There’s my favorite grandson,” Curtis announced as soon as MJ, Matthew, and Stacey walked into the kitchen, and Charlotte smiled. Matthew hadn’t lived with her and Curtis for a while now, yet he still used his own key and walked right in whenever he visited. Out of respect, though, he never did this unless he’d told them ahead of time that he was on his way. Still, Charlotte loved the fact that, regardless of how many years had passed, Matthew felt as though his parents’ home was also his.
“Hi, Paw-Paw,” MJ said, hugging Curtis, and then he hugged Charlotte. “Hi, Nana.”
“How are you, sweetie?” Charlotte said, squeezing him tightly. “Nana is so glad to see you.”
Matthew and Stacey hugged Charlotte and Curtis, too.
“Have a seat,” Curtis told them, and MJ sat where he always did whenever they congregated around the island: between his grandparents. Matthew and Stacey sat on the other side, and for a second the empty chair next to Stacey made Charlotte a little sad. Because normally, Curtina would be sitting next to her sister-in-law or her brother. That was before she’d begun spending all her time up in her room, which was where she was now.
“So how was school today, MJ?” Curtis asked.
“Good.”
“Did you learn anything?” he continued.
“Yes, we learned how to do more word problems.”
Curtis raised his eyebrows. “In math?”
“Yes. We already learned how to do some easy ones, but now our teacher is giving us hard ones.”
“When I was in second grade, I don’t think I remember doing story problems,” Curtis told him.
MJ scrunched his forehead. “What’s a story problem, Paw-Paw?”
“It’s a word problem, except when I was a small boy like you, we didn’t call it that.”
“Oh.”
“So what else did you learn?” Charlotte asked.
“Ummm, we learned some new songs in music class.”
“Well, that’s nice.”
“Uh-huh. They aren’t the same kinds of songs that we sing at church, but I still like them. And my teacher might let me lead one of them for our family night program next month.”
Everyone smiled.
“That’s great, MJ,” Charlotte said.
“Thanks, Nana. I told her I was leading a song at church this coming Sunday, and she was so excited. She said she might come just so she can hear me.”
Charlotte forced another smile on her face, but she felt like crying. She’d totally forgotten about MJ’s solo portion of the children’s choir’s upcoming performance. It was taking place during Sunday morning service, and there was no way she could miss being there. She’d decided that this would be her first week of not attending, but if she didn’t show up, MJ would be crushed.
“That’s right,” Curtis said. “Paw-Paw’s main little man is leading his first song.”
“Yep,” he said, grinning with a mountain of pride. “I’ve been practicing every day.”
Stacey fist-bumped MJ across the island. “Yep, and you’re definitely ready.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he said, and Charlotte smiled at the awesome relationship that her daughter-in-law had with her grandson. Not every stepparent and stepchild got along, but anyone who knew them could see how much Stacey loved MJ and how much MJ loved her. His love for Stacey had never undercut the love he had for his biological mom, but he certainly loved Stacey as though she’d given birth to him.
MJ reached toward the fruit dish, pulled an orange from it, and got down from his chair. “Where’s Curtina? Is she upstairs?”
Charlotte knew MJ was only five years younger than his aunt, but whenever she heard him call her by her first name without “Auntie” in front of it, she was tickled. Because who would’ve guessed that Matthew would have a child only five years after his youngest sibling had been born?
Matthew stood up. “Actually, MJ, I need to go chat with your aunt for a few minutes. But you can go up and see her right afterward, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, now looking at his grandfather. “Paw-Paw, can I go watch TV in the family room?”
“Of course, just make sure you’re watching something kid appropriate.”
“I will. I’m going to watch a movie on Netflix.”
Matthew left the room, and Stacey shook her head. “He loves watching movies he’s already seen. Over and over and over again.”
Curtis and Charlotte laughed, and then Charlotte said, “Can I get you something to drink? I meant to ask you guys that when you first walked in, so please forgive me. Although, it’s not like you’re company or anything like that.”
