silence and dropped them off at the bottom of the driveway without waiting to see where they went.
Liesel visibly flinched. “Oh. How’d you get her home from the hospital? Didn’t they give you a car seat then?”
Sunny blinked. “She’s never been in the hospital.”
“But surely when she was born—” Liesel stopped. “You didn’t have her in a hospital.”
“Hospitals are places the blemished go to die,” Sunny blurted, then bit down on her tongue. Hard. She cast her face in stone to keep from betraying anything else.
“The blemished? Is that what you call us?”
Sunny nodded.
Liesel murmured something Sunny couldn’t quite hear. “I guess it’s better than some of the other things we could be called, huh?”
Sunny lifted a hand before she thought, but kept herself from touching Liesel’s shoulder. “It’s just that you’re not one of us. That’s all. It’s not meant to be disrespectful. You can’t help it.”
“Let me call my friend,” Liesel said after a moment. “I think she has a car seat and some baby clothes she could lend you.”
She’d said lend, but Sunny knew Liesel meant give. This generosity pricked tears into Sunny’s eyes that she refused to let fall. It wasn’t that she was unused to being given things. Papa had said there was never any shame in taking what other people didn’t want or couldn’t use, whether it be from local charity organizations or Dumpsters behind the shopping malls. People threw away so many things with life still in them, it was more shameful to let them go unused than to take them.
This felt different. It felt like pity, and no wonder, because it was pitiful to show up on someone’s doorstep with three kids wearing dirty, worn clothes. Like refugees.
Papa had said the blemished were greedy, selfish, full of the need to take and acquire, but all Liesel had shown Sunny so far was the desire to give. She didn’t know what to think about this, just that it embarrassed her to have Liesel think she didn’t know how to take care of herself or her children.
But…wasn’t that the truth?
“That would be great,” she said. “If your friend has those things. I can pay her for them, I have money.”
She’d said that already, and in fact hadn’t actually counted the money her mother had given her. She had no idea how much was in the wallet. She didn’t really know how much things cost when it came right down to it, because she’d never been allowed to handle money for spending.
“Oh, honey, don’t you worry about that. Becka’s my oldest friend, she’s like a sister to me. Which means she’ll be happy to help you. That’s what happens when you’re like…well. You’re family. Right?”
To this, Sunny had nothing to say. She had a family, and her mother had forced her to run from it. Still, she managed a small smile. “Sure. Thanks. Right.”
It was a lie, and Liesel seemed to know it. She didn’t say anything though, just nodded and gave Sunny’s shoulder a squeeze. She touched Peace’s curls lightly, twining one around her finger. “Let me call Becka.”
Sunny nodded. Forced a smile. She had no other choice.
Chapter 7
K mart wasn’t Liesel’s top choice of stores to buy fashionable clothes, but it was the closest place, which meant they could get there and back as fast as possible. And, judging by the clothes Sunny and her kids were wearing and what they’d brought with them, fashion wasn’t really a priority.
Living in Pennsylvania Dutch Country with its large Mennonite and Amish populations, Liesel was used to seeing women dressed “plain.” For the Amish it was black dresses, while their more liberal Mennonite sisters wore dresses in different colors but all the same style. They all wore “coverings,” mesh caps worn over hair scraped back and rolled on the sides to be secured at the back in a tight bun. Sometimes they wore braids, the way Sunny had plaited Peace’s hair and her own. All of them looked like
Liesel visibly flinched. “Oh. How’d you get her home from the hospital? Didn’t they give you a car seat then?”
Sunny blinked. “She’s never been in the hospital.”
“But surely when she was born—” Liesel stopped. “You didn’t have her in a hospital.”
“Hospitals are places the blemished go to die,” Sunny blurted, then bit down on her tongue. Hard. She cast her face in stone to keep from betraying anything else.
“The blemished? Is that what you call us?”
Sunny nodded.
Liesel murmured something Sunny couldn’t quite hear. “I guess it’s better than some of the other things we could be called, huh?”
Sunny lifted a hand before she thought, but kept herself from touching Liesel’s shoulder. “It’s just that you’re not one of us. That’s all. It’s not meant to be disrespectful. You can’t help it.”
“Let me call my friend,” Liesel said after a moment. “I think she has a car seat and some baby clothes she could lend you.”
She’d said lend, but Sunny knew Liesel meant give. This generosity pricked tears into Sunny’s eyes that she refused to let fall. It wasn’t that she was unused to being given things. Papa had said there was never any shame in taking what other people didn’t want or couldn’t use, whether it be from local charity organizations or Dumpsters behind the shopping malls. People threw away so many things with life still in them, it was more shameful to let them go unused than to take them.
This felt different. It felt like pity, and no wonder, because it was pitiful to show up on someone’s doorstep with three kids wearing dirty, worn clothes. Like refugees.
Papa had said the blemished were greedy, selfish, full of the need to take and acquire, but all Liesel had shown Sunny so far was the desire to give. She didn’t know what to think about this, just that it embarrassed her to have Liesel think she didn’t know how to take care of herself or her children.
But…wasn’t that the truth?
“That would be great,” she said. “If your friend has those things. I can pay her for them, I have money.”
She’d said that already, and in fact hadn’t actually counted the money her mother had given her. She had no idea how much was in the wallet. She didn’t really know how much things cost when it came right down to it, because she’d never been allowed to handle money for spending.
“Oh, honey, don’t you worry about that. Becka’s my oldest friend, she’s like a sister to me. Which means she’ll be happy to help you. That’s what happens when you’re like…well. You’re family. Right?”
To this, Sunny had nothing to say. She had a family, and her mother had forced her to run from it. Still, she managed a small smile. “Sure. Thanks. Right.”
It was a lie, and Liesel seemed to know it. She didn’t say anything though, just nodded and gave Sunny’s shoulder a squeeze. She touched Peace’s curls lightly, twining one around her finger. “Let me call Becka.”
Sunny nodded. Forced a smile. She had no other choice.
Chapter 7
K mart wasn’t Liesel’s top choice of stores to buy fashionable clothes, but it was the closest place, which meant they could get there and back as fast as possible. And, judging by the clothes Sunny and her kids were wearing and what they’d brought with them, fashion wasn’t really a priority.
Living in Pennsylvania Dutch Country with its large Mennonite and Amish populations, Liesel was used to seeing women dressed “plain.” For the Amish it was black dresses, while their more liberal Mennonite sisters wore dresses in different colors but all the same style. They all wore “coverings,” mesh caps worn over hair scraped back and rolled on the sides to be secured at the back in a tight bun. Sometimes they wore braids, the way Sunny had plaited Peace’s hair and her own. All of them looked like
Similar Books
