Lost by Christina Draper Read Free Book Online Page A

day.”
    What he didn’t
say was they needed to leave so the adults could talk. But the boys picked up on
the implication. Ant and Jimmy hustled the girls outside, just as Carey and Sam
walked into the kitchen. Both the boys had sleep-tousled hair and red eyes.
    “Morning,
boys!” Bee gave them each a kiss on the head and placed plates full of eggs,
sausage, and toast in front of them. They looked at her with adoration and dove
into their food.
    “So animal
control came and took the carcass with them last night. I persuaded them to
wait until after lunch to come out and look at the backyard, along with the
assurance that no one would go out there,” Anthony began. “On a side note,
whatever got to that animal did a real number on it.”
    “That’s an
understatement, Mr. A. I’ve never seen anything like that. I swear it’s like
something out of a horror movie!” Sam stressed between bites.
    “I’ll agree
with that,” I said, “but we do back up to the woods. There are feral dogs out
there. They’ve been caught before.”
    Anthony nodded.
“Your mom’s right. After animal control finishes up, I figure the three of us
can check the fence—make sure there are no loose boards or holes under the
fence that an animal might have slipped through. If there is anything that
needs to be repaired, I probably have stuff in the garage. We can get it taken
care of.”
    Anthony just
had that kind of presence. Whatever he said, you kind of went along with it.
Not because he was manipulative or pushy, but because he just made you feel
like he knew best, and whatever went down, he would take care of it... and you.
Brian was like that, and I think that’s why the boys felt safe in deferring to
Anthony, or Mr. A as they had always called him.
    “Well, if
animal control isn’t coming for a few more hours, maybe I can get home and
clean up a bit. The kitchen is a mess. I think the dinner dishes are still
sitting in the sink!” I moaned. With 5 kids, I often felt as if the dishes
procreated overnight. Dishes and laundry were just never-ending in my house.
    “I can come
along and help,” Bee offered. “I really don’t have anything planned today.”
    Normally I
would have taken her up on it, but I had something in mind for the day.
    Sam and Carey
had finished up their breakfast and were putting their plates in the sink.
    “Boys, can you
go outside with everyone else? I want to talk to Anthony and Bee for a second.”
I asked.
    They both nodded
and went outside.
    I looked to
Bee. “Bee, you know I’d take you up on your offer, but I was hoping the kids
could hang out here with you this morning.”
    “Of course,”
she reassured me. “Is everything okay?”
    “Yeah. It’s
just that... well, last night when I went upstairs to get my stuff, I realized
that I still have all of Brian’s things in the closet. I’ve even left his work
boots by the window seat, after all these months. I don’t know... I was just
looking at those boots, and it dawned on me that he had only worn them a couple
of times. Someone else could get a lot of use out of them. I just feel like
it’s time... time to go through his things. I have some things in mind for the
kids. His black suit would look great on Sam now, and Carey always liked the
gray cardigan Brian had. Things like that. But his T-shirts, his jeans...
someone else could put them to good use. They aren’t doing much just hanging in
my closet.”
    The mark of a
good friend, in my book, is knowing when to say something and knowing when to
stay quiet. Anthony and Bee seemed to sense that this was a real turning point
for me, and they let me ramble. When I was done, Bee spoke up.
    “You know what?
I think that sounds like a great idea. If the kids stay here, that will give
you time to box things up and do what you need to without them underfoot.
Anthony is going to be home, and we were thinking of taking Ant to the water
park. Why don’t we take all the kiddos and make a day of