Family Interrupted by Linda Barrett

made me want to bawl louder than a calf getting branded. I had to turn away.
    “He didn’t,” I finally replied. “He didn’t raise his voice at all.” But maybe he should have. Maybe he should have shouted:
Not go to college? What are you talking about? Now get those applications in. I don’t care about late fees.
    “So you got off easy, huh?”
    “As easy as riding a bull. He hauled my mom into it.”
    “Oh boy.” That’s all he said, all he had to say.
    Let him alone, Jack. Let him do what he wants. He’s miserable here.
Then she stared at me for a long time. What will make you happy, Ian? No, never mind. That’s a stupid question. Better is, what can make you
hopeful again?
    “Hopeful? What world is she in?” I muttered as Danny and I headed to the exit, to the lot where his third-hand vehicle was parked. “She doesn’t say it, but she still thinks it’s my fault about Kayla and that I’m the most juvenile, irresponsible person she knows. I can’t do anything right. How could I know the damn car would turn the corner just then?”
    “You couldn’t! No way.”
    “And Dad thinks I just need a break from school. He should know school’s the easy part. I need a break from my family. I had to give him all kinds of other reasons for job searching instead of working with him.”
    “Your dad’s a good guy. That must’ve been tough.”
    “Yup. And tricky ’cause...because...” I almost couldn’t tell him. “You’re my best friend, Danny, and my own thoughts are getting me nowhere. I’ve got to share this. Can you keep your mouth shut?”
    “C’mon, Ian. Don’t we always?”
    Yeah, we did. “I think there’s trouble with the company. Dad’s worried. If I were a good son, I’d drop out of school and work with him like I do in the summer. Maybe I’d save him some money. Whaddyathink?”
    Danny’s brow furrowed, and he stared off into space—his usual expression while figuring stuff out. I knew to give him time. A shrink would probably say I’m “too close” to the situation to evaluate clearly. All I knew was that I needed Danny’s help, and I’d get it.
    Nothing had been right at home since Kayla died. My mom was in her own world, I guess cleaning the house all day, or working in her studio. She didn’t talk much to me except to complain. But I wasn’t arguing with her anymore about anything. It wasn’t worth it. I kept remembering how she keeled over at Kayla’s funeral, and I thought she’d died too. So I was keeping my mouth shut before something else bad happened.
    As for Dad, well, he claimed to hear me, but he didn’t really listen. He couldn’t believe I wanted to turn down college and go out on my own. Before Kayla died, he assumed I’d join him in the business after I got my degree. But I’d never said so.
    “You couldn’t save your dad enough money to make a difference.” Danny’s dark eyes held my gaze, his usual easy going demeanor absent. “Compared to his real expenses, at your level of work, your salary’s nothing. What’s happening between you and your dad is not about the money. It’s about leaving home, leaving him and your mom.”
    “That’s what I was afraid of.” In my gut, I’d known it. Just needed affirmation.
    We got into Danny’s car, but I didn’t feel like going to a silent house. “How about a little one-on-one?”
    “Your driveway or mine?”
    Ten minutes later, we were dribbling, driving, and shooting for the rim. Sweat ran down my face. I was quick, but Danny was taller. I took one shot after another, pivoting left, then right. Soon, my vision blurred. I became two people, like in a dream, one of me making baskets and one speeding toward the street, toward my sister. Pointing at the car. Shouting at her and running, but I was too late. Always too late.
    Kayla was into sports like me. She had a better arm than most girls and even some guys, and she was always ready for a catch. I drove the football; she ran backwards, jumped,