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"What did I do?"

"You talked to him as if he was one of your schoolfriends, and I don't want you asking lots of personal questions. It's impolite. If he wants to tell us about himself, he will. Okay?"

"I really don't care."

"Well, start caring. We're going to be together for a long time. We have to get along. We should be grateful Richard is doing all the driving." She leaned toward me, her eyes full of pleading.

"Oh, honey, try to be happy. Soon you're going to see wonderful new things. Think of that," she cajoled. "You should be happy that you're getting this opportunity. It's one I never had. I was forced to live with people I didn't like and endure terrible things."

"Like what?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"Someday I'll tell you," she replied, a distant look in her eyes, the look of someone lost in her memories. "When will you tell me?"

"When you're old enough to understand."

"I'm old enough, Mommy. I'm fifteen. You should take a good look at me once in a while. I'm not a child anymore."

"I look at you plenty. You're still growing and at a sensitive stage. I remember how it was when I was your age. Trust me." She reached over the seat and put her hand on mine. "I want only what's best for you. You believe that, don't you, Melody?"

"Yes, Mammy," I said, wanting so much to believe her.

The door was pulled open and Archie hopped in, slamming it shut behind him. He brushed the rain off his face.

"Man, what a storm! But we're in luck. This place was almost filled. They had one room left."

"Good," Mommy said.

One room? I thought. All of us in one little room? Archie drove ahead and parked in front of Room C.

"Okay, we're going to have to move quickly. I'll get the door open first and then you girls decide what you need for overnight and we'll just bring that in, okay?"

"A-ok," Mommy said.

He jumped into the rain again.

Mommy turned to me. "What do you need, Melody?"

"Mommy, how can we all sleep in the same room?" I asked, mournfully.

"I'm sure there's two beds, silly."

"But . ."

"Now start acting like the grown-up you want me to think you are. Concentrate. What do you need?"

"The small suitcase," I replied petulantly.

"All right. Why don't you run inside? Richard and I will bring in all the things we need. Go on, honey."

I opened the door. It raged like a hurricane outside. With my hands over my head, I rushed toward Room C. Its door was wide open and I lunged through it.

I looked around the room. It had dull brown walls, stained near the baseboard. There were two double beds with a dark brown night table between them, on which sat an old fashioned telephone. Behind me were a dresser and a standing lamp with a faded yellow shade. The closet, open, some hangers dangling, was next to the bathroom doorway.

I went to the bathroom and tried to close the door, but it was out of alignment. There was no shower curtain around the tub and there was a long rust stain down its middle, from the back to the drain. Water dripped in the sink, above which was a cabinet with a cracked mirror.

Mommy and Archie came charging in from the rain, laughing. Was everything going to be funny, even this horrible room?

"The bathroom door won't close," I declared. They both stopped laughing and looked at me.