The Wormwoods 1.25
"It's me. Adela Wormwood. I know I've has been quiet for a while. There's been a lot of stuff happening. What? You want to know what happened? Fine, I'll tell you. At least you want to listen, I guess.
Mom and Dr. Richard went out to dinner one night on a supervised visit as the courts say. The Headmaster saw them. He was enraged because Mom had been blowing him off-- I mean slacking on his monthly parent-teacher conferences. He confronted Mom and she told him to "Die in a fire." I think she's been on MySpace again. She has more friends than I do... probably because of those photos of her in her fishnet outfit. It is certainly not her winning personality or her witty banter, anyway...
So, he drove over to our house after school and threw kerosene all over our front porch, called out to Mom, "I ALWAYS FOLLOWED YOUR ORDERS MISTRESS!" and sparked a match.
Mom wasn't home. She was at Dr. Richard's office again for some intensive therapy sessions. Byron was at work. BritBrit was at the doctor's office. I was upstairs playing a computer game. I heard his screams and looked out the window. Someone had taken out the batteries on the smoke alarm, to replace the tv remote remote, I guess.
We lost everything but the graves on the Island of Death. Stone doesn't really smolder very well. Charlie the Swan is gone too.
Dr. Richard took us into his beautiful house. He invited us to live with him.
He said it was the least he could do for us. He told me that he knew I needed somewhere safe and calm to recover. It was honestly the nicest, kindest thing anyone has ever done for me. I wanted to trust him, I did.
He was too sweet to me and not in that "Hey Hey Little Girl Let's Be Perverted" kind of way. He seemed to be a very nice person. He listened. I had to let him know about Mom and her man-murdering ways.
"Dr. Richard, Mom's going to kill you once she gets bored, irritated or upset with you. It's just her way of dealing with relationship stress. I can't stop her and I don't want you to die, you've been too nice to me."
"Oh Adela," he gently and patronizingly laughed. "I already know about all those accidents your mother caused. She confessed them all to me. I'm going to heal her, Adela."
"You-- know everything?" I was suddenly terrified.
"I know about the nanny too. Don't worry, you were just a child. Children have no concept of ethics or morality other than what their guardians teach them and therefore cannot be held responsible for their actions. You were just trying to protect your clinically insane mother. It's totally understandable."
He made me a cup of hot chocolate and then whistled while he cooked dinner for us. He even made BritBrit chicken broth and saltines since she's puking all over the place.
I'm home-schooling for a while. I don't want to go to school. Dr. Richard says it is healthy for me to take a little break. I do my lessons on the computer via online courses.
I'm okay.
Really I am.
"Adela!"
"WHAT BYRON?"
"You've got to come downstairs. There's something for you."
"A restraining order, I bet."
"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe. You better come and see."
"Well, what the hell did you all want?"
They bought me a violin, and lessons to learn how to play it. I'm quite good on the piano, but this was so tactile, so intimate. I love the smell of the wood and the sound of the shrieks I can coax from the strings.
Most importantly... when I close my eyes and play... I feel beautiful again.