Thea at Sixteen Read online

Claire snorted. Even Evvie looked amused.

  “Well, I do,” Thea said. “I’m just not sure which dreams.”

  “I have an idea, if you’re interested,” Nick said. “I was talking to Ed Chambers this morning. He owns some radio stations in the area. Nice fellow.”

  Thea didn’t bother to wonder how Nicky could have met someone like that in the week and a half they’d been living in Briarton. It was Nicky’s way to meet important people. They always liked Nicky, and soon investment possibilities were being discussed, and Nicky was putting big deals together, and everybody made profits. That was what Nicky did for a living, that was the way he operated.

  “What did Mr. Chambers say?” Meg asked.

  “He’s head of the fund-raising committee for the hospital,” Nick replied. “I mentioned that I’d done a bit of fund-raising back in Harrison, and naturally we talked about different techniques.”

  “Oh, Nicky,” Meg said. “I can’t have a fund-raising party here. Not when we don’t have furniture.”

  “I’m not asking you to,” Nick replied. “Ed’s wife heads the volunteers at the hospital. Apparently, they can never get enough people for all the work that has to be done.”

  “They’re going to have to get by without me for a while, too,” Meg declared. “This house is my first priority, Nicky. Once we’re settled in, then I’ll put in a few hours a week at the hospital.”

  “But in the meantime, why can’t Thea do some work there?” Nick asked. “They’re delighted when teenagers come in to help. And Ed and his wife are two people in this town it pays to make happy.”

  “What would I have to do?” Thea asked.

  “Nothing you can’t handle,” Nick assured her. “Probably just bringing newspapers and magazines around. Plumping pillows. Smiling and making patients feel better.”

  Thea looked at her father. Plumping pillows hadn’t been her idea of how to make her dreams come true, but clearly Nicky felt it would help him with his. “If I hate it, can I quit?” she asked. It never hurt to know the ground rules.

  “With my blessing,” Nick replied.

  “All right, then,” Thea said. “I guess I’m a volunteer.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Oh, good,” Nick said to Thea the following Thursday. “I see you’re home from school.”

  “I just got in,” she replied. “Where is everyone?”

  “Daisy’s out shopping,” Nick said. “Evvie’s upstairs pretending to pack. And Claire and Sybil both have after-school activities. It’ll give us a chance to talk.”

  “About what?” Thea asked. She put her books down on the living room sofa and wondered what was going on.

  “I ran into Ed Chambers this morning,” Nick replied. “He said his wife was still waiting to hear from you.”

  “Who’s Ed Chambers?” Thea asked. “Oh. His wife. The hospital, right?”

  “Right,” Nick said. “You promised on Saturday you’d see her about doing volunteer work.”

  “Nicky, I forgot all about it,” Thea declared. “I’m sorry. I’m still trying to get the swing of the new school, all those new people to meet and everything, and I flat-out forgot.”

  “I wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place if I hadn’t thought it was important,” Nick said. “I try never to ask things of my daughters unless there’s a real reason to. And in this case, there’s a reason. We want to make a good impression in Briarton, Thea. Your cooperation is vital in helping our family out, especially now that Evvie is leaving for college.”

  Thea nodded. She could count on one hand the number of times Nicky had scolded her. It occurred to her that she had always been good because she hated the consequences of being bad. “I wish you’d reminded me,” she said. “It isn’t that I don’t want to do the volunteer work.”

  “You’re sixteen years old,” Nick said. “I had assumed I could trust you to remember. I see I was wrong. Would you like me to dial the number for you?”

  “What number?” Evvie asked, walking down the stairs. Thea was never so happy to see her sister in her life. “Hi, Thea. I thought I heard your voice.”

  “Evvie, Thea and I are having a private discussion,” Nick said. “Concerning family cooperation.”

  “My favorite topic,” Evvie replied. “Wait while I get an apple.”

  And there was something about Evvie that made Nicky and Thea wait until she came back from the kitchen, apple in hand. “All right,” Evvie said. “You can resume your private discussion.”

  Nicky shook his head. “Evvie, you’re incorrigible,” he declared.

