Carly was pacing back and forth in front of her locker, waiting for Mia to arrive at school. It wasn’t like Mia to be late, so Carly was concerned. “Where were you last night?” She demanded when Mia finally arrived at their locker after second period. Carly had been deprived of her 45 minute phone call the previous evening and Mia better have a good excuse because Carly and Mia talked on the phone every night without fail.

“Sorry,” Mia said with a frown, “I um, well, it’s a long story,” Mia finally said.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Carly demanded, “I’m your best friend, or did you forget that.”

Mia sighed, “It’s a long story. I went home yesterday and my grandma was in the attic looking at pictures of my mom,” Mia explained. “I was upset when I saw she had kept these pictures from me for all these years and even more upset because I know Popoff won’t allow me to see my mom now that’s she’s back, so I ran off.”

Carly gasped, “Really?”

Mia nodded, “It was a dumb thing to do because I got in trouble and now I’m grounded.”

“Grounded for how long? Does this mean you can’t go to the dance next Friday?” Carly worried, “Shit!” It took awhile for Carly to realize that Mia’s running away was not at all typical.

Mia was surprised to hear Carly swear, “Careful Carly you might get a demerit for swearing,” She warned, but she could understand her friend’s feelings of frustration, “I know we had plans to go to the dance together, I’m sorry.”

“The students from Cedar Springs are going to be there,” Carly said, “Oh my God, have you seen their star football quarterback? His name is Riley Bills and he’s very good looking. His dad is the coach. ”

Mia wanted to go to the dance with all her heart, but she knew it was out of the question. “I was just glad I didn’t get a whipping, I’d so much rather be grounded,” Mia mumbled, almost under her breath in an attempt to change the subject.

“Oh for sure,” Carly said with big eyes, “Your grandpa is so old school,” then she paused, “but if he had whipped you instead of grounding you then maybe you could have still gone to the dance,” she said slowly, not fully understanding how painful and humiliating a whipping could be.

“It’s not worth it,” Mia assured her.

“I guess I’ll just have to stare at Riley Bills on my own,” Carly said with resignation, even though they had other friends who would be going.

It hurt that Mia would be missing the dance, she had really been looking forward to it, but what was most on her mind wasn’t the dance, it was her mother. The images from the photos kept flashing through her mind and she became angrier with each passing moment that her grandpa wouldn’t allow her even one picture. It didn’t seem fair. She knew if she asked him again to give her a photo she risked getting a whipping for sure and that was a risk she wasn’t willing to take.

***

Frank looked forward to Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings more than any other day of the week because that was when he coached his son Colton’s soccer team. This afternoon they would be going to the neighboring town of Cedar Springs to play soccer and Frank was excited about the game.

Amanda, Frank’s ex-wife, pulled up in her car. “Hey dad,” Colton called as he jumped out of the car to greet his dad, Frank.

“Hey dude,” Frank said with enthusiasm, “Ready to go kick some balls?”

Colton grinned, “Yep!”

Frank glanced over at his ex-wife Amanda as she got out of the car, “Don’t bring him home late,” She called to Frank and then she looked down at her son with a smile, “Have fun Colt.”

“I will mom,” Colton smiled and ran back to kiss his mother goodbye and throw his arms around her neck one last time before she left. She often attended his soccer games, but she wasn’t able to be there this afternoon.

Frank realized a long time ago that he had made a terrible mistake by losing Amanda. Every time Frank saw her, he still wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her from head to toe. But he didn’t have that luxury anymore and it hurt to think about it. “We won’t be late, I promise,” He said, grinning at her.

Amanda looked doubtfully at Frank and flipped her blonde hair before climbing back inside her car.

“Let’s get going,” Frank said to Colton after Amanda was gone. He helped Colton get in the truck, “We need to go pick up Popoff,” Frank said as he drove across town to the Hardware Store to where Martin waited.

Martin never missed any of his grandson’s games if he could help it. Claudia also went to the games whenever she could, but with Mia being upset about Angel’s return, Claudia elected to stay home this time and keep an eye on Mia.

“Hi Popoff,” Colton smiled when Martin got in the truck and sat down beside him. Colton raised his hand to give Martin a high five and then he hugged his grandpa. He looked forward to seeing his grandpa whenever he got the chance, which wasn’t often.

“How’s the champion soccer player,” Martin smiled, roughing up Colton’s hair.

“We’re going to go kick some balls,” Colton grinned enthusiastically and Martin couldn’t help but laugh at his words and the double meaning. Martin reasoned his son Frank had taught him that expression.

Another of Martin’s grandsons was also on the team. Martin’s oldest daughter Aurora, or Rori as they called her, had a son Colton’s age named Trevor and Frank coached them both.

Frank’s older sister, Aurora had married Doug Austin when she was twenty-five years old. They had two son’s named Trevor and Tyler. Trevor was Colton’s age, nearly eight-years-old, and her other son Tyler was only five-years-old.

