The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns by Elizabeth Leiknes

Author:Elizabeth Leiknes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bancroft Press

Chapter Eighteen

When I got to Maggie’s house, she wasn’t quite ready, so Finn and I shared some cookies and milk.

He seemed excited. “I looked up Teddy Nightingale’s birthday. . . in The Magic of Birthdays Book. Wanna see?”

His index finger acted like a bookmark.

“Sure, let’s read it together.”

“Breaking free of your past will be your biggest challenge in life.” Yeah, you and me both, Teddy. The last sentence was interesting: “There is an old adage that says, ‘As ye give, so ye shall receive.’”

With a milk moustache in place, Finn asked what I knew he would. “What’s that last sentence mean?”

“It means you have to give in order to get back.”

A blank stare looked back at me.

I tried again. “It’s like that good feeling you get when you give someone a gift. You’re giving, therefore you’re receiving.”

He giggled. “We should just give out hundreds of presents to people, and then we’d get all sorts of stuff back.”

I broke off a piece of the last cookie, and handed it to him. “It’s not quite that easy, Finn. A real gift is one where you don’t expect anything in return. To be pure, it has to come from the heart.”

By the middle of that last observation, he’d lost interest, and I couldn’t blame him. Finn jumped up to get his coat and whispered, “I forgot to tell you. My friend Justin—the one I thought I’d sent away—had chicken pox. He came back to school yesterday.” I smiled and gave him a squeeze.

“Lucy,” Maggie said, coming down the stairs, “did you hear about Olivia Jakes? Word is she left her husband a note saying she wasn’t cut out to be married, and just took off. She’s been gone since last week.”

“Wow. Her husband’s cute. Maybe I should call him.”

“Lucy!”

“Just kidding. Hey, how’s Karen Lowry doing?”

“Oh, I can’t believe I forgot to tell you the good news. She’s pregnant! Isn’t that great?”

All was right on Sage Street.

Maggie grabbed her keys. “Okay, kiddo. What are we going to do downtown?”

After I told her, she looked at me with raised eyebrows. It was fun seeing her try to be politically correct.

“Lucy, God knows I don’t believe in sheltering Finn, but. . .” she began to whisper. “He’s only eight!”

I tried to rally. “Come on, Maggie. It’s never too early to teach him about tolerance.”

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