The Truth about Las Mariposas by Ofelia Dumas Lachtman

Author:Ofelia Dumas Lachtman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arte Público Press
Published: 2007-11-11T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

“You!” Deb snarled. “How dare you attack me!”

“Easy,” Caro answered quickly. “You came sneaking out of the cellar like a bandit and made a beeline for me. When someone comes at me that way, I don’t stop to ask questions.”

“A beeline for you? I didn’t even know you were there.”

“Sure. And I was supposed to know that?”

Deb pushed herself up off the ground, brushed herself off and said, “What were you going to do if you hadn’t recognized me? Beat me up?”

“Sure. Probably. You sounded like an easy mark.”

“Is that so?” Deb said with a toss of her red curls. “You might‘ve been surprised.”

They glared at each other for a long moment and then, as if on cue, they both burst out laughing.

“I don’t know what’s so funny,” Deb said, the whine returning to her voice. “I’ve been cooped up in that moldy cellar for hours and I’m starving.”

“What were you doing there? Did you get locked in?”

“Nobody locked me in. I just didn’t want anyone to know I’d been in there. So I had to wait till everybody was gone.” She pressed her lips into a thin line, shook her head and added, “Only you weren’t gone.”

“So what were you doing down there?”

Deb ignored her. “I’m going,” she said. “I’m starving, remember?”

“Hold everything!” Caro cried. “You were breaking and entering. That’s against the law. My aunt will want to know why.”

“Don’t tell Mattie,” Deb said. “Please. Why would you want to do that?”

“Oh, come on now. It’s obvious. What were you doing there?”

Deb drew in her breath and let it out slowly. “If I tell you, you can’t tell Mattie. Promise.”

“Holy cheese, Deb! Promise? How can I promise anything until I know what you’re talking about?”

“I wasn’t doing anything bad in the cellar. Honest. I was just looking for something.”

“In the cellar? What?”

“I can’t tell you that. I promised Brad.” Deb’s voice broke on the last syllable and started to cry.

Caro stared at her. Why did I ever think she was tough? “Hey,” she said, “I just remembered. We have some great oatmeal cookies left over from lunch. Would you like some?”

Deb brushed a tear from her cheek. “Would I ever. Angela’s oatmeal cookies. Where? Where are they?”

Six plump cookies were left on the paper plate under the elm, and it wasn’t until Deb had devoured four of them that she spoke again. “Thanks. I guess I’ll live.” She leaned back in the chair. Finally, she said, “It was probably pretty stupid to go prowling around like that, but … You know what? I gotta get going.” She jumped up and just as quickly sat down again. “Maybe I should talk to someone.”

Caro clamped her mouth shut on the words that were ready to tumble out of her, “Sure. Go ahead. It’ll do you good to talk.” Deb wanted to say something, but it was clear that advice, well-intentioned or not, would turn her off.

“I … I promised Brad,” she said finally. “He didn’t want anyone else to know.

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.