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Authors: Daryl Gregory
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said.
CHAPTER FOUR
1982
Easterly, Iowa
ou may have overdone it, kid.”
“Alice!”
His sister had a talent for gliding silently into a room, and into town, like a tall-masted sailing ship in heavy fog. She stood just inside the basement door, one hand against a paneled wall, regarding Stony’s handiwork—the refinished planks, the painted cement floor, the yards of handmade bookshelves—most of it new since the last time she’d come down here, at Christmas. In those five months he’d also wired the room and installed new lights, moved his entire book collection onto the shelves, and dug a new drain for the dehumidifier.
Stony shrugged, smiled. “It kind of got away from me.”
“I can’t believe you got Mom to pay for it.”
“It didn’t hardly cost anything. The planks came from the old barn on Mr. Cho’s farm. The furniture’s all secondhand. The cement and the paint cost some, and, well, the drywall and two-by-fours. But we didn’t have to buy that all at once.”
She went to a bookshelf, ran a hand across his completeset of Deadtown Detective Adventures. “Think you could make a couple of these for my apartment?”
“Really?” There was no one else in his family he more wanted to impress.
Alice looked amused. “I’ll pay you,” she said. “Maybe I’ll smuggle you out of here, and you can deliver them.” She lived only six hours away, but her visits had become rarer. It was only lately that Stony realized that she was probably never coming back home. After medical school she’d go on to her residency, and then on to a hospital or some specialist grad school. She’d already escaped, as completely as Crystal had.
“Come on,” Alice said. “Mom’s got supper ready.”
He turned out the lights and followed her up the stairs. In the yard she looped her arm through his. She was still taller than him, but just barely. “Maybe Junie’s right,” she said.
“About what?”
“Never mind.” She nudged him toward the back door. “Go on, you first.”
They yelled surprise! and he made a surprised face, but of course he’d heard the floorboards creaking above his head as they filed in, the hushed voices. Junie and his mom, as well as the three Chos. A store-bought graduation banner hung along the kitchen wall.
“But we already had Kwang’s party,” Stony said, mock mystified.
His mother kissed him on the cheek. “Quiet now. Go sit down.”
There was enough food to feed a real graduation party, instead of this tiny circle of coconspirators. Mrs. Cho had made
Dak bulgogi
, which he’d told her once was his favorite, and set out a dozen side dishes: two kinds of kimchi, five varieties of noodles, a couple of potato dishes, chili peppers, andtwo bowls of vegetables that he couldn’t identify. Alice had brought from the city a potful of something called Italian beef: thinly sliced beef marinated in a spicy juice everybody said smelled wonderful, so Stony assumed it did. She showed them how to dip the big French rolls into the hot juice, then pile on the beef with tongs, and top the sopping mess with Giardiniera hot peppers.
Mr. Cho had finished two sandwiches, and Kwang stood up to get his fourth. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted, Alice.”
“I’m glad you like it,” she said.
“No, I’m serious. Seriously serious.”
“I can put it in an IV drip,” she said. “You can carry it around with you.”
Mrs. Cho said, “Any word from Chelsea?”
And with that the room went quiet. Stony’s mother frowned.
Junie said, “She said she was coming.”
“I’m sure she’s been very busy,” Alice said.
Stony laughed, and Mom gave him a warning look. Crystal—Mrs. Cho and Mom were the only two who still called her Chelsea—hadn’t been home since last summer, missing even Christmas, which was a high crime in the Mayhall family. The last Stony had heard, she’d been in Costa Rica with her latest boyfriend, whose name escaped him. Her original
CHAPTER FOUR
1982
Easterly, Iowa
ou may have overdone it, kid.”
“Alice!”
His sister had a talent for gliding silently into a room, and into town, like a tall-masted sailing ship in heavy fog. She stood just inside the basement door, one hand against a paneled wall, regarding Stony’s handiwork—the refinished planks, the painted cement floor, the yards of handmade bookshelves—most of it new since the last time she’d come down here, at Christmas. In those five months he’d also wired the room and installed new lights, moved his entire book collection onto the shelves, and dug a new drain for the dehumidifier.
Stony shrugged, smiled. “It kind of got away from me.”
“I can’t believe you got Mom to pay for it.”
“It didn’t hardly cost anything. The planks came from the old barn on Mr. Cho’s farm. The furniture’s all secondhand. The cement and the paint cost some, and, well, the drywall and two-by-fours. But we didn’t have to buy that all at once.”
She went to a bookshelf, ran a hand across his completeset of Deadtown Detective Adventures. “Think you could make a couple of these for my apartment?”
“Really?” There was no one else in his family he more wanted to impress.
Alice looked amused. “I’ll pay you,” she said. “Maybe I’ll smuggle you out of here, and you can deliver them.” She lived only six hours away, but her visits had become rarer. It was only lately that Stony realized that she was probably never coming back home. After medical school she’d go on to her residency, and then on to a hospital or some specialist grad school. She’d already escaped, as completely as Crystal had.
“Come on,” Alice said. “Mom’s got supper ready.”
He turned out the lights and followed her up the stairs. In the yard she looped her arm through his. She was still taller than him, but just barely. “Maybe Junie’s right,” she said.
“About what?”
“Never mind.” She nudged him toward the back door. “Go on, you first.”
They yelled surprise! and he made a surprised face, but of course he’d heard the floorboards creaking above his head as they filed in, the hushed voices. Junie and his mom, as well as the three Chos. A store-bought graduation banner hung along the kitchen wall.
“But we already had Kwang’s party,” Stony said, mock mystified.
His mother kissed him on the cheek. “Quiet now. Go sit down.”
There was enough food to feed a real graduation party, instead of this tiny circle of coconspirators. Mrs. Cho had made
Dak bulgogi
, which he’d told her once was his favorite, and set out a dozen side dishes: two kinds of kimchi, five varieties of noodles, a couple of potato dishes, chili peppers, andtwo bowls of vegetables that he couldn’t identify. Alice had brought from the city a potful of something called Italian beef: thinly sliced beef marinated in a spicy juice everybody said smelled wonderful, so Stony assumed it did. She showed them how to dip the big French rolls into the hot juice, then pile on the beef with tongs, and top the sopping mess with Giardiniera hot peppers.
Mr. Cho had finished two sandwiches, and Kwang stood up to get his fourth. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted, Alice.”
“I’m glad you like it,” she said.
“No, I’m serious. Seriously serious.”
“I can put it in an IV drip,” she said. “You can carry it around with you.”
Mrs. Cho said, “Any word from Chelsea?”
And with that the room went quiet. Stony’s mother frowned.
Junie said, “She said she was coming.”
“I’m sure she’s been very busy,” Alice said.
Stony laughed, and Mom gave him a warning look. Crystal—Mrs. Cho and Mom were the only two who still called her Chelsea—hadn’t been home since last summer, missing even Christmas, which was a high crime in the Mayhall family. The last Stony had heard, she’d been in Costa Rica with her latest boyfriend, whose name escaped him. Her original
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