The Palace Thief by Ethan Canin

Author:Ethan Canin [Canin, Ethan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-58836-853-9
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2013-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

That weekend, in Columbus, Clive faced Ariel Sheshevsky for the state championship. Ariel was a slight, long-haired boy, with a leather headband in his hair and a derisive look to his features, and as soon as I saw him I knew he would be trouble. He looked like Clive. Both of them answered every question correctly, and although the lieutenant governor of Ohio laughed about this as he stood on stage at the end, holding the bronze plaque that my brother and Ariel would have to somehow split, our mother wept openly. In a moment Mrs. Cubano did too, and then, next to me, Sandra started as well, her tears cutting trails through the tiny flecks of glitter on her cheeks.

“It’s only a math prize,” I said.

It was those tears I recalled that same night, dropping through their delicate path, as I stood in the kitchen with our mother. She was mixing batter for victory cookies. “Sandra’s living in the basement,” I said.

She stopped mixing. “Boys will be boys,” she said.

I moved in front of her. “I mean, she’s been living there all year. She doesn’t go home. Her parents don’t know where she is. They don’t care. She lives behind the furnace.”

“Poor girl.”

“She lives behind our furnace.”

She dipped the spoon in the bowl, twirled it, and handed it to me coated with batter. “Sweetheart,” she said, “don’t you think I know about Sandra?”

“You know about her?”

“Of course. I’m no dummy, despite what your father thinks. Besides, I think it’s kind of romantic.”

“Dad knows too?”

“No, he doesn’t. And I don’t think you should tell him, either.”

I sat down, and she went back to mixing. “I want to ask you something,” she finally said. She didn’t look up from the bowl. “She’s his girlfriend, right?”

“Clive’s?”

“Yes.”

“You mean, are they exclusive or something?”

“Yes, that’s what I mean. Are they boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“Well, I don’t know. I guess so.” Then I said, “yes.”

“That’s what I thought. It’s fine with me if she wants to live in our house.”

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