Read Online Earnest by Kristin von Kreisler - Free Book Online Page B

them, as she might have patted Earnest’s paw. “You’ve got to fight. I need you,” she said.
    In the sink she sprayed water on Constance’s shriveled fronds and hoped there might still be life in her. From a plastic bag, Anna shook soil into a clay pot, which would be Constance’s new home. “I won’t give up on you. As you revive, I’ll be here cheering for you.” Anna set her in the soil and added more around her roots.
    Anyone but Anna would have tossed these plants into the ever-growing pile of rubbish on the lawn. But she could never give up on her dear old friends. To her, plants were like people. They had personalities and needs, and they commanded respect. She liked their quiet dignity as they witnessed life around them. They had a silent steadiness.
    One morning Jeff had watched her watering and whispering to her begonias in their condo windowsill. He’d said, “They’re growing into giants. Soon you’ll have to beat them back.”
    â€œI love them.”
    â€œThey sure know it.” Jeff had smiled the smile that got Anna every time. She’d crossed the kitchen and kissed him.
    How her life had changed in just one day. Now that she’d lost all trust in Jeff, kissing him would be impossible. She branded him “thoughtless”—no, more than thoughtless. Insensitive. He had a rhino’s hide. And when she remembered Kimberly’s revelation yesterday, Anna had to admit that Jeff had flat out ambushed her. She’d never have predicted it in a thousand years. How could he have done such a thing?
    Feeling crushed, Anna pressed down Constance’s soil so she’d sit tall in her pot. Anna watered her, carried her to the corner, and set her on her pedestal. “You be brave. You need to get strong again,” Anna told the fern. Constance may have been wounded, but she was proud.
    Â 
    Earnest’s now-gray lily pad reeked of smoke. If Anna washed it, the corduroy cover would be fine, but the pillow inside would fall apart. She was about to haul the bed out to the rubbish pile, but then she reconsidered.
    Throwing away Earnest’s lily pad would be like throwing him away. Such a disloyal act might indicate she’d given up on his recovery and didn’t expect him back. Jeff is the disloyal one, not me, she thought. She set the bed down. Gently. With care. For now, no matter how bad the smell, she’d keep the lily pad exactly where it was.
    Â 
    Luis Ramon wore blue coveralls, Reeboks, and a Seattle Mariners baseball cap turned backward. When he spoke, his gold tooth flashed. He handed Anna a business card for Serve-U Restoration in Seattle. “I come from insurance company. You burn, we earn.” His whole face crinkled when he laughed.
    â€œWhat can I do for you?” Anna asked.
    â€œI do estimate to clean.”
    â€œFantastic! We’re desperate for help.” Anna was so grateful that she felt like hugging him.
    â€œEstimate only. Boss says no work,” he said.
    â€œI thought you cleaned.”
    â€œWe do. Not here.”
    â€œSo you’ll just make an estimate? That’s it? We won’t see you again?”
    â€œSí, señora.”
    As Luis measured walls and wrote down numbers in a spiral notebook, Anna grumbled to her disappointed self. This morning Gamble’s building inspector had declared the house a mess, but habitable if electricity were restored. Now, clearly, Mrs. Blackmore had decided not to bother cleaning up, so she surely wouldn’t bother with repairs. A tightwad like her wouldn’t put a pinched penny into a house that might be demolished in a few months. Anna should have known. She should have turned her back on hope.
    Â 
    Anna called an official meeting—like those that she, Joy, and Lauren used to have around their kitchen table to count their savings for the house. But since the kitchen was gone, their meeting place was Plant Parenthood.