Christina's Ghost by Betty Ren Wright

Author:Betty Ren Wright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Holiday House
Published: 1985-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

9.

A Faint, Smiling Figure

“Why does a tall man eat less than a short one?” Chris sat at the end of the pier and read the riddle in a loud voice. She flipped to the back of her paperback for the answer.

“Because he makes a little go a long way!” She twisted around, hoping to catch sight of little Russell Charles, but the shore was deserted.

“Why does a spider spin a web?” She paused. “Because she can’t knit!”

She giggled at the idea of a spider with eight knitting needles. And suddenly Russell was there, a faint, smiling figure under a tall birch. Almost at once he was gone, but Chris was thrilled. She’d made him appear. Her laughter had brought him.

Poor little kid. He’d had nobody to laugh with for years and years.

She started back to the house. On the way she picked some of the feathery blue flowers that grew in the tall grass edging the lawn. If she were going to bring sunshine into Uncle Ralph’s life, flowers might help.

The table was set—the blue bouquet, peanut butter, jelly, bread, tall glasses of milk—when Uncle Ralph came out of the study. He grunted, sat down, and opened his book.

“What do you think is worse than finding a juicy green worm in an apple, Uncle Ralph?” Chris had the paperback open on her lap.

Uncle Ralph looked up. “What kind of question is that?”

“It’s a riddle,” Chris explained. “You’re supposed to guess the answer.”

He thought for a minute and then shrugged. “I have no idea, Christina. Riddles aren’t my thing. Sorry.” He went back to his book.

“Half a worm,” Chris said.

He looked up again. “Half a worm what?”

“It’s worse to find half a worm in your apple than to find a whole one. If you find half of one, it means—”

Uncle Ralph groaned. “Yes, yes, I see what it means. Please don’t explain.”

Chris didn’t mind the groan. Everyone groaned at riddles. She glanced down at the paperback again. “Which is the left side of a round coconut cake?”

Now Uncle Ralph shook his head impatiently. “I told you, riddles aren’t my thing. And I’d really like to finish this chapter, if it’s okay with you.” He began reading without waiting for a reply.

Chris’s face felt hot. She made a double-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich and ate it fast. Bringing sunshine into Uncle Ralph’s life was a real pain.

She was leaving the kitchen when Uncle Ralph closed his book. He gestured at the jelly-glass bouquet. “You’d better throw out those weeds, Christina. They’ll soon start to smell.”

Weeds! She saw that the blue flowers had closed up tight in the last few minutes, leaving nothing but a cluster of stems. She grabbed the glass and emptied it out the back door, wishing she could punch someone.

She muttered to herself most of the afternoon. It took a long swim—to the point and back without stopping—to make her feel better. Let Uncle Ralph have his stuffy books, she decided. Let him be Mr. Sourpuss for the rest of his life, if that was what he wanted.

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