Aurora was proud of her family and she kept herself busy from morning until evening taking care of her two boys and her husband Doug. She was active in everything her boys were involved in at the private school St. Christopher’s, and in the community. She had a lot of good friends and was the epitome of a suburban housewife. Her husband Doug was a successful computer programmer who commuted by train to the city nearly every day. It took him ninety minutes in each direction.

Rori had heard the rumors of her younger sister Angel’s return. By now the rumor was that Angel had pranced around Red’s Barn completely naked on Saturday night and set up shop in the back room as a prostitute. It was disgraceful.

Rori was more than a little disturbed to think of her younger sister Angel coming back to town after all these years because Angel’s return brought a certain stigma with it that Rori didn’t want to remember. Rori had been in her second year of college when Angel had become pregnant, and even though the scandal should not have affected Rori at all, she felt slighted by the people in town because of her sister’s promiscuous behavior and the scandal of Angel having premarital sex and a baby out of wedlock.

After Frank pulled his truck into the dirt parking lot next to the soccer field, Colton quickly jumped out of the truck and ran to greet his two cousins Trevor and Tyler.

Frank always had a lot on his mind at these games, even though he was just coaching seven year olds, he worried a lot about his son’s performance and making sure all the parents of the other kids were happy.

Rori walked over to greet them, “Hello Frank, Hi Pop,” She smiled at then hugged Martin.

Martin rubbed his daughter Rori’s back with affection as he hugged her, “How are you Rori?” and then he looked down at Trevor and Tyler and playfully punched them each on the arm. Trevor and Tyler smiled and greeted their grandpa, “Hi Popoff,” they said and Tyler jumped up to hug Martin and nearly knocking him off his feet.

Frank didn’t stay long to socialize with Rori and Martin. He herded the boys to the soccer field, anxious to get ready for the game.

Although Rori was curious about the gossip she had heard about Angel, she knew she couldn’t ask her father about it. The subject of her sister was off limits with Martin and Rori had been taught to respect her father’s wishes. She knew she would have to wait until she could get her brother Frank alone before she could ask what he knew about Angel’s return.

Frank was happy when he discovered his friend and old coach Wiley Bills was coaching the opposing soccer team.

“Hey Frankie,” Coach Bills called out enthusiastically when he saw Frank, and he briskly walked over to Frank and patted him on the back and shook his hand, “It’s great to see you again.”

“You have a seven year old?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, he’s my youngest son,” Coach Bills grinned proudly, “Did you hear about my oldest son Riley? He’s the quarterback of the high school football team here in Cedar Springs.”

Frank had heard about Coach Bills’ son Riley, almost everyone had. Coach Bills had been Frank’s coach when he had been the starring quarterback in high school at St. Christopher’s. Coach Bills had coached Frank right up until the time Frank became injured and was unable to go on and play college ball after that. Coach Bills had shared in Frank’s disappointment and although some people speculated that Coach Bills had played Frank a little too often and worked him way too hard and that's what had lead to Frank's serious injuries, Frank had never felt that way.

After high school, Coach Bills became Frank’s friend and mentor, even during the rough years when Frank turned to drinking and drugs, Coach Bills had been there for him. Frank had always felt it was a shame that Coach Bills transferred from St. Christopher’s Catholic School to coach at the high school in the neighboring town of Cedar Springs.

“I’ve definitely heard about your son Riley,” Frank said with admiration, “I hear he’s a great player.”

“You should see him Frank,” Coach Bills bragged, “He has so much natural ability it scares me, he’s almost as good a player as you were,” Coach Bills smiled.

“Let’s hope he’s better,” Frank laughed, but he was flattered by Coach Bills’ words. “We need to get together and talk about old times,” Frank mused.

“Yes we do,” Coach Bills smiled and then he became distracted as a woman walked by in a tight sweater and short skirt, “Look at the bod on her,” he moaned appreciatively.

Frank’s head snapped around to look at the woman, but in truth no woman other than his ex-wife Amanda interested him. “She’s nice,” Frank agreed and raised his eyebrows for emphasis. He noted that Coach Bills never seemed to stop checking out women no matter how young or old. Some things never changed.

As Martin sat watching his grandson’s play soccer, he looked over at his daughter Rori and thought of how different she was from Angel. Rori had always been driven to succeed, and he was amazed that she hadn’t become a high powered attorney, single and living in the city, rather than a suburban housewife, but he reasoned she was happy and that’s all that mattered.

The game ended in less than an hour and Trevor and Colton were celebrating their victory by jumping up and down and shouting “we won, we won.”

Martin smiled at the boys, “How about I treat everyone to pizza at Antonio’s tonight? We’ll call grandma and Mia and see if they can join us.”

“Yes!” Colton and Trevor screamed enthusiastically.

