While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin Read Free Book Online Page B

hallway. “Come on in and I’ll show you around.”
    Penny peeked into the black- and white-tiled bathroom first. It could use a good scrubbing with cleanser, but she didn’t say so. The kitchen had a small wooden table with four chairs, a corner cupboard for dishes, and one of those nice kitchen hutches that Penny had admired in magazines. It had a porcelain countertop that slid out for rolling pie crusts and a built-in flour bin and spice rack behind the neat cupboard doors. From the window above the sink she glimpsed a second-floor back porch with a roof for shade.
    “This kitchen is very nice.”
    “It’s still a little smoky in here from last night’s fire.” Eddie led her through the dining room and into a living room that overlooked the street below. “You can open the windows later.”
    “You mean that building just burned down last night? Was it an apartment building?”
    “No, a synagogue. Want to see upstairs? Peter and Esther are still asleep.”
    “Don’t worry about it. I can look around later. Was anyone hurt in the fire?”
    “Yeah, our landlord, Mr. Mendel. They took him away in an ambulance. That reminds me, could you check on him when he gets home from the hospital? See if he needs anything?”
    Penny didn’t know how to explain to Eddie that Jewish people frightened her, especially the kind with black hats and beards. Her father had ranted on and on about them for as long as she could remember. She was about to confess her fears when Eddie suddenly added, “Rachel was good friends with our landlord’s wife. She would take Mrs. Mendel shopping and things like that. In fact . . .” He paused to clear his throat, which had begun to sound very hoarse. “In fact, Mrs. Mendel and Rachel were both killed in the same accident.”
    “Oh! I didn’t know that.”
    “Yeah. And one other person, too. The other two died instantly, and Rachel died in the hospital a few hours later. Esther and Peter saw it all. They were with her.” Eddie turned and led the way back to the kitchen. “Here are my keys to the apartment. This one is for the back door and these are for the two front doors.” A moment later, Penny heard footsteps overhead, then the sound of two children thumping down the stairs. Esther froze in the doorway when she saw Penny, her expression hardening in anger and mistrust. Peter pushed past his sister to grip their father around the waist. Penny couldn’t recall ever hugging her own father that way.
    “Good morning, sleepyheads,” Penny said, desperate to say something. “How are you this morning? Did you have a good sleep with sweet dreams?”
    “We’re not babies,” Esther said.
    “I know. I-I’m sorry.” Penny didn’t know how most mothers greeted their children in the morning, so she had said the words that she wished her mother would say.
    “Hey, you be nice to Penny, okay?” Eddie said. “She’s doing us a huge favor. And she’ll write and tell me if you don’t behave. Right, Penny?”
    “I’ll be glad to write to you, Eddie. Just let me know what your address is.”
    Esther was still pouting, so Eddie lifted her chin until she had to look up at him. “Promise me you’ll be polite, okay?” he asked again. She nodded faintly.
    “I can fix you some pancakes or scramble some eggs, if you want,” Penny said. “How about it, Esther? You hungry for something special this morning?”
    “No, thank you.” She crossed the kitchen to remove two bowls from the corner cupboard and poured cornflakes for herself and her brother. Peter clutched his father as if he never intended to let go.
    “Sorry about the mess,” Eddie said, gesturing to the dirty dishes piled in the sink.
    “That’s okay. I can wash them later.”
    “And I didn’t have a chance to change the bed sheets. You’ll find clean ones in the linen closet. Esther will show you where everything is, won’t you, doll?”
    “I suppose.” There was so much ice in her voice that Penny figured they could