shabby officer of the law if I just said ‘Want a child? Here you go.’ You needn’t worry about his safety, though. I’m sure Steamspell will be so elated that Nathan here wasn’t eaten that he’ll put him under his own personal protection.”
Nathan felt as if the imaginary rhino that was currently goring a hole in his chest had begun to move its head in larger and larger circles. Should he flee? Should he quickly commit some sort of crime so that he could live in jail instead of the orphanage?
Penny glanced at Nathan, and then at Mary. The sisters exchanged a look that Nathan couldn’t quite decipher. And then Penny’s expression transformed into one of rage, and she grabbed Nathan painfully by the ear.
“You awful child! How dare you impersonate a dead boy? I should have known that this was another of your lies! I shall take you back to the house next door where I found you and tell your parents all about your disgraceful deception!” She stood up, not letting go of Nathan’s ear. “Officer Danbury, I apologize for not discovering the lie until just now. Sometimes my sister and I are very slow. I assure you that he’ll be dealt with and that it will never happen again.”
“That’s quite all right,” said Officer Danbury. “I don’t like having my time wasted, but this actually saves me time because I won’t have to make arrangements with the orphanage. The whole process would have taken a good half hour or so, and you barely wasted five minutes, so I believe I may go out and have a smoke.”
Penny said nothing as she dragged Nathan back out to the car. But as soon as they drove away, her expression softened. “Are you okay? Did I stretch your ear too much?”
“It’s fine.”
“We do not promise that you can live with us forever. But until such time as we feel the need to end the arrangement, we would like to invite you to be our son.”
Nathan said yes.
EIGHT
They went home— home !—and had a delicious lunch. And then Penny stood up, folded her arms over her chest, and looked quite serious.
“In this household, we do not tolerate those who wish to wallow in the warm mud of their own laziness. You will be expected to work. I do not mean that you will have to get a job in a cannery or anything like that, but you’ll have to help keep the house and the yard clean. At mealtime, you will eat everything on your plate, unless one of the adults declares it unsuitable for consumption. And you’ll have to go to school when the new term begins in the fall.”
“School?” Nathan was horrified. “But the other kids will make fun of me!”
“And so what if they do? I won’t have people think that we’re raising an uneducated hill child. It’s never enjoyable to be ridiculed by others, but you’ll learn to cope.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The next day was Monday. Penny worked as a librarian and Mary managed a small restaurant, and though they were both scheduled to work, they took the day off in order to take Nathan shopping. They bought him seven new sets of clothes, a brand-new pair of shoes, and a toothbrush that they promised him wouldn’t be stolen. He was given his choice of any stuffed animal at the toy shop (except those on the top shelf; they were too expensive) and picked a friendly looking orange bear that he named Cartwheel, for no reason except that he thought a bear like that would be inclined to do a cartwheel.
“One more stop, and then we’ll go home and play Exploding Nines again,” said Penny, as they got back into the car. Nathan was so happy to have Cartwheel on his lap that it didn’t occur to him to question why Penny had not identified the actual location of the stop.
“No!” he said, following that word with a gasp, when the moment of revelation finally arrived. “Please!”
“Nathan, you have to go to the doctor. Who knows what kind of germs or parasites you acquired while living in the woods? We’d be irresponsible parents if we didn’t make sure
Nathan felt as if the imaginary rhino that was currently goring a hole in his chest had begun to move its head in larger and larger circles. Should he flee? Should he quickly commit some sort of crime so that he could live in jail instead of the orphanage?
Penny glanced at Nathan, and then at Mary. The sisters exchanged a look that Nathan couldn’t quite decipher. And then Penny’s expression transformed into one of rage, and she grabbed Nathan painfully by the ear.
“You awful child! How dare you impersonate a dead boy? I should have known that this was another of your lies! I shall take you back to the house next door where I found you and tell your parents all about your disgraceful deception!” She stood up, not letting go of Nathan’s ear. “Officer Danbury, I apologize for not discovering the lie until just now. Sometimes my sister and I are very slow. I assure you that he’ll be dealt with and that it will never happen again.”
“That’s quite all right,” said Officer Danbury. “I don’t like having my time wasted, but this actually saves me time because I won’t have to make arrangements with the orphanage. The whole process would have taken a good half hour or so, and you barely wasted five minutes, so I believe I may go out and have a smoke.”
Penny said nothing as she dragged Nathan back out to the car. But as soon as they drove away, her expression softened. “Are you okay? Did I stretch your ear too much?”
“It’s fine.”
“We do not promise that you can live with us forever. But until such time as we feel the need to end the arrangement, we would like to invite you to be our son.”
Nathan said yes.
EIGHT
They went home— home !—and had a delicious lunch. And then Penny stood up, folded her arms over her chest, and looked quite serious.
“In this household, we do not tolerate those who wish to wallow in the warm mud of their own laziness. You will be expected to work. I do not mean that you will have to get a job in a cannery or anything like that, but you’ll have to help keep the house and the yard clean. At mealtime, you will eat everything on your plate, unless one of the adults declares it unsuitable for consumption. And you’ll have to go to school when the new term begins in the fall.”
“School?” Nathan was horrified. “But the other kids will make fun of me!”
“And so what if they do? I won’t have people think that we’re raising an uneducated hill child. It’s never enjoyable to be ridiculed by others, but you’ll learn to cope.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The next day was Monday. Penny worked as a librarian and Mary managed a small restaurant, and though they were both scheduled to work, they took the day off in order to take Nathan shopping. They bought him seven new sets of clothes, a brand-new pair of shoes, and a toothbrush that they promised him wouldn’t be stolen. He was given his choice of any stuffed animal at the toy shop (except those on the top shelf; they were too expensive) and picked a friendly looking orange bear that he named Cartwheel, for no reason except that he thought a bear like that would be inclined to do a cartwheel.
“One more stop, and then we’ll go home and play Exploding Nines again,” said Penny, as they got back into the car. Nathan was so happy to have Cartwheel on his lap that it didn’t occur to him to question why Penny had not identified the actual location of the stop.
“No!” he said, following that word with a gasp, when the moment of revelation finally arrived. “Please!”
“Nathan, you have to go to the doctor. Who knows what kind of germs or parasites you acquired while living in the woods? We’d be irresponsible parents if we didn’t make sure
Similar Books
