Read Online Once in a Blue Moon by Diane Darcy - Free Book Online

fence,
standing close enough to listen. She didn’t care anymore. She
needed answers. “How often do blue moons occur?”
    Jeremy’s brows pulled
together. “I already told you that last night. Weren’t you
listening?”
    “I don’t remember.”
    Jeremy eyed her
accusingly. “You never listen to me.”
    Melissa ground her
teeth. She didn’t need this right now.
    “Jeremy, just tell me
about blue moons.”
    Jeremy crossed his arms
and didn’t say a word.
    Melissa snapped. “ We have to get
back! Today! Now tell me what you know !”
    Richard shook his head
at her, a look of disapproval on his face.
    Jeremy crossed his legs
at the ankle in front of him. “So what? Now you’re interested in my
science presentation all of a sudden?”
    The old man sat on the
log beside a glaring Jessica and simply listened.
    Melissa took another
deep breath. “How often between blue moons, Jeremy?”
    Jeremy smiled a not
very nice smile. “The average is usually two-and-a-half-years.
Sometimes three.”
    Melissa gasped.
    Jeremy smirked. “But
sometimes it’s closer than that.”
    Melissa felt weak.
“What about us? What about now? Will we have to wait
two-and-a-half-years?”
    Jeremy shrugged. “I
didn’t say that.”
    Her gaze sharpened.
“Then what are you saying?”
    “Well, if you were
listening last night, you’d remember I told you I memorized the
blue moons since 1850 for extra credit. Of course you didn’t want
to hear about it then, so you probably won’t now.”
    The old man raised his
hand, but Melissa ignored him. “Tell me. Tell me about 1887.”
    “I have to go through
the whole list from the beginning or I might forget.” Jeremy
stretched. “Do you want to hear it now, or are you too busy?”
    Melissa’s jaw ached
from gritting her teeth. “Jeremy, please will you recite the blue
moon schedule that you memorized?”
    Jeremy smiled. “Sure.
Okay, here it goes...July, 1852. May, 1855. December, 1857...”
    Melissa listened to his
singsong cadence and by the time Jeremy got to July, 1882, she was
ready to scream.
    “January, 1885. March,
1885. July, 1887,” he paused.
    Melissa stilled. “ What! When? When
is the next one ?”
    He grinned, apparently
having received the reaction he was looking for. “October
thirty-first, 1887. Halloween night. Cool, huh?”
    Melissa could barely
breathe. “Three months?” she whispered. “The next blue moon is in
three months? We can’t go home today?”
    Horror engulfed her.
How could she possibly stay in this dirty, nasty place for three
months? “It’s just not possible.”
    Jeremy smiled. “Could
be worse. Could be for a lot longer.”
    Yes. She needed to
focus on that. At least it wasn’t a life sentence. Or even a
two-and-a-half or three year sentence. She looked at the cabin and
the surrounding area.
    Could she do this for
three months and keep her sanity? What choice did she have?
    They’d need money of
course. With a pang she realized she’d have to sell her wedding
ring. She didn’t know if she could force herself to part with it.
But it was worth a fortune and could easily...
    Melissa looked down at
her ring finger. Her empty ring finger. A tight, sick feeling
enveloped her. She tried to suck in air.
    She’d taken her ring
off.
    For the first time in
fourteen years she’d taken her ring off. It was on the bureau at
home. She glanced at the bracelet on her wrist, felt her earrings,
and her heart sank. Trendy costume jewelry. There would be no
money.
    Barely able to breathe,
Melissa glanced around wildly. “Could there be another way back?
There’s got to be another way back. The moon is practically full
for a week. Why can’t we go home tonight?”
    Jeremy shrugged.
“That’s not how blue moons work, Mom. There’s only one.”
    “You don’t know that!
Richard?”
    Jessica started to
sniffle, and Richard shook his head and shrugged.
    Tears burned her
eyes.
    The old man raised his
hand again. “You could ride out to Smithfield and catch