Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere (8 page)

Instead of fussin' about whatever Memaw was fussin' over, I went for breakfast—my first meal being ten.

Sometime after breakfast, Memaw asked if she could talk to Mama and Daddy in private. Every time she did that, us kids knew something was wrong. What I couldn't understand was why they thought we weren't gonna be able to hear them, just 'cause they walked off to the kitchen. There wasn't nothin' but a corner separating the two rooms. They acted like the kitchen was some kind of soundproof room or something.

So when Memaw told them they should consider canceling my party, I heard her plain as day. I flew around the corner and slid into the kitchen the second the crazy words came out of her mouth.

“Oh, please,
please
don't cancel my party!”

“Armani, this discussion doesn't concern you.” Daddy didn't sound normal.

“Of course it does, Daddy. It's
my
birthday! I don't understand why . . .”

Memaw walked over, took hold of my hand, and pressed it to her chest. “NeeNee, there's a
terrible
storm comin'.” She hadn't called me by my baby name in a long while, and right then, I didn't much like it. I pulled my hand loose from hers.

“But Memaw, Mama made my cake, and Daddy said we could do the Slip'n Slide. And, and . . .”

“That's enough, Armani. Take the twins and go on outside.” Daddy pulled off his glasses, squeezed his eyes shut, and pinched the top of his nose. My brain knew it was time to shut up, but the message didn't make it to my mouth.

“But . . .”

Daddy slapped his hand down on the gym-floor supper table, catching me so off guard I jerked backward. My eyes went to blinking. Mama's hands flew up to her mouth and Memaw turned away altogether and stared out the window up over the kitchen sink.

“I'm sorry,” Daddy said in a tired voice. “Just get your brothers and sisters and go outside.” He finally looked at me. His sagging eyes matched his voice.

“Yes, sir.” I rolled my eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

I stopped before going all the way around the corner to the living
room. I turned and looked at the three people who could ruin my day if they saw fit to do it. I didn't say a word, but I sure did give them the most pitiful pout I could get my face to make. My shoulders were all rolled forward and my arms just dangled there, hanging as low as they could go.

Slow as a slug, I made my way to the next room, never taking my droopy eyes off Mama and Daddy and my troublemaking Memaw's back.

I sat on the swing, flicking paint chips, and watched Khayla and Kheelin try to keep up with Georgie and Sealy while they all ran around like fools, chasing leaves that were blowing off the trees. The whole while, I was thinking that this was turning into the worst birthday ever. Didn't anyone understand the importance of what day it was?

Everything was headed in the right direction when Mama made me birthday biscuits for breakfast, and Sealy woke up singin', “It's your birthday, it's your birthday!” over and over again. But, just 'cause of some annoying storm, everyone wanted to go half-stupid and cancel my party. I hated Hurricane Katrina. I didn't care where the idiot storm went. People can't just go around canceling other people's birthdays.

I was fixin' to go back inside to point these things out to Daddy when he opened the screen door. As soon as the twins seen him, they ran to him with their pudgy arms reaching for the sky. He scooped one twin up in each arm, giving each of them a raspberry on the fat
part of their necks. I pretended like I wasn't dying on the inside to know if I was still having my party or what.

Daddy sat down on the swing beside me. I scooched the tiniest bit away from him. The twins slid down off Daddy's lap and went back to running about.

“Today's important to all of us, Armani.” I let myself look over at him. “We're going to have your party.”

“Oh, Daddy! Thank you!” I threw my arms around him the best I could from a sit, smiling as big as my mouth would go. Relief spread through me from my head to my toes.

“Let me finish, Armani.”
Uh-oh
. I settled back on the seat. A big chunk of the happy I was feeling fell like concrete to the bottom of my stomach. I had to fight the urge to cover my ears to block out whatever he was fixin' to say.

“Your mama's on the phone calling your friends. We've decided that it'd be best for them to stay home.”

“Stay home?” There went my head—throbbing again. “But why, Daddy?” The answer popped in my head. “It's because of Memaw, ain't it?” I was so mad at her! I had never in my life been mad at Memaw, and I didn't like how it felt. It reminded me of how my stomach gets all tangled up and twisted right before I puke.

“You watch your tone, miss, or there won't be a party at all. And stop saying ‘ain't.' ” Now Daddy was mad at
me
. “It's my decision, Armani, so if you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me.”

“But, Daddy, seriously, it ain't—I mean—it's
not
gonna be a real party without my friends. I don't understand.” Mama's wind chime was just a-clanging around. We both turned and looked at it.

Daddy stood up. He took a long, deep breath and pushed it out slow. “The hurricane's changed its course, Armani. It's coming closer to Louisiana now.” Daddy walked over and took Mama's chime down.

“What does that mean? Is it coming here? But . . . you said we didn't need to worry.” Some of my mad blew away with the wind when I seen the way Daddy flinched when the words came flying out of my mouth.

