Free Love at 11 by Mari Mancusi Page A

chat, Dad,” I said testily. I was still very angry at him and wanted to make sure he knew it. “It’s Mom. She never came home.”
    “I’m sure she’s fine, Maddy.”
    I white-knuckled the phone. “She’s not fine. She’s missing. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”
    “Well, according to my online banking register, it appears to be Hawaii. Oh, no. Wait.” I hear clicking in the background. “She flew to Fiji this afternoon.”
    “What? Why would Mom be in Fiji? Or Hawaii for that matter?” I screamed into the phone. This was unbelievable.
    “Well, from what I can see by looking at the charges, it appears she’s shopping.”
    “And we are not to be concerned that our cookie-baking, stay-at-home, never-been-outside-the-continental-United States mother is suddenly on a globe-trotting shopping spree?”
    “Honey, I’m sure she’s fine. She’s free for the first time in her life and she’s enjoying herself.”
    “Fine. Whatever, Dad.” Furious, I threw the phone across the room. Unfortunately, phone throwing only hurts the phone itself, not the person on the other line.
    “So can I live with you?” Lulu asked.
    I sank down into the armchair, head in my hands. What did I do in a previous life to make my karma so screwed up?

 
    Chapter Six
     
    FROM : “Diane Madison”
    TO : “Madeline Madison”
    SUBJECT : Hello from Japan!
     
    Hi Sweetie!
     
    Sorry this comes by e-mail, but you know those foreign phone charges can really add up! I’m at a Tokyo Internet café having a grand old time and I thought I might drop you a line. So, how are you? How’s Lulu? Hope you are all doing well.
     
    Not sure when I’ll be home—having way too much fun! I can’t believe all these years I sat around wasting time raising children (no offense, Sweetie), when I could have been traveling the world!!!! Now your father will soon be stuck changing diapers again and I’m free to do whatever I want—all on his dime!!! I may NEVER come home.
     
    Make sure Lulu is doing her homework. And remind her that skipping school just ain’t cool.
     
    Love you to pieces, MOM
     
    I couldn’t believe my mom was traveling the world and I was stuck taking care of my crazy sister. You had to understand, my mother was the most non-travel-the-world type you’d ever meet in your life. And she never, ever shirked from the smallest parental duty, never mind getting up one day and abandoning her teenage child. It didn’t make any sense.
    I couldn’t mother Lulu. I could barely take care of myself. Like tonight. I had a date with the surfing Czech. Did I have to now make dinner first? Get home in time to check if she made curfew? I didn’t want that kind of responsibility. I didn’t even own a goldfish for this very reason.
    Still, what could I do? She was my sister, after all. And despite what a pain in the butt she could be, at the end of the day, I loved her dearly. What was I supposed to do, kick her out on the street? Sure, her being here would cramp my style a little, but we were sisters. And sisters stuck together when their parents went off the deep end as ours had.
    Besides, it wasn’t as if Lulu was in diapers and needed constant surveillance. She was sixteen. Mary from Little House on the Prairie got married at sixteen. And she was blind! Lulu had perfect twenty-twenty vision—surely she could figure out how to use a stove or call for takeout.
    So after laying out a few ground rules, I headed to my bedroom to find an outfit to wear on my date. Ted, the surfing Czech had called me yesterday, soon after I sent my e-mail. We talked for about three minutes—he said he was impressed by my profile—and ended the conversation by making dinner and movie plans for tonight. To avoid potential future stalker issues when I inevitably dumped him, I said I’d meet him at the Old Town Mexican Cafe, a fun restaurant in San Diego’s historic Old Town. We’d have dinner.