Sunday Scribblings: Change

This is a section from my work in progress which I rewrote from first person to third, just to see how I liked it. It was harder than I thought it would be. And it's very long.

Jonah had one thing on his mind as he shoved the last bite of potato salad in his mouth and washed it down with the last bit of home made strawberry lemonade: Mrs. Madigan’s garden shed. He stood up, still mid-gulp crossed to the kitchen sink in two steps with his dirty dishes.

“Don’t run off.” Mr. Tretter said, “I have some exciting news I want to tell you about.”

Annoyed at the delay, Jonah took his seat again at the kitchen table, scenes from past exciting news revelations played like a “best of” episode on the screen in his head. He recalled the “Grand Canyon Vacation” announcement and, “It’s pre-owned but one day it will be yours” decree. He lingered on the, “We’re having another baby” shocker that seemed to come as a shock to his parents too.

“Holy crap! You’re not pregnant mom, are you?” Sid said.

“I want a baby brother.” Nathan gushed. Mrs. Tretter’s face went white.

“We are NOT having a baby. Rob, please tell them what this is about.”

“Well,” Mr. Tretter started, looking like this news was possibly good enough to end world hunger, “I’ve been offered a great opportunity at work. It’s a promotion, really: A promotion to facility manager. I’ll be in charge of a whole facility.”

Sid, Jonah and Nathan looked unimpressed.

“It will require a little more of my time, so I won’t be home as much, in the beginning. But once I get more comfortable with the new responsibilities, it will be just like it is now, except for a few things.”

“What kind of things.” Sid asked.

“Well, for one, I’d be making more money. That’s good. Maybe we could get the new X Box you boys have been begging for.”

At the words “X-Box” Jonah’s interest peaked. He quickly realized though, that something else was coming. Still, the thought of an X-box drowned out the sound of the dropping bomb.

“Also, the facility I’ll be opening and managing will be in China.” Mr. Tretter hung on the word China for what seemed like 30 seconds, his expectant eyes jumping from Nathan to Sid and to Jonah.

“We’re really not going to see a lot of you if you’re in China.” Sid said.

“No,” Mr. Tretter said, slowing down so that everyone would understand, “I wouldn’t be in China alone. You would all be there with me. We’d all move to China together.”

“Are we talking Hong Kong, China or the communist part?” Sid asked.

“I think Hong Kong is communist.” Jonah said.

“What’s a communist?” Nathan asked.

“No it’s not,” Sid said. “They kept the democratic government when Hong Kong was turned over by the British in 1997. We learned that in World Civics last year.

“I’m sure the communists are making small changes. It will be communist soon enough.” Jonah looked over at his mom who’s face looked frozen in a plastic grin.

“It’s not Hong Kong and we’d be expatriates, so we wouldn’t have to worry about registering as communists.” Mr. Tretter said. “They have an English school with kids from all over the world. It would be a wonderful cultural opportunity. We could go to the Great Wall of China, plus, it would be a great jumping off point for visits to Thailand and India.”

Mr. Tretter looked at his kids who were clearly still not convinced. “It would only be a three year assignment. We’d rent out our house here in Bethany Hills and move right back here when we were done. Just three years in China. A blip, really.”

“So, have you told them yes?” Jonah asked.

“No, they gave me time to think about it. I wanted to talk to you all first.”

“How soon would we have to leave?” Sid asked.

“We wouldn’t have to leave until after the end of the summer.” Mr. Tretter shot Jonah a quick look. “Don’t worry Jonah; you won’t have to drop your algebra class.”

Well, by all means, let’s move to China, Jonah thought. And what was up with his mom, just sitting there with that strange smile on her face, like someone had just made a benign comment on the weather or the particular shade of pink on the rhododendron in the front yard.

“Can I bring my Buzz Lightyear?” Nathan asked. “I want Buzz Lightyear to come to China too.”

Jonah stared at the table and tried to think of everything he knew about China. Chinese food, chopsticks, communism and they go to school for 12 hours a day, six days a week. Nope, he was definitely NOT interested in moving to China.

Mr. Tretter couldn’t stop talking about the opportunities and possibilities. Sid seemed really excited about it and of course all Nathan cared about was which toys he got to bring.

Jonah felt like the last trout in the fishing hole and his chances of convincing the family to stay right here in Shady Acres Estates on Elstar Drive were slim to none.

“Well,” Mr. Tretter said, “I’m glad to hear you are all so positive about the idea. Of course mom and I will talk a little more and come to a final decision, but it’s important to me to know that my family supports me.”

Mr. Tretter was all smiles. He didn’t bother looking in Jonah’s direction because if he had, he would have never come to the conclusion that all the family supported the idea of moving to China.