  “I know,” she replied, taking a bite out of the apple.

  “It was my fault,” Thea said. “I was supposed to call the hospital about being a volunteer and I forgot.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Evvie said. “Do you really want to be a volunteer, Thea?”

  “No,” Thea replied. With Evvie there, she decided on being honest. “It doesn’t sound like any fun. I’d rather help Megs with the house.”

  “You can do both,” Nick said. “Nobody’s asking you to work at the hospital seven days a week.”

  “Thea doesn’t want to work there any days a week,” Evvie declared. “I don’t see why she has to.”

  “For starters, because I told Ed Chambers she would,” Nick said. “And how can I expect men like Ed Chambers to trust me if I prove untrustworthy about such small things.”

  “You shouldn’t volunteer people without asking them first, then,” Evvie said, and punctuated her remark with another bite of apple. Watching her chew reminded Thea of how hungry she was. Still, she knew this was no moment to break away and get something to eat.

  “This really isn’t any of your concern, Evvie,” Nick said. “Thea agreed to call and I expect her to live up to her word. A couple of hours a day a couple of days a week isn’t going to kill her. And not only will it help them at the hospital, but it will help us as well. We’re a unit, this family, and we should always be willing to help each other out.”

  “Thea’s no traitor,” Evvie said. “She forgot to do something because she didn’t want to do it in the first place. It’s no big deal.”

  “It’s a big deal to me,” Nick replied. “And it should be a big deal to Thea.”

  “It is,” Thea said. “I mean, I’ll do it. I’ll call Mrs. Chambers right now and make an appointment, and I’ll do the volunteer work. I am sorry, Nicky. It was dumb of me to forget.”

  “Fine,” Nick said. “The name and number are right by the phone in the kitchen.”

  “It is not fine,” Evvie said. “Thea, if you don’t want to do it, don’t. You have no right to bully her this way, Nicky.”

  “I am not bullying her,” Nick said, and Thea could see how angry he was. Thea hated the idea of Nicky being angry, and she especially hated the idea that she was responsible.

  “Of course you are, Nicky,” Evvie said. “You should hear yourself. Family responsibilities. Family unity. You sound as though, if Thea doesn’t come through, your entire empire will collapse.”

  “My empire, as you call it, is sending you to Harvard in a few days,” Nick declared. “My empire has sheltered you and clothed you and given you advantages you take for granted. I’ve never seen you turn down any of the good things family unity and responsibility and empire have offered you.”

  “No?” Evvie said. “Well, maybe I should have. If the price for going to college is letting you have your own way about everything, then maybe it’s too high a price.”

  “And how have I had my way as far as you’re concerned?” Nick asked. “What dreadful things have I forced you into?”

  “Spending that summer at Aunt Grace’s for one,” Evvie said. “I was just like you, Thea. Better to agree than to upset poor Nicky.”

  “That summer turned out really badly for you, too,” Nick said. “A summer at Eastgate where you fell in love. You must regret every minute you spent there.”

  “There were a few that weren’t so great,” E
vvie said. “But the point is you never really gave me the chance to say no. Just the way you’re refusing to listen to Thea now.”

  “There’s a tone in your voice I haven’t liked for a while now,” Nick said. “You came back with it after that summer, Evvie. I’ve always assumed it has something to do with Sam, some attitude of his you’ve picked up.”

  “It has nothing to do with Sam,” Evvie said. “I went away from home—you sent me away—and while I was gone, I had a chance to see your empire from a different perspective. That’s all.”

  “There’s more to it than that,” Nick said. “There’s a hostility, a lack of respect.”

  “If you mean that I won’t be bulldozed anymore, you’re right,” Evvie declared. “No matter how charming you can be.”

  “Will the two of you stop it!” Thea said. “Evvie, thank you for defending me, but it isn’t necessary. He’s right. I told him I’d do the volunteer work and I will. Nicky, Evvie’s going to college in three days. You don’t want to be angry at her, and Evvie, you don’t want to be angry at him, either. There’s no reason for anybody to be angry at anybody else. I said I was going to call and I’ll do it right now. I hate it when people are mad at each other in this family. I don’t even like it when I’m mad at Claire, and she drives me crazy. Please. We’re different from other families because we do love each other, and it’s stupid when we fight, and I won’t have you fighting because of me. So just stop it.”

