Strawberry Hill Chapter 14

Recommended 8 and up. Raleia Pendle always wished she was from an old-fashioned family from a bygone era who would be involved in every aspect of her life, but instead she has modern (for 1976) hippie parents who keep their distance. Raleia gets a taste of the past in Tidal, ME which was hit by a Tidal Wave in 1911 and is a living museum to the event. She also meets Ian Rutherford a recluse who hasn't left his house since the tidal wave hit. In this chapter, Raleia makes some dangerous choices.

Transcript

Hello,

This is A.

Le Fay of Sylvanocity,

And I'm going to be reading Chapter 14 of Strawberry Hill.

Raelia woke up.

It wasn't a sound that brought her out of sleep.

She just opened her eyes.

The room was gray.

The dawn of a cloudy day.

All the gray made Raelia feel heavy inside.

Closing her eyes,

She imagined an uneven dirt path leading to the beaver pond behind her grandmother's house.

A walk in the woods was the only thing she wanted right then.

To hear the squirrels rustling in the trees.

To see the tiny white flowers of clover along the edge of the path.

To feel the fuzzy leaves of a milkweed.

The snap,

The sticky milk from the weeds' veins would cover her fingertips.

She loved to peek inside milkweeds and watch the milk flow.

But she felt guilty for hurting the plant and wondered if it killed the weed to break off a leaf.

Tick actually tried to drink the milk once.

He said it tasted like rat poison.

Not that he'd ever eaten rat poison.

Raelia wanted to go home,

Not to that cramped little cottage by the ocean.

She longed to go back to the house in Wisconsin where the kitchen faucet played a dripping tune all night so she could fall asleep.

She wanted to sit in the old armchair in her room with a good book and watch the frost cast a web across her window on a cold January day.

Someone knocked on the door.

An odd thing to do in a jail,

Raelia thought.

The guard leaned into the room.

He had a piece of toilet paper stuck to his skin just below his ear.

Your father's here to get you,

He said.

Raelia got out of bed.

For a second she debated whether or not she should make the bed.

Then she figured they'd probably wash the sheets anyway.

The guard led her to the front of the jail.

Everything looked all faded in the gray light of the day.

She saw by the clock over the door that it wasn't anywhere near dawn.

She'd slept until 10 30 in the morning.

Not her style at all.

Oh well,

She probably needed to sleep.

The smell of his old spice cologne announced Mac's presence,

But Raelia didn't want to see him.

Raelia.

Mac sounded like the principals on after-school specials about teenage drinkers,

All serious and military-like.

Raelia didn't look up.

Raelia,

Look at me.

Raelia turned to the guard who now stood behind the front desk.

He stared down at her like she was a lost kid to be pitied.

She wanted to rip the toilet paper off his face.

She walked to the door saying,

Let's get out of here.

Marching out of the building,

She didn't even wait for Mac's to answer.

Mac's grabbed her arm as she turned the corner to go to the car.

Don't walk away from me.

He pulled her around to face him.

Look at me.

He gave her a shake.

She looked up.

The anger in his face,

Tightening his jaw,

Narrowing his eyes,

Made her feel as if she was melting.

Do you think I'm a big joke?

He was so loud.

She was sure the entire town heard him.

Do you?

Raelia couldn't find the strength to answer him,

Even if she lied and told him she didn't think he was a joke.

Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Letting go of her arm,

He lowered his voice and said,

I shouldn't have lost my temper.

I just don't know what to do with you anymore,

Raelia.

He made her sound like she's some household problem that had plagued him.

A leak in the roof or a toilet that wouldn't stop overflowing.

A loose floorboard in the upstairs hall.

It's not like I robbed a bank,

Max.

Raelia walked forward.

Max maneuvered to get in front of her.

Don't you understand,

Raelia?

He put his hands on her shoulders.

He wasn't gripping her.

He was almost holding her.

I didn't do this because I wanted to punish you for doing something wrong.

I had to find a way to make you realize how dangerous your little stunt was.

You could have gotten killed or hurt someone else.

Driving isn't a sport,

Raelia.

It's a potentially life threatening responsibility.

I'm a good driver.

Maybe,

Max shook his head.

You might think so,

Rael,

But you're too young.

You don't have the reflexes or the knowledge of the road to be driving at night.

We're on a major road.

I won't do it again,

Raelia pulled away and got into the car.

She wanted to shut him out,

But the darn window was open.

He leaned in to say,

I'm not the absent-minded father you think I am,

Raelia.

Now you want to say,

Yeah,

Prove it.

But she was silent.

I don't want to end your fear with your life.

And believe it or not,

That's a hard thing to manage.

Letting your kids make their own mistakes is really tough,

Especially when they do the things that could take their own lives.

But you don't want the alternative and neither do I.

I'm not going to control your life and tell you what to do and when to do it.

I won't.

Raelia didn't bother looking at him.

He was in his,

I'm a good parent mode.

What he called controlling,

Raelia called caring.

Parents who care take the time to know where their kids are.

Drive them to a movie or a store.

Talk about their school.

Teach them the rules of good behavior with a firm hand.

Make sure they're ready for the big things like high school and college.

Allow them to explore their artistic side by letting them take piano lessons and ballet classes.

They don't let their kids run around like wild animals.

Max stood up,

Shook his fist in the air and roared in frustration.

You are the limit!

Walking around the front of the car,

He hopped in and said,

Tell me,

Raelia,

What would your dream father do now?

He'd send me to my room.

