“The Emergency” by Karen Moulding
--page 2

         I stood in front of the phone. There was no sun under these stairs, and I was the only person there. With my fingers that were already starting to numb, even inside my mittens, I fished in my front backpack pocket for a quarter, then another. I dialed information.
         I hesitated. This could be a mistake, get Eugene in trouble. But I told myself he was already in trouble for skipping his week, surely I couldn’t make it worse. Only four more days until Friday, and I’d might as well believe he’d get her then. “Let Go and Let...” But maybe he wouldn’t get her. Maybe he’d skip another week. Maybe she was hurt. Maybe...
         I dialed.
         “Hello?” She sounded tentative, as if afraid of who might be calling.
         “Hi, Courtney.”
         “Grace? Oh! Hi, Grace.”
         “I miss you and I love you.”
         “I miss you too.” Her voice was flat.
         “Um. I just wanted to say hi. How was school today?”
         “I had a stomach ache...sort of. And I didn’t havta go. I was scared you were Mrs. Topper when you called. I went to church school last night though, and some other kids were there.”
         “I see. Was it fun?” I tried to keep my dislike for her mother’s church out of my voice.
         “I wanted to call Daddy, but I didn’t have the number. I kept telling the man teaching my group, cause there was a phone in our room. Maybe I was bad. He said, 'Who made the animals?' and I raised my hand.” She giggled. “And I said, 'God made the animals but my dad and mom made me and I want to call my dad.'”
         I could see her doing that, her lower lip stuck out in that defiant pout, like when I wouldn’t buy her a book she wanted. I couldn’t help laughing.
         “And he spanked me.”
         I stopped laughing. “What?”
         “It hurt. And I kept crying, really loud, and saying, 'I want to call my dad! I want to call my dad!' And then the class finished and my mom came, and she said if I didn’t shut up, she would spank me too. And then I kind of cried louder. And she spanked me too. Really hard!”
         “She can’t do that!” I was yelling. “And that man’s not your dad!”
         “She said she can, and I had better listen when I was with her and at church. But it really hurt.” Her tone was boastful, like she was taunting me. I hadn’t stopped it after all.
         “Well she can’t...”
         “Did you finish our book without me, Grace?”
         “No!”
         “How many days til I’m back at our house?”
         “Four,” I said, hoping it was true. “Only three after today.” At least I hadn’t said, “today.” Since that’s what was now planted in my head.
         “My mom’s home. I love you!” She hung up.

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