"Let's just say that my father was a difficult man," I said, carefully sidestepping the things I'd prefer not to discuss with a twelve-year-old.
"My mom was difficult, too," she said looking at me straight in the eye. "I love her, but she was very difficult. Sometimes it was hard to love her."
"Yeah, I know the feeling," I nodded, thinking that as long as Riley was leading the discussion, I was okay admitting things that matched her observations.
"Sometimes I miss her, but most of the time I'm really glad that Leah is in charge of me— and not my mom," she said. "I know that's a bad thing to say because you're supposed to love your parents, but my mom wasn't as good at taking care of me as Leah is."
"Yeah, that's a hard one," I nodded. "My Pop wasn't around a lot, but when he was, he could be really tough. So, mostly I'm glad that it was my mother who raised us."
"Is your mom nice?" she asked.
"She is," I said with a smile.
"That's good," Riley murmured as she went back to playing with the hem of her shirt. I could tell she was thinking hard about something, but again, I didn't want to interfere with her thoughts or prompt her to say something she wasn't ready to say. I had no idea how to talk to kids, so I stayed silent and slipped back into my own thoughts, waiting for Riley to tell me what was on her mind.
I wondered if it had something to do with what was going on with Leah. I opened my mouth to ask, but then closed it before the words came out. It was none of my business, and if Leah wanted me to know what was going on with her, she'd tell me herself.
"We don't have a place to live anymore," Riley blurted out. "Gram burned us out of our house yesterday because she was smoking, and when she drinks she forgets about her lit cigarettes."
"Wait, what?" I said stunned that she was telling me this, but more stunned that I had no idea that this had happened.
"We stayed with my uncle Patrick last night, but he lives in the church, so there's no room for us. Besides, Leah and Patrick don't get along," she confessed. The more she talked, the easier it seemed to flow, so I stayed silent and let her tell me as much as she wanted to. I would ask questions once she'd gotten the whole story out.
"Leah says that we
can stay in a hotel for a couple of nights, but I think she forgot to pay the insurance policy," Riley continued. "I heard her arguing with Uncle Patrick about selling the house, and she was crying because we don't have any place to live. She thinks it's her fault, but it isn't. It's Gram's fault for smoking and drinking."
I listened as the whole story came tumbling out of Riley's mouth. The grandmother who was an alcoholic, the uncle who was a priest, the missing mother, and all of it seemed to fall on Leah's shoulders. Riley talked about getting suspended, and as she did, she began to cry.
"Oh, now wait a minute," I said as I slid out of my chair and kneeled on the floor in front of her. I took her hand and said, "Why did you get in a fight with that girl in the first place?"
"She said mean things about my mom," Riley sniffed as she wiped the back of her free hand across her eyes. "She called my mom a whore and a junkie. I was sick of it."
"Sounds like just cause to me," I said. "Listen, when I was a kid, I was always getting in fights and getting suspended from school. My mother would scold me and tell me I had to do better— try and get along with people, but nobody ever asked me why I was fighting in the first place."
"Why did you fight?" she asked as she sniffed back a small sob.
"I didn't like it when the bullies picked on the little kids who couldn't fight back," I said quietly. "I knew what that felt like."
"So you fought the big kids so they wouldn't beat up the little ones?" she asked hopefully.
"Yeah, but I didn't do a very good job of it," I admitted. "I wasn't much of a fighter."
"Doesn't matter," she said squeezing my hand. "You didn't let them just pick on those kids. I bet those kids were really glad someone stood up for them."
"I don't know," I shrugged, trying not to remember the moments of sheer terror I felt as I trudged home from school carrying yet another suspension notice in my backpack and knowing that at some point that evening I'd have to face my father.
"I do," she said patting my shoulder. "Because a couple of times there have been bigger kids who've stood up and defended me, and it felt good to know that I had someone looking out for me."
"Thanks," I said, giving her a grateful smile before redirecting the conversation. "But what are you guys going to do?"
"Me and Leah? Aw, we'll be okay," she said waving a hand at me as if none of this was a big deal. "We always find a way to get by."
"Is that so?" I said with an amused grin. There was something about her casual confidence that made her incredibly endearing.
Just then, Norma knocked on the door and said that I had an urgent call from one of the suppliers. Riley nodded at me and got up to go with Norma. As she reached the door, she turned around and said, "Thanks for the talk, Jack. I feel better. I hope you do, too."
Before I could answer, she turned and quietly closed the door behind her. I walked over to the desk, determined to end the call as quickly as possible because I had an idea about how to solve a number of problems.