Read Online A Summer of Sundays by Lindsay Eland - Free Book Online
Authors: Lindsay Eland
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pocket. Ms. Trist smothered Jude in a hug, had him promise to be home at five, and then slid into the passenger seat.
“Your mom seems nice,” I said, biting into a sandwich.
“Yeah.” He pulled out containers and plastic bags, each labeled with his name and a description of what was inside: tofu and brown rice, vitamins, mini tomatoes, and two lumps that could’ve been cookies. Last he drew out a bag of sliced mango and a bottle of water with a sticker that said ORGANICALLY COLLECTED IN THE UNDERGROUND SPRINGS OF THE ALPS .
Jude stared down at his lunch, which didn’t look all that bad. That is, if you took away the tofu, vitamins, brown rice, tomatoes, and probably the cookies. “She’s trying to get me healthy.”
“Yeah. I sort of guessed that.” I crunched down on another stalk of celery. He eyed it. I grabbed the container of tofu and stuffed it back into the brown bag. Then I handed him a celery stick with enough peanut butter to seal his tongue to the roof of his mouth for a day.
“Don’t worry, this’ll count as one of your servings of vegetables and one serving of protein.”
AFTER lunch a woman on a bike rode up to the library, pushed the kickstand down, smoothed down her dark windblown hair, and walked toward the library.
“That must be her,” Mom whispered, wiping her hands on her jeans and standing. “The new librarian.” She smiled and met the woman halfway down the stairs and shook her hand. “You must be Miss Dunghop?”
Dunghop?
CJ was going to lose it when he met her, and then Bo and Henry would lose it, and then Mom would lose it … except not in the same way.
Mom walked her up the stairs, where Jude and I were arranging books into boxes, and May and Emma were labeling them. “These are my three girls, Emma, May, and Sunday, and their friend Jude. This is Miss Dunghop.”
We all smiled. She was the youngest librarian I had ever seen. She had perfect white teeth, big brown eyes, and ears that stuck out slightly from her dark brown hair.Freckles dotted her nose and cheeks like a dusting of cinnamon and she was exactly how I pictured Miss Honey from
Matilda
. I liked her instantly.
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
There was the sudden screeching of voices coming from the house, and we saw the boys tripping out the front door and then traipsing over to the library.
“Oh dear. I mean, Oh good,” Mom said, forcing a smile. “You can meet my boys.” She shot CJ a nervous look, but I could tell he didn’t notice.
“Boys, I’d like you to meet Miss Dunghop—”
That’s when CJ burst out laughing. I elbowed him hard, and he brought his giggles to a quiet snicker behind my back. He whispered to Bo and Henry, who also started to laugh.
Mom continued louder, probably hoping to drown them out. “These are my boys, CJ, Bo, and Henry.”
Miss Dunghop smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Dunghop,” CJ said, giggling.
Bo and Henry started laughing, and Mom’s face turned the color of a raspberry. I thought fast and, grabbing both Henry’s and Bo’s hands, started down the library steps. “Come on, CJ. Didn’t you want to make a fort?”
Miss Dunghop waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. With a last name like Dunghop I’ve heard it all. That’s why I go by Miss Jenny.”
CJ stared at her for a few moments as if he wasn’t quite sure what to think, then shrugged. “All right. But I like Dunghop better.” He tugged Henry and Bo the rest of the way down the stairs. “Come on. Let’s go build our fort.”
Mom let out a long sigh as they disappeared behind the library. I watched her cheeks slowly return to their normal color. “Now, Miss Jenny,” Mom said, “would you like to come in and look around at the remodel? Then the kids and I can show you the books we’ve gone through.”
Miss Jenny nodded and smiled. “Lead the way.”
Despite all the cleaning and organizing over the next few days, Jude hadn’t forgotten about the
“Your mom seems nice,” I said, biting into a sandwich.
“Yeah.” He pulled out containers and plastic bags, each labeled with his name and a description of what was inside: tofu and brown rice, vitamins, mini tomatoes, and two lumps that could’ve been cookies. Last he drew out a bag of sliced mango and a bottle of water with a sticker that said ORGANICALLY COLLECTED IN THE UNDERGROUND SPRINGS OF THE ALPS .
Jude stared down at his lunch, which didn’t look all that bad. That is, if you took away the tofu, vitamins, brown rice, tomatoes, and probably the cookies. “She’s trying to get me healthy.”
“Yeah. I sort of guessed that.” I crunched down on another stalk of celery. He eyed it. I grabbed the container of tofu and stuffed it back into the brown bag. Then I handed him a celery stick with enough peanut butter to seal his tongue to the roof of his mouth for a day.
“Don’t worry, this’ll count as one of your servings of vegetables and one serving of protein.”
AFTER lunch a woman on a bike rode up to the library, pushed the kickstand down, smoothed down her dark windblown hair, and walked toward the library.
“That must be her,” Mom whispered, wiping her hands on her jeans and standing. “The new librarian.” She smiled and met the woman halfway down the stairs and shook her hand. “You must be Miss Dunghop?”
Dunghop?
CJ was going to lose it when he met her, and then Bo and Henry would lose it, and then Mom would lose it … except not in the same way.
Mom walked her up the stairs, where Jude and I were arranging books into boxes, and May and Emma were labeling them. “These are my three girls, Emma, May, and Sunday, and their friend Jude. This is Miss Dunghop.”
We all smiled. She was the youngest librarian I had ever seen. She had perfect white teeth, big brown eyes, and ears that stuck out slightly from her dark brown hair.Freckles dotted her nose and cheeks like a dusting of cinnamon and she was exactly how I pictured Miss Honey from
Matilda
. I liked her instantly.
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
There was the sudden screeching of voices coming from the house, and we saw the boys tripping out the front door and then traipsing over to the library.
“Oh dear. I mean, Oh good,” Mom said, forcing a smile. “You can meet my boys.” She shot CJ a nervous look, but I could tell he didn’t notice.
“Boys, I’d like you to meet Miss Dunghop—”
That’s when CJ burst out laughing. I elbowed him hard, and he brought his giggles to a quiet snicker behind my back. He whispered to Bo and Henry, who also started to laugh.
Mom continued louder, probably hoping to drown them out. “These are my boys, CJ, Bo, and Henry.”
Miss Dunghop smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Dunghop,” CJ said, giggling.
Bo and Henry started laughing, and Mom’s face turned the color of a raspberry. I thought fast and, grabbing both Henry’s and Bo’s hands, started down the library steps. “Come on, CJ. Didn’t you want to make a fort?”
Miss Dunghop waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. With a last name like Dunghop I’ve heard it all. That’s why I go by Miss Jenny.”
CJ stared at her for a few moments as if he wasn’t quite sure what to think, then shrugged. “All right. But I like Dunghop better.” He tugged Henry and Bo the rest of the way down the stairs. “Come on. Let’s go build our fort.”
Mom let out a long sigh as they disappeared behind the library. I watched her cheeks slowly return to their normal color. “Now, Miss Jenny,” Mom said, “would you like to come in and look around at the remodel? Then the kids and I can show you the books we’ve gone through.”
Miss Jenny nodded and smiled. “Lead the way.”
Despite all the cleaning and organizing over the next few days, Jude hadn’t forgotten about the
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