Suzie’s House 201: The Best Medicine

Mrs. H. did that thing grown ups do where they kind of groan and cover their faces with their hands because they are so annoyed. Gene wasn’t sure if she was more annoyed with him or with Tracy. Thing was, he couldn’t see why she was annoyed in the first place.

“Fine. If you want me to talk to someone so bad, I’ll talk to Tracy.”

“That isn’t what I meant, and you know it.”

“But she’s as good as a shrink. Maybe better.”

“You need a shrink?” Tracy asked, looking at him all wide-eyed.

“I hardly think a thirteen year old girl will know as much as someone who has a degree in psychology.”

“Is this about the sex thing?” Tracy said all innocent.

“What?!” Mrs. H’s eyes got all wide and she swung around to look at Tracy, then looked back at Gene like she wanted to ask a question but didn’t dare.

Gene didn’t mean to laugh, but a little laugh-type thing slipped out anyway. Not that Gene would ever, ever giggle.

“We aren’t having any,” Tracy assured Mrs. H. Yeah, right, like that would go over well. “Cause I’m too young.”

Gene laughed a little more. He slapped his hand over his mouth to stop it, but that didn’t help much. Tracy came over and put her arm over his shoulder like a helpful nurse. Did she think she was helping him out or something? That just made it worse.

“I hardly think it’s a laughing matter,” Mrs. H. muttered so quiet he almost didn’t hear.

He gave up. It was better to go ahead and just laugh, because all this not-laughing only made him want to laugh harder. He laughed so hard the tears ran.

“God. It’s a good thing I didn’t tell you anything else, Tracy, or you’d REALLY have embarrassed me.”

“There’s something you haven’t told me?”

“Has he told you he loves you? I’ll bet that’s what he’s keeping to himself.”

“He doesn’t have to tell me that,” Tracy waved her hand around like a fairy princess or something. “I know.”

“Oh, really?” Mrs. H. looked at Tracy with that knowing look. On someone like Gene’s dad, that would have been annoying, but the thing was that Mrs. H. was almost always right when she looked like that.

So Mrs. H. thought he loved Tracy? And Tracy did too? That took all the laughter right out of him. Cause he knew he liked Tracy a lot, but love? Wasn’t that something you shouldn’t do? Cause if you loved someone, then when they went away it hurt a lot more than when you got hit.

But who could he say something like that to? Not to Mrs. H. and not to Tracy, cause both of them thought it was OK to love someone. Hell, they probably both thought it was good.

They were still talking, saying stuff like about knowing what they know and all. He interrupted them.

“I guess it would be ok.”

The two of them shut up and looked at him. He cleared his throat.

“If you want me to see someone. A shrink or something. I guess it would be ok.”

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