Joey Pigza Loses Control Read Free

hole and called him “Pirate Matey Pablo!” Then we turned the couch into a pirate ship. I got a sheet and hoisted it up with the floor lamp and clamped a steak knife between my teeth and we got busy attacking other ships. When Mom came home she caught me sword fighting with my patch over one eye and lipstick blood on my shirt and arms. She sent me to my room to chill out while she mixed a drink.
    â€œDo you feel like your meds are really wearing off?” she asked when she came to check up on me and found me walking on my hands.

    â€œCan I get back to you on that?” I shouted, and fell over.
    â€œDon’t play with me that way,” she replied, and dropped to her knees and felt under my shirt for the patch, then tickled my belly “I love you too much to get jerked around by you.”
    The next day the letter came from Dad’s lawyer and that’s the last time until the car ride I heard Mom hissing, “Aw , sugar, sugar, sugar !”
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    I must have fallen asleep in the car because I woke up when it stopped and Mom was tugging on the speaker wire from my tape player like I was a fish she was reeling in.
    â€œAre we there yet?” I asked, and rubbed my ears.
    â€œAlmost,” she said. “Your dad’s place is up the street. I wanted to stop and talk over a few things before we arrive. Most of all I want to say my real goodbye to you now, because when I see your dad and grandma everything is going to be weird and I might be weird too and I don’t want you thinking I’m bailing out on you or something.” She held me by the cheeks and kissed me like you would a picture in a frame. “Listen to your dad,” she said. “He’s your dad. But if anything seems out of whack you call me right away and I’ll come get you. Okay?” She held my chin in her hands and stared real hard into my eyes before looking toward her purse.

    â€œThis is for you,” she said, and handed me an envelope folded in half. “There is money in it. Not play money. But emergency money.” I opened the envelope. There was a twenty-dollar bill and a page of lined paper with rows of quarters taped to it. She read the puzzled look on my face.
    â€œThe quarters are for a pay phone,” she explained.
    â€œCan I call you now?” I said. “Because I already think this whole thing is out of whack.”
    â€œThis is not out of whack,” she stressed. “You are starting from scratch with your dad, so everything feels strange.” Then she put the car in gear and I knew she was being brave so I didn’t say another word. We slowly rolled forward and just up the street Grandma was sitting on a porch smoking, and next to her was a thin man dressed in neatly pressed clothes. He was sweeping the porch but leaned the broom handle against the wall when he saw us.
    Mom stopped and waved, then opened her door. I got out as Grandma and Dad scrambled down the steps. Before he said anything to me he tried to kiss Mom but she yanked her head back as if Dad’s lips were electrified. Then she gave him a frozen look and said to me, “Joey, go get the luggage out of the trunk.”
    I got the keys out of the ignition and went around to the back of the car with my head spinning so fast I couldn’t pluck one thought out of the blur of them. The two of them being weird together was making me
think if I locked myself in the trunk they might forget about being mad at each other and focus on me.
    But I canceled that thought. And by the time I came back dragging my army duffel bag no one was talking but they were staring so hard at each other, with their mouths slowly opening and closing like big goldfish, I figured I had gone deaf from bad nerves and started twisting my fingers into my ears like when they needed cleaning.
    â€œDon’t worry,” Dad finally said. “I’ll take good care of him.” I heard that loud and clear and by then