I’m bigger now and maybe I’m too big for carrying; maybe that’s why Paul ain’t coming back. It could be he’s tired of having a kid sister bothering him all the time. I pray that ain’t it.
While Miss Olivia and me was sitting on the bench, I got to studying the store Paul’s supposed to be working in, and I got a real bad memory in my head. A long time ago, when Daddy was alive, he showed me a place with that same yellow tape. “Keep out” it said. When I asked Daddy why we had to keep out, he said it was because the roof caved in and killed a whole bunch of people. “Don’t you ever go in a place closed off like that,” he said. And I didn’t.
Miss Olivia said I shouldn’t worry about Paul. She said we’ll get to finding him, soon as we find Aunt Anita.
I’m thinking we ought to be looking for Paul and just forget about Aunt Anita.
The Bad Place
W hen Olivia and Jubilee arrived home, Ethan Allen was lying on the living room floor with his head resting on Dog and his nose buried in a Captain Marvel comic book. “Is your homework done?” Olivia asked.
“Sort of.”
Knowing this was Ethan’s way of circumventing a no, Olivia told him he could play with Jubilee for a little while but to plan on doing homework after dinner. She crossed to her bedroom, hung Jubilee’s dresses in the closet, then closed the door and dialed Clara’s number.
“Did you find out anything?” she asked.
“No. I called all the Walkers, even the ones you’d already called. Not one of them knows an Anita. That Hiram, he’s a nasty old buzzard. Claims if we keep bothering him about Anita, he’s gonna call the police.”
“I think Hiram’s the one who hung up on me last night,” Olivia said. Then she asked about Seth Porter. “Did he tell you anything more than what he told me?”
“Nope. But he did say if somebody reports the girl kidnapped, you’re gonna be in for a lot of trouble and he wants no part of it.”
“Oh, dear,” Olivia said. “Why would he think—”
“You know how Seth is,” Clara snorted. “But he’s right, you do have to find this kid’s aunt and give her back. Once you do that, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Are you sure the aunt’s name is Walker?”
Olivia started to say yes, but then she stopped and thought. Jubilee was only seven. What if she mistook her mama’s sister-in-law for sister? If such was the case, Anita would then be related to Jubilee’s dad.
“The name might be Jones,” Olivia said.
After nearly twenty minutes of discussion she and Clara agreed they had to check out all the Joneses in Wyattsville. It was a list four times as long as that of the Walkers, so they were going to need some help.
“Maybe we could ask Barbara Conklin,” Olivia suggested. “I brought over a lovely chocolate cake when her daughter came to visit, so she should be willing to help.”
“Of course she will,” Clara said. “Fred will too.”
Caught up in the moment, Olivia said, “If we ask all the neighbors to help out, I’ll bet we could find this Aunt Anita in no time.”
“I wouldn’t go asking everybody,” Clara warned. “Jim Turner’s on the Rules Committee, and he’s still complaining about Ethan Allen running through the hallways. If Jim finds out you’ve got another kid in here…” She didn’t have to finish the sentence.
“I see what you mean. We’d best keep it quiet.”
Once it was decided who would be asked to help, Olivia said she would take Jones A through F and Clara agreed to divvy up the remainder.
Olivia looked at the clock. Six-fifteen already. The A through F Joneses were longer than a page, so it would have to be a quick dinner. Then she’d start calling.
As she hurried through the living room, she heard Ethan Allen and Jubilee talking.
“Three tens beats your kings and queens ‘cause they ain’t matching,” Ethan said.
“You sure?” Jubilee then asked how much she owed
While Miss Olivia and me was sitting on the bench, I got to studying the store Paul’s supposed to be working in, and I got a real bad memory in my head. A long time ago, when Daddy was alive, he showed me a place with that same yellow tape. “Keep out” it said. When I asked Daddy why we had to keep out, he said it was because the roof caved in and killed a whole bunch of people. “Don’t you ever go in a place closed off like that,” he said. And I didn’t.
Miss Olivia said I shouldn’t worry about Paul. She said we’ll get to finding him, soon as we find Aunt Anita.
I’m thinking we ought to be looking for Paul and just forget about Aunt Anita.
The Bad Place
W hen Olivia and Jubilee arrived home, Ethan Allen was lying on the living room floor with his head resting on Dog and his nose buried in a Captain Marvel comic book. “Is your homework done?” Olivia asked.
“Sort of.”
Knowing this was Ethan’s way of circumventing a no, Olivia told him he could play with Jubilee for a little while but to plan on doing homework after dinner. She crossed to her bedroom, hung Jubilee’s dresses in the closet, then closed the door and dialed Clara’s number.
“Did you find out anything?” she asked.
“No. I called all the Walkers, even the ones you’d already called. Not one of them knows an Anita. That Hiram, he’s a nasty old buzzard. Claims if we keep bothering him about Anita, he’s gonna call the police.”
“I think Hiram’s the one who hung up on me last night,” Olivia said. Then she asked about Seth Porter. “Did he tell you anything more than what he told me?”
“Nope. But he did say if somebody reports the girl kidnapped, you’re gonna be in for a lot of trouble and he wants no part of it.”
“Oh, dear,” Olivia said. “Why would he think—”
“You know how Seth is,” Clara snorted. “But he’s right, you do have to find this kid’s aunt and give her back. Once you do that, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Are you sure the aunt’s name is Walker?”
Olivia started to say yes, but then she stopped and thought. Jubilee was only seven. What if she mistook her mama’s sister-in-law for sister? If such was the case, Anita would then be related to Jubilee’s dad.
“The name might be Jones,” Olivia said.
After nearly twenty minutes of discussion she and Clara agreed they had to check out all the Joneses in Wyattsville. It was a list four times as long as that of the Walkers, so they were going to need some help.
“Maybe we could ask Barbara Conklin,” Olivia suggested. “I brought over a lovely chocolate cake when her daughter came to visit, so she should be willing to help.”
“Of course she will,” Clara said. “Fred will too.”
Caught up in the moment, Olivia said, “If we ask all the neighbors to help out, I’ll bet we could find this Aunt Anita in no time.”
“I wouldn’t go asking everybody,” Clara warned. “Jim Turner’s on the Rules Committee, and he’s still complaining about Ethan Allen running through the hallways. If Jim finds out you’ve got another kid in here…” She didn’t have to finish the sentence.
“I see what you mean. We’d best keep it quiet.”
Once it was decided who would be asked to help, Olivia said she would take Jones A through F and Clara agreed to divvy up the remainder.
Olivia looked at the clock. Six-fifteen already. The A through F Joneses were longer than a page, so it would have to be a quick dinner. Then she’d start calling.
As she hurried through the living room, she heard Ethan Allen and Jubilee talking.
“Three tens beats your kings and queens ‘cause they ain’t matching,” Ethan said.
“You sure?” Jubilee then asked how much she owed
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