Read Online So B. It by Sarah Weeks - Free Book Online Page A

was due to leave, a woman in a long green raincoat came and sat down beside me. She had a littlesoft-sided suitcase with netting on the ends. Inside were five kittens, all different colors and patterns. They were mewing up a storm, so she was clicking her tongue and whispering to them to be quiet.
    “They’re scared is all, poor babies. It’s the first time they’ve been away from their mama,” she told me.
    Her name was Alice Wilinsky, and she was on her way to a big family reunion in Salt Lake City. She was bringing the kittens along to give them away to some of her cousins, since she already had three cats at home, including the mama cat, Bebe. We started talking about cats and I told her about Cookie Dough and Clara Barton, and before I knew it they announced our bus and we got on together. Just as easy as that.
    The first hour I was on the bus, Alice kept up a steady stream of chatter while I kept eyeing the box that Bernie had given me. I wanted to know what was inside. I didn’t want to open it in front of Alice, though, in case it was something embarrassing. Finally nature called and she made her way to the rear of the bus to use the bathroom. I quickly untied the yarn and opened the box.
    Inside was the red sweater. The one I’dfound wadded up in the back of the closet. Bernie had washed and blocked it and carefully mended all the moth holes with matching red yarn. I’d had no idea she’d been working on it; she must have been doing it in her room at night after I’d gone to sleep. I slipped the sweater over my head and double rolled the sleeves up. It was much too big for me, but I didn’t care. It was perfect. Soft and warm, and smelling wonderfully of home.
    Home. I didn’t dare let myself think about it. I was afraid that if I did, the hollow feeling that had taken hold in my stomach earlier would take over the rest of my insides and turn me wrong side out. To keep my mind off things, I got out my notebook and started a new list.
     
    Things I Have Never Seen Before
    cows
    seats with footrests
    roadkill 1) dead deer
    2) dead raccoon
    3) dead skunk
    4) mystery fur
    Alice came back from the bathroom, and for a change she didn’t seem to feel like talking. Instead she put up her footrest and pushed her seat back as far as it would go so she could nap. I wasn’t tired yet, so I sat there working on my list for a while longer. I added three more things:
    tollbooths
    someone changing a flat tire
    hitchhikers
    The kittens were asleep in their bag tucked under Alice’s seat, but after a while one of them woke up and began to cry. I got down and crouched between the seats, peering through the net at its tiny face.
    “Don’t worry,” I whispered. “We’ll be there soon.”
    We made our first stop at about seven o’clock that night in Fernley, Nevada. Alice didn’t wake up, so I climbed over her, got off by myself, and called Bernie collect according to the plan. She cried when she heard myvoice. I thanked her over and over for the sweater and quickly told her about the bus and about Alice and the kittens and everything else I could squeeze into our brief conversation. We’d agreed beforehand to set Bernie’s egg timer each time I called to keep the calls down to five minutes; that way the bill wouldn’t mount up too high.
    She told me what she and Mama had been doing.
    “We dusted today, Heidi. You know how your mama loves dusting.”
    Mama and Bernadette would always tickle each other with the feather dusters, so it was more of a game than a household chore, although I never noticed any dust around so I guess it accomplished more than just entertaining Mama.
    “How’s her head?” I asked.
    “She lay down for a couple of hours this afternoon after you left,” she said, “and she’s been fine since then. Are you okay? I’ve been so worried.”
    Bernie had put the map up in the kitchen next to the phone, and she stuck in the firstpushpin, a blue one on Fernley. The timer dinged just as they