Read Online Edna in the Desert by Maddy Lederman - Free Book Online
Authors: Maddy Lederman
Tags: Literary Romance
Ads: Link
rag. Edna guessed he was checking the oil. She was impressed; she didn’t know men who knew anything about cars. Men she knew brought them in for repairs and had expensive tool sets at home that were unused.
Johnny started the Bronco and drove away, leaving Edna in one of those desert quiets that came after something big happened. If the red truck wasn’t right in front of her, Edna might doubt that Johnny had been there at all. She could have easily hallucinated the whole scene out of boredom.
She regretted going into the garage to wait for him. She was awkward and inauthentic among the rusty tools and ancient engine parts that lay exactly where they had hit the ground however many years ago. The remains of her grandparents’ lives, their dusty furniture and memories, were neglected here and dominated the space, except for where the Bronco parked. Edna couldn’t imagine a good reason to be standing here, weirdly in wait for Johnny. She was about to leave, but the Bronco was coming back. Walking away would seem cold. This boy just saved her life; she couldn’t exactly ignore him. She did her best to start organizing Grandpa’s old tools with a sense of purpose.
“Where did you go off to?”
Off too? That sounded forced.
“Down the road. You have to move a car once in a while if you want to keep it running.”
“Uh-huh.”
Edna couldn’t think of a thing to add to this.
“See you next week,” he said, and he went back to the truck.
Edna froze, then followed him. She’d lost any ability to monitor herself and stared after him like a puppy left behind. He got into the truck and waved as he drove off. She waved back. Her heart sank as the truck sped away, but it buoyed again when the brake lights went on. Johnny backed the truck up and got out.
“I forgot to give you this. You’re famous.”
He handed her a copy of The Desert Weekly with a picture of the two of them on Johnny’s dirt bike. It was on the front page.
“Oh. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
He smiled and went back to the truck. Edna loved to watch him walk. She didn’t look down at the newspaper or even blink until the red truck was out of sight.
The newspaper’s headline read Girl Found Safely in Dream Valley , confirming that absolutely nothing went on around here if this was a top story. The picture was of two helmeted and therefore expressionless people. Edna reflected that if Johnny were not wearing a helmet, she might have a nice picture of him, but she thanked God she was wearing one. She had been shocked at how awful she looked when she finally saw a mirror that night. The flash blew out any detail in Johnny’s white T-shirt, so the shape of his body was indiscernible. It was a terrible photo by any standard, but it was of the two of them, and Edna would keep it forever. She wondered if Johnny would keep one. Probably not. She learned that his last name was Bishop, which was the same as the store he’d delivered the groceries from. He lived in Desert Palms, and he was on the Dirt Bike Response Crew for Search and Rescue, confirming that he was a good person who cared about his community. He was seventeen.
Edna knew he was older, but she was intimidated by that number. She would have felt better if he was fifteen or even sixteen, but she didn’t know why it made such a difference.
10
PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Edna would never admit it to her parents, but the pioneer women she read about every evening blew her mind. The logistics of their migrations across the country in the mid-1800s ranged from arduous to impossible. These young women often made the trip alone or with children in covered wagons pulled by oxen, traveling thousands of miles at a pace of ten miles a day. Some traveled on foot, pushing handcarts that carried the only supplies they’d have for many months. Edna couldn’t imagine the afternoon she was lost in the desert going on for any longer than it did, let alone having to push a heavy cart in the dirt
Johnny started the Bronco and drove away, leaving Edna in one of those desert quiets that came after something big happened. If the red truck wasn’t right in front of her, Edna might doubt that Johnny had been there at all. She could have easily hallucinated the whole scene out of boredom.
She regretted going into the garage to wait for him. She was awkward and inauthentic among the rusty tools and ancient engine parts that lay exactly where they had hit the ground however many years ago. The remains of her grandparents’ lives, their dusty furniture and memories, were neglected here and dominated the space, except for where the Bronco parked. Edna couldn’t imagine a good reason to be standing here, weirdly in wait for Johnny. She was about to leave, but the Bronco was coming back. Walking away would seem cold. This boy just saved her life; she couldn’t exactly ignore him. She did her best to start organizing Grandpa’s old tools with a sense of purpose.
“Where did you go off to?”
Off too? That sounded forced.
“Down the road. You have to move a car once in a while if you want to keep it running.”
“Uh-huh.”
Edna couldn’t think of a thing to add to this.
“See you next week,” he said, and he went back to the truck.
Edna froze, then followed him. She’d lost any ability to monitor herself and stared after him like a puppy left behind. He got into the truck and waved as he drove off. She waved back. Her heart sank as the truck sped away, but it buoyed again when the brake lights went on. Johnny backed the truck up and got out.
“I forgot to give you this. You’re famous.”
He handed her a copy of The Desert Weekly with a picture of the two of them on Johnny’s dirt bike. It was on the front page.
“Oh. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
He smiled and went back to the truck. Edna loved to watch him walk. She didn’t look down at the newspaper or even blink until the red truck was out of sight.
The newspaper’s headline read Girl Found Safely in Dream Valley , confirming that absolutely nothing went on around here if this was a top story. The picture was of two helmeted and therefore expressionless people. Edna reflected that if Johnny were not wearing a helmet, she might have a nice picture of him, but she thanked God she was wearing one. She had been shocked at how awful she looked when she finally saw a mirror that night. The flash blew out any detail in Johnny’s white T-shirt, so the shape of his body was indiscernible. It was a terrible photo by any standard, but it was of the two of them, and Edna would keep it forever. She wondered if Johnny would keep one. Probably not. She learned that his last name was Bishop, which was the same as the store he’d delivered the groceries from. He lived in Desert Palms, and he was on the Dirt Bike Response Crew for Search and Rescue, confirming that he was a good person who cared about his community. He was seventeen.
Edna knew he was older, but she was intimidated by that number. She would have felt better if he was fifteen or even sixteen, but she didn’t know why it made such a difference.
10
PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Edna would never admit it to her parents, but the pioneer women she read about every evening blew her mind. The logistics of their migrations across the country in the mid-1800s ranged from arduous to impossible. These young women often made the trip alone or with children in covered wagons pulled by oxen, traveling thousands of miles at a pace of ten miles a day. Some traveled on foot, pushing handcarts that carried the only supplies they’d have for many months. Edna couldn’t imagine the afternoon she was lost in the desert going on for any longer than it did, let alone having to push a heavy cart in the dirt
Similar Books
