A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano

Author:Ann Napolitano
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2011-06-10T00:00:00+00:00

They were in the guest room. Mrs. Whiteson called it the White Bedroom. She kept a bouquet of white flowers on the bedside table, even when no one was staying there. Joe always marveled at the room; no one else he knew had a room reserved for guests, yet the Whitesons had two. When his aunt or cousins visited, they slept in Joe’s bed, and he slept on the couch.

The bed had a white lace coverlet that Daisy Himmel had knit. Two matching lace doilies covered the pillows. A white quilt was folded at the bottom of the bed. On the bedside table, a black leather Bible and a small Tiffany lamp kept the flowers company. At the foot of the bed sat an antique wooden trunk. When Joe lifted the lid he was amazed to find it empty. “It’s for show,” Lona said. Joe shook his head. A trunk was intended for storage, or luggage. What did it show, if it was empty? He made a mental note to tell his mother about the white room, and the vacant trunk, the next time she needed to hear him talk.

They were working on the second set of curtains for this room. The first attempt had been lace, to match the coverlet. Lona had created a translucent white curtain, and then sewn the delicate lace onto the backing. It had been the most time-consuming of their endeavors, and when Joe hung the finished product, he was terrified he would rip or somehow sully it. He washed his hands three times before slowly sliding the fabric onto the rod. Lona assured him that it was sturdy, but the curtain looked like it might blow apart if he sneezed. It was beautiful, though. When he climbed down from the stepladder, he said to Lona, “Mrs. Whiteson will definitely love these.”

He was wrong. Cookie shook her head as soon as she saw them. Rose was perched on her hip—the baby looked slowly around the room, as if judging the scene alongside her mother. When her blue eyes fell on Joe, she studied him for a minute. Her mouth started to change shape. Joe watched, curious. He had almost no experience with babies. He found Rose very beautiful with her blond hair and bright eyes. She looked like a doll, although she didn’t act like one. When she cried, the noise practically shook the floorboards. When she wants something, Melvin had said once, over the noise, she wants it. The corners of her mouth turned upward, and Joe realized she was smiling. It was a big smile; it took over her round face. She bounced on her mother’s hip and waved her arms. She pushed the smile in his direction like she was offering a gift that would be impossible to reject or ignore.

“Hi,” he said, impressed.

“Quit squawking,” Cookie said in a gentle voice to her daughter. “I think it’s too much lace.” She wrinkled her nose.

Joe moved his gaze between the mother and baby. He enjoyed these reviews.

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