They left at ten o’clock again. Ben could barely sit still. It was the last day of traveling. In a few hours, they would be in San Francisco. Gennie noticed the mountains gradually turned into rolling hills but soon after they crossed the border into California the landscape changed drastically. The grass turned from green to yellow and the hills completely disappeared. It almost looked like a desert.
Soon they were on a huge multi-lane bridge with cranes reaching for the sky on one side and billboards on another. They were also completely surrounded by water.
“Is that the ocean?” Ben asked.
“No,” Malcolm replied. “That’s the San Francisco Bay. It leads to the ocean though.”
“Maybe next weekend we’ll go to the beach,” Colleen said. “We can show you the ocean then.”
The bridge led into a tunnel and they emerged on the other side on an elevated highway. Buildings and cars surrounded them. On one side of the highway, they saw small hills; on the other side, they saw extremely tall buildings in the distance. Gennie assumed they must be skyscrapers.
“Are we in San Francisco?” Ben asked.
“Yep,” Malcolm said. “It’s not too long until we’re at our house.”
They went on another huge multi-lane highway and took an exit that led to an even bigger road. Gennie had never seen this many cars in her life. She couldn’t even imagine driving around in a place like this.
They went onto a smaller highway then came upon a large street lined with warehouses and scruffy looking trees. Cable car tracks crisscrossed the road. They arrived at a sprawling intersection surrounded by art deco buildings. The car turned right onto a narrow street crowded with small tidy homes. They parked in the driveway of a small beige house with tan trim. It had a tiny manicured front lawn with a brick walkway.
“We’re home,” Malcolm said.
Colleen sighed. “That’s why I don’t go up there very often. It’s always an ordeal.”
Ben was out of the car within five seconds. Malcolm opened the trunk and they all helped with the luggage.
“You can leave the suitcases in the garage if you want,” Colleen said. “I’ll show you around first.”
The basement had shiny parquet floors and looked like it had never been used. They took a small set of stairs to the second floor. The living room had a large leather sofa and two overstuffed chairs facing a fireplace. Their kitchen had brand new wood cabinets with light green countertops and a shiny white tiled floor. Colleen led them to a bedroom that was painted green with white trim. A simple white quilt lay on the full sized bed.
“Can this one be mine?” Ben asked.
“Of course,” Colleen replied. “I know it’s a little feminine right now with the flowers everywhere, but you can decorate it any way you like.”
Colleen showed them their shared bathroom. It had blue tile on the floor and cream-colored walls. The bathtub matched the tile.
Colleen opened the door to the second bedroom. The walls were painted peach and the bedspread and drapes were white with small yellow flowers. A bureau drawer with a gold lamp stood on the opposite side of the bed while a small desk with a typewriter was near the door.
“I’m glad that this is my room,” Gennie said, “because Ben doesn’t know how to type.”
“You don’t know how to type either,” Ben replied.
“You’ll probably learn in school,” Colleen said. “It comes in very handy for secretarial work.”
“Gennie’s dying to be a secretary,” Ben said jokingly.
Gennie smacked him in the arm.
“Do you like our house?” Colleen asked.
“Yes,” Gennie said, “it’s beautiful.”
“Oh thank you,” Colleen replied, “I decorated it all by myself, you know. Malcolm’s not really interested in those sorts of things.”
Gennie wasn’t that interested either, but she could appreciate the fact that Colleen took pride in it.
“I can’t believe I have my own room!” Ben said. “I have never had my own room ever in my life. Now this one won’t keep me up at night with her blabbing.”
“Me?” Gennie said. “How about you with your snoring? It’s like sleeping next to a grizzly bear.”
“Now you won’t have to worry about it,” Colleen said. “You’ll both have plenty of privacy.”
“Halleujah!” Ben said.
They brought the luggage into the house and they unpacked what little they had. Then they took a long nap in their bedrooms until supper was ready. They had frozen breaded chicken fingers with baked potatoes. Gennie knew it wasn’t up to Ben’s standards but neither of them said anything.
“We have a busy day tomorrow,” Colleen said, “so get as much rest as you can.”
“What are we doing that’s so important?” Ben asked.
“Well, we’re going shopping for school clothes,” Colleen said.
“I don’t need school clothes,” Ben said.
“Ben, you have about four outfits to your name,” Gennie said.
“Yeah, but I don’t need school clothes.”
“Yes, you do,” Malcolm said, a note of sternness in his voice.
“I am not going to school,” Ben grumbled. “You can’t make me.”
“You’re too young to drop out,” Malcolm said. “You have to go. My parents never finished school and they barely eked out a living. They borrowed money from Uncle Rusty and Aunt Gracie all the time. I promised myself I would never end up like that and neither would any children I had. Since we’re raising you now, we will not allow you to drop out and just give up.”
“Shit!” Ben yelled out. He stood up and slammed the chair. “If I had known this was part of the deal, I never would have come here!”
“Don’t walk away from us,” Malcolm said.
“Screw you!” Ben shouted. “I’m walking away right now!”
If Ben had talked to his father like that, he would have been hit with a belt or have his mouth washed out with soap, but Malcolm said nothing. He just sighed and finished his meal. Colleen looked very upset. She frowned deeply and twirled her fork.
“Don’t worry about him,” Gennie said. “I told him a million times that he would end up going to school, but he wouldn’t listen to me. I can talk to him about it after dinner.”
“Thank you, Gennie,” Malcolm replied. “We’re not used to this sort of thing. I would never talk to my parents like that.”
“He didn’t mean it,” Gennie said. “It’s been a really rough year for him. Plus he hates school. He’s usually not like that.”
“Well, I don’t know the whole story but I know enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. Tell him I will not change my mind.”
“Okay,” Gennie said, “I will.”
Chapter 12: September 4