A Girl Between Read Free Page A

here?”
    At that moment, my aunt came rushing in, “I’m so sorry,
girls.  I got here as soon as I could.”  She looked over at Mr. Kowalski.  “Have
they been told?”
    Eve responded, “We haven’t been told anything, Mom.  What’s
going on?”
    Aunt Amy took a deep breath and then replied, “There’s been
an accident.”
    “Mom, who’s had an accident?”  Annie asked, looking alarmed.
    Aunt Amy solemnly answered, “It was Frank.  He was driving
to work down the mountain.  It appeared that one of his tires was loose and it
came off his car while he was taking a sharp turn.  He lost control and then he
went over a cliff.  He hit a tree.”
    “Well, how is he?” asked Eve.
    Aunt Amy’s hand went to her lips and she shook her head.  It
took a moment for her to speak.  “I’m afraid he died immediately from the
impact.”
    Whaaaaaat???  I was shocked beyond belief.  How could this
be?  Annie and Eve looked over at me with a bewildered look in their eyes.  On
the way to school I had told them that I did NOT loosen any bolts on Frank's
tires.  I explained to them that I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  They
were looking at me suspiciously now.  I glanced back at them and slightly shook
my head no.  Everyone else at the table was looking at us with concern.  They
were afraid that we were going to break down and lose it in front of them.  One
thing I have to say about living with Frank; you learn to keep your emotions in
check.  All of us were stunned beyond words, and not just because he was dead.  How
did Frank happen to die in that particular way, especially today?  Could it
possibly be that coincidental?

3.  The Appearance
    After we got home, Annie, Eve and I went upstairs to talk
about everything.  We just couldn’t reconcile the strange timing between our
recent plan and what happened today.  I even felt a little guilty.  Was it
somehow my fault?  I had to reassure my sisters, again, that I did NOT loosen
the bolt.  Frank died in a real accident.  I think I was also trying to
convince myself.
    The next few days passed in a blur.  There was a police
investigation of the incident, but it was quickly resolved as an unfortunate
accident.  The Corvette was an older car with older parts that Frank worked on
exclusively.  He was not considered an expert mechanic, so repair mistakes
would not be out of the question.
    My aunt planned a simple funeral.  A few distant relatives
came from out of the area and stayed with us, but most of the family lived
within a drivable distance.  The three of us tried to support Aunt Amy with all
that she had to do.  At the same time, my cousins and I felt kind of numb.  Death
wasn’t something teenagers bothered to contemplate.  It’s a phenomenon we don’t
believe in until it stabs us in the heart.  Not that Frank’s death affected me
that way.  His dying just made me think about the possibility of other people
dying.  There’s a little corner of my brain that I usually manage to keep
shuttered.  Hearing of a death, any death, always shoves it open, and it’s not comfortable.
 It tilts my world so that everything is a little off.  It’s all the Mom
thoughts, Mom impressions, Mom feelings, where is Mom, does Mom see me, I miss
my Mom, will I see Mom again, Mommy I love you, Mommy . . . Mom, Mom.   It always
takes me a while to lock it up again.
    I wondered how my aunt felt about Frank’s passing.  Even
though Frank treated her badly much of the time, she showed some loyalty to
him.  She was the kind of woman who was torn between her role as a good mother
and a dutiful wife.
    The weirdest time for me was at the graveyard.  The last
time I was at a funeral was when my mother died.  I remember freaking out when
they lowered the casket and threw some dirt on it.  I thought she would
suffocate.  I didn’t understand the finality of it all.
    Friends of the family and relatives were invited over to our
house afterward for