Read Online Close to the Broken Hearted by Michael Hiebert - Free Book Online

been fried all over the fridge and stove. “I’ll hear none of that from either of you!” she said. “Miss Sylvie is not to be made fun of. Especially not by you two. Especially not in this house. Am I clear?”
    Dewey’s hands went into his pockets. “Yes, ma’am,” he said quietly.
    I hung my head and just nodded.
    â€œGood. Now, Dewey, I reckon you oughta get home with that aluminum foil ’fore your ma starts figurin’ out she didn’t go through two rolls on her own in a single day, don’t you?”
    Dewey had set the foil, which was sticking out of the top of a brown paper bag, on the counter when he came into the kitchen. “Yes, ma’am,” he said again.
    I was about to tag along with him when my mother said. “And, Abe . . .”
    I stopped and turned.
    â€œI want your room cleaned.”
    â€œBut—” It wasn’t even messy.
    â€œNo buts. You’re stayin’ in today. Go take off your shoes.”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” I said. She was in one of her moods. I knew there was no point in even trying to post a disagreement.
    Â 
    Dewey was barely out the door and my sneakers had just been kicked off my feet when the phone rang. I raced from the back door through the dining room back toward the kitchen to grab it when my mother picked up the receiver right in front of me. I could tell she was still upset; I just wasn’t sure what she was upset about. I think it was a number of different things, some of which made sense to me, some of which did not. My giving her the phone number of this woman who called herself my aunt seemed to really have knocked her for a loop.
    I stood in the kitchen beside the sink listening to my mother’s side of the telephone conversation. The sun was higher in the sky now and just edged the top of the window looking outside over the backyard where the cherries hung from the two trees, just waiting to be picked. Their dark red skin glistened under the hot sun.
    â€œHello?” she answered. “Oh, hi, Ethan. How are you this mornin’?”
    Ethan was Ethan Montgomery, the police chief of the Alvin Police Department, my mother’s boss.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” she asked, suddenly on the defensive.
    â€œNo, I didn’t do it so she could threaten you. I—” Whatever Chief Montgomery was saying to her was making her even more agitated than before. This was definitely not a good day to be stuck inside with my mother. I wished more than ever I had been able to escape with Dewey.
    â€œNo, Ethan, listen. I told her she could call me if she needed to, but only for emergencies. And I emphasized that she had to call the station first .”
    I was guessing this had to do with my mother giving Miss Sylvie her home phone number. I don’t think anybody would think that was a good idea. I still wasn’t quite sure why she did.
    â€œWell, I certainly didn’t mean for her to use it as leverage.” There was a brief pause and then, “Yes, I’ll talk to her. I’ll let her know.”
    Another pause and, “Ethan, before you go, do you mind if I ask you something about an unrelated issue? It concerns an encounter Abe had with a woman on Main Street this morning.”
    And my mother told Chief Montgomery the whole story about the woman claiming to be my aunt. She got most of the details surprisingly accurate. I guessed that’s what made her a good detective. When I had told her about it, I hadn’t thought she’d been paying that much attention, but I suppose she actually had been.
    When she was finished, she fell silent while Chief Montgomery spoke. Then my mother said, “Well, I guess I just wanted your opinion. Do you think it’s possible this woman might actually be Billy’s sister? Could Billy have had siblings and not mentioned them the entire six years we were together?”
    Billy was the name of my pa.
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