Uncharted Fate by Cynthia Racette Page B

Betty, she's a nice woman, and I won't hear of you bad-mouthing her diner because it's not Maxim's. I work hard there and I earn my paycheck, every bit of it. It's not the best paying job in the world, but it's the first one I've ever had and it's a start for me. I'm proud I've been able to do as much as I have to keep this family in food and clothing since your father died. It hasn't been easy, although I'm making headway, one step at a time. My job is part of it all. And if you think the job isn't good enough for me, that's your problem, not mine."
    "But Mom," Mallory pleaded, tears starting again as she reached out her arms, "is waiting tables all you ever want for yourself? And us? A job in a diner at minimum wage?"
    "Of course not. Naturally I'd like to find a better paying job with more of a challenge someday. However, I'm not ashamed of this job."
    Mallory crossed her arms in a pig-headed gesture Anna easily recognized. "I don't understand how you can stand it there."
    "It's not bad, really. The pace is hectic, but the people are nice. And I'm making it there. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do."
    "But you come home exhausted every night."
    "There's nothing wrong with that. It's a healthy fatigue. And I wish you'd tell your friends there's nothing wrong with what I do. I think you should ask them to apologize to you."
    Mallory's back stiffened, and she pushed away to the other side of the mattress. "No. I couldn't ask them to."
    "Why not? What kind of friends are they if they won't admit they were too hard on you?"
    Sliding off the bed, Mallory faced Anna, her fists clenched. "I could never tell them anything like that. I was humiliated enough already today. I'm not going to bring it up again." Her face wore a closed-in, wanting-to-escape expression.
    Anna sighed and remained silent as Mallory backed away. "Mom, I'm going to go to Terry's. She's got some new CDs and she invited me over to listen to them. I might stay for dinner."
    Anna didn't like her going to Terry's but she knew Mallory felt a need to get away for a few hours. "Don't stay too long. You have homework."
    "I'll take it with me." Mallory grabbed her math book and her jacket as she headed for the door.
    "Wait. How'll you get there?"
    Mallory stopped, looking like she was itching to flee. "I'll catch a ride somewhere. Don't worry."
    "Hitchhike? Oh no, you don't. I'll drive you."
    Mallory backed through the hallway, her hands up. "No, Mom. Please. I want to be by myself. I won't hitchhike. I promise. I'll walk. And Terry's mom'll probably give me a ride home."
    Anna hesitated and Mallory took the opportunity to flee.
    Putting on her jacket as she ran, Mallory headed down the street. She didn't stop running until she'd gone through the entire labyrinth of sedate South Side streets, and reached Vestal Avenue. Jogging past the shops, and past the streets to the hospital, she finally got to the section of old, cramped homes where Terry lived with her mother in a back apartment on the second floor of a dilapidated house.
    Terry's mother—wearing a black, green, and hot pink caftan and matching headband which harkened back to the seventies—answered the door. "Eliza Mallory. How nice. Come on in. Terry's in her room."
    After knocking on Terry's door, Mallory entered, stepping over a pile of fan magazines to get to the unmade bed where Terry's pillow propped up a huge Panasonic stereo.
    "Hi. I didn't know you were coming." Terry pulled the earphones off and smoothed her frizzy hair back in place.
    "I, uh, didn't know I was going to come. I needed to get out of the house."
    Terry nodded and patted the musty sheet beside her. "Old lady comin' down hard on you again, huh?"
    "You might say that." Mallory hung her head. "I don't know how much longer I can stand listening to her scream at me all the time. Everything's topsy-turvy there now. I wish Dad were back. It was real nice when he was there. We all used to sit at the kitchen table every night with