swat on the shoulder.
Mary smiled. “She speaks the truth. But sisters get along better than any husband and wife, so why not?”
After talking some more, they had a delicious dinner of pork roast, carrots, and rye bread. Nathan had formerly liked neither carrots nor rye bread, but he thoroughly enjoyed these. They ate, talked and laughed. Then Penny and Mary let Nathan read a book about a loving rabbit while they did the dishes.
Then they played card games. The sisters taught Nathan how to play Hearts, and he taught them how to play Exploding Nines, which he made up on the spot and which lacked a logical endgame but was a lot of fun for everybody.
They offered Nathan a bar of chocolate for dessert, but he declined.
He slept on the couch under a clean, thick blanket, feeling warm and happy.
* * *
Nathan woke up to the sound of a sizzling pan and the smell of eggs cooking in the kitchen. He immediately knew that it was going to be a wonderful morning, until he remembered that the sisters were going to send him away.
He didn’t want to leave. He liked it here.
He tried to think of ways to make them keep him around. Were there any handcuffs in the general vicinity? If so, he could handcuff himself to something, swallow the key, and they’d be forced to let him live with them at least through his next digestive cycle.
Or he could make an absolute pig out of himself at breakfast, eating so much that the sisters would be physically unable to lift him from the couch. Nathan wasn’t sure how many eggs were required for such a thing, but he was prepared to eat as many as it took.
Was he overthinking this? Maybe a good old fashioned temper tantrum was the answer. He could kick and scream and wail “No! No! I’m not leaving!” until they finally gave up and let him live with them forever.
Or he could just ask.
When should he do it? After breakfast? When would they be most receptive to having a child stay in their home? Should he do it right now, before he accidentally did something bad that might make them want to get rid of him?
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” said Mary, walking into the living room. “Admit it, that couch was more comfortable than the cold forest dirt, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Do you like eggs?”
“Yes! Even when they’re cooked strangely.”
“Well, then, let’s have some eggs.”
Nathan ate enough eggs to exhaust two hens, along with some buttered toast and orange juice. And then without thinking about it much, he blurted out: “May I stay with you? Just for a while longer?”
Penny gave him a sorrowful look. “Is nobody worried about you?”
Nathan shook his head.
“If it were up to us, you could stay as long as you liked. But there are legal procedures that must be followed. We can’t just let a strange little boy live with us without first contacting the authorities. We could be arrested for kidnapping. And for all we know you have an aunt who has cried herself to sleep every night for the past year. You understand, don’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He understood. The sisters could not be expected to risk spending the rest of their lives in prison for him.
They assured him that everything was going to be all right, and then drove him into town. Nathan had only been in an automobile a couple of times, and never gone far, so the fourteen mile trip into town was filled with awe and wonder, and when they got out of the vehicle Nathan found himself making silly car noises as they walked into the police station.
They waited for nearly an hour before a uniformed police officer welcomed them back into his office. There were only two chairs, excluding the one that Officer Danbury sat on behind his desk, so Nathan stood.
Penny cleared her throat. “We’d like to report the finding of a Mr. Nathan Pepper.”
“Nathan Pepper, hmmm?” Officer Danbury looked up at the ceiling, as if the answer to his fleeting thought might be dancing around up there. “Name doesn’t
Mary smiled. “She speaks the truth. But sisters get along better than any husband and wife, so why not?”
After talking some more, they had a delicious dinner of pork roast, carrots, and rye bread. Nathan had formerly liked neither carrots nor rye bread, but he thoroughly enjoyed these. They ate, talked and laughed. Then Penny and Mary let Nathan read a book about a loving rabbit while they did the dishes.
Then they played card games. The sisters taught Nathan how to play Hearts, and he taught them how to play Exploding Nines, which he made up on the spot and which lacked a logical endgame but was a lot of fun for everybody.
They offered Nathan a bar of chocolate for dessert, but he declined.
He slept on the couch under a clean, thick blanket, feeling warm and happy.
* * *
Nathan woke up to the sound of a sizzling pan and the smell of eggs cooking in the kitchen. He immediately knew that it was going to be a wonderful morning, until he remembered that the sisters were going to send him away.
He didn’t want to leave. He liked it here.
He tried to think of ways to make them keep him around. Were there any handcuffs in the general vicinity? If so, he could handcuff himself to something, swallow the key, and they’d be forced to let him live with them at least through his next digestive cycle.
Or he could make an absolute pig out of himself at breakfast, eating so much that the sisters would be physically unable to lift him from the couch. Nathan wasn’t sure how many eggs were required for such a thing, but he was prepared to eat as many as it took.
Was he overthinking this? Maybe a good old fashioned temper tantrum was the answer. He could kick and scream and wail “No! No! I’m not leaving!” until they finally gave up and let him live with them forever.
Or he could just ask.
When should he do it? After breakfast? When would they be most receptive to having a child stay in their home? Should he do it right now, before he accidentally did something bad that might make them want to get rid of him?
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” said Mary, walking into the living room. “Admit it, that couch was more comfortable than the cold forest dirt, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Do you like eggs?”
“Yes! Even when they’re cooked strangely.”
“Well, then, let’s have some eggs.”
Nathan ate enough eggs to exhaust two hens, along with some buttered toast and orange juice. And then without thinking about it much, he blurted out: “May I stay with you? Just for a while longer?”
Penny gave him a sorrowful look. “Is nobody worried about you?”
Nathan shook his head.
“If it were up to us, you could stay as long as you liked. But there are legal procedures that must be followed. We can’t just let a strange little boy live with us without first contacting the authorities. We could be arrested for kidnapping. And for all we know you have an aunt who has cried herself to sleep every night for the past year. You understand, don’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He understood. The sisters could not be expected to risk spending the rest of their lives in prison for him.
They assured him that everything was going to be all right, and then drove him into town. Nathan had only been in an automobile a couple of times, and never gone far, so the fourteen mile trip into town was filled with awe and wonder, and when they got out of the vehicle Nathan found himself making silly car noises as they walked into the police station.
They waited for nearly an hour before a uniformed police officer welcomed them back into his office. There were only two chairs, excluding the one that Officer Danbury sat on behind his desk, so Nathan stood.
Penny cleared her throat. “We’d like to report the finding of a Mr. Nathan Pepper.”
“Nathan Pepper, hmmm?” Officer Danbury looked up at the ceiling, as if the answer to his fleeting thought might be dancing around up there. “Name doesn’t
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