The Big Dig by Lisa Harrington

Author:Lisa Harrington
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nimbus
Published: 2019-06-19T13:42:37+00:00

Lucy sat on the porch swing, pushing herself back and forth with her foot. She was on her second glass of real 2-percent milk from a carton. Yummy. She leaned her head back on the cushion, closed her eyes, and went over all the talk from the hole this morning. Why had she even opened this can of worms? Why hadn’t she just left the necklaces alone?

It was all too late now anyway.

The screen door squeaked open. “You need something to do,” Josie said. “Come help me.”

Oh no. Lucy’s shoulders slumped and her head fell forward. Lucy couldn’t begin to imagine what Josie would want her help with. She got off the swing and followed her inside.

In the kitchen, Josie pointed to the table. “Sit.”

Lucy sat.

Picking at the curling corner of a laminated Peggys Cove placemat, she watched Josie pull out a bunch of stuff from the cupboard and set it on the table. One thing was a rectangular metal contraption, similar in size to a shoebox lid. It was covered in a kind of rubbery cloth and had knobs on both ends. Beside it, a green tin of Export A tobacco and a flat cardboard box the size of a ruler with paper sticking out like Kleenex. Lastly, Josie added a dish of water, a razor blade, and a small sponge.

“Thought I would teach you how to roll cigarettes,” Josie said.

“Huh?”

“Just to make it clear, though. Don’t ever let me catch you smoking. Your father would kick my arse.”

Lucy just stared back, eyes wide.

“Okay now, pay attention.”

Oddly fascinated, Lucy watched as Josie laid the strip of paper in the rubbery thing, fitting it into an indent to make a long skinny trough, then she gently stuffed the trough with tobacco. After wiping the edge of the paper with the wet sponge and making it sticky, she turned the knobs on each end, causing the paper to roll around the tobacco, and voilà! A foot-long cigarette. Next she took the razor blade and cut the cigarette into four smaller ones. There were little slits in the machine to guide her cuts. She piled them to one side. “Your turn,” she said.

Lucy swallowed and pulled her chair in closer to the table.

“Go on,” Josie urged. “Give it a try.”

A few practice rolls later, Lucy was actually getting the hang of it.

“By the end of the summer, you’ll be an expert,” Josie said. “Keep going.” She picked up one of Lucy’s creations, lit it, and took a deep drag. “Excellent,” she said as she exhaled.

Lucy kept rolling. Josie did the stacking.

“You met Esther the other day,” Josie said. “What did you think?”

“She seemed nice.”

Josie nodded. “She’s a lovely girl.”

They worked in silence for a while, Lucy concentrating on perfecting the width of each cigarette so it was smooth with no bulges.

“What were they like, Esther and Mom?” Lucy asked after completing about a half dozen.

Josie didn’t answer. Lucy realized she’d forgotten to look up so Josie could see her mouth. She repeated the question.

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