“No, I’m fine, and actually, we grabbed a bite to eat on the way over here.”
“Well, thank you guys for coming,” Curtis said.
“Anytime, and I’m so sorry things aren’t going well with Curtina.”
Charlotte leaned back in her chair. “So are we. And this stunt she pulled today was the worst. Talking back to her teacher and threatening her? I just never expected her to go that far.”
“Me neither,” Curtis added. “And then when I got home and asked her about it, she acted as though it was no big deal. Almost like it hadn’t happened.”
“Gosh,” Stacey said. “Well, maybe Matt will be able to find out what’s going on.”
“I hope so,” Charlotte said, “because we’re not getting through to her. And now that I’ve taken her phone, she’s angrier than ever.”
“She loves her big brother, though,” Curtis said, “so that’s why I called Matt again this afternoon. He’d already told me this morning that he was going to come have a talk with her, but then when this thing happened at school, I wanted him to come even more.”
“Do you think she’s talking to boys?” Stacey asked. “You know—about things she shouldn’t be.”
“I sure hope not,” Charlotte said, “but with Curtina you never know. Especially lately.”
Curtis sighed. “The only text exchanges we’ve seen are with her friends, and no boys’ phone numbers are listed in her contact directory.”
Stacey rested her hands on the island. “Yeah, but nowadays, these kids are completely on top of their game. They delete everything. Text messages, private social media messages, emails, and even their Internet browsing history.”
“Really?” Curtis said.
Charlotte was just as shocked as Curtis, and she felt like a gullible little child. Both she and Curtis were well aware that Curtina was deleting all her text messages, but not once had they thought she was communicating with boys. As a matter of fact, even though Taylor and Lauren giggled about boys at their school the way most preteen girls tended to do, Curtina never mentioned them around Charlotte and Curtis. And she certainly had never talked about anyone in particular.
“I just don’t think she’s acting like this for no reason,” Stacey said. “And if she is talking to a boy, she probably wouldn’t add his name to her contact list, anyhow. She would either attach a girl’s name to his number, or she would just memorize it and not include it in her phone at all.”
Charlotte knew this was a possibility, because men and women did this all the time when they were having affairs. In the past, she’d even done it herself. Still, she hadn’t considered the idea that Curtina might be chatting it up with a boy. And if Charlotte had been that naïve, she knew Curtis had never entertained the idea of it, either. Which just went to show, most parents believed what they wanted to believe, saw what they wanted to see, and ignored anything that they were sure their innocent little child would never do.
“I hope she’s not texting boys, talking to them on the phone, or doing any of that,” Curtis said.
“I hope she’s not, either,” Charlotte told him, “but we also know it might be true.”
“Well, as much as I hate saying this,” Stacey said, “when I was twelve, I was liking boys, texting them, and talking to them on the phone. I had to sneak behind my parents’ back to do it, but I did it all the time. So imagine what must be going on with this current generation of kids. Given all the new technology and social media usage, they have so many ways to communicate. More than most people realize. And parents just aren’t checking every possible medium.”
“She was such a good girl,” Curtis said. “All the way until just a few months ago. But whether she’s talking to boys or not, we’re not putting up with all these problems. Or her awful attitude.”
Charlotte agreed. “No, we’re definitely not, and that’s why I took her phone right in the principal’s office.”
“And I took her tablet as soon as I got home. It’s already locked away with her phone in our safe. I took her laptop, too, and the only way she’ll be using that is if she can prove that she needs it to do her homework.”
Stacey’s eyes widened. “Oh my. And how did that go over?”
“Not well,” Curtis said, “but I don’t care. Not when I know it’s for her own good.”
Stacey stroked her hair behind her ear. “I think you’re doing the right thing, because sometimes cutting off all electronic communication is the only answer.”
“It’s so sad that we had to confiscate everything,” Charlotte said. “But we need to turn things around before it’s too late. Before she enters eighth grade in the fall and then high school.”
“Exactly,” Stacey agreed.