I'd be grounded for two weeks so I'd learn to obey him.

Obey him?

Max patted the seat.

That's what slaves do for masters.

You obey when you don't have any other real choices.

I'd prefer you to choose to listen to my advice,

Raelia.

Recognize that I know what I'm talking about.

How's a kid supposed to know what adults are talking about?

They live in a different world.

One with mortgages,

Electric bills,

Faculty meetings,

Parent-teacher conferences,

And sex.

What kid understood all that?

And what was the real difference between driving at night and driving during the day anyway?

So you saw headlights instead of cars,

White lines instead of whole roads,

And the signs sort of glowed in the dark.

Big deal!

She didn't get in a wreck or cause anyone to get so worked up they haunted her.

She was a good driver.

And who had taught her to drive anyway?

Max,

That's it.

I'm not going around you,

Raelia.

But you're not driving anywhere without an adult in the car from now on.

And you'll be paying that fine.

What?

Raelia turned to face him.

How am I supposed to pay a $150 fine with an allowance of $2.

50 a week?

You won't be getting any allowance for two years.

Oh,

And that's better than grounding someone?

Grounding is a punishment that has nothing to do with the crime,

Raelia.

You're paying for the consequences of your actions.

Raelia couldn't see how a fine was any different than grounding.

But she didn't want to argue anymore.

No allowance for two years?

It was the end of her trips to the used bookstore and the antique store back home.

Life sucked.

Tick ran up to the car as Raelia got out at the cottage,

Asking,

Were there any rats in your cell?

No,

Twerp.

Raelia pushed him out of the way.

It was a jail,

Not a dungeon.

Tick bounced alongside her,

Asking,

Did they fingerprint you?

No.

Do the police have guns?

No.

They threatened people with razors.

She body checked him into the bushes.

Leave me alone.

Raelia wanted to go straight to her room,

Hoping to escape her family.

I just wanted to know.

No.

Tick called after her.

Tiny was sitting on her bed when she walked in.

She climbed the stairs just to yell at Raelia.

Great.

Have a seat.

Tiny padded the bed.

Raelia dropped onto the bed,

Exhausted,

Angry,

And in no mood for another bout of sage parental wisdom.

Was the movie good?

Tiny asked.

Her tone was flat,

Her face expressionless.

Raelia was suspicious,

But she played along to see where Tiny was taking things.

It was scary.

Worth $150 to see?

No.

Raelia closed her eyes to hide the fact that she was rolling them.

Tiny squeezed Raelia's knee.

You know why it takes so long to find someone to marry?

What did marriage have to do with it?

Her parents were too weird for words.

No.

Why?

Raelia asked.

Because it takes that long to find someone who sees love the same way you do.

For some people,

Love is remembering to bring home flowers on a birthday,

Or eating candlelight dinners and having long,

Romantic talks.

Other people think love is never spoken of,

Only shown by taking care of someone,

Paying the bills,

Cutting the lawn,

All that stuff.

The only problem is,

Even if you find someone who shares your view of love,

You'll probably have kids who see it a whole different way.

Sometimes Tiny said really smart and touching things that made Raelia wonder just what else Tiny had hidden away from view.

Raelia loved it when Tiny was like that,

When Tiny was right.

Different people loved,

Feel love by different acts.

There was a girl in her class named Hildy Mazur who thought it was the greatest thing when her mom woke her up by jumping on her bed and feverishly kissing her on the ear.

Raelia would feel embarrassed and stupid if Tiny did that to her.

I guess you're right.

Tiny leaned into Rael.

Maybe so,

And if I am,

Then it's darn sure Max and I have a different definition of love that isn't quite fitting yours.

I'll say.

Tiny raised her eyebrows and said,

Well it doesn't mean we don't love you Rael.

I guess.

Tiny slapped Raelia's thigh so hard it's dumb.

It's true.

Nice way to show it.

Raelia gave Tiny a soft shove and pointed at her own leg.

Exactly.

Tiny smiled.

Raelia laughed.

Tiny gave her a hug.

It felt pretty good,

Especially after a night in jail.

Thank you for listening to Strawberry Hill,

Chapter 14.

You know,

So often we find ourselves in situations with those we love,

Feeling as if they slighted us or hurt us or don't see us as we see ourselves.

And sometimes we feel unloved.

Love is a four-letter word of a very extraordinary kind.

It really is an individual experience,

Something we define through an alchemy of past experiences,

Wishful thinking,

And hopes for a better future.

But we don't really know if the people around us,

Those we love the most,

Share our understanding of love.

And it wouldn't be a bad idea to communicate that love,

Not just how you feel about them,

But how the way they react to you communicates love.

Or perhaps it doesn't,

Because they don't know the view of love you hold inside your head unless you share it with them.

Can you do that?

I bet you'll discover amazing things about the way those around you love you.

If you bring up the subject,

Who knows what might happen?

You might get slapped in the leg.

You might get something you've always wanted,

But never received.

I hope that happens for you.

Thank you for listening.

This has been A.

L.

Faye of Silvanacity.

Reviews

Great story maybe bump up the age recommendation thanks

Edit: so I think that there were a few things with the mention of jail and that might scare some younger children and jail is pretty real it was a fear for me when I was younger and also there are a few other mentions about war and that it self is a really horrible thing as well as the floods they have and how people died so yes bump it up a little just for comfort but I say it’s still a wonderful story and only bump the age to like 9 or maybe 10 but it might not bother some kids so you can just have a warning in the description