Small Towns
In a small town in northeast Pennsylvania, nestled in among the hills, trees and farms, sat a house. It was a log house perched on a knoll on twenty acres that was half field, half woods and pond. Nellie lived here with her husband and two children. Her teenage daughter was out on the wrap-around porch, on the phone making plans with her best friend. Nellie was in the kitchen, but she could hear her daughter’s end of the conversation, because the window was open.
“No way,” her daughter’s voice said. “That would be so awesome!”
There’s a pause and then, “Of course, I would!”
… pause … “Really? How come?”
…...“Oh, right.”
…… “Do you think she’d….”
Nellie stopped washing dishes. She missed that last part, because the pots and pans were clanging too much.
….“Well, it’s not my style, but I think she’d like it.”
…. “Yeah, later.”
Nellie heard footsteps and started washing pots again.
“Mom?” her daughter called.
“In the kitchen, Beth.” Nellie answered. She rinsed the last pot, put it on the drainer and rinsed out the washcloth. She wiped a stray light brown hair out of her eyes. It caught in her glasses and made her wince.
“Are we doing anything on Saturday?” Beth asked as she walked into the kitchen, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
“Not unless your father has something planned. Why?” Nellie responded. She never wanted to be too definitive, just in case something came up.
“Well, Denise just told me about a party that’s on Saturday and I’d really like to go,” Beth answered.
“Really? Where’s the party?” Nellie asked as she wiped down the countertop.
Beth took a deep breath and said, “It’s at Raven’s house.”
Nellie stopped wiping and turned toward her daughter. “Raven Dunn’s?” she asked.
“How many Ravens do we know, Mom?” Beth retorted with a sigh and a sarcastic roll of her eyes.
“Just making sure. You don’t have to get puffy.” Nellie answered with a smile, trying to ease the tension. When Beth was ten, she misheard a line in a movie and had used puffy in the place of huffy ever since.
“Right. So, can I go?”
Nellie started setting up the coffee pot for the next morning, hoping to give herself a minute to think. Every time her daughter asked to go somewhere, it made her uneasy. She knew that these teenage years were packed with peer pressure and temptations. She doesn’t want to make her daughter a prisoner, but worried and said a prayer every time Beth is out of her sight. She also tried to steer her away from people that might be a bad influence. She had a feeling Raven might be one of those people.
“Mom? Did you hear me?” Beth asked, sounding impatient. Nellie looked up to see her daughter leaning on the counter with her hand on her hip, her foot twitching, like it was ready to start tapping.
“Oh, sorry,” Nellie said. “I got lost in thought. So, what’s the party for? Is it Raven’s birthday?”
“No, she just felt like having it, OK? She’s been really bored lately, since softball ended,” Beth answered, her impatience bubbling up.
Raven and Beth had been on the same softball team for ages. They had even played T-ball together, but hadn’t gotten to be friends until last year. Nellie was surprised by the new friendship. The girls seemed completely different, as did their families. Even though both families lived in villages in the same school district and had kids around the same age, they had very different lifestyles. This was the reason Nellie felt uneasy about the friendship. Well, she couldn’t stall any longer. Beth looked like she was starting to get very irritated and Nellie was trying to get through the day without a fight.
“Well, I can’t see any reason you shouldn’t be able to go, as long as you’re not out too late and her parents are going to be there,” Nellie finally answered.
Beth said, “OK”, nodded her head and turned to leave. Nellie watched her brown curls swing around and took a deep breath. Before she could get out of the kitchen, Nellie asked, “So, I heard you say something on the phone… something like, ‘it’s not my style but I think she’ll like it.’ Are you getting Raven a gift?”
Beth stopped and turned toward her mother. It looked like her wheels were spinning pretty fast, like she was deciding what or how much to say. “No, not really”, she said.
“So, what did you mean?” Nellie asked, trying not to sound too nosy.
“Well, Raven’s parents said that she can have the party, but she has to use her own money to pay for everything. So, she told everyone that we have to give her some kind of clothes as an entry fee to the party. She really likes clothes, you know. I thought she might like my blue shirt with the lace at the bottom. The one Aunt Kathy got me for my birthday.”
Oh, these kids and their bartering, Nellie thought. “Don’t you think Aunt Kathy will be upset if she finds out you gave away her gift?” she said instead.
“I don’t know!” Beth blurted out. “How would she even find out? I’m not going to tell her!”
“Well, that’s true,” Nellie conceded.