The three of them chatted for another half hour, and the only time they saw MJ was when he returned to the kitchen looking for an apple juice box. Charlotte and Curtis didn’t drink them, and Curtina preferred mango juice, but they always kept a supply on hand for MJ, as though he lived there.
Soon, though, Matthew came back downstairs raising both his hands in the air and shaking his head. “I really don’t know what to say.”
“What happened?” Curtis asked.
“She normally talks to me about everything, but the whole time I was in her room, she gave me all these one-word answers. And when she wasn’t doing that, she pretended she was watching television.”
“She didn’t say anything?” Charlotte asked. “Nothing about why she’s causing so much trouble?”
“Only that you and Dad think she’s a baby, and that you won’t let her do anything or go anywhere.”
Charlotte pursed her lips. “That’s not true.”
“She goes places all the time,” Curtis confirmed.
“Yeah, but not everywhere she wants to. And not whenever she wants.”
“Well, if that’s the problem,” Curtis said, “she’s going to be miserable for a very long time. Until she’s graduated and out of this house.”
“And she’s really mad at you guys for taking that phone and tablet of hers,” Matthew said, laughing. “She’s through.”
“She’ll get over it,” Charlotte said.
“I don’t know,” Matthew said. “She’s so stubborn and bratty.”
“Did you ask her to come down here?” Curtis said.
“Yep, but she acted like she didn’t hear me.”
Curtis got up, walked into the family room, and yelled upstairs. “Curtina, get down here.”
Charlotte wondered if she was going to respond. But her curiosity was answered when she heard Curtis bellowing again.
“Curtina, did you hear me?”
Charlotte knew she’d heard him, because even though Curtis and Charlotte’s bedroom was near the front, winding staircase, Curtina’s was very close to the back one.
“Curtina, either you get down here now or I’m coming up after you.”
Charlotte, Matthew, and Stacey looked at each other in silence, and although they couldn’t see MJ, they never heard a peep out of him, either.
But soon Curtina moseyed into the kitchen with a drab look on her face, with Curtis and MJ following behind her.
Stacey smiled. “Hey, little sis.”
“Hi” was all she said.
“Sit down,” Curtis told her.
“Why, Dad? Why can’t I just go back up to my room?”
“Because I want you down here, spending time with your family.”
Curtina plopped into the chair next to Stacey with her arms folded, pouting. “If I get an F for not turning in my homework, it won’t be my fault.”
Charlotte squinted her eyes. “You’re suspended until Friday, remember? So you’ve got more than enough time to get your homework done. The assignments you already had for tonight and the makeup assignments they emailed me for tomorrow and Thursday.”
Curtina stared at Charlotte strangely, acting as though she was shocked to hear about the makeup homework. Did she think she was going to sit around watching television for two days?
Curtina sat with a scowl on her face, but Charlotte turned her attention to Stacey. “So how are your mom and dad?”
“They’re fine. I spoke to them on the way over here, and they said to tell you guys hello.”
“We left church right after the first service on Sunday, so we didn’t get to see them.”
“I know, and I’m so sorry about Miss Trina. I’ve been praying for her ever since Matt told me she was ill.”
“Thanks,” Charlotte said, glancing over at Curtis, but he and Matthew were doing what they usually did on most visits: talking about basketball.
Charlotte looked at Curtina, but only for a split second, and then said to Stacey, “Actually, I haven’t spoken to your mom by phone in a while, so I’ll have to call her to catch up.”
“Yes, please do, because she’s just as excited about MJ leading a song as he is,” Stacey said, laughing.
Charlotte laughed with her, but deep down, she didn’t as much as want to think about having to sit inside Deliverance Outreach yet one more Sunday. She’d been so sure she wouldn’t have to, but no matter how she tried to weigh things in her mind, she knew she couldn’t let down her grandson. MJ, without a doubt, expected all of them to be there, so she had no choice but to take one for the team. She would attend service, pretend to be happy, and begin her sabbatical Sunday after next. She would do this for MJ. Anything for him. Even if it meant being miserable the whole time.