“I’ll call Doug and see if he can meet us there,” Rori suggested since she didn’t want her husband left out.

Rori managed to get Frank alone for a brief moment as they walked towards the waiting vehicles. She wasted very little time asking her burning question, “Do you know anything about Angel coming back?” Her whisper wasn’t soft enough because Coach Wiley Bills who was standing near them heard her words and suddenly got chills up and down his spine.

“Angel’s definitely back,” Frank explained wearily, attempting to make sure Martin couldn’t hear him.

“You’re kidding,” Rori said in disbelief, “Are the rumors true?”

“I don’t know what you’ve heard,” Frank said.

Wiley Bills trailed behind them as they walked towards the cars, pretending he wasn’t listening when in fact he was hanging on every word.

“Tell me what you know Frank,” Rori persisted.

But by then they had caught up to Martin and the boys and they could no longer talk about it, “I’ll tell you later,” Frank assured her, “Not right now.” Frank smiled at the three boys, “Who wants pizza?” he asked enthusiastically.

“I do, I do,” The boys called.

Coach Wiley Bills stood next to his car as if he had just seen a ghost. “C’mon Wiley,” His wife said impatiently, “We don’t have all night.”

Wiley thought he was going to be sick. To his knowledge, no one knew he had raped Angel and he was glad. He was worried about her return however because even after all these years if the truth got out it would ruin him. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do about this situation, but he knew he couldn't allow his reputation to be tarnished by a no good two-bit slut.

***

The entire family went out for pizza at Antonio’s Fine Italian Restaurant, the entire family except Angel. The restaurant had to push several tables together to accommodate them.

Martin ordered two pitchers of beer and two pitchers of coke along with enough pizza to feed an army. Mia who was usually the most enthusiastic of the bunch hung back quietly and sat at the far end of the table with a frown on her face. She was beginning to realize what it meant to have a mother who was an outcast.

Rori looked over at her niece and instinctively knew Mia’s sullen mood was probably due to Angel’s return. She made certain Martin was distracted with something else before leaning over to whisper to Claudia, “I hear Angel is back,” she said softly, hoping her father didn’t overhear.

Claudia quietly nodded, “I saw her and she looks good.”

“You saw her?” Rori was taken aback and suddenly didn’t care if anyone heard.

Claudia explained in hushed tones about Frank bringing Angel to the house and Martin coming home unexpectedly and ordering her to leave.

Rori was shocked to learn her mother had gone against Martin’s wishes by seeing Angel. That wasn’t like Claudia, even though she knew Frank was just the sort to instigate an attempt. Rori was in shock. By the time dinner was over, Rori had gathered all the information she could about Angel’s return and her old feelings of bitterness about Angel began to return.

By now Martin was aware of the conversation about Angel and although he didn’t approve, he also knew it was inevitable that they talk about it, so he pretended he didn’t know.

When Rori learned about the pictures of Angel and Mia running away, she was shocked, “I hope Pop blistered her bottom good for running away like that, what a nightmare.”

Claudia frowned, “She was punished Rori.”

Somehow Rori knew her father hadn’t used his belt to punish Mia, and she was resentful because she knew how much of a softie Martin had become when it came to Mia. “I hope I don’t run into that slut,” Rori said angrily in reference to Angel, “If I do, she’s going to get a piece of my mind for all the grief she’s caused this family.”

No one knew how to respond to Rori’s words.

“Where is she now anyway?” Rori asked casually.

Mia perked up.

Frank frowned, “She’s staying with Dr. Parker at the moment.”

“What?” Rori was shocked, “How did someone like Angel manage to hook up with the most eligible bachelor in town in less than a week?”

All sorts of thoughts were racing through Mia’s mind. She knew Dr. Parker because he and her Uncle Frank had once been good friends.

“I suppose the good doctor enjoys a sleazy prostitute as much as the next man,” Rori said bitterly. It was well known to her that Angel had become a prostitute because she had overheard her mother and father talking about it a long time ago.

Martin had not wanted to slap his daughter across the face in nearly twenty years, but for some reason when he heard Rori refer to Angel as a prostitute, even though it was accurate, his blood began to boil and he was a little shocked by his own reaction.

Frank stood up in irritation, “You better take that back Rori.”

Rori shook her head, “Take back the truth? I don’t think so.”

Martin was beside himself, “Sit down Frank, we’re not going to discuss this any further, this subject is off limits.”

Frank reluctantly lowered himself back down in his chair and glared at his sister. People in the restaurant were looking at them.

“You’re embarrassing me,” Martin said in irritation to his children, “Let’s finish our dinner in peace and go home. I don’t want to hear another word about your sister; you both know as far as I’m concerned she doesn’t exist.”

Mia felt tears sting her eyes as she looked down at her half eaten slice of pizza. She left it untouched. The good thing was at least now she knew where to find her mother, even though she wasn’t sure she had the guts to run away again.