Read Online Chasing Lilacs by Carla Stewart - Free Book Online Page A

the porch. The fixture beside the door made a yellow circle of light that seemed to say
hurry, hurry.
    “I’m home. Safe and sound. You can go now.” My voice had a scritchy sound.
    “Just one thing… I’ve been wondering…. Everything cool with you here at home?”
    “Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?” What was this all about? Earlier today he’d asked almost the very same thing.
    “Doobie told me about your mom being gone. I thought maybe… Well, I just hoped things were righteous, ya know.”
    “Doobie? What does he know? My mother’s doing fine. As a matter of fact, she’ll be back on Monday. Good as new. Besides, I
     don’t think it’s
cool
for Doobie to be talking about something he knows nothing about.” Just because his mom had gone to the same hospital as Mama
     didn’t mean he knew beans about our situation.
    “I’m all ears if you want to talk about it.”
    “I’m fine. My mother’s fine. And besides, I heard you had plentyof your own problems to deal with. I don’t think you need to be butting into mine.” My mouth had taken on a mind of its own.
     I didn’t know exactly what Cly’s problems were, but they weren’t the same as mine. Not even close.
    “Where’d you hear that?” His chin lifted a notch, and a dark look crossed his face.
    “Never mind. Just forget I said anything.” I climbed to the top step.
    “Wait.” Cly grabbed my arm and pulled me around. “What did you hear?”
    “Sammie, you by yourself?” Daddy said from the other side of the screen. “Thought I heard voices out here.”
    “Yes, Daddy… I mean, no, I’m not by myself. Cly walked me up the sidewalk. He’s going home now.”
    I yanked my arm away from Cly’s grip and marched into the house.
    Daddy sat in his rocker, watching the weather on the television. I wondered if he’d heard my conversation with Cly. I hoped
     not. And another thing. I wished Cly had never walked me home and that Edsels hadn’t been invented. When the weatherman finished,
     Daddy went to the kitchen and filled his thermos with coffee and made a sandwich for his lunch box.
    “I’ll be on graveyards for two more nights. Guess you’ll be going over to the community hall to clean up tomorrow.”
    I nodded. He gave me a peck on the cheek, picked up his battered hard hat, and left for his shift at the plant. After taking
     a bath, I tried reading
Gone with the Wind,
but the words blurred together. All I could think about was why Cly asked me so many questions. I concentrated on the words
     in the book, but I was too sleepy to make any sense of them. I turned out the light and thought about Mama. Only two more
     days and she’d be home. The last thing Iremembered before falling asleep was wondering if a person was allowed to eat fried chicken when receiving shock treatments.
    The next morning Tuwana lit into me the minute I showed up for the cleanup. “What? You didn’t bring Cly along so you could
     kootchy-koo while we sweep the floors?”
    “What?” I stepped away from her.
    “Don’t act so dumb, like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” she hissed.
    “If you’re talking about when Cly walked home from my house, I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
    “Yeah, and sitting on his lap in the Edsel wasn’t your idea either, I suppose.” She crossed her arms and slitted her eyes
     at me.
    “For Pete’s sake, Tuwana, I don’t know how you come up with these harebrained ideas. You’re the one with the big crush. Not
     me.”
    “You say that, but I know you ride your bike past his house all the time, show off on the basketball court….”
    “Think whatever you want. Trust me. I’m not trying to steal your boyfriend. Now maybe we ought to get busy.” I picked up a
     wooden folding chair and stacked it near the wall.
    Thankfully Cly didn’t show for the cleanup. Every time the door opened, I looked up, half wanting it to be him, half scared
     to death. Sometimes I could still feel his hands around my waist