Tiger by the Tail by Eric Walters

asked.
    “We have to.” He took the newspaper from my hand, crumpled it up into a ball and stuffed it under his bed. We raced back into the kitchen, but weren’t in time to beat Mom back. She was setting the table with Nana’sdishes.
    “Where were you two?”
    “Um … in the washroom,” I lied.
    “Both of you? At the same time?”
    “We were washing our hands, you know, so we could eat,” he added.
    “Didn’t you already wash your hands? Right there at the kitchen sink.”
    “Yeah but that was kitchen water. I wanted to use washroom water to wash with,” he tried to explain.
    “Nicholas there is no difference between the water in the kitchen and water … you were kidding, right?”
    Nick smiled and sat down at the table. My mom sat down beside him. I passed the plate of pancakes to my brother who passed them to Mom and then they circled back to me.
    “Mom, do you think we could just hang around the house today?” Nick asked.
    “I was thinking that maybe we could go into town and get groceries.”
    “Can’t that wait until another day? Couldn’t we just spend some time together, the three of us?” Nick asked.
    “We’ll see,” Mom answered.
    Nick broke into a smile. He’d told me that whenever Mom said “we’ll see” it meant it was a sure thing. I took a forkful of pancakes and stuffed them into my mouth. They weren’t hot anymore, but they were still warm. Justas I went to pour on the maple syrup the phone rang.
    “I’ll get it,” Nick yelled as he jumped to his feet.
    Mom grabbed his arm. “Sit down. I jump for phones all week long. I want to sit and enjoy a breakfast with my two favourite people.”
    “But what if it’s important?” Nick argued.
    “Nothing’s more important than this time together, just the three of us. Besides, the answering machine will pick it up.”
    Nick retook his seat.
    “I just can’t believe we have an old fashioned answering machine,” Nick said.
    “And a phone with a rotary dial as well,” I said.
    “I think they’re sweet because they belonged to your Nana.”
    After the seventh ring we heard the machine click and spring to life in the other room. I listened to our greeting and then the beep. I half-expected the person to hang up before the beep. I always did because I hated to leave voicemail messages. “Ellen …”
    I recognized the voice. It was my mother’s sister, Aunt Elaine, calling long distance. She lived half a continent away.
    “I couldn’t believe it when I opened my paper and saw a picture of Sarah and Nicholas walking with a tiger. The picture made the wire services and apparently is on the front page of papers across the country. I know youmoved to find new adventures, but this is unbelievable. Give me a call.”
    There was dead silence. Mom’s face turned white, like all the blood was draining away.
    “Could you pass the syrup,” Nick asked.
    Mom looked at him in disbelief. “What did you say?” she asked my brother.
    “The syrup, could you pass it? It’s right by your elbow.”
    “Is that all you can say?” she asked, her voice getting strained and pinched.
    “Please?” he asked.
    In a burst, the colour returned to her face and it became beet red. She opened her mouth but no words came out. She pushed the plate of pancakes away from her, slowly and deliberately. Then she folded her hands in front of her. She glanced quickly around the kitchen.
    “Where is the newspaper?” she asked quietly.
    “What makes you think that we know —”
    “NOW!” she yelled, interrupting Nick.
    He popped up from his seat, and scurried out of the room, leaving me and Mom alone. I looked over at her. She gave me that look, that “parent look,” the one I hadn’t seen for a long time. I looked away. We didn’t have to wait long as Nick returned carrying an armful of paper. Mom straightened it out and then started sifting through the pages. She found the front page with the picture on it and pressed it flat so she could read