April Shadows by V. C. Andrews

her face glowing with rage.
"He said...," she began between deep breaths and sobs. "He said they had a crisis with a case, and he went to Memphis to meet with attorneys. He said the meetings are continuing, and he will remain in Memphis overnight for a hearing in the morning in federal court about some bankruptcy motion or another,"
"Why didn't he call to tell us?" Brenda followed.
"He said he didn't realize he would be so involved so long."
"Doesn't he still have a watch on his wrist?" Brenda pursued.
Mama nodded and then continued to cry. "Go finish your dinner," she said waving us away.
"I'm not hungry."
"Me, neither." I said.
"I'll help put it away," Brenda told her, and urged me to leave Mama be.
"Why is he being so inconsiderate?" I asked Brenda when we returned to the dining room.
"I don't know, and I don't care. When I see him. I'm going to let him know it, too,' she said.
After we cleaned up. I tried to keep Mama company, but she shooed me away and told me to do my homework. She didn't watch television or do any of the things she usually did in the evening. Instead, she went to bed early herself. It broke my heart to see her bedroom door close. I knew she was crying and feeling miserable. Now, more than ever, I hoped and prayed Uncle Palaver would bring some of his magical rainbows into our lives.
Mama was up before Brenda and me in the morning. It wasn't hard to see she had cried herself to sleep, but she fought back depression and tears and talked only about Uncle Palaver's impending arrival.
"Probably, you should just remain at school. April," she told me. "The game is at four, right. Brenda?"
"Yes, Mama. She can hang out with me," she said.
Actually, that idea excited me. I wanted to hang out with the junior and senior girls. Just listening to them talk about themselves and their social lives was entertaining. I had done it a few times before and felt like a fly on the wall, hearing about this one's romance and that one's breakup. They had no inhibitions when it came to talking about their sexual behavior, either. Girls who had shared experiences with the same boy made shocking comparisons, rating this one and that one for his love powers, as they called it. I noticed how Brenda ignored them and made no comments at all, even when some of the girls told her some boy had expressed interest in her.
"I can fix you up any time you'd like." Shelby Ohm told her. Brenda glanced at her and shook her head.
Brenda wasn't that close with any of the girls in her class. She rarely attended any of their parties. Her social life was built completely around her sporting events. Occasionally, on weekends, she joined two other girls who were her teammates and went on hikes or long bike rides.
She went out on a date once in a while, but she hadn't met anyone she said she liked or with whom she would go on a second date, and as far as I knew, she had yet to go out on a single date this school year. She did attend pep rally dances, and Mama was hoping she would attend the junior prom. She talked about it with Brenda often, recalling her own highschool social life. She loved to show us her pictures, especially the ones taken during her prom. Although Brenda listened politely, she didn't seem to be at all excited about it. Her only interest in boys these days, in fact, was in beating them at various sporting events. On more than one occasion, I heard boys teasing each other by saving. "Brenda Taylor could whip your ass," in whatever sport they meant.
I heard them say other things about her, too, nasty things, and some even teased me with comments like "What's your sister do for sexual excitement, sit on fire hydrants?"
I fled from their laughter and smiles, my heart pounding. How I wished Brenda had a romance and could wipe those smirks off their faces. I wished it for her more than I wished it for myself. In my heart of hearts. I thought I wouldn't ever have a boyfriend until I lost weight. I made the mistake of telling that to Jamie