because I make her a little nervous.”
“Remember ‘The Tell-Tale Heart.’ ”
“That’s only a story.”
He went back to tugging on an eyebrow. “It’s your job to make it reality.”
I took a deep breath and looked out at the sky. “I’ll think about it.”
“Thatta girl!” He filled up my tea and said, “So how’d it go with Elyssa today?”
I sat up. “Oh! I forgot!”
He
tsk
ed at me and said, “Some best friend.”
“Hudson, give me a break. I’ve had a horrible day.”
He grinned into the distance. “Still don’t want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Then why don’t you go over to Elyssa’s?”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Never, Sammy! But I think she might be waiting for you.”
I studied him. “Why do you think that?”
He shrugged. “I saw her on my way to church. She was kind of perched on a windowsill, looking outside.”
“So?”
“So she was still there when I came home.”
I got up. “You’re kidding.”
“Nooo.”
“I’d better go.”
I ran down the steps and he called, “Think about ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’!”
* * *
Elyssa wasn’t sitting on the windowsill. She was leaning on it with her elbows, holding her face in her hands. She jumped up as I came up their walkway, and even though I couldn’t hear her, I could tell she was calling, “Mom, she’s here, she’s here!”
The door flew open before I had a chance to knock.Mrs. Keltner stood behind Elyssa, drying her hands on a towel. “You have just made a little girl’s day.”
Elyssa grabbed my hand. “You’ll never guess what!”
I laughed. “What?”
“You get to take me to the park!”
“I do?”
Elyssa’s mom laughed and said, “Only if you have time, and only if you want to.”
I looked at Elyssa, beaming like the sun, and all of a sudden I forgot about my mother and Mrs. Landvogt and her stupid dog. I grinned at her and said, “Sure.”
Elyssa jumped up and down, squealing, “Let’s go!”
The Elf Mom said, “Wait a minute, sweetheart, we had a deal. You go in there and finish your lunch, and then you can go.” She looked at me. “Can I offer you some macaroni and cheese?”
God could have asked to have a word with me right then and I would’ve said, Excuse me, I gotta go have some macaroni and cheese first. I nodded, and the next thing you know I was shoveling away.
Elyssa finished before I did. She said through a mouthful, “I’m ready!”
Her mom laughed. “Go wash up.” The minute Elyssa was out of the room, she pulled up a chair and said, “Sammy, I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you came over. I haven’t seen her this happy since, well … in ages.” She leaned forward and whispered, “Now I’ve been thinking—and I don’t want Elyssa to know the details, all right?—but I’m willing to give you baby-sitting money for spending time with her.”
I shook my head and gulped down some milk. “I don’t mind taking her to the park.”
“Hear me out, Samantha. I’m at my wits’ end. I’ve tried and tried to find out what’s going on with her, but she won’t talk about it, she won’t cry about it—even when I know she’s upset, she never cries.” She let out a heavy sigh. “I’ve made arrangements for Elyssa to have a psychological evaluation, but the woman who’s been recommended to me isn’t available until after Christmas. I don’t worry about Elyssa when she’s at school, and I don’t worry about her once we’re home, but there’s an hour between the time her school lets out and the time I get off at the home. She’s supposed to walk straight over to the nursing home to meet me after school, but sometimes she gets … distracted.” She looked down the hall to make sure Elyssa wasn’t coming back. “What school do you attend?”
“William Rose.”
She looked relieved. “You’re right around the corner from her. She goes to Landview. Would you pick her up and walk her over to the nursing
Morten Storm, Paul Cruickshank, Tim Lister