“It means that we'll definitely be getting some bad weather.” He paused and glanced up at the swirly sky. He sat back down beside me. I scooched closer to him. “It would be irresponsible for us to have your friends over when the weather's so unpredictable.” He put a hand on my bouncy knee. “Uncle T-Bone's still coming, and of course TayTay will be here.” He gave my knee a ticklish little squeeze. I swiped at his hand and bit my bottom lip, holding in my smile.

He stood up and brushed teeny bits of white chips off the back of his faded jeans. “Your mama's right. I need to paint this old chair.” He stole another look up at the busy sky. “Don't waste too much time out here pouting. It sure doesn't make a whole lot of sense to waste a minute of your birthday being mad about something we can't control.”

He hollered for the twins. They came hopping over. Daddy scooped them up, but didn't let out his usual big ol' belly laugh. Khayla and Kheelin giggled most likely 'cause they were too little to see what I wasn't seeing in my daddy's normally happy eyes.

I watched them all go inside, leaving me there with myself. I tilted my head back and stared up at the sky. I couldn't remember a time when I'd seen the clouds move so fast.

The hurricane was coming closer
. Stupid storm. I considered the possibility of running inside to tell Daddy about what Mr. Babineaux had said. I decided right then that I'd tell Daddy as soon as my party was over.

“Happy birthday, Armani!” TayTay held the giant pickle she was nibbling on up in the air and gave me a one-armed hug. I wondered if she could feel the light-green juice running down her arm. She flashed me her famous smile, letting me know that she didn't care one bit about whatever might be running into her armpit.

I looked over where Daddy was standing at the big black burner and cooking pot. Him and Uncle T-Bone and Georgie were all standing around, watching steam rise. It never did make no sense to me that some people like to stand and watch food cook. Uncle T-Bone's newest girlfriend was off by herself, smoking near the bushes.

“Uncle T-Bone looks happy,” TayTay said, pointing over that way with what was left of her pickle.

“Yeah, I guess.” I watched my uncle and the way he was grinning from ear to ear, just a-flashing that shiny gold tooth of his all over the place. TayTay was right—it was good to see him happy. After he first got back from Afghanistan, he was acting messed-up in his head. Memaw said that being in a war and seeing people die like that can make a person completely lose their mind. Lucky for us, that didn't happen to Uncle T-Bone—he just lost his mind for a little while.
Course, I thought he'd lost it again when he went and hooked up with Miss Shug.

Just looking at the way she stood there in her stupid, huge, floppy tangerine hat got on my nerves. “Ugh, I can barely even look at that woman,” I said, and turned away.

“I like her,” TayTay said.

“Who?”

“Miss Shug. I think she's pretty.” TayTay had lost her mind.

“Tay—
seriously
? Miss
Shug
ain't even her real name. Uncle T-Bone says we gotta call her that 'cause she's so sweet—like a big spoon of sugar.” I pretended to stick my finger down my throat. “There ain't no one that sweet.” I curled up my lip and stole a look back over there at the woman and her fake laugh. “Whatever. I think she's gross and her hats are obnoxious.”

“Girl, you need to stop.” TayTay smiled and shook her head from side to side, licking her pickle fingers. “Don't be so mean.”

“Mean? I ain't mean, I'm just keepin' it real. I know one thing: You ain't gonna catch me calling her
Shug
or
Sugar
. I'm calling her Miss. That's it, just plain ol' Miss.”

“You're so funny, Cuz,” she said. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Last weekend me and my dad were driving by the church, and there was Georgie standin' outside Uncle T-Bone's, practically up in the bushes, staring in the window.”

“For real? Are you serious?”

“Yep. But why? I mean, what's the point in lookin' in Uncle T-Bone's window?”

A tree somewhere made a cracking sound. I seen Daddy turn and look over his shoulder.

I kept my eyes on Daddy. “I'll tell ya why—'cause Miss walks around that house with no clothes on all day, an' Georgie's so desperate, he's gotta sneak peeks when he can.”

TayTay busted out laughing.

Georgie must've heard me say his name 'cause his head whipped around and he looked at me with a big question mark all but painted on his face. I gave him a whatcha-lookin'-at stare and hoped he hadn't heard us talking about him.

Uncle T-Bone and Miss lived six blocks over, right next door to our church. Wasn't none of my business, but it sure did seem to me that if you lived right next to the very place where you worshiped, you should at least put all your clothes on before you went walking in front of big ol' windows.

“Hey,” I tried to whisper, “I wonder if she wears her tangerine hat when she does her naked walkin'.”

TayTay went to laughing again and a cloud of pickle breath flew up my nose.

“I'm glad you're here, Tay,” I said, holding my hand up under my nose.

“I'm surprised I got to come. My dad almost didn't let me.”

“What's wrong with everybody? They act like the end of the world's comin' or somethin'.”