Ratfink by Marcia Thornton Jones

Author:Marcia Thornton Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US

15

Memory Snapshots

“You have to promise you won’t tell a soul,” I reminded Malik as we hurried to the park. “If Emily knew Grandpa danced like a chicken she’d call me Bird Brain until the day I died.”

“Just like she calls me Poop Head,” Malik said.

I grabbed Malik’s elbow. “You know it didn’t happen the way Emily said.”

Malik pulled his elbow away. “I know, but I still hate being called Poop Head.”

I couldn’t blame Malik. Fifth graders are mean. Once they latched onto a nickname, they wouldn’t let it go the same way a tick hangs onto a dog. That was exactly why I couldn’t let anyone at school find out about Grandpa.

It was getting dark fast, and the park had cleared out. The swings were empty.

No Grandpa.

“Maybe he’s watching people play tennis,” Malik said.

We headed for the courts where a bunch of teenagers were smacking tennis balls back and forth.

No Grandpa.

“How about the bleachers near the softball field?” Malik suggested.

We passed two teenagers cuddling on a bench. We were nearly to the field when Malik and I both spotted Grandpa.

He was sitting on the bleachers, alone. His shoulders were slumped and he looked much smaller than he really was. His eyes darted from the baseball field to the sidewalks to the empty pool. He had something in his hands that he kept turning over and over and over again.

“Grandpa?” I said when we got closer.

As soon as Grandpa saw me, his shoulders straightened and the two creases between his eyes disappeared. “Am I ever glad to see you, Charlie,” Grandpa said. I could tell he really meant it. After all, it had been at least three hours since the Tooth and Claw disaster. He would have been glad to see anyone.

Malik nodded to Grandpa. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Malone,” he said.

“You’ve been here?” I asked Grandpa. “The whole time?”

Grandpa twisted the thing in his hands some more, and I noticed it was one of the fish castles from the pet store. I knew he hadn’t paid for it, but I didn’t think it was the right time to mention it. “It wasn’t really that long to wait,” Grandpa said.

“Why didn’t you just go home?” I blurted. “It’s not that far.”

“Well, that’s the funny thing,” Grandpa said, only he didn’t sound like it was funny at all. “I couldn’t quite remember the streets to take. But don’t tell your mother that, okay?”

It was the first time he’d ever admitted that he needed help. “I have a feeling she already knows, Grandpa,” I told him. “We better get home.”

We walked home slowly. Grandpa kept holding his hip, and his face seemed to have more creases than before. Still, he tried to keep up a conversation with Malik and me.

“I would’ve headed home,” he was telling Malik. “But this is a new subdivision to me. All the houses look alike.”

We were passing a two-story house that looked like a barn. The one before it was a ranch. I didn’t bother to point out to Grandpa that they were very different because it wouldn’t have done any good.

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