friend. So far, they’d been here an hour and found nothing. He was so tired of looking at glittery headbands and ripped-neckline tee shirts and posters of boy bands he could scream.

They were in Wal-Mart now, drifting through the makeup aisle. Lulu was like a pitbull straining on a leash; she kept grabbing Michael’s hand and surging forward, yanking him toward some cheap, sparkly thing.

“There,” Betsy said, pointing to a small, neon-pink case that held an array of makeup items. “She’d like that. ”

“Is Sierra allowed to wear makeup?”

Betsy gave him the Look. “I’m the only one who can’t. ”

He looked at her, seeing the mascara smudges beneath her eyes and the blush that looked like war paint. “Right. And you don’t. Fine. Get it. Let’s go. ”

“It’s expensive. ”

“Get it. ” He would have paid anything, really, just to get out of there.

Lulu said, “I want something, Daddy,” and tugged at his hand.

“I need wrapping paper and a card,” Betsy said.

Michael was pretty sure he groaned aloud. Still, he followed her out of the makeup aisle and toward whatever came next, all the while listening to Lulu shout: Stop, Dad! I want that and that and that!

In the gift-wrap aisle, Betsy stopped so suddenly Michael ran into her. Lulu yelled, “Geez, Betsy—”

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Betsy said.

“Come on, Betsy, can you wait ’til—”

She turned on him. “Now. ”

She said it so forcefully, he frowned. With another sigh, he followed her to the restrooms, although it set Betsy off, caused her to hiss at him to stop following her, but what could he do? Lately he’d developed an irrational fear that he’d lose one of the kids. He had nightmares where he said to Jo, I don’t know, I just looked away for a second.

He sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs to wait.

“Daddy, play patty-cake,” Lulu said, raising her hands like a mime.

“Huh?”

Before Lulu could start whining, Betsy came out of the bathroom, looking pale and terrified. She moved awkwardly, as if her knees didn’t bend right anymore.

He rose, instantly worried. “Betsy?”

She glanced around. When he said her name again, louder, she flinched. “Shhhhh. ”

He moved closer. “Honey? What is it?”

Betsy looked up at him. Her mouth was unsteady, her eyes huge. “I started my period. ”