Page 30 - Reason To Sing by Kelita Haverland

Reason To Sing

right. I don’t want Daddy to be like this anymore. I want him
to stop crying. I want him to stand up straight and talk normal.
When is she going to come home and take care of us? I am so,
so sad my Auntie has died.
But I have to be strong for Daddy right now.

~~~

“I’ve got some business to take care of and then I’ll be right
out.” Daddy pats Vian’s head. “When I’m done, we can go get a
treat, okay? You girls wait right here. Stay in the truck.”
We will do as we are told. It’s not the first time Daddy has
visited the gas station at the south end of town. And left us in
the truck to amuse ourselves.
I take the lead. I know that if I don’t entertain her, my little
sister will start acting up. We play the driving game. Take a
trip to Hawaii. I let her drive. When we arrive, we swim in the
ocean, we walk on the beach and explore the island.
But now, after twenty minutes of imagination, we are both
bored and restless. Daddy has been gone for a long time.
“When is he coming back? I’m thirsty,” Vian moans in a
tired voice.
“Me too.” I’m not sure what else to say. Where is he?
“When can we go and get our treat?” she whines some
more. Vian has had enough.
“I don’t know.” Time to take some Big Sister action. “Let
me go and see if I can find out. You wait right here, okay?”
I jump out of the pickup and quietly sneak into the side
door of the garage. It smells like old trucks and oil and gas. I
can hear men’s voices in the corner, so I follow them. Sneaking
a peek into the dingy office, I see a few men sitting around
a messy metal desk. They are huddled around a big whiskey

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