I tiptoed across the dirty cracks and chips in the floor, finding the well-known places where squeaks made no sound. Jill, my older sister, was seated at my destination, working diligently on her third grade homework. I had always been told never to bother her while she was working, which was why I had been summoned to the family room to play with my Barbie dolls. I knew she had not forgotten the day's earlier incident, so I began my way back to my scattered dolls lying on the family room carpet without a word in my defense. No, you don't have to go back in there.
Lunch is almost ready.
I began placing the utensils on the kitchen table when I heard my father's big John Deere tractor pull into the driveway. I immediately began working as fast as I could to get the places set before he came into the house. I had always been scared of my father. As I sat down beside Jill, I felt the familiar feeling of a rabbit being chased by a hound. I began unconsciously to pull at the electrical tape my mother had used to keep the plastic seat from tearing, fearfully awaiting my father's entrance.