Beware False Profits by Richards Emilie

Author:Richards, Emilie [Richards, Emilie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2007-02-12T13:00:00+00:00

11

The next morning I felt perky enough to get up early and greet the girls with banana pancakes. As an apology for sleeping late the day before I even topped them with butter and real maple syrup.

I was also anxious to talk to Teddy. Starting about three yesterday afternoon chaos had reigned in the Sloan–Wilcox household. Deena’s transportation to her riding lessons fell through. Since I much prefer she hang out with horses than boys, I dragged myself to the car and drove my daughter and three friends out into the country.

The trip back might have been a good time to quiz my youngest daughter about her long face, except Teddy asked me to drop her off at the Victorian with Junie to help plant the hardiest annuals in the front beds.

By the time I picked up Ed at the college and everyone else got home, ate dinner, and began homework, our washing machine hose sprang a leak and flooded the basement. Unfortunately, thirty minutes before, Ed had headed for the hospital to make a pastoral call. The girls, Junie, and I bailed and mopped and by then, nobody was in the mood for a serious conversation.

Maybe it was Junie’s tea, but this morning I was up for doing some gentle probing. And I was hoping a bit later I might be up for a tête-à-tête with Roussos, too. I wasn’t at all sure one subject would be easier to crack than the other. Teddy keeps a lot to herself. If she isn’t ready to share, neither thumbscrews nor promises of her very own pony can make her talk. Not that I have direct evidence. Since I have no teenagers, thumbscrews aren’t at this time part of my parental repertoire.

Deena arrived first. Today she wore turquoise, a sparkly T-shirt with a bold orange Z blazed across it, and knee-length pants with the same Z on the pocket. Sid sent the outfit for her birthday, and Deena likes it so well I’ve been afraid she might never risk putting it on.

“I like your hair that way,” I said. She had twisted shoulder-length locks on both sides and fastened them in the back with a gold barrette. Last month she asked to have her ears pierced, and we agreed that if she still wanted this at Christmastime, that would be one of her presents. I imagined there were a thousand similar queries in my future, most a lot more troubling.

“Can Tyler come over and do homework with me some time?”

There it was, out in the open. I couldn’t believe my luck. “You seem like good friends.”

“Not good friends. Friends.”

I heard the warning note in her voice. If I went any further, the conversation would be shut down.

Teddy arrived to defuse the tension. Unlike her sister, Teddy looked as if she had dug through Junie’s rummage sale finds for her outfit. She wore purple corduroy pants that were too short and an old flannel pajama top. The only shoes downstairs were chartreuse rubber rain boots.

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