Bone's Gift by Angie Smibert

Author:Angie Smibert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
Published: 2018-05-05T04:00:00+00:00

17

DADDY LAID TWO SILVER HALF-DOLLARS on the kitchen table in front of Bone. She stopped shoveling oatmeal into her mouth. “Why ain’t … aren’t you at work?” It was Saturday, the last Saturday before he was supposed to leave, but it was still a workday. Daddy never missed work.

“What are they going to do? Fire me?” Daddy looked especially pleased with himself. “I’m playing hooky to take my best girl to the pictures.” He pushed one of the half-dollars toward Bone. On it, Lady Liberty was walking toward the sun.

Bone picked up the coin. She could feel the warmth of Daddy’s hand still on it—and she could see him carefully wiping off the coal dust and setting coins aside every payday just for her. The silver was made of coal, sweat, and love.

Bone slapped the coin down on the table and pushed it back toward Daddy. She was still mad at him. He was still leaving her, and with Aunt Mattie, of all people. He still hadn’t talked to Bone about it.

Daddy tapped the coin. “This should cover a matinee, some popcorn, and maybe even a chocolate soda at the drugstore.”

“In town?” Bone gulped down the oatmeal. “You mean a movie at the Lyric?” She’d never been to a real movie theater before. The mine showed movies during the summer on the croquet field and sometimes in the church hall during the winter. The pictures were at least six months behind what the folks in town saw.

“I borrowed Henry’s car. Go put on one of your school dresses.”

Bone raced up the stairs.

“What are we going to see?” Bone asked, climbing into the front seat of the big black Ford. She tugged on her yellow sweater over her blue and green plaid feed sack dress.

“You look nice, Laurel,” Daddy said before he threw the car into gear. “The main feature is some cartoon about a deer.”

“A deer?” Bone asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She’d been hoping for a Sherlock Holmes or another Katharine Hepburn movie.

“That’s what’s playing.” Daddy shrugged.

The car bumped down the gravel mine road, past the river, and onto the main road to town. Daddy seemed a million miles away as they wound through the hollows. Bone wanted to confront him about staying with Mattie. He’d said they’d talk about it. They hadn’t. At first Bone avoided him, and then he was busy with work or talking to Uncle Junior about work. And now … And now she didn’t want to spoil her first movie in a real movie theater.

“How ’bout some music?” Daddy asked.

Bone turned the dial until she found something. The twinkly sound of a piano answered by jazzy brass poured out of the radio. It was the kind of music you heard in movies.

“That’s Glenn Miller! ‘Pardon me, boys,’” Daddy crooned along with the music. Bone giggled. His voice was deep and scratchy, good, but like he hadn’t used it in years. By the time they pulled into town and parked

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