Pieces of the Heart by White Karen

Author:White, Karen [White, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2006-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

JEWEL CLOSED THE LID OF HER MOTHER’S TRUNK, CATCHING PART of the quilt in the latch. As she bent to lift the lid and clear the material, the door of the bedroom opened and her father stood there, his eyes widened in surprise. In fact, it was more than surprise. He looked as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said after a brief moment. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

She quickly faced him, her back to the trunk with the piece of quilt still hanging out of it. “Likewise.”

Slowly he stepped into the room. “For a moment I thought . . .” His words trailed away as if he were just realizing who he was speaking to.

“You thought I was Mama?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I guess I never really realized just how much you look like her until just a minute ago.” He laughed nervously and walked over to the windows, where the stack of unopened boxes still sat.

“What were you doing in here?”

She shrugged, trying to look casual. “Just hanging out. I’m still missing some of my books and was wondering if maybe they might be in one of these unopened boxes.”

She watched as his gaze strayed to the boxes with the still-intact packing tape stretched across the tops.

“Did you find anything?”

“What?” Her breath stuck in her throat.

“Your books. Did you find any of your books?”

“Oh. No.” Without turning around, she tried to pinch the quilt corner into the crease between the lid and the trunk. “Well, I gotta go.” She started moving toward the door but the guilt overtook her before her hand reached the knob. Mama had always told her that a lie was a lot like a hot dog in a microwave: If left alone, it just got bigger and bigger until it burst and made a real mess.

Jewel turned around and faced her dad again. “Sorry.”

He looked at her sharply. “For what?”

“For being in here. I came because I wanted to see what was in here and go through Mama’s things. I know you keep the door closed to keep me out, and I’m sorry that I trespassed.”

He sat down on the bare mattress on the bed frame and let out a heavy sigh and even tried a smile. “Actually, I kept it closed because I didn’t want you to be upset by seeing your mother’s things.” He looked down at his hands before looking up at her again. “I read you wrong a lot, don’t I?”

Jewel spotted the flash of white still dangling out of the trunk and quickly moved to it, putting herself between the quilt and her dad. “You could have asked, you know. And I would have told you that being with Mama’s things makes her a part of me again.” She thought for a moment, trying to think of words that would make him understand without hurting his feelings. “See, I thought you kept the door closed because you didn’t want to be reminded of her.”

He stared at her for a long moment as if seeing her for the first time.

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