Read Online The Edge of Juniper by Lora Richardson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lora Richardson
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paper again.
“The eggs were in this bag!” Abe whispered to his mom, fear written across his features.
“Lucky for you, eggs were on sale for a dollar seventy-nine.” She smiled at him and pulled the sticky, gooey carton from the bag on the floor. “The bread looks okay though, not too squished to eat.”
Celia grabbed a roll of paper towels from a bag and opened them, then bent down to help Abe clean up.
“He made the mess, he’ll clean it up on his own,” Todd was watching her over a folded down corner of his paper. “Get it done, Abe, and then go to your room.” He snapped his paper straight again. The room hummed with tension.
Celia backed away from Abe. Donna stood and touched her on the arm. They both returned to putting groceries away, letting it go and leaving Abe to clean up his mess.
I wasn’t as good at letting things like that go. I had to leave the room in order not to say what I was thinking. I grabbed the cordless phone, and went to the front porch. I sunk into the rocking chair and dialed Freya’s cell number. Voice mail. “Hey, call me.” I knew I didn’t need to say any more for her to know I was struggling. I needed to tell someone I was trying as hard as I could, but that I felt like an outsider, and things were confusing here, and I was a little homesick. I couldn’t talk to Celia about it, and I knew Freya would understand. I wished I could call my parents.
I tried Finn’s number next. Voice mail too. They must be somewhere together with their parents. Their parents were always declaring bans on cell phones. No phones at restaurants, no phones when guests are over, no phones after ten. I left a goofy message for Finn, asking him when the pizza I ordered would be delivered.
I leaned my head back against the wooden slats of the chair, closed my eyes, and focused on the sound of the tree leaves rustling in the breeze. They said shh, shh, hushing me. It was a windy day, and cooler than yesterday. Maybe it would rain later.
I wasn’t scared of my uncle; I was just wondering why this summer seemed so different from the others, so tense. Uncle Todd was drinking more than I’d ever seen him drink in the past. I didn’t know if that was new, or if I just hadn’t been paying attention.
Aunt Donna had lost her job since I’d last been here, that was definitely new. She’d been a cashier in a little grocery store down the street from Heidi’s, but it went out of business, and those jobs were few and far between in Juniper. They couldn’t afford a car for her to get to Bakerstown to work. The loss of her income made them anxious, I figured.
My second night here, Donna told Todd she wanted to order pizza for dinner. He said no, she got upset, and that lead to them closing their bedroom door to snipe at each other while Celia and I took Abe to the back yard to escape the tension. I didn’t understand what the problem was, because my parents had given them some money to buy food and cover my expenses while I was here. It was more than enough to treat everyone to pizza, several times over. I didn’t know what they planned to do with that money, if they weren’t going to use it for food. We’d ended up having bean soup and cornbread for dinner.
Aunt Donna came out to the porch then. “Fay, come in the house.” I walked in and joined Celia on the couch. “Girls, go change into something a little nicer and get your shoes on. We’re going to Bakerstown for the afternoon.”
“Why?” Celia asked. “I’d rather just stay home.”
I nudged her with my elbow. Was she crazy? She was looking for a ride to town, and here was her chance. Surely there’d be a way to lose her mom for a few minutes to buy the condoms.
“Your daddy wants the house to himself for a little while, and frankly, a little peace and quiet will do him good. You tell Abe to comb his hair and get his shoes on.”
“We’d
“The eggs were in this bag!” Abe whispered to his mom, fear written across his features.
“Lucky for you, eggs were on sale for a dollar seventy-nine.” She smiled at him and pulled the sticky, gooey carton from the bag on the floor. “The bread looks okay though, not too squished to eat.”
Celia grabbed a roll of paper towels from a bag and opened them, then bent down to help Abe clean up.
“He made the mess, he’ll clean it up on his own,” Todd was watching her over a folded down corner of his paper. “Get it done, Abe, and then go to your room.” He snapped his paper straight again. The room hummed with tension.
Celia backed away from Abe. Donna stood and touched her on the arm. They both returned to putting groceries away, letting it go and leaving Abe to clean up his mess.
I wasn’t as good at letting things like that go. I had to leave the room in order not to say what I was thinking. I grabbed the cordless phone, and went to the front porch. I sunk into the rocking chair and dialed Freya’s cell number. Voice mail. “Hey, call me.” I knew I didn’t need to say any more for her to know I was struggling. I needed to tell someone I was trying as hard as I could, but that I felt like an outsider, and things were confusing here, and I was a little homesick. I couldn’t talk to Celia about it, and I knew Freya would understand. I wished I could call my parents.
I tried Finn’s number next. Voice mail too. They must be somewhere together with their parents. Their parents were always declaring bans on cell phones. No phones at restaurants, no phones when guests are over, no phones after ten. I left a goofy message for Finn, asking him when the pizza I ordered would be delivered.
I leaned my head back against the wooden slats of the chair, closed my eyes, and focused on the sound of the tree leaves rustling in the breeze. They said shh, shh, hushing me. It was a windy day, and cooler than yesterday. Maybe it would rain later.
I wasn’t scared of my uncle; I was just wondering why this summer seemed so different from the others, so tense. Uncle Todd was drinking more than I’d ever seen him drink in the past. I didn’t know if that was new, or if I just hadn’t been paying attention.
Aunt Donna had lost her job since I’d last been here, that was definitely new. She’d been a cashier in a little grocery store down the street from Heidi’s, but it went out of business, and those jobs were few and far between in Juniper. They couldn’t afford a car for her to get to Bakerstown to work. The loss of her income made them anxious, I figured.
My second night here, Donna told Todd she wanted to order pizza for dinner. He said no, she got upset, and that lead to them closing their bedroom door to snipe at each other while Celia and I took Abe to the back yard to escape the tension. I didn’t understand what the problem was, because my parents had given them some money to buy food and cover my expenses while I was here. It was more than enough to treat everyone to pizza, several times over. I didn’t know what they planned to do with that money, if they weren’t going to use it for food. We’d ended up having bean soup and cornbread for dinner.
Aunt Donna came out to the porch then. “Fay, come in the house.” I walked in and joined Celia on the couch. “Girls, go change into something a little nicer and get your shoes on. We’re going to Bakerstown for the afternoon.”
“Why?” Celia asked. “I’d rather just stay home.”
I nudged her with my elbow. Was she crazy? She was looking for a ride to town, and here was her chance. Surely there’d be a way to lose her mom for a few minutes to buy the condoms.
“Your daddy wants the house to himself for a little while, and frankly, a little peace and quiet will do him good. You tell Abe to comb his hair and get his shoes on.”
“We’d
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