Throw Away Teen (9 page)

I lifted my shoulder again. I couldn’t think of anything to say. Surprisingly, Evelyn bailed me out by asking about the puppy. “He’s cool,” I told her. “Except when he snores next to my ear.”

Ted struggled not to laugh and Liz said, “Guard shares B.J.’s room with her.”

“
I got that,” Evelyn said. “You may want to come meet his parents, B.J. They’re as big as elephants. If I let them on my bed, there wouldn’t be any room left for me.”

“
And your five cats would have fits,” Warren pointed out.

“
Keep that mouth of yours busy and eat your omelet,” Evelyn said. “You’ll ruin my rep. Right now, B.J. thinks I’m the meanest witch in the county.”

“
Only when you pick on Liz,” I said. “She may be too nice for her own good, but she’s still cool.”

“
Thank you, B.J.” The warmth in her eyes made me feel good, even when Liz added, “And I might surprise you. I may be nice but I can be tough when I need to be.”

“
You bet she can.” Ted cut into a piece of bacon. “It was the first thing I noticed about her when I ended up in the hospital where she worked during the war.”

“
That isn’t what you told me.” Evelyn’s smile warmed her whole face as she teased him. “You told me it was her perfume. It made her smell all girly.”

“
And you told me it was how she looked like an angel in her nurse’s uniform,” Sarah added. “She floated when she walked.”

I glanced at Warren. “What about you? What did he tell you?”

“
She cussed worse than any of the other Marines when she found cookie crumbs in his bed and that was when he knew he had to marry her.”

I had to laugh. “So, you were Mrs. Clean even then?”

“
Oh, even before that,” Evelyn said. “She was a total fanatic about dust when we were kids. You could have slept in her horse’s stall. It was cleaner than Sarah’s bedroom.”

“
That wouldn’t be hard,” Warren said.

Sarah stuck her tongue out at him and everybody laughed, including me. Was this the way families really acted? I couldn’t remember ever being so comfortable with anyone or feeling as if I was wanted, much less accepted. I knew Gabe would chew my ears and tell me to think first if I planned to survive. But for a moment, I just wanted to pretend this was real and not a big joke where I would be the punch line come Monday.

After the meal we left the café together and walked Evelyn to her pickup truck. Strands of hay stuck out of the tailgate and were embedded in the mud caked into the wheel wells. The truck was so filthy you almost couldn’t read the sign on the driver’s door that said
Horse Heaven
.

Ted eyed the Chevy S10 then looked at Warren. “It’d embarrass me to see my grandma drive around in a rig that looked like that.”

“
He called and explained that he had a big college paper due this week.” Evelyn unlocked the driver’s door. “I should have had one of the ranch-hands wash it, but a load of hay came in.”

Ted just looked at Warren and didn’t say anything else.

“
I know. I know,” Warren said. “A guy’s got to step up. I’ll take care of it this afternoon when I drop Sarah at the barn to muck stalls.”

Ted nodded. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Liz sighed and shook her head. “It’s got to be a
guy
thing.”

Evelyn nodded agreement. Before she got in the pickup, she looked at me again. “I meant it when I invited you to visit, B.J. I’ll warn you ahead of time, though. I intend to learn your full name and call you that.”

I shrugged. “Call me what you want. Doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”

Liz frowned. “Don’t be rude, B.J.”

“
What? She started it.”

Before Liz could retort, Evelyn said, “Yes, I did.” She winked at her sister. “And if for some strange reason this doesn’t work out, bring her to me. I can always use another smart-mouthed kid around the farm and I like this one.”

I still hadn’t recovered from the shock when Evelyn reached over and brushed the hair out of my eyes. “How could you like me?” I demanded. “I’ve been a bitch to you since we met.”

“
You have courage,” Evelyn said. “It goes a long way with me. I’ve always admired strong women, even young ones.”

I felt like my jaw had dropped onto the sidewalk, but she was in her truck and gone before I could get my mouth working again. “Wow! That was unexpected.”

