Molly and the Great American Family by Cynthia Baxter

Author:Cynthia Baxter [Baxter, Cynthia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult Fiction
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 1994-09-05T04:00:00+00:00

* * * *

By the time we’d had dinner, spirits at the Wither-spoon household were a bit higher. Over pigs in blankets, Ralph’s favorite, Emma and I had managed to convince Lizzie that, sooner or later, she would find a career that utilized all her talents. Even Ralph joined in the conversation, probably heartened by both the opportunity to think about something besides her own problems and the chance to eat hot dogs wrapped in little sleeping bags made out of cheese and biscuit dough.

Afterward the five of us decided to take a break from our usual weeknight activities: homework for us four younger Witherspoons, looking for a job for Lizzie. We built a fire in the fireplace and sat in the living room. It was peaceful, all of us simply being together, putting aside our troubles and spending some time being a family.

Suddenly Emma glanced up from the cat shapes she was cutting out of black construction paper. Her party invitations were coming along nicely, especially since her assistant, Clementine, was an expert at glueing on little eyes that actually moved. “How about playing the trivia game?”

“That’s a great idea!” I exclaimed, mainly because I happen to be very good at it.

“I’ll get the board.” Ralph made a mad dash for the hall closet.

“Can I play?” Clementine asked. At the moment she had five tiny eyes glued onto her right hand, one on each fingertip. My little sister looked like a creature from another galaxy. At least, her hand did.

“You can watch,” Emma told her gently, “and you can help me out. But I think you’re still too little to play this game.”

Clementine screwed up her face as if she were about to cry. But instead, she went back to the task she’d just started: glueing a row of eyes onto the fingers of her left hand.

“Okay,” I began, picking up a card after we’d gotten the game rolling. “This trivia question is for Emma. ‘What kind of black-and-white oxford-style shoes were popular in the 1950s?’ ”

“That’s easy!” Emma replied. “Saddle shoes.”

“That’s not fair,” Lizzie insisted. “Emma actually owns saddle shoes.”

“The luck of the draw,” Emma insisted.

“My turn!” said Ralph. “Ask me a question, Emma.”

“All right. Let’s see….‘What sport uses the term love?’ ”

“Piece of cake. That’s tennis.”

“Okay, Ralph. It’s your turn to ask Molly a question,” Lizzie prompted.

“She’ll get this one, no sweat. ‘What symbol of the Revolutionary War is Philadelphia’s most popular attraction?’ ”

I was about to answer “The Liberty Bell,” when the doorbell rang.

“A psychic experience!” Emma cried, scrambling to her feet. “I’ll get it.”

Ralph wasn’t far behind. “Not if I get there first!”

“Maybe I’ll believe that if it’s a tennis player,” I muttered. “One who’s wearing saddle shoes.”

“But it’s my turn!” Lizzie protested.

“I’ll go ahead and ask you your question,” I said.

Ralph had already returned. “Hey, it’s Ev!”

“Hi, Ev,” I greeted him offhandedly. “Okay, Lizzie. Here’s your question—”

“Hello, Lizzie.” Ev had come over and stood right in front of her. His eyes were glued to her face.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.