Read Online Regina's Song by David Eddings - Free Book Online

crashed. I’d put in a couple of busy days, and I was pooped.
    Mary was still asleep when I went by the next morning, but Twink was up and moving. “You actually remembered,” she said when I carried her box into the kitchen. “Did you bring my bike, too?”
    “Naturally. It’s tied to the top of my car. Where do you want it?”
    “Put it on the back porch for now.”
    “You’ve got quite a collection here,” I said, tapping the box.
    “I can’t remember much of it,” she admitted. “After I went home from the nuthouse, I spent a lot of time listening, but none of it stirred up any memories. What were you doing up in Everett?”
    “I had to pick up a few things and arrange to have the furniture put into storage. I’m not going to be living there, so I’m going to rent the place out.”
    “Nothing ever stays the same, does it, Markie?” she said sadly.
    “In theory, it’s supposed to be getting better, Twink.”
    “Oh, sure.”
    “Cheer up, baby sister. In my infinite wisdom, I’ve decided to let you sit in during a class conducted by Super Teacher.”
    “Super Teacher?”
    “Me. I’ll teach your socks off, kid. I’m so good that sometimes I can barely stand myself.”
    “Be serious, Markie.”
    “I am. I teach a section of English 131, and Dr. Fallon wants us to ease you into things here—familiar faces and all that stuff. It seems to me that the two things sort of click together. You get exposed to the world of education by somebody you know, and I get to keep an eye on you at the same time I show you how unspeakably brilliant I am. Isn’t that neat?”
    “You just want to show off.”
    I shrugged. “If you got it, flaunt it, kid. What time does Mary usually get up?”
    “About two—or so. She doesn’t get off work until seven.”
    “Are you going to be all right, Twink?” I asked her. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff I should take care of.”
    “I’ll be fine, Markie.” She patted the box I’d just delivered. “I’ve got my music now.”
    “Keep the volume down, Twink. If you wake Mary up, she might get grouchy, and she packs heat.”
    “Heat?”
    “She wears a gun. She
is
a cop, you know.”
    “I’ve got earphones. She won’t hear a thing.”
    “I’ll call you this evening, Twink. Stay out of trouble.”
    “I’ll be good,” she promised.

    I drove over to the boardinghouse to take some measurements for my bookshelves. My room was empty now, and I’d decided to get the carpentry and painting out of the way before I rented a truck to pick up my furniture.
    Trish stood in the doorway watching. “Why do you keep taking the same measurement over and over, Mark?” she asked.
    “It’s one of the rules, Trish—measure three times, because you can only cut once. It’s real hard to un-saw a board.”
    “I can imagine. I definitely think permanent bookshelves in every room is an excellent idea. Students always need places to keep their books.” She came in and sat down on the single chair I’d left in the room. “What’s a carpenter doing majoring in English?” she asked curiously.
    “I came in through the back door, Trish. I like to read, and if I major in English, I can get paid for it.”
    “Our dad works in a sawmill up in Everett,” she told me.
    “Do you and Erika come from Everett, too?”
    “No, we’re from Marysville—not that you can tell anymore where Everett leaves off and Marysville starts.”
    “You’ve got that right, Trish. Give it a few more years, and everything from Vancouver, B.C., to Portland’s going to be just one big city—a long, skinny city. What got you interested in law school, Trish? Working stiffs like your dad and mine don’t usually have much use for lawyers.”
    “Our dad sort of pushed Erika and me into what he called ‘the professions,’ ” she replied. “He didn’t want us to grow up to be waitresses or store clerks. Erika’s at least twice as smart as I am, so she was a shoo-in for a scholarship here, but after I