It Burns a Lovely Light by penny mccann pennington Read Free Book Online

Church, formed Grady Square, the heart of the small community of Grady.
    True to her promise Farley took at least one photograph a day: her finger pushing a lemon seed into a pot of soil, Pauline unpacking the 'nice' dishes, William eating a picnic lunch on the rooftop patio. Using a
    tripod, she photographed the three of them pretending to be Sears catalogue models. She captured the crisp leaves of October; Pauline blowing kisses to the camera with Christmas tinsel in her hair; Bridge Manor in various stages of repair; Joe and Paddy teaching William to skate on a frozen pond, and Veda
    Marie pinching suckers from her spring tomato plants. Somewhere between the leaves and the tomatoes, Farley decided she wanted to be a professional photographer.
    She devoured photography magazines. When she wasn't in her
    school uniform, Farley took to wearing all black and wandering the city, snapping pictures. She tried to act the way she thought a professional photographer would act, all artistic and lost in thought - although she
    couldn't quite pull off 'moody and withdrawn.'
     
    Pauline deposited a worn-looking cloth bag full of submarine sandwiches on Bridge Manor's massive wooden table.
    "I got two meatball cheeses, two Italian with
    everything, and two tuna salads - toasted, heavy on the onions." She wiped her face with a napkin. "I don't know how you live with this humidity. Give me the dry heat of the desert any day."
    "Don't tell me you walked all the way from your apartment," said Claire, not looking up from the bills she was paying.
    "It's only a few miles."
    "Straight uphill. You're putting us to shame."
    "Speak for yourself, Claire Sullivan," yelled Veda Marie from the pantry. "I'm as healthy as a frisky thoroughbred."
    Claire grunted. "Then why are you always running to the
    doctor?"
    "Unlike you, I enjoy having my good health confirmed with regular check-ups."
    Pauline filled a glass with water.
    "Is it me," she said, "or have those steps
    gotten steeper since we were kids?"
    Generations ago, hundreds - maybe thousands - of public steps had been built into the steep hills overlooking the city. Before sturdy roads, inclines, and transit systems, the steps made it much easier to maneuver
    up and down the slopes. Many of the steps were now in disarray but large sections of them were still in use, including the ones that led from Grady Square straight up to Bridge Manor's back yard.
    Veda Marie dumped an armload of paper plates, napkins and cups on the table. "Speaking of kids," she said, "where are your little chickens?"
    "They're a few minutes behind me. William saw a frog
    about halfway up the hill and Farley's friend, Dion, threatened to kiss it." She examined a framed picture hanging beside the pantry. "When did you put this up?"
    The photograph was of Claire, Pauline, and Veda Marie. They
    had taken a break from one of their many renovation projects. Just as they were striking a pose, Veda Marie broke them up with some funny piece of gossip. Farley's camera captured the three of them in a fit of hilarity.
    Veda Marie faced sideways with one knee slightly bent, her
    head thrown back in laughter. Even in her worn denim overalls she was a Barbie doll - complete with a too-tiny waist and impossibly perky breasts - but there was a durability to Veda Marie that made her seem much larger than her small
    frame.
    In the center of the photograph stood Pauline, her hair in a ponytail, an oversized smile on her face. Dressed in tight clam-diggers and an old work shirt of Jack's with the shirttail tied under her chest, she held a
    similar sideways pose.
    Claire faced the camera head-on, eyes shining, mouth partially open. She wore a pair of cuffed dungarees and one of Joe's hockey practice jerseys. Her frizzy salt- and- pepper hair was plastered to one side.
    "We hung a bunch of Farley's pictures last night," said Veda Marie. "I'm trying to get the lower level spruced up before my sister Mary comes to visit. Wait till you see the