Walking with Miss Millie by Tamara Bundy

Author:Tamara Bundy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2017-05-19T14:48:58+00:00

chapter 15

“You been in a fight, Alice-girl?” Miss Millie whistled through her teeth when she saw my scraped knee, elbow and chin.

“Yeah,” I answered, standing at her back door. “I got in a fight with the road.”

“Looks like the road might a won that round.” She smiled but not a big smile. “You okay? We don’t have to walk today if it hurts ya.”

“So this must be Alice!” I heard a voice yell from inside Miss Millie’s house. This pretty much surprised me. I only pictured Miss Millie with Clarence—and now me. I guess I didn’t really think of her having her own life with friends who stopped by.

“This here lady is Miss Frankie,” Miss Millie explained when her friend came to the door. I remembered then that Miss Frankie was the lady on the other end of the party line whose gossip got me to Miss Millie’s in the first place.

“Nice to meet you,” I said, remembering my manners.

“Pleasure is mine, sweet girl! Pleasure is all mine!” Her voice was twice as loud as Miss Millie’s. And she was twice Miss Millie’s size, too. The difference in the two friends’ size made me smile.

Turning back to Miss Millie, I offered, “If you have company, I can come back later.”

Miss Millie laughed. “Miss Frankie’s not company. She just stopped by to drop off my cake pan. ’Course she only returns my food containers hopin’ I’m gonna fill ’em back up for her with more of my food.” She winked at me and smiled at her friend.

Miss Frankie opened her mouth in an exaggerated expression of shock. “Humph!” she said. “Cake needed more salt, if ya ask me.” Miss Millie laughed at her friend, who blew her a kiss. “I’m just trying to help ya get that recipe perfect.” And before she left she added, “Sure have a hankering for some sweet potato pie, if anybody cares . . .”

Miss Millie shook her head as she turned back to me, eyeing my cuts and scratches again. “Maybe you should rest today.”

I was touched at her worry on my account, but promised I’d be fine and we started in on our usual walk. It’s funny how much I’d started to look forward to my walks with Clarence and Miss Millie. Being with them just seemed natural, but I wondered if we made as funny-looking a pair as Miss Millie and Miss Frankie, and if it even mattered.

Lately, I’d been really missing my friend Linda. We promised each other we’d write. I wrote her. Twice. But so far, there weren’t any letters from her.

Or anyone.

Maybe it was time to think about making friends here since Grandma didn’t seem to be getting any better. Pam was nice—the way she helped me with the bike accident and everything—but I didn’t know if that made her my friend. Plus, she was closer to Eddie’s age. Was there even anyone here in Rainbow to be friends with?

As we walked past the church, I looked over at Miss Millie and said, “Can I ask you a question?”

She looked straight ahead as she answered.

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