Joy is devastated. It is heart-wrenching to see her feel so bad.
She pushes Suzy away when Suzy reaches to hug her.
Charlie stands there, not knowing what to do. He’s not saying anything, he’s not moving, he’s just looking at her.
Joy sobs uncontrollably.
I don’t know what to do.
Suddenly, she shouts. “Dad!” And then again, “Dad!” It is a scream so loud that I feel it should have come if someone had torn her arm out.
“Dad!” She runs out of our home. Charlie runs after her, and Suzy and I go as fast as we can.
She is running up the ramp to Bonny’s Revenge.
Suzy and I make it to the deck just as the warship begins to move with Joy at the helm. Master Mind stands on the deck, looking at everything silently. Charlie is at Joy’s side, silent as well.
I feel now I can make things better. She’s ready to hear it.
“Joy,” I say. “At least you know the facts. It’s better to know than not know.”
“Dad!” she screams, cutting me off.
“I mean, now that you know you can deal with it, right? Facts are facts.”
“Dad!” she screams again.
Suzy puts her hand on my shoulder. “It’s not the time, Walter.”
“It’s good to know facts,” I say. I know that Justin has been raising her with that attitude as well.
“Walter,” she says and shakes her head. “Not now.”
I feel I can help. I want to help, and I’m annoyed that Joy isn’t listening to me. I have gone through this argument before with Suzy, and for now I decide to stop. But I’m not happy about it. Facts are facts, and it’s better to know facts than not know them.
Joy docks Bonny’s Revenge as usual, takes a permanent jetpack, and leaves. Charlie follows her. Master Mind helps Suzy and me put on our own permanent jetpacks, and then helps us across the plank to the tunnel.
Outside on the Shroom, Joy shouts “Dad! Dad!” in a voice that can be heard for kilometers. She leaps off Justin’s Shroom and activates the jetpack.
She needs to listen me. She just needs to listen to me.
(To be continued…)
—Told by Grampa Walt