Free My First Love and Other Disasters by Francine Pascal

to be in touch with them at all. At least not until his son pays some of his bills.”
    â€œOh, I see.” But I really don’t. I can’t believe she’s not going to let the kids speak to their own grandfather. That’s horrendous.
    â€œI suppose as long as you’re going to be involved in this mess you should understand it a little better.” And then she tells me how Jed took off for California (of course, she doesn’t say anything about how he was playing around) and how he never even calls the kids and now he’s evenstopped sending money. She does design displays for stores, but it doesn’t pay all that much money, and now they’re going to have to sell the house on Fire Island and the kids really love this place. Worse than that, she thinks she’ll have to move out of the city because it’s too expensive, and then it means she’ll have to do more traveling to her job and she won’t be able to spend as much time with the kids, and now that they don’t have a father they need her even more than ever.
    â€œI suppose we really shouldn’t have even come out this summer,” she says, “but I knew it would be the last time for the children on Fire Island, and they suffered so much this past year I wanted to give them the best summer I could.” She looks so sad.
    â€œThat’s really terrible,” I say. “I mean him not helping out at all. It’s like he doesn’t care.”
    â€œHe’s impossible, and the truth is he really doesn’t care.”
    â€œCan’t you make him pay? Take him to court or something?”
    â€œIt’s very hard because he’s way out in California. If he were in New York I could haul him into court and they would make him pay. They have ways of taking part of his salary. I’ve talked to him, pleaded with him, everything, but all he does is hang up on me. I know his father has some influence over him, so I thought if I refuse to letHenry—that’s his father—see the kids, even if Jed wouldn’t do anything for his children, at least he would do something for his father. I’m hoping Henry will be able to do something with Jed. Henry is very fond of the children, but I feel he’s also somewhat responsible for his son’s behavior. I don’t know . . .” She puts her head in her hands, and I know she’s trying hard not to cry in front of me. “Maybe it’s not the best way, but I’ve tried everything else . . . Anyway”—now she sort of pulls herself together—“that’s what I want you to do. If Henry calls, tell him no and not to call anymore. If he gives you any trouble just hang right up.”
    It blows my mind just thinking about hanging up on somebody’s grandfather. I could never in the whole world hang up on my grandfather, and I would hate anyone else who did. Maybe if I just let the kids answer the phone . . .
    â€œWhat if David or DeeDee picks up the phone?” I better straighten this out right away.
    â€œI’m going to tell them not to answer the phone.”
    â€œBut won’t they want to know how come?”
    â€œI’ll deal with that. In the meantime I don’t want them to know anything about what I told you. Victoria, I’m sure you understand how important it is that they don’t know even one thing about the situation. They’re much too young—they’d never understand.”
    â€œI won’t say anything, I swear.”
    â€œI’m counting on you.”
    I just know I’ll lose it if he calls. What a drag. I guess she sees it on my face because she says, “Don’t worry about it, Victoria—he’s probably not going to call anymore. After all, I asked him not to, and he’s a pretty decent man. A lot better than his son, I might add.”
    â€œI guess he probably won’t,” I say, but I know