The Robinsons

Chapter 6

"Now you were wrong for that." Alex said as she drove she and Joy home.

"Wrong for what?" 

"Your behavior. That is no way to treat your mother!" Alex fussed. 

"That's no way way for my mother to treat her daughter."

"That's not the tone you want to use with me, so watch yourself little girl." Alex said in a stern tone.

"Sorry." Joy mumbled. "I just didn't want to be there anymore, so I pretended to not be there by not talking or doing anything."

"But sitting in your room for four days, that's not cool. Don't you try that nonsense with me and your daddy."

"I won't. She's the only one that deserved that."

"No she's not, she's your mother."

"You just don't understand. I'm like Cinderella in that house. That woman is evil."

To Alex, LaTrice was a mean woman. She never understood how one person could bare so much negative energy and spread it around wherever she goes. After the fiasco at her wedding, she lost all respect for LaTrice, but tolerates her for Joy and Drew's sake. 

Alex agreed with Joy that LaTrice is a mean person, but she would have added her being bitter along with being mean. She couldn't say those things around Joy because she knew she'll then become a bad influence on the teenager.

"Don't say that." Alex said, keeping her eyes on the road.

Joy sucked her teeth, "Why not? It's the truth. You guys always told me to express my self and speak my mind."  

"Right now, I'm telling you to watch what you say. That is your mother and you're going to learn to get along with her."

"I get along with her, she just doesn't get along with me."

Alex let out a very light chuckle. "How about we just drop that topic. You're coming back home, so now you don't have to worry about any bad vibes from your week with your mom. But make sure you call her later on today."

"Why?" Joy frowned. "I just left her house, what in the world would I call for?"

"Joy..."

"I'm not calling her. I just spent a week in what felt like bootcamp in her house, now you want me to call the drill sargent herself? Ugghh."

"Stop being so dramatic." Alex said. "You're gonna call her and that's the end of that discussion."

Until they got home, Joy stared out the window with a frown on her face. She was happy to see that her dad was home when they got home.

"There's two of my favorite girls." He greeted them at the door. 

"Hey, love." Alex said as Drew gave her a peck. 

"Hey, darling." he said to her, then he looked at Joy whose face was still frowned. "What's wrong with her. I thought she'd be leaping for joy around this house just being home."

"She will, after she calls her mom."  Alex said. 

"Yeah, you do need to give her a call." Drew agreed.

Joy was now frowning at her dad. "What's with you people?"

Alex stared at her, while Drew stood confused.

Joy reached in her crossbody bag and pulled out her cell phone. "I'll call her right now, so you could be my witness." She tapped her mother's icon on her phone's screen.

"Just let her know that you're here and that you'll see her later." Alex said. " You don't have to hold an hour long conversation with her."

Joy put the phone call in speaker so that they could hear. It rang four times then the call went to voicemail. "See, now l no answer." She ended the call.