And so Rachel learned that her job was to take care of everyone else. She was the one who comforted her mom when things were really bad, she was the one who made her younger brothers tiptoe around Dad, and, along with her mom, she was the one who worried about Terry when she didn’t come home at night. And then she would head off to school, put on a happy face, and make believe she was like all the other kids, with loving parents and a happy home.

So it was a big step to bring Carolyn home one day after school to show her the new blouse she had bought downtown at Higbee’s and was saving for the upcoming April dance.

The girls were sitting in Rachel’s room, thumbing through a magazine, giggling as they debated which hairdo to wear to the dance, when all of a sudden they heard a loud crash come from the kitchen.

“Don’t worry about that; it’s nothing,” said Rachel.

“What, are you kidding? It sounds like somebody fell down out there,” Carolyn said, and she was out the bedroom door before Rachel could stop her.

Rachel’s dad was lying on the floor, trying to pull himself up, and cursing the cops in Newberry for not having the damn sense to just leave a guy alone when he was driving home from work. Just then there was a commotion at the front door and two uniformed police officers came in, lifted Ted up, cuffed him, and dragged him into the squad car, kicking and screaming.

Carolyn did her best to pretend she hadn’t seen what had happened, but when her eyes met Rachel’s, they both began to cry and Rachel ran into her room, followed by her friend. Carolyn insisted that Rachel come home with her, have dinner with the family, and stay the night. She would not take no for an answer.

That night they sat up talking in Carolyn’s room until three in the morning, and that was the first time Rachel told the truth about her life to another person. Perhaps that wacky Mr. Ercolano wasn’t so wacky after all.

Of course, it wasn’t too long before Carolyn’s mother figured out what was going on with Rachel, and without so much as saying a word, she pretty much adopted her. So, when the two girls became women, it was natural to say they loved each other like sisters.

One day later that year, Carolyn’s doorbell rang and Rachel was standing on her doorstep, a great, big smile on her face. She was bubbling over with excitement.

“You’ll never guess what happened!” she said to Carolyn.

“What, what? Tell me!”

“My dad moved out! He met some woman at the bar, got her pregnant, and they’re moving to her brother’s place in Minnesota. He told us the news last night, and he’s already gone!”