Winter's Tide by Lisa Williams Kline Page B

me back! I didn’t want everyone in the family to hear what I said to Dad, so I turned toward the cold, dark glass of the window and talked in a quiet voice.
    â€œHey, Dad?”
    â€œYeah, what’s going on?”
    â€œWell, we’re in the car right now, and the family has to go visit Norm’s mom in the hospital, and since she’s not my real grandmother, I was thinking that I could come down and visit you.”
    Stephanie poked me with her foot. I ignored her.
    â€œWhat is she saying back there?” Norm said to Mom. “Who is she talking to?”
    â€œDiana, are you talking to your father?” Mom said, turning in her seat.
    Meanwhile, in my ear, Dad was saying, “You can’t just make plans to fly down here on short notice like that, Diana. It’s the holidays and all the flights are full.”
    â€œYou could check.”
    â€œNo, I’m not going to check. I already know this.”
    â€œDad!” I could feel the tears starting again. Meanwhile, up in the front seat, Mom was talking to me, telling me that going to Dad’s was out of the question. I glanced over at Stephanie, who was chewing her nails, her eyes wide.
    â€œLet me talk to your mother about this,” Dad was saying.
    I was not going to cry on the phone with him again. Biting my lip, I handed Mom my phone.
    â€œHello, Steven?” she said, her voice tense. Then she listened. “Oh no. Diana is coming with us. She could never get a flight at this point in time.” She listened again. “Of course, of course. All right. Bye.” She hung up and looked at me. “Diana, what in the world were you thinking, calling your father about going for a visit like that? I already told you that we weren’t going to do that. You deliberately disobeyed me.” She held up my new phone, then placed it in her purse. “Because you disobeyed me, I’m keeping this phone.”
    â€œNo! That’s my new phone! You can’t take it away from me!” I sat up and tried to grab her purse.
    â€œStop it!” Norm yelled. “Sit back in your seat, Diana! We’re not going to have a fight in a moving car!”
    â€œYou can’t have my phone! It’s mine!”
    Norm suddenly put on the blinker and pulled to a stop on the side of the highway. He turned in his seat with a thunderous look on his face. “Sit in your seat, young lady. And your mother is going to keep your phone while we’re at Grammy’s house. We have enough tension worrying about Grammy’s health, and Matt in the hospital, without you adding to it. Enough!”
    Mom started talking to me, but I turned toward the dark window and put my hands over my ears.
    I was not going to cry. They could not make me cry. I glanced at Stephanie, who was curled on her side ofthe car, trying to be as small as possible. As soon as we got to Emerald Isle, I was going to figure out a way to get away from all of them.
    So maybe I couldn’t visit Dad right now. I’d go somewhere else. People figured out ways to get away from situations and I could too.
    I didn’t want to go to the hospital and see all the sick people there. I didn’t want to see Grammy lying in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of her.
    I don’t know how much later it was when we arrived at the hospital. I had curled up in my corner of the backseat for the rest of the way. Sometimes hot tears had leaked out of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks, and I’d had to wipe them away.
    Stephanie was talking to Mom and Norm. I stayed curled in a ball, but I listened.
    â€œIs Grammy going to be awake when we see her?”
    â€œI don’t know, honey.”
    â€œIs she in pain?”
    â€œI think so, yes.”
    â€œI’m so upset,” said Stephanie.
    â€œYes, me too,” said Norm.
    We were driving through another town and I glanced over at Stephanie. Streetlights shone inside the car and I saw tear tracks