“That’s not the point,” David shook his head. “The point is that Dad asked you not to wear it that way.”
“Perhaps he had a little trouble hearing Dad ask him to turn the hat around after having those earbuds ripped out of his ears,” Joanna mumbled, making sure that her father couldn’t hear her.
“Just back off, David,” Grant shot back. “This is between Dad and me.”
Nora waved her hand dismissively. “Baby, please just put a smile on that cute little face of yours and act like you are excited to be going away for the weekend with your family. I’m sure thrilled that we’re all together.”
Grant turned away from his mother. “It must be nice to be so oblivious,” he mumbled.
Randy grabbed Grant by his shirt and slung him around, backing him hard into the side of the van. “Turn the hat around and put a smile on your face,” his voice boomed.
“Randy, no!” Nora cried. “You’ll hurt him!”
Melissa gripped David’s hand to let him know that she was uncomfortable with this situation. Though everyone else may have been none the wiser, David was well aware that Melissa had very passionate opinions about Randy’s parenting techniques. “That is called child abuse,” Melissa said in a stern whisper that burned in David’s ear. Before his wife lost her cool in front of everyone, David decided to step in.
“Dad!” David said, forcing his way in between the two of them. “Come-on, let’s not do this today. This is supposed to be a relaxing trip.”
There was an awkward moment of silence until Rachel smiled, opened her arms wide and said, “don’t I even get a hug, little brother?”
Grant smiled indifferently as he offered his sister a quick hug.
“Well, let’s get going,” Randy said gruffly. “Get in the van, troops. If we want to stay on Mom’s schedule, we best get a move on things.”
“May I have my music back please?” Grant held his hand out.
“No,” Randy shook his head. “The point of this trip is to visit with your family, not drown them out.”
Grant stared back at Randy. “Okay,” he shrugged with a devious grin, “I guess we’ll all just have to talk. It is a long trip, and I have plenty to say.”
“Grant, what is your problem, man?” David groaned.
Randy tossed Grant’s iPod at him, and jaws dropped.
“What in the world?” Joanna muttered.
“Has Dad gone soft, or did we just never test the limits?” David whispered.
Joanna watched her father with curious interest. For a moment, she even glanced at him with the suspicion of a lawyer about to break a case wide open, but, the daughter in her told the lawyer in her to get real, and she soon disregarded the thought.
“Get in the van,” Randy pointed at Grant.
Grant lifted two fingers to the side of his forehead, and he saluted sarcastically.
Randy caught Grant’s hand and snapped his wrist over so quickly that everyone gasped. “Don’t ever let me see you do that again,” he said sternly.
“Dad!” Grant screamed, his face red with pain. “Gosh! I’m sorry!”
“Randy, you’ll break his arm,” Nora panicked, pounding on Randy’s back with open palms.
“Dad, let him go,” Joanna begged.
Randy released Grant’s arm. “Straighten up; you hear me?”
Grant rolled his eyes and favored his wrist as he climbed into the van.
For a moment, everyone else stood exchanging nervous glances. Then, following Randy’s lead, they began piling into the van.
“Baby, how is your wrist?” Nora asked sympathetically as she situated herself in the passenger’s seat.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s just a little sprain, Mom,” Grant laughed. “My jump shot should be back to normal in a matter of days.”
Randy stared angrily into the rearview mirror until Emily’s sudden exclamation broke his train of thought. “Mom!” she gasped. “You allotted us a specific time to use the bathroom?”
“What!” David laughed unfolding his itinerary.
“What if I don’t have to go to the bathroom at 12:15?” Emily asked. “What if I need to go at 11:15?”
“You’ll have to hold it,” Joanna smiled. “If we get off schedule we may miss the entire eleven minutes she allows us for lunch!”
“Honestly, Nora,” Randy shook his head. “You can’t go through a drive up in under…”
“Honey, do you need the map?” Nora interrupted as she opened the glove compartment.
“No,” Randy shook his head, perturbed that she would even ask.
In the very back seat, Grant leaned against the window in his own world, mumbling, “I just woke up this morning, and I said to myself…”
“This should be good,” David snickered. “Who are you even talking to?”