  “Fine,” Evvie said. “I never meant to upset you, Thea.”

  “You’re right, Thea,” Nick said. “I must have sounded petty to you, and to Evvie. Will you just make that call?”

  “Right now,” Thea said, and she ran to the kitchen phone, and dialed the number. She asked for Mrs. Chambers and was put right through. It was hard to remember what she had to say, when she was still shaky from the scene in the living room, but she managed to introduce herself and apologize for having taken so long to call.

  “Nonsense,” Mrs. Chambers said. “I’ve been impatient only because I was so excited that you plan to volunteer. Your father speaks of you so glowingly, I know you must be a remarkable young girl, dedicated to helping others less fortunate than yourself.”

  “I don’t know how remarkable I am,” Thea said. “Or dedicated. But I would like to try.”

  “Do you have any preferences as to where you’d like to work?” Mrs. Chambers asked. “We can use a good volunteer anywhere, so if there’s one place in particular, I’m sure we can place you there.”

  Thea tried to think what place in a hospital she’d dislike least. The gift shop occurred to her, but she wasn’t sure the hospital had one, and besides, it sounded like a cowardly and materialistic refuge. “I don’t know,” she said. “I like children. And I do have a couple of younger sisters.”

  “Then we’ll put you in pediatrics,” Mrs. Chambers said. “Oh, I have a wonderful idea, if you think you’re up to it.”

  “What’s that?” Thea asked. Pediatrics sounded okay to her. Bunches of basically healthy kids getting over asthma attacks and broken legs. She could play with them, read out loud to them. Megs had mentioned teaching as a possible career for her. Volunteer work in a pediatrics ward might be a good start.

  “This could be very difficult,” Mrs. Chambers said. “So you don’t have to give me an answer right away. I’m sure your instinctive response will be to say yes, because the kind of girl who volunteers to work in a hospital and who loves children will be thinking of them first and not of herself. So even if you agree right now, I won’t hold you to it. You can think about it over the weekend, and come in on Monday to talk to me and see if you still want to do it.”

  “Do what?” Thea asked. Mrs. Chambers could give Nicky a few lessons in bulldozing.

  “The hospital has a special program for its children with cancer,” Mrs. Chambers said. “We’re very fortunate to be one of the best cancer-care facilities in the area, and we have children from a hundred-mile radius who stay in the hospital while undergoing treatment for their illnesses. What we like to have is a one-on-one relationship between a volunteer and one of our childhood cancer patients. Naturally there are never enough volunteers, and the work can be emotionally very draining. Have you had any experience with cancer, Thea?”

  “Not personally,” Thea said. “I’ve never been sick with anything much in my life.”

  Mrs. Chambers laughed. She sounded like Glinda the Good. “I meant, have you known anyone with cancer?” she said. “Sometimes I get so excited, the words come out all wrong.”

  “Oh,” Thea said. “Well, no one in my family.” She thought about it for a moment, and realized one of the true advantages of having attended seven different schools was that she’d run into at least one of everything. There had been Betsy in third grade. She’d worn a stocking cap because her hair had fallen out. And Rob in sixth grade. And last year, what’s-her-name, Michelle, who was still undergoing treatments when the school year had ended. “Yes,” she said. “I have known a few kids with cancer in different schools I’ve gone to.”

  “So you would know what to expect,” Mrs. Chambers said. “It can be very lonely for these children, even those who live right here in Briarton. Oh! We have the sweetest little girl here right now, being treated for leukemia. We all love her. Her mother works, so she can only spend limited amounts of time with her daughter, and it would make all of us feel so much better if this little girl had a volunteer friend. We call them Friendly Visitors. You’d almost be a big sister to her. You’d visit with her a couple of times a week, talk about the sorts of things girls love to talk about, not about illness or family problems, but happier things. Do you think you might be interested in helping us that way, Thea? Would you like to be a Friendly Visitor?”

