It's not quite the end of the school year yet for Bonnie - but there's only the end of term carnival to go. It is, however, the end of the middle school term, and she gets a phone call to tell her that things have reached crisis point at the group home Stuart and Ted are staying at. Apparently some sort of disturbance has occurred with the other residents, and the two have been barricaded in their room for most of the last two days.
Lucy helps her get the spare rooms ready. The house officially has four bedrooms, with Bonnie and Lucy currently occupying one each. But in the past, there's been up to nine people living there, so the attic has doubled up as a bedroom when it wasn't full of junk. Lucy makes a mental note to tidy up the attic, just in case Terry's foster placement really does fall through.
"Hey Bonnie?" she asks, a little timidly, as they finish the room. "Can I ask you something before the boys come? I think you might be angry but..."
"Sure." Bonnie says, looking up at her. "You can ask me anythin', Lucy." She means it. There's no secrets as far as her sister in law is concerned.
"You know during the fair you were running in the bar?" Lucy says. "How much did you drink?"
"Er..." Bonnie hesitates before starting to add it up. Couple the first day, few more the second, then there was that really nice beer on the third day but she only had a couple... okay on Friday after the judging she had quite a lot, but that was mostly because after the first five she forgot to stop.
"Not sure. I wasn't drunk when I came home." she says. "Okay maybe a little bit tipsy on Friday, but not the rest of the week."
"Oh no, I wasn't saying you were drunk." Lucy says. "I just noticed you seem to be able to drink an awful lot before you get drunk, and you didn't look very well on Saturday..."
Bonnie barks a laugh. "I'm a biker, Lucy, I'm used ter drinkin' big hairy men under the table." She softens a little. "I did have a hangover on Saturday though, sorry. Special occasion. I appreciate yer concern, but I'm okay. I have a drink, not a drinkin' problem. I've been drunk no more than four times this year, promise."
Lucy puts her gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know. It's just... I remember when you had a problem before. You'd tell me if you had a problem again, wouldn't you?"
Bonnie looks her in the eye and smiles slightly.
"I will. Promise. This was a special week anyway, I'm gonna cut down once the boys are here." She gives Lucy a quick squeeze. "It's over twenty years since I was nearly an alcoholic, you don't got to worry about me doin' that again."
***
It's always sad, Bonnie finds, when foster kids arrive with barely more than the clothes they're standing in. Stuart and Ted prove to be no exception to the rule. Being so close in age, they've taken to sharing clothing, so they pitch up with one bag between them, and neither of them seems to have a coat, not that you need one often in California. Stuart's second bag contains mostly school and library books. Ted's bag contains a comb, a tub of hair gel, and two boxes of Flash Comics, wrapped safely. As he gets them out, she notices he has two of each, all 109 editions.
"How come you got two?" she asks.
"Dad used to collect them." Ted says, "One for him, one to keep safe. After he got killed in the war I carried on." He shrugs. "I don't think they'll be worth anything but they're the only thing we didn't sell for food. When we went to juvie, I was scared Jean would lose them."
Bonnie nods. Two of the county's most efficient junior criminal masterminds, or so she was told, stood in front of her. They didn't have much to show for years of robbery. Did they really only steal enough to feed themselves and Terry, and only enough left over for a couple of comics?
She lets them settle their things into their rooms, then brings them downstairs for a discussion of the house rules.
"All right, we don't got a lot of rules here." she says, when they're ready. "We tend to start off with the basics anyhow.
"Rule number one, 'Pick up yer pants'. What this means is that I will not clean up after you. If you want yer clothes cleaned, ironed and returned to you in little piles, you put them in the hamper.
Rule number two, 'Don't go in other people's rooms'. I won't be goin' in yer rooms unless I suspect you got weapons, drugs or alcohol, that you have committed a crime, or I can smell it from the corridor.
Rule number three, 'The beer is mine and Lucy's'. When I feel you are mature enough, I will let you try it.
Rule number four, 'Don't sneak stuff'. I will never let you go hungry or cold, but if you eat a bunch of stuff we don't know about we won't know what to buy at the store.
Rule number five, 'Do not set stuff on fire'. You are free to experiment and build with most of the junk you can find here, unless it's marked out fer a particular project. At fourteen years old, I consider both of you able to judge safety, but if you build anythin' with an engine or a plug I want to see it before you switch it on. And fer the love of God, if you don't know how to use power tools, ask me first.
Any questions?"
The boys, who have listened quietly, shake their heads. Bonnie continues.
"You get two towels, one plate, fork, knife, spoon, bowl and cup. How often they get cleaned is your responsibility."
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