Read Online Ask Anybody by Constance C. Greene - Free Book Online

we sat down again, it was too late.
    â€œWell,” my father said, “time to get back to work.” He left us there, the boys and me. I felt very old. I wondered what he would have said if the log hadn’t popped. What secrets would he have told us?
    Tad said, “Read us a Curious George, Sky?” and I said I would.
    â€œWhat happened at the end?” Sidney said. His eyelids were drooping. He was almost asleep.
    â€œI haven’t read the story yet, dopey,” I told him.
    â€œNo,” he said. “I mean what happened at the end of Daddy’s story?”
    â€œI don’t know,” I said.

12
    My mother’s been gone six days now. Almost a week. Only eight more days until she comes home.
    â€œIs Mama coming home with him?” Tad asked me. He meant Angus.
    â€œI don’t know,” I said. Which was true. Tad shot me a wary glance out of his unblinking eyes. He thought I was lying. I can always tell when Tad thinks I’m lying. There’s something about that wary look of his that makes you think you might be lying even when you know you’re telling the truth.
    Pamela’s coming for supper again tonight. I think she invites herself. I don’t think my father wants her to come that often. “How come she doesn’t ask you to her house for supper?” I asked my father. “How come she doesn’t ask us all to her house? She always comes here.” I try not to let my father know how I feel about Pamela. I think I do a pretty good job of concealing my feelings. It’s not easy.
    â€œPamela is probably the world’s worst cook,” my father said.
    â€œWell, then,” I said, “why doesn’t she learn? She could go to cooking school.” She’s lazy. That’s why she doesn’t learn how to cook.
    I read the boys a story every night before they go to bed. Their favorite is Curious George. They like the one about Curious George having a paper route. He folds the papers into the shape of a little boat. Then he sails the paper boats on a pond. The book has a little diagram showing how to fold papers into boats. Now Tad can hardly wait until he has a paper route. His customers will have to get used to having their papers delivered in boat form, I guess. Also, Sidney thinks it’d be neat if my mother brought him a monkey instead of a little alligator. I forgot to mention that Curious George is a monkey. Sidney thinks we should call up my mother in Africa so he can change his order.
    â€œI could feed him bananas,” Sidney said, talking around his thumb. Try talking with your thumb in your mouth if you want to know what Sidney sounds like. Either a Russian or a Chinese. Take your pick.
    â€œThat’s what monkeys eat, bananas,” Sidney said. “I could take him to show-and-tell. I think a monkey’d be more fun than an alligator. What do you think?” He leaned on my knee and looked up at me, his little face so serious. Sidney cracks me up. He really does.
    â€œWell,” I said, “a monkey’s more like a person than an alligator. If you want a pet that’s like a person, I guess a monkey would be a good idea.”
    â€œHe could wear my pants when I grow out of them,” Sidney said. “And my pajamas. And my sneakers. And my underwear. And my …”
    Once started, there was no stopping him. He darted back and forth to his bedroom, carrying armloads of his clothes, which he stacked in a towering pile.
    My father looked on, bemused, as Sidney stuffed all his belongings into a shopping bag.
    â€œSidney, you’re too young to go away for the weekend,” my father said. “Put that stuff back until you get a little older. Put it back until your mother gets home. She can handle this. I’ve got Plotsie into a situation that neither he nor I seem to be able to get out of. And I’ve got supper to get. My mind is befuddled.”
    â€œDo you like being a