  Thea knew she didn’t dare say no. Anyone as noble and dedicated as she was, had to say yes, even if she then thought about it over the weekend and changed her mind. Not that she was sure she would change her mind. Being a Friendly Visitor didn’t sound any worse than fluffing up some old person’s pillow or making change for some doctor in a hurry. “It sounds really interesting,” she said. “Can I come in on Monday and learn all the details?”

  “Oh, Thea, you are as nice as I thought you’d be,” Mrs. Chambers declared. “What time shall I expect you on Monday?”

  “I’ll come straight from school,” Thea said. “Three-fifteen, three-thirty? Is that all right?”

  “I’m putting you right down in my calendar,” Mrs. Chambers said. “I can’t wait to meet you, Thea. And spend the weekend thinking about being a Friendly Visitor. The pluses are enormous, the gratification is beyond your wildest fantasies. But it can be hard as well, depressing when the treatment isn’t going well. So I won’t hold you to your yes.”

  “Thank you,” Thea said. “I’ll see you on Monday, then.”

  “Thank you,” Mrs. Chambers said. “Have a nice weekend.”

  Thea hung up the phone and wondered what she’d gotten herself into. Mrs. Chambers was about to nominate her for sainthood when all she’d done was what Nicky had told her to do. She wished the idea had been hers to begin with. It felt uncomfortable getting credit for something that had been imposed on her.

  Nicky wasn’t even in the living room as she walked out, so she went back to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of milk, and cut a slice of the zucchini bread Megs had baked the day before, and carried them up to her bedroom. Evvie was lying on her bed, ignoring the dozens of half-packed boxes that surrounded them both.

  “I’m sorry,” Thea said as she sat down on her bed, balancing the milk and bread carefully.

  “Sorry about what?” Evvie asked. “Boy that looks good. I’m going to miss Megs’s cooking when I go away.”

  “Sorry that I made you and Nicky fight,” Thea replied. “Would you like some?”

  “Thea, if I want any bread, I’m perfectly capable of getting it for myself,” Evvie said. “You don’t have to offer me sacrifices.”

  “I d
idn’t mean to,” Thea said. “It’s just that it’s a big piece and I thought you might like some. That’s all.”

  “Oh, Thea,” Evvie said with a sigh. “I’m the one who’s sorry. You have nothing to apologize for.”

  “I know you think you have to protect me sometimes,” Thea said. “I guess I like it that you do. Sometimes I envy Sybil because she has all of us to protect her. You don’t have anybody. I mean, I’ll protect you, but it’s not the same as having a big sister.”

  “I don’t need protecting,” Evvie said. “And you don’t, either, Thea. I stepped in because Nicky drives me crazy sometimes, the way he orders all of us around. He even tries it with Claire, and Claire never does what you order her to do, so he’s crazy to approach her that way. But that’s how Nicky is sometimes. Crazy.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t talk that way about him,” Thea said. She took a large bite of bread, and washed it down with milk. “Nicky isn’t at all crazy. And you have to admit he loves us.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Evvie said. “I admit that, all right.”

  “Then why do you sound that way?” Thea asked. “Like you know Nicky loves us but you don’t really believe it.”

  “Because things aren’t as easy as you want them to be,” Evvie replied. “Thea, I love you, but the only person I’ve ever heard you say anything bad about is Claire, and Claire drives you so crazy it’s amazing you haven’t tried to murder her.”

  “I don’t understand,” Thea said. “What’s wrong with not saying bad things?”

  “Nothing,” Evvie said. “But weren’t you angry at Nicky just now? He did force you into something you didn’t want to do.”

  “I know it seems that way,” Thea replied. “But he’s right about the family and how we all have to help out. And he’s right about you, too. You never used to talk to him the way you did today. But ever since you met Sam, you’ve had a different attitude about Nicky. Claire and Sybil have noticed it, too, and frankly, I don’t think it sets that great an example for them. Especially Claire. What is it about Sam that made you change the way you feel about Nicky?”