Until She Comes Home by Lori Roy

to get Julia’s attention. “Go get Uncle Bill. Go get him and tell him to stop Mrs. Lawson.”
    Julia walks up behind Arie. On the street below, Betty Lawson, pushing her carriage, has neared Julia’s house.
    “What do you mean, sugar?” Julia says. “Stop her from doing what?”
    “Mr. Lawson, he’s not there. He’s not watching from the driveway.”
    Julia leans around Arie to get a better view out the window, but Arie pushes her away.
    “Get Uncle Bill,” she says. “Get him now. Tell him to stop Mrs. Lawson.”
    “You need to calm down. Get yourself in bed, and I’ll go see to her.”
    Arie dashes past Julia.
    “Arie,” Julia says. “Don’t wake Uncle Bill. I’ll go. I’ll see to it she gets home.”
    Arie stops at the door, one hand on the knob. “No,” she says. “I don’t want you to. Uncle Bill has to go. Uncle Bill.”
    “What’s wrong with you, Arie?” Izzy says, dropping on her bed, bouncing once and coming to rest against her headboard.
    Arie leans into the hallway. “Uncle Bill,” she shouts. “Uncle Bill. Uncle Bill.”
    Julia rushes across the room. “Arie, hush. What on earth has ruffled your feathers?”
    Pulling away from Julia, Arie jumps into the hallway. “Uncle Bill, hurry. Uncle Bill.”
    Bill appears in the threshold leading to his and Julia’s bedroom. He stretches his eyes open and struggles to thread a second arm through his shirt.
    “Go, Uncle Bill. Hurry.” Arie lunges for Bill and pushes him toward the stairs. “Go get Mrs. Lawson. Go stop her.”
    Bill looks at Julia over Arie’s head and Julia lifts both hands in the air, palms up, to signal she doesn’t know what to tell him.
    When Bill reaches the bottom of the stairway, Arie runs back into the bedroom. Julia follows and together they watch out the window. One story down, Bill appears on the sidewalk. As he walks toward the street, he buttons his shirt and looks up and down Alder. At the end of the sidewalk, he lifts a hand and says something, though from the second-story window, they can’t hear.
    “There,” Julia says, pointing toward the street. “See there. Do you see? That’s Mr. Lawson. He’s right where he always is, keeping an eye. See that? He’s in his undershirt and shorts.” Julia starts to laugh but Arie’s eyes shine like she’s about ready to cry. “Mrs. Lawson is safe, Arie. Safe and sound. She’s on her way home already.”
    Arie dips her head until she can see Mr. Lawson and doesn’t move until Betty and the baby have returned to their own driveway.
    “Is everything all right now?” Julia says. “Ready for bed?”
    Instead of bouncing onto her mattress like her sister, Arie slides under the sheets and lies stiffly while Julia pulls up the covers and tucks them in around her.
    “You’ll sleep well?” Julia says, smoothing Arie’s hair off her face and kissing each cheek. At Izzy’s bed, Julia does the same. Bill appears in the doorway, leans there but says nothing. “I have early rhubarb in the refrigerator. Pink and sweet. You girls can mix up your pie tomorrow. Something fun to do while Uncle Bill and I are at the church.” Looking down on Izzy, she says, “There has to be something you’re not telling me. Did you two behave today?”
    “I didn’t do anything,” Izzy says, folding her arms and kicking off her sheets and covers. “It’s not my fault she’s completely bats.”
    “You sure do favor your mama when you talk like that,” Julia says, and then is sorry for it.
    Izzy rolls away at the mention of Sara, Julia’s sister. All the girls know of their mother is what they see when they look at Julia.
    Julia switches off the lamp and, outside the girls’ door, cuts out the hallway light. She pulls the door halfway closed and says, “Remember, pie in the morning.”
    “Aunt Julia,” Arie says. It’s Arie because Izzy won’t speak to Julia until morning, not after the mention of Sara.
    “Yes, sugar.”
    Arie pulls loose of the tightly tucked covers