Summer of Love by Susan X. Meagher

Author:Susan X. Meagher [Meagher, Susan X.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780996677431
Amazon: B01CC1DH4K
Goodreads: 28818857
Publisher: Brisk Press
Published: 2016-03-29T03:00:00+00:00

***

After going to the snack bar to buy a PIC mosquito coil, they spent a minute trying to light it with just the cigarette lighter. “If I’d brought any grass, I’d have matches,” Courtney said, while trying to hold the thing still for Fritz.

“Mmm. My mom isn’t very savvy, but I’d hate to have her smell that stuff in the car.”

“You don’t mind her smelling this stuff?” Courtney waved her hand in front of her face when the coil caught and the acrid smell started to waft off it. “Can we put it on the back deck so it doesn’t actually kill us?”

“Fine by me.” Fritz turned and climbed over the seat, then got it set up. “You’re the one the mosquitos like.” She nearly kicked Courtney in the head on the way back, then pulled her arm close and peered at it in the waning light. “Two bites in ten minutes. Apparently the bugs think you’re as tasty as I do.”

“Take my mind off it,” Courtney said, scooting over until their legs were touching. “You’re really good at distracting me.”

“It’s not quite dark yet. Can we wait just a second?”

“No one’s looking at us. They’re all here for the same thing.”

Lights hit the rearview mirror, then a station wagon rumbled next to them and settled, beginning to spit as the guy tried to turn it off. Shivering and coughing, the huge car finally quieted, then the kids—God knew how many—started to whine and fight. A door opened, then a kid was at Courtney’s window. He was about six, with a copper-colored crew cut, a mass of freckles across his nose and cheeks, and a missing front tooth. He didn’t say a word, seemingly content to stare into strangers’ cars.

“What’s up, kid?” Courtney asked after shifting back to her side of the car.

“Nuthin’.”

His little sisters and brothers were having a tough time settling down, with both mother and father soothing and bribing. A sorrowful voice cried out for a Chilly Dilly, with the dad promising they’d get one after the first movie. The little boy looked at Courtney, clearly taken with her. “She’s not gonna get one,” he predicted. “They never buy us stuff, even when they say they will.”

Courtney couldn’t help how attractive she was, even to small boys, but Fritz was ready to tell junior to take a hike.

“Mickey,” his father hissed. “Leave those girls alone. Sorry, miss,” he said, adding an embarrassed smile for Courtney’s benefit.

“It’s all right. He’s not bothering us.”

“Do you have any pop?” the kid asked. “We don’t have nuthin’.”

“We don’t have anything but a mosquito coil,” Fritz said, leaning over Courtney to glare at the kid. “If you promise to get back into your car and stay there, you can have it.”

He stared at her for a few seconds, oblivious to Courtney giving her a gentle elbow to the ribs.

Silently rejecting her offer, he said, “I’m goin’ to the playground.” Then he took off, all by himself, seemingly not missed by his parents who were changing diapers and trying to get restive babies to sleep.

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