Chapter 427 My Vacation Doings::16

• "I couldn't let him get off scot-free, Mom. I couldn't let him hurt Teri like that. I couldn't. I'm sorry."
• "No, I understand. You're the man of the house, and it's up to you to watch over us. Your dad would be proud." She gave me a kiss on the cheek, and stood up. "Time to get dressed. Church in less than an hour."
• Church was church, an hour and a half packed in a building that was standing room only. Back home, I changed out of my good clothes and went to work on Mom's car. I guess I'm not as handy as I thought I was. It took me more than four hours to get her stereo installed right. It took two tries, but I managed eventually, and Mom and Teri didn't give me too much grief for delaying our Christmas dinner by an extra hour.