“What, like a twelve-step program?”
“Not exactly, but—”
“If you really want to make it up to me, I guess we could bang it out.”
Lorna’s mouth gaped again. That was decidedly not what she had in mind. “I don’t know if—”
“Kidding!” He laughed uproariously at her shock. “Girl, I’m married.”
She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Because she wasn’t sure what she would have done had he insisted. “There must be something I can do.”
It happened that Brett did have an idea for how she could make her amends. She left with a new set of tires. When they were installed, he walked her out to her car. “Who are you going to apologize to now?”
“Mr. Cho.”
“The pharmacy dude? We used to get milkshakes there, remember?”
“I do,” she said, and smiled fondly at the memory. “Take care of yourself, Brett.”
“You too, Lorna.” He turned and walked back to the lobby of Miller’s Tire Barn.
And Lorna drove to Peggy’s house with her receipt for new tires.
Chapter 25Lorna Is Seventeen
Mr. cho is the first person to trust lorna to do a job. She applied for dozens before he hired her, and she has worked for him for six months now. She comes in after school and always asks for weekend shifts. The more she is at work, and not at home, the better.
Mr. Cho likes an industrious student. He is half her size and thin as a pencil. He has a loyal fan base for his eclectic Cho’s Drugstore. It has everything—it’s a pharmacy but also a kids’ toy store, a hardware store, and a bookstore. The crown jewel is the soda fountain with the Formica bar top and the five red leather stools mounted to the ground. Mr. Cho allows all employees to have an ice cream cone at the end of their shift.
Lorna loves working here. She loves the people who come in every day. She loves stocking shelves (it’s oddly satisfying to see a tidy row of products). She mostly loves chatting with Mr. Cho. He is an immigrant, and he says he came to America with only ten dollars in his pocket. He gives her life advice: Obey all traffic laws. Always be kind. Don’t let others create expectations for your life, because this is the only life you’ll have. Work hard and play hard. Always leave some money in the bank.
He likes to ask her about her future. Where will she go to college? What will she study? He seems genuinely interested in her when Lorna can’t seem to interest anyone at home.
But then again, there is only her mother and sister to be interested now, and how could they find the time? Kristen has been in and out of treatment. The last go was bookended by two arrests, one for possession of marijuana and the other for vandalism. She is sober now, having promised Lorna once again that she has stopped for good. She is working in a fast-food chicken restaurant and comes home from her shift smelling like fried chicken. Lorna thinks Kristen has worked at every fast-food joint in town.
Mom’s office administration job pays for Kristen’s bail and court fines. When she’s not working, she is arguing with Kristen. Mom thinks Kristen should go back to school. Kristen has only a GED, and Mom says she’ll never have a life outside of minimum-wage jobs without a better education.
“Maybe I will go back,” Kristen says. “I always wanted to be a lawyer.”
News to Lorna. Kristen has wanted to be, in no particular order, a dancer, an actor, a movie director, a teacher, a police officer.
“Are you ridiculing me with that?” Mom asks. She looks tired all the time now. Dark circles are a permanent part of her eyes.
“How is that ridicule?” Kristen asks.
“Because you will never be a lawyer, Kristen. You have to have a college degree for that, a law degree—”
“So what? That’s what I want to do!” Kristen shouts.
“Stop it,” Mom snaps. “Just go get a trade certificate so you at least make enough to live on your own.”
Kristen digs in. Kristen always digs in. “No thanks. I think I’ll stick to chicken. You obviously don’t think I’m capable of much else.”
“Well, are you? Because the only thing I’ve ever seen youdetermined to do is get high. You sure don’t help with any bills around here.”
“How am I supposed to do that with a minimum-wage job?”
And round they go.
