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“Couldn’t you pack them into a box and store them in the back of his closet?”
“Oh, no, I don’t think so.”
“I could bring up a box from the basement. I saw some near the washing machine.”
“I don’t think so,” Abby said more firmly, and then she sighed and patted the spiral-bound notebook on the top of her stack. “I never feel quite comfortable leaving my belongings where De
“Oh,” Nora said. She hitched Sammy higher on her hip, but she didn’t continue up the stairs.
“I know he doesn’t mean any harm, but I have poems and private journals and little thoughts I’ve jotted down. I’d feel silly if anyone saw them.”
“Well, of course,” Nora said.
“So I figured I’d haul it all to the sunroom and do some pruning. Then I’ll see if Red will lend me one of his desk drawers.”
“I’d be happy to bring down what’s left,” Nora said.
“Oh, I think I’ve got everything, dear.”
And the two of them went their separate ways.
For supper they had De
“Well, I know that!”
The boys had spent the latter part of the afternoon at the neighborhood pool with Nora, and they were pink-faced and slick-haired and puffy-eyed. Sammy’s head kept drooping over his plate; he hadn’t slept during his nap. “Early bedtime for all of you,” Stem told them.
“Can’t we play catch with Uncle De
Stem glanced over at De
“Fine with me,” De
“Yippee!”
“How was work today?” Abby asked Red.
Red said, “Work was a pain in the ass. Got this lady who’s—”
“Excuse me,” Abby said, and she stood up and went out to the kitchen, calling, “Nora, please come eat your supper! Let me do the macaroni.”
Red rolled his eyes and then, taking advantage of her absence, reached for the butter and added a giant dollop to his succotash.
“I knew that lady was trouble when she brought out her four-inch binder,” Stem told Red.
“Pick, pick, pick,” Red agreed. “Niggle, niggle, niggle.”
Nora emerged from the kitchen with a saucepan and a serving spoon, Abby following. “Great succotash, Nora,” Red said.
“Thank you.”
She dished macaroni onto Tommy’s plate, then Petey’s, then Sammy’s. Abby resettled herself in her chair and reached for her napkin. “So,” she told Red. “You were saying?”
“Pardon?”
“You were saying about work?”
“I forget,” Red said huffily.
“He was saying about Mrs. Bruce,” Stem told her. “Lady who’s getting her kitchen updated.”
“I warned her about that grout,” Red said. “I told her more than once, I said, ‘Ma’am, you go for that urethane grout and you’re adding on two days’ work time. Cleanup is a bitch.’ ”
Then he said, “Oh, pardon me,” because Nora was sending him a sorrowful look from under her long, heavy lashes.
“Cleanup’s hell,” he said. “I mean, difficult. Major hazing problem. Didn’t I tell her that, Stem?”
“You told her.”
“And what does she do? Goes for urethane. Then throws a hissy fit over how much time the guys are taking.”
He paused a moment and frowned, perhaps wondering if the word “hissy” were something Nora could object to.
“I don’t know why you put up with people like that,” De
“Comes with the territory,” Red said.
“I wouldn’t stand for it.”
“You might not,” Red told him, “but we don’t have that luxury. Half our men were idle for the first two weeks in April. You think that’s any picnic? We take what jobs we can get, nowadays, and thank our lucky stars.”
“You were the one who was griping,” De
“I was explaining how work is, is all. But what would you know about that?”
De
“Well!” Abby said. “I don’t know when I’ve eaten such a lovely meal, Nora.”
“Yes, it’s good, sweetheart,” Stem said.
“De
“Good steaks, De
De
“Now can we play catch?” Tommy asked him.
Stem said, “Let him finish his supper, son.”
“No, I’m done,” De
On Tuesday, De
“Or we could have your lasagna the next night,” Nora said, “because hamburgers and corn on the cob ought to be eaten fresh.”
“Oh, you two!” Abby cried. “Neither one of you needs to trouble yourself about supper. I’m capable of that much.”
“My lasagna should be eaten fresh too,” De
“There’s a reason for that,” Abby a
But she might as well have been a gnat. Neither one of them so much as glanced at her; they were too busy facing each other down.
Supper that night was hamburgers and corn on the cob. Halfway through the meal, De
“Married my mother?” Stem asked. “Which mother?”
“They both claim to be oh so accommodating, but you notice how—” De
He sat back and stared at Stem.
Nora continued placidly spreading butter on her ear of corn. Stem said, “Nora is very accommodating. I’d like to know how many other women would be willing to pack up and leave their homes behind the way she has.”
“Oh,” Abby wailed, “but we didn’t ask her to do that! We wouldn’t ask it of any of you!”
Nora said, “Of course you wouldn’t, Mother Whitshank. We volunteered. We wanted to do it. Think of all Douglas owes you.”
“Owes?” Abby said. She looked stung.
All at once Red came alive at the head of the table and said, “What? What’s going on?” He glanced from face to face, but Abby made a dismissive downward gesture with one hand, so he didn’t pursue it.
On Wednesday, De