Laura had told on Dad and me as soon as Mom got back from work. I guess Laura had been bored; it wasn’t like I’d done anything to her all day. I hadn’t even been there to do . . . oh. The dishes. I guess Laura had had to pick up my chores. Oops. Mom was as mad as I’d ever heard her. And considering how mad she’d been getting since Dad lost his job, that was saying something. I wished Dad would find a job, any job. Maybe then Mom wouldn’t be so tired all the time, and worried. Maybe she’d turn back into the mom I’d had before. Mostly happy, even happy sometimes to sit still and read to me. But she’d been way too busy for that for a long time now. I hid out from the shouting in my room, listening to Mom scream about why her authority was being undermined and Dad yell back about her needing to loosen up. They fought a lot these days. But never this bad . . . and this time, it was about me.
