What My Sister Remembered by Marilyn Sachs Read Free Book Online Page B

tried to have them go and play somewhere else.”
    “I remember Mrs. Palagonia,” Beth said, grinning now. Suddenly, I felt safe, and I grinned back at her. “Didn’t she have twin boys—funny-looking twin boys?”
    “Yes, she did. She does. But they’re grown-up now, and they got to be real good-looking. You’re right. They were funny-looking when they were kids.”
    “They had big noses?”
    “Yes, they did.”
    “And zits?”
    “Yes, yes. But now they’re really good-looking. They’re about Alex’s age, and they still live at home.”
    “Oh, I wish I could see them. I wish I could see Mrs. Palagonia. I liked her a whole lot. And wasn’t there a family with a baby downstairs? I think their name was something like Klondike?”
    “Kronkite,” I told her. “They moved three or four years ago.”
    “They had a beautiful baby girl. I remember that baby. Mrs. Kronkite let me hold her once on my lap, even though I was only four or five.”
    “She used to bite. The baby, I mean,” I told Beth. “She used to bite, and her nose ran all the time. She turned into a real brat. I was glad they moved. But anyway, Jeff never finished high school, and he doesn’t have a real job. He does get some gigs here and there, but nothing that really pays.”
    “He used to have a beautiful voice,” Beth said. “I can’t wait to see him.”
    “It’s an okay voice, I guess, and he plays okay on the guitar, but nobody really thinks he’s that good. My mother wishes he would learn some kind of work to support himself. Every so often, my parents have to help him out. They keep saying it’s the last time, but I don’t think it ever will be.”
    “Girls!” My father was calling. “Come on. It’s time for breakfast. We’ve got a lot to do.”
    Beth jumped up. “That’s Uncle Walter. He’s really great. I don’t remember him as well as ... as the others, but he’s really nice.”
    “My dad? Oh sure, but Beth, so is my mom.”
    Beth just turned and walked out of the room.
    * * * *
    We had a lot to do. Beth and I went shopping with my dad while my mom stayed home and pretended that she would relax over another cup of coffee and read the Sunday paper. I knew she would straighten up the house all over again, worry about the stains on the dining room tablecloth, suffer over the chips in the china, and set the table before we came back.
    We had a long, long list, and we had to go to several stores. I was still shaky from this crazy fear. Why should I be afraid of something Beth wanted to tell me? What could it be? Whatever it was, I didn’t want to hear it. I stayed quiet, but Dad and Beth chattered away as if they saw each other every day. Beth had opinions on lots of things.
    “Don’t you have a health food store around here?” she asked my father.
    “I couldn’t say,” he answered, dropping a couple of heads of lettuce into the shopping cart.
    “We always get our produce at the health food store,” Beth told him. “We don’t want to eat food that’s been sprayed with poisons.”
    My father picked up a bunch of green onions. “I think our bodies learn to tolerate the sprays,” he told her.
    “I don’t agree with you, Uncle Walter,” she said. “I’ve done some research on the subject, and I think there’s a strong correlation between food sprays and certain types of cancer.”
    “What about gasoline?” my father inquired, dropping three cucumbers into the basket.
    “Gasoline is a major pollutant of the atmosphere,” Beth stated.
    “And does your family own a car?”
    “Well, actually, we have two cars, but I don’t approve.”
    “Do you go places with your parents in the cars?” My father began picking out tomatoes. “Maybe you both better give me a hand with these tomatoes. We’re going to need a lot.”
    “Yes, I admit I do, but I’m not perfect.” Beth grinned up at my dad, and he grinned back at her.
    “No?” he said in mock surprise. “I thought you were. Okay, that’s enough