Read Online On Shadowed Wings (An Ash Grove Short Story) by Amanda DeWees - Free Book Online Page A

Joy’s enthusiasm.
“It sure is,” he said. “There aren’t any in North Carolina, though.
They live farther south, where it’s warmer.”
    “I wish I could see one,” said Joy
wistfully.
    “Maybe your dad can take you on a trip to
where they live,” Gail offered, trying to steer the conversation
into safer waters. “Where can you find them?”
    “Mexico, sometimes Texas.” He told Joy, “I’ll
bet your mom would like to see it too. The three of you should do
that sometime—take a family trip.”
    All the animation left Joy’s face. “My
mother’s dead,” she said.
    He blinked as if he’d walked into a wall.
“I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I didn’t know.” He look to Gail for
confirmation, and she gave a short nod. She’d hoped to head him off
before the conversation reached this point.
    Joy was staring at the ground. “Can I go
inside?” she asked Gail.
    “Of course, hon. Don’t forget your book.” As
Joy climbed the porch steps, Gail added to the visitor, “I should
go in too to keep an eye on her. Dr. Sumner ought to be home soon;
did you want to see him about something?”
    He was watching Joy with a troubled face.
“Yeah, but now I feel like I shouldn’t butt in. If his wife has
just, you know—”
    “Anna’s been gone for a little over a year
now.” Gail tried to keep her voice brisk. Losing Anna had been
almost like losing a big sister, not just a neighbor.
    “I just thought, since you were doing his
gardening…”
    “I just pitch in where I can, and gardening
is kind of my thing. Dr. Sumner still hasn’t gotten back on top of
everything. They were so in love—it just really hit him hard.”
    “I’m really sorry,” said Jim again. “I wish
I’d known; I wouldn’t have been so clumsy. Do you think I upset
her?”
    “She’ll be okay. Joy’s a trouper.” She was
more resilient than her father, but maybe that was being a kid. But
she had gotten quieter since her mom had died, that was for sure,
and Gail worried about that sometimes.
    “Was it cancer?” Jim was asking.
    “No, a car accident.” She didn’t want to talk
any more about it, so she gathered up her gardening things and
started up the steps. “Come on in and have something to drink while
you wait. Are you in school around here?”
    “Young Harris.” He followed her to the
kitchen, where she started filling glasses with ice. “This is just
my first year, but I’m liking it here. It’s so different from
Atlanta.”
    “That’s where you’re from?”
    He nodded. “Of course, anything would be
different from what I’m used to. I’ve been homeschooled since I was
twelve. I like it out here in the country, though.”
    Gail had a sudden mental image of him leaning
on a split-rail fence, hair ruffled by the breeze, chewing lazily
on a straw. He’d look good in the cowboy getup, except for his
glasses. They made him look like a fairer-haired Clark Kent.
    Then she pulled herself together. She
shouldn’t be letting some strange guy dazzle her just because he
was cute and good with kids. It was disloyal.
    Still, it bugged her that Darryl didn’t seem
to know how to get along with Joy. He always talked extra loud and
exaggerated everything, as if she were stupid or practically a
baby. Joy saw right through him: now whenever Darryl came around
she would bury her nose in a book to avoid talking with him.
    There are more important qualities in a
boyfriend than being good with kids, she told herself. Like,
say, a sense of purpose. And Darryl had that by the metric ton. He
was going to be an actor—no matter what it took.
    But she shouldn’t zone out when Jim was
talking. He was asking her what college she’d chosen.
    “I’m still trying to decide,” she admitted.
She’d been accepted to several different schools, but she hadn’t
chosen one yet. “My boyfriend wants me to go to UCLA with him. But
I can’t seem to make a decision.”
    “Oh?” was all he said, but his eyes were full
of questions.