The Second Mother by Jenny Milchman

Author:Jenny Milchman [Milchman, Jenny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2020-04-07T15:56:11+00:00

Chapter Forty-One

Julie walked home with a sick feeling in her gut. She’d witnessed something ugly in Depot’s treatment at Peter’s hands, and yet the boy’s behavior hadn’t suggested any clear course of action, and her dog didn’t appear at all bothered. He and Julie were almost to the house when Depot began to bark wildly, leaping forward before circling back at a run.

“Okay, sure,” Julie told him. “You get to eat first.”

She had just started fishing around for the key when she saw a slight shadow sidle around the back of the house.

“Damn,” she muttered. How did Peter make it back here before she did, especially given Martha’s oversight? It was as though the boy had supernatural powers, some sleight of body that allowed him to Tesser himself or astrally project. “Peter?” Julie called, also beginning to run.

Ellie appeared from the other side of the house.

“Hi there,” she said, walking toward them. “I figured you might’ve gone out for a walk.”

“We had an errand to do first,” Julie called back. Ellie drew closer, and Julie felt herself begin to frown. “Are you okay, El?”

The nickname emerged unprompted. Ellie looked so small and vulnerable, distressed somehow, not like her usual devil-may-care, why-does-anyone-care self.

Ellie lifted one shoulder. “Not really.”

Julie reached out and took her friend’s hand. “Well, come inside.” Could this be about Callum? Had Ellie learned of their mutual drama at sea or, worse, tomorrow night’s dinner? “You can tell me all about it.”

Julie turned back, clicking her fingers so that Depot, who had to be starving, would get off his haunches and close the rest of the distance between himself and the house.

* * *

“I’m sorry I don’t have any wine,” Julie said, once she’d mixed Depot’s wet and dry and filled his water bowl. The dog seemed past the point of eating—tired enough that he simply headed over to his spot by the wall of windows and lay down—so Julie brought his meal to him in there. “But I was going to make some sandwiches.”

Ellie shrugged again. “That’s all right. I’m trying to cut down.” She tried to smile, but it was a pale ghost of her usual grin. “On wine, not sandwiches.”

“You are?” Julie asked, taking out bread and cheese.

Ellie stared at the counter. “I’m always trying to, but this time I got a wake-up call. Hopefully it will stick.” She looked up. “My mom was a drinker.”

Julie assembled two sandwiches and put them on plates, sliding one over to Ellie.

Ellie took a bite. “I think it was to cope with my father being out of the picture. You know—all those long days at sea. Seven days a week in the high season. The fish don’t take days off, as my dad used to say,” she added.

Her mood seemed to be restoring itself as she ate.

“My parents didn’t drink; they were sort of rule followers. My own father had one big rebellion, his choice of a job, but other than that he was by the book,” Julie said. She swallowed a hunk of cheese and bread, before taking a deep breath.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.