Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson Read Free Book Online Page A

butter and the broccoli, then stirred it once more, added some water, turned the heat down beneath it and covered the pan.
    Music, I said.
    What kind? He looked at my rice, then raised his eyebrows.
    I turned it off but didn’t lift the top. Perfect, I said. A guitar.
    Sean thought for a minute. Like rain, he said. Coming down real soft when it’s warm out and you only get a little wet but not cold. That kind of rain.
    I smiled. That’s exactly what it made me feel like when I heard a guitar playing softly.
    Daddy came out of the bedroom. We watched his face. His eyebrow twitched. You had to look hard to see it.
    Let her rest a bit, he said finally. Dinner ready? Smells good in here.
    For a while, we ate without doing much talking. I watched the cheese melt on my burger, then poured ketchup over everything, stirred my rice until it turned pink. We listened for Mama to come out of her room but she didn’t.
    “Anything interesting happen at school this week?” Daddy asked. He took a bite of his vegetables and smiled at Sean. Me and Sean both shook our heads.
    “Nothing interesting happened with work either,” Daddy said softly. “The road from here to Indiana is flat as my feet. Every now and then a bright green road sign pops up to keep you awake.”
    “Is Indiana pretty?” I asked.
    Daddy thought for a minute. “Pretty light when the sun’s coming up. But what place ain’t pretty at the beginning and the end of the day?”
    Where’s the prettiest place you ever been, Daddy?
    Daddy grinned. “I guess California. Took me a long time to drive there, but when I got there, I went straight to the ocean. It was almost night when I pulled the truck up to where I could see the water.” He closed his eyes a moment. “All those different colors spilling over everything.” Then he opened his eyes and looked at me and Sean. “And here,” he said.
    Sean watched his lips. When Daddy finished speaking, Sean kept on watching them. After a while, Daddy got up from the table, scraped the food off his plate and put the plate in the sink.
    I watched Sean watch Daddy. Sometimes he just stared—and it was like his eyes were trying to do everything—speak and hear and smell and touch. Maybe that’s why they were so beautiful. They had all the senses right there in them, showing through.
    There’s another one coming, Daddy signed. Another baby. He smiled—a kind of laugh smile like he was just as surprised as we were by what he was hearing.
    What?!
    Another baby, Daddy said again.
    That’s crazy! Mama’s too old. We’re all too old. What’s anybody in this house gonna do with a baby?
    Sean smiled, like it was all slowly sinking in and he liked what was becoming clear or something. A baby, he signed. Wow. He leaned back in his chair and stared out the kitchen window. Snow was still coming down hard. A baby, he signed again.
    I ran my fork through my rice, feeling all kinds of stupid feelings. I was the baby who had made it. It was sad, but each time one of those other babies didn’t make it, it seemed clear to me that I was the one who was supposed to be the baby in the family.
    “I don’t know why she has to be so tired about it all,” I said. “Doesn’t make any sense.” I didn’t say what I really wanted to say. What if you and Mama come home crying again, I wanted to ask. What if we think a baby’s coming but it doesn’t come all the way?
    Daddy looked at me. “Because you’re right, Frannie. She is old. And that makes it harder to be pregnant. And . . .” But he shook his head and didn’t finish what he was going to say. After a minute passed, he signed, So let her get some rest and try to grow you all a brother or sister.
    I shrugged. “Even if it’s a girl, I’m not sharing my room, that’s for sure.”
    Daddy ignored me. Sean, you wash tonight, he signed. Frannie, you dry and wipe everything down.
    I don’t want to wash! Sean glared at Daddy. I always have to wash.
    Because you always get them