Blooming All Over by Judith Arnold Read Free Book Online Page A

on the verge of doing.
    Adam and Joffe arrived in the common room, rescuing her from her mother’s scathing frown. “Tash is going to meet up with us later,” Adam announced. “She’s got some stuff to do before her parents arrive. I was thinking we may as well head on over to this reception the math department is hosting.”
    And I’ll get to eat , Susie thought. “Let’s go!” she said brightly.
    “So, it’s all worked out for Ron tonight?” Sondra asked, rising from the sofa and then helping Grandma Ida to her feet.
    “Yeah, everything’s cool,” Adam said, flashing a grin. “Joffe can have my bed, and I’ll stay in Tash’s room.”
    Standing behind Sondra and Grandma Ida, Julia shook her head violently, while Susie grimaced and slid her index finger across her throat.
    Unfortunately, Grandma Ida’s hearing suddenly recovered. “You’re staying in that girl’s room?” she asked Adam, her face contracting into a scowl.
    “And that girl is staying with a friend,” Julia said swiftly, taking Grandma Ida’s elbow and steering her toward the door.
    “What room? What room is Tush staying in?”
    “She’s staying with a friend,” Julia assured her grandmother in soothing tones.
    Lips pursed, Susie’s mother directed her disapproval to Adam, which left Susie feeling both relieved and sympathetic. Having Adam home for the summer would be fun; he could share black-sheep duties with her. Before college, he’d been quiet, shy and well behaved. God bless Cornell for having unleashed his inner rascal.
    His shoulders looked a little wider than Susie remembered. As they all exited the dorm into the sunny afternoon, she noticed that her baby brother had added a slight swagger to his walk. Arnold Schwarzenegger would never run in fear from him—well, maybe when Arnold was in his dotage Adam would have something on him—but her kid brother looked less like a boy than a man. He was graduating, after all. And he was sleeping with Tash—who was not fat, just sturdy, and would probably weigh a couple of pounds less if she shaved her legs.
    Tash didn’t have to be perfect for Adam. She didn’t even have to be right for him. Next fall he’d be heading off to that chicken university with the Indians. Better that he should start graduate school with a little experience. Thanks to Tash, he would.
    Sondra accelerated her pace to catch up with Joffe, who had accelerated his pace to catch up with Julia, who was keeping pace with Grandma Ida, who strode across the campus in a surprisingly brisk gait for an old lady. This left Susie and Adam to bring up the rear, which was fine with Susie, except that she didn’t want the others to arrive at the reception ahead of her and pick the platters clean before she had a chance to grab some food. Then again, they didn’t know where the reception was. Eventually, Adam would have to move to the head of their procession, and Susie would move with him.
    In the meantime, they could lag and talk. “Don’t discuss that you’re sleeping with Tash in front of Grandma Ida,” she warned.
    He tilted his head slightly. He didn’t exactly tower over her—Blooms were too short to tower, and even as the tallest in her family Adam was barely five foot ten—but he loomed. His Cornell T-shirt and khakislacks bagged on him. Unlike his sweetheart, he didn’t quite qualify as sturdy. “Why?” he asked. “Did Grandma Ida turn into a Republican or something?”
    “I don’t know if she’s even registered in a party,” Susie told him. “And she doesn’t care what anyone does behind her back. But in front of her, you have to be tactful. The reason Joffe’s sleeping in your bed tonight is that Grandma Ida was so scandalized by the thought of him sharing a hotel room with Julia.”
    “They’re getting married.”
    “And I’m sure they’re porking each other every chance they get. Behind Grandma Ida’s back, though. That’s the thing.”
    “She’s such a busybody,” Adam