Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 23:06:19 EDT
From: Sunsethape000@aol.com
Subject: Frailness 2

    Note from the author: If you are not 18...you get it by now, don't
you?

    "Pass the corn please," George Becker asked that evening, deciding
after all the unpacking he had done he deserved seconds.
    Tally did, only after taking a piece of corn on the cob herself. She
had walked home that afternoon with a deep sense of loss. Not to mention
shame. It wasn't in her nature to be rude to someone she had just met.
And Baily seemed like a really great girl...almost too great to Tally,
truth be told.
    "Why so quiet?" Her father asked, noticing his daughter's mood. His
little girl was never really all that happy, which one could expect with
the amount of moving they did across the country, but today she happened
to be worse than average. George was beginning to worry about his sweet
Tally. Sure, her grades were up, but what about her spirits? He knew she
was unhappy moving all the time, knew she never got the chance to make
any long term friends, but he couldn't help it. Being in the army may
seem like a good job, but it certainly had its drawbacks, one of them
being the constant movement. That's what frustrated George the most...the
fact that even though he wanted to he couldn't stay in the same place for
the sake of his daughter.
    "I'm just tired...first day weariness, you know?" Tally replied,
bringing her baby blues up to his own. Her father was exhausted, she
could see it well in the bags under his eyes and the way they fluttered
shut when the conversation lagged (which it did often). The five o'clock
shadow he sported didn't do much in altering the image he portrayed as a
homeless man in a shelter.
    He's been working too hard, Tally thought again. He always works to
hard.
    "So what was it about your first day that made you so weary?" He
asked, a smile coming to his rugged face, turning what might have seemed
like a frightening portrait into an endearing picture of love.
    "Oh, you know, same ole same ole..." She said, staring into her food
to avoind contacting her guilty eyes with his loving ones. She couldn't
possibly express how harshly she had treated the other girl for no
reason, especially not to this man, who thought Tally could do no wrong.
She didn't want to see his open expression turn into one of shame...to
see his eyes become closely guarded and cloudy. She couldn't bear it.
Plus, she reasoned, he didn't need any more stress than what he was under
already.
    "Hey, you know what we should do tonight?" Her father asked suddenly,
the merriment he felt easily seen on his face.
    "What?" She asked smiling. It wasn't often that her father got
excited about things. At least not anymore.
    "We should go rent some movies, get some junk food, and spend tonight
just vegging out in front of the TV." He replyed smiling, proud of his
idea.
    "Hey, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," He tries so hard to make
me happy, she thought, a warm glow spreading through her heart. Slowly
but surely it was replacing the guilt she had felt earlier.
    "But first you have to help me out with the dishes young lady," he
proclaimed in mock sterness, shoving his chest out and putting his hands
at his hips, all the while a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
    "Oh yeah, 'cause you're such an iron fist around here," Tally said
sarcastically, laughing and punching him lightly in his open gut.
    "Well, I would be if you ever caused any trouble," he said
defensively.
    "What, so you want me to act crazy?" she laughed incredulously.
    "I wouldn't mind it," he replyed, all the joking gone from his voice,
"You know, you don't have to be perfect all the time," he said, his blue
eyes boring a hole into hers.
    Tally didn't know what to say when the dead silence went over them,
but luckily the phone rang.
***
    Baily looked again at the clock hanging on the wall over the doorway
that lead into the kitchen. It wasn't that she had somewhere to go, she
would just rather be anywhere but here. The more time she spent in a room
with her parents and Shannon, the more she wished she would just gag on
her food and die. Dramatic, yes...entirely false, no.
    Thomas had been at football practice when she had gotten home, and he
was still there now...or at least claiming to be there. Everyone but
Richard and Shay Sneider knew he was over at his girlfriend's house,
doing whatever he damn well pleased. His theory on life was play hard and
fast, and that wasn't just on the field. Tom would do what he wanted when
he wanted it. Baily herself had seen him drunk at several parties. Not to
mention high.
    And his parents adored him.
    Baily was tapping her foot under the table, anxious to leave, when
Shannon began talking again.
    "Hey mom and dad, guess what. You know my science project I did in
Mrs. Fairs class? Well, she says she thinks it's good enough to go to a
national competition! Can you believe that? I mean, I know it was
awesome, but I still didn't think it would get the recognition it did so
quickly..." Shannon went on, her face gleaming at her own intelligence.
She went into detail about all the prizes she could win in nationals, and
how Mrs. Fair had gushed over her in class that day. Their parents soaked
it all in, the pride in their eldest daughter easily seen in their faces.
    "That really is great hon!" Shay said, taking another sip of her
wine. It was her fourth glass, but Baily seemed to be the only one to
notice.
    "See, didn't I tell you the other day we had the smartest daughter in
the world?" Richard chimed in, beaming at Shannon. Though Baily didn't
want to admit it, she knew it was in a way he never had for her.
    "May I please be excused?" Baily cut in when she could no longer take
the holier than thou shit her sister was playing. Her parents looked at
her as though they hadn't recognized her presence in the room all
evening. Baily knew what was coming next...what always came next...and
just wanted it over with.
    "You know Baily, I would think you would be a little more proud of
your sister than you are. After all, at least SHE is trying to contribute
to the world. When's the last time I saw you do something like that?" Her
mother slurred, her voice going cold as ice when directed at Baily.
    "Your mother is right...I've just about had it to here with your non
supportive bullshit." Her father exclaimed, his face turning red with the
anger he felt. "If you want to leave so badly, why don't you just do it?"
he screamed.
    "Fine," Baily said quietly with her chin in her chest. As she walked
out the front door she could hear her parents' voices from the kitchen.
    "That girl has no appreciation..."
    She shut the door quietly on her way out into the black night.

Note from the author: Thank you for the replys.