“
My baby sister always does the unexpected.” Liz put her arm around my shoulders. “She doesn’t bluff or con people. She means everything she says. And if she hadn’t liked you, she’d have been up-front about it.”

“
Big time,” Sarah told me. “It causes anxiety at the stable because she always refers the students she can’t stand to other barns. Like she says,
Horse Heaven
is her place so she can do what she wants. She’s one of the best riding instructors in the state, but she isn’t a pushover. Do you want to come see the farm this afternoon?”

“
Not today,” Ted answered for me. “B.J. has an appointment.”

“
Okay. Later then. Next week, maybe.” Sarah and Warren headed for his car before I could remind them that I might not be around next week.

As we started down the block, I asked, “What appointment? Carol isn’t coming until tomorrow morning.”

“
You and Father John came up with this, so tell B.J.,” Liz said.

“
I called Sensei Nichols and he’s going to give you a karate lesson this afternoon.” Ted held open the car door for Liz. “We need to hurry so we’ll be able to go home and feed and walk the puppy before we head to the dojo.”

“
Karate?” I climbed into the back seat. “Are you serious? Why, karate?”

Liz heaved a huge sigh. “You see, B.J., Ted has this problem. Sarah would call it baggage. Ted thinks all men are...”

“
Bullies and perverts?” I asked helpfully.

“
No, of course not,” Liz said.

“
Yes.” Ted got in behind the wheel, but didn’t start the engine. He shifted so he could look back at me. “I arranged for Jessie and Jocelyn to take karate when they were girls. I paid for Evelyn’s other daughters to take it, too. I’ve suggested it for Sarah for quite some time, but her parents won’t allow it yet. As soon as Chance is old enough, she’ll take lessons.”

While I agreed with him, I wasn’t about to let him know that, so I said, “I think you’re paranoid, Ted.”

“
Yeah, well, that’s what people say about rabbits. They’re paranoid and coyotes still eat them. You gals aren’t that big. I know I can take care of anybody who hassles Liz, but I may not always be there to handle the perverts of the world for you, B.J. You’ve got to be able to kick tails yourself. So, I’m going to make sure you know how.”

“
He should’ve asked if you wanted to learn.” Liz looked worried. “It’s a decision only you can make.”

“
I already have,” Ted said. “I’ve decided and she’s going.”

Liz still seemed concerned, but I was trying not to laugh at Ted. His overprotectiveness reminded me of Guard and the poodles. “Okay, Ted. I’ll learn karate, then I can beat people up. It’ll be cool.”

“
All right.” Ted swiveled back around and stuck the key in the ignition. “Oh, but promise me you won’t start fights, just finish them.”

“
No problem.” I buckled my seat belt. “Don’t worry, Liz. This will be totally cool. It’ll come in handy when I’m back on the streets.”

“
As if I’ll let you go back there.” Liz gave me a stern look and then scowled at Ted. “But I want both of you to understand something. Once she has her black belt, that’s it. No more karate. She’ll need judo so she can throw out the garbage after she’s finished stomping it.”

I choked back a gasp.

Ted winked at me in the rear view mirror. Then he said, “Yes, dear.”

***

I thought all karate guys were Asian, like in the movies. But when we walked into the school, a big white dude sat behind the desk. He stood up when we came in and walked around the desk to meet us. He wore a short white robe and what looked like pajama bottoms. Around his thick middle, he had a black belt with gold designs. Being bald, he looked almost as old as Ted, but I didn’t think the guy was much past fifty.

“
This is B.J.,” Liz introduced us, “and this is Sensei Nichols.”

“
That’s how we say teacher,” Sensei Nichols explained at my questioning look. “There are a lot of rules in karate and referring to your teacher as
Sensei
is one of them.”

“
Of course, there are.” I muttered. After all, the center had rules. Every foster home I’d ever been kicked out of had rules. Ted and Liz had rules. There were even rules at church. So, why wouldn’t this karate dude have them, too? “What sort of rules?” I asked skeptically.

Sensei Nichols pointed to the big room that opened off his office. “First, we call that the
dojo.
Before we go inside, you’ll need to take off your shoes. At the doorway, we bow.”

