Better Than Weird by Anna Kerz Read Free Book Online Page A

sorry?” he asked, his voice sounding small and lost as he tried to figure out how to make things right.
    â€œCan’t hurt,” Gran said. She sighed, hoisted herself to her feet and plodded into the kitchen.
    Aaron stayed slumped on the step. Then he squirmed, slid his hand inside his vest pocket and pulled out the toad nestled there. It squatted in his cupped palm, soft as a handful of pudding. Gran didn’t know he had rescued it or that he kept it in a box of dirt under his bed, so of course she didn’t know he sometimes carried it around. He didn’t want it to be lonely.
    He lifted his hand until he was eye to eye with the toad and said, “When my dad comes, he’s gonna tell me the right things to say. Then I won’t hurt Jeremy’s feelings, and we’ll stay friends.”
    He was still sitting on the steps when the phone rang. Gran answered. Aaron held his breath, wondering if it was his dad.
    Through all the years he was gone, his dad had called every couple of weeks. He always talked to Gran first. Sometimes she sounded mad. One day she shouted, “Don’t ask me again! It’s time you stood on your own two feet. I can’t support both of you.” Aaron wondered why his father needed help to stand up, but when he asked, Gran snapped, “Everybody has to grow up sometime!” and he was afraid to ask again.
    Most of the time she didn’t get mad, and she almost always handed him the phone when she was done. Then Aaron would press the receiver to his ear and listen to his father say, “Aaron? Are you there, Aaron?”
    â€œSay, ‘Hi, Dad,’” Gran would urge, but sometimes he just listened until the voice stopped and the phone clicked, leaving him with the lonely sound of the dial tone.
    He always looked forward to hearing from his father, even though they didn’t have much to say to each other. And he knew the voice. He was sure about that. For sure he’d recognize it when his father finally came.
    Aaron stood up. In the kitchen Gran was still talking, but not to his dad. He could tell.
    â€œSometimes I feel like a broken record,” he heard her say. Then she laughed. “I told Aaron that once and he said, ‘What’s a record?’ and I realized just how old I am.”
    â€œOf course I’d like to go,” she went on. “I haven’t been to the theatre since…oh my goodness, I haven’t seen a show since I retired. How long ago is that? Must be nine years now.
    â€œBack then I worried I’d have time on my hands. I thought I’d miss going to the office, and I wondered if I should take up a hobby. Then Liam called because they needed help with the baby. What could I say? Sarah was dying. So I came, and I’ve been here ever since.”
    Sarah. Sarah was my mother, Aaron thought. He hardly remembered his mother. Mostly when he thought mother he thought of Gran.
    â€œOh, I don’t know, Milly. When would we be back? Six?” She sighed. “I’d better say no. No telling what Aaron will get into if he’s left alone.”
    Aaron squirmed. He didn’t like it when Gran talked to other people about him. Not even Milly. Milly was related to Jeremy. That’s why Jeremy and his mother lived in Milly’s house. Aaron liked her, but still…
    â€œYou remember the day I had the doctor’s appointment for all those tests?” Gran went on. “I was late coming home, and wouldn’t you know it, that was the day Aaron brought home the mealworms from the class science study.”
    Twenty-three mealworms, five pupae and six beetle s. Aaron wanted to correct her, but he didn’t because then Gran would know he was listening.
    â€œI have to admit it was my fault too,” she said. “He asked for permission. Said he wanted to use them to feed the toad he was keeping in the shed. He loves animals. If it was up to him, the house would be filled with