The Blob by David Bischoff Read Free Book Online Page A

tossed her spoon onto the floor, when another crisis erupted, this time from upstairs.
    “Mom!” Meg, her daughter, called down from the second-story landing. “Have you seen my pink sweater?”
    Yes, she certainly had seen Meg’s sweater. Peg Penny cringed. “It’s on the hamper, honey,” she said, heading for the stairs. “I meant to talk to you about that . . .” Leaving the children to their own devices, she started up the stairs to deal with her teenage daughter.
    Meg Penny, meanwhile, was going through the hamper. A flash of pink. A blur of fuzz. She plucked up the cashmere fabric and was staring bemusedly at it when her mother walked into the room. The thing looked as though it had shrunk!
    “What happened?” she asked.
    “Well,” said Mrs. Penny, “I’m afraid it got mixed up in the wash. I meant to do it by hand . . .”
    “Maybe it will stretch back,” said Meg, slipping it on over her bra, trying to get the bottom down to her blue jeans. Alas, it went only to her midriff. Meg stared down at it a moment, then looked up at her mother. “It’s an interesting look.”
    They both laughed, and Mrs. Penny was clearly relieved at her daughter’s reaction. Generally they got along very well. Of course, there were the occasional tensions, inevitable in a situation where a daughter was inheriting a mother’s youthful beauty while mom traveled into middle age. Inevitable also due to the fits of independence typical of adolescence. But still they had a lot in common, Meg and Peg Penny. They were somehow good friends.
    “I’ll tell you what,” said Mrs. Penny. “Why don’t you wear my Ann Taylor blouse?”
    Meg was taken aback. That blouse had cost a lot of money! “Really? Are you sure?”
    “I’m sure,” said Mrs. Penny.
    Meg was very pleased. She would look good in that blouse, and she wanted to look nice for her date tonight with Paul Tyler. She figured her father would like Paul. He was always telling her to date guys that were “straight arrows.” Funny thing was, that was the part of Paul that she’d never much liked. He just seemed too normal. But then, when she’d joined the cheerleading squad, and she got to talk to him a little bit, she found that beneath those midwestern good looks he was actually an interesting individual. So when he’d asked her out today, she’d not only said yes, but she was thrilled at the prospect of dating him.
    Suddenly the doorbell rang.
    “Oh, my God, that’s Paul!” she said.
    “Now, you’re sure he’s okay, dear?”
    “Paul is the kind of guy Daddy wants me to be going out with, I’m telling you. But can you deal with the door? I’m going to be very late getting ready!”
    “A woman’s prerogative, Meg. I’m sure your father is dealing with the door. I’ll just go down and check.”
    Mr. Penny, however, had just settled down into his La-Z-Boy with his paper and was not about to get up and answer any door.
    So the task was left to Kevin. He swung it open to find a teenage boy, looking very nervous and smiling too broadly.
    “What is it?” Kevin asked.
    “Hi,” said Paul Tyler. “I’m here to see Meg.”
    “What for?” asked Kevin, not really interested, still grumpy because his mother wouldn’t let him go with Eddie to see the movie.
    “Well, uh . . . just to see her. Is she home?”
    “Just a minute.”
    The door slammed shut in Paul’s face. He took a deep breath, let it out, telling himself to stay calm. He didn’t want to blow this date. Surely it was his most important so far.
    When the door opened, an older version of Meg looked out, smiling, which made Paul feel loads better.
    “I’m terribly sorry. You must be Paul. I’m Meg’s mother,” the woman said.
    Turning on the politeness to full power, Paul said, “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
    Mrs. Penny beckoned him to enter. “Come on in. Meg will be right down.”
    As Paul entered the nicely kept home, Kevin Penny tried to squeeze out the open door along with