“
Why?” I didn’t necessarily mind following rules, but I liked to know the reasons behind them before complying. It always got me in a lot of trouble at school and back at the center. But Sensei Nichols didn’t get mad. Instead, he explained that bowing was how to show respect for him and the school.

While Liz filled out a bunch of forms, I was given my own set of white pajamas and a white belt. The outfit was called a
gi
and the belt was an
obi.
Sensei explained that the color of the obi corresponded with the student’s skill level, which went from white at the very bottom all the way up to black. He waved me toward the bathroom, which was right off the entry, and I went to change.

The top didn’t close all the way, so I was grateful I’d put on a T-shirt that morning. I folded up my jeans and stuffed my rolled-up socks in my shoes. Then, I returned to the office where Ted and Liz waited.

“
Shall we go have coffee, B.J.?” Liz asked me. “Or would you rather we stay and watch?”

“
Go have coffee.” If I was going to make a fool of myself, I preferred to do it without an audience.

“
This first lesson lasts an hour.” Sensei Nichols joined us in the lobby. He was barefoot, too.

I was glad Liz didn’t hug or kiss me goodbye. I was embarrassed enough standing there in white pajamas. Ted lifted his hand like a boy scout and promised they’d be back on time. Had Carol told them about all the times I’d been dropped off places by foster parents who promised to return but disappeared forever? It wasn’t like I cared if the foster parents never came back. I was used to being abandoned. But it sure would’ve been nice if they’d warned me beforehand so I could have brought my stuff along.

After Liz and Ted were gone, I lifted my chin and gave the karate dude a solid once-over, like he didn’t freak me out. “Okay, Sensei
.
Let’s get started.”

“
First, we’ll fix your belt.” Sensei
Nichols stopped a foot away from me then untied his belt. Did he plan to touch me? I stepped back and quickly scanned the dojo for anything that would make a handy weapon. “Okay, now watch how I do it.” Step by step, he retied his belt again with a special knot, repeating the procedure six more times.

I copied him. It was hard at first, but I finally got it. When I was familiar with the knot, he showed me the proper way to bow. Seeing him strictly follow each of his own rules made it easier for me to obey as well.

Then we went into the big room with the mirrors. I figured it was finally time to learn how to kick and punch people, but it wasn’t. Sensei Nichols had more rules. Most of them had to do with respecting others and refraining from violence. I almost told him that they didn’t do that in the movies. He might not teach me how to deal major pain if I gave him a hard time.

Once I got all his rules down in English, he began to teach them to me in Japanese. Then, after going through some stretching exercises, he showed me how I was supposed to stand and sit. And finally, it was what he called real karate. I had to cross my arms and snap one up and the other down to my waist. So, what?

Karate people were supposed to beat each other up. Everybody knew that. I certainly did after all the TV and movies I’d watched. We weren’t even doing that stupid “wax on, wax off thing” they did in
The Karate Kid
. I seriously wondered if this guy really knew what he was doing or if he was taking Ted’s money under false pretenses. Was he some kind of con-artist who ripped off old people?

“
Oss,
Sensei,” Ringo said as he came up to us. Did he just call Sensei a moose? And how had he managed to be that quiet? I hadn’t even heard him arrive.

I felt my knees turn to mush when he glanced at me and had to remind myself to keep breathing. I was probably just embarrassed because he was seeing me in huge white pajamas. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been around a lot of guys before. And Ringo wasn’t any different from the others, even if he was hot.

“
May I join the class?” Ringo asked.

“
This is a private lesson,” Sensei Nichols said.

“
I don’t mind,” I told him. “We aren’t doing this stuff right anyway. I’ve seen karate on TV before.”

“
What are you doing, Sensei?” Ringo looked like he wanted to smile, but he obviously didn’t want to get yelled at for mocking the teacher.

Sensei Nichols said something in Japanese then translated it to English. “Rising Blocks, Ringo. Help her practice.” He walked off, calling over his shoulder. “I need a drink of water.”