Wish by Barbara O'Connor

Author:Barbara O'Connor
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780374302757
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Sixteen

“Guess what?” Bertha said when I got home. She reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out an envelope. “You got a letter from your daddy!”

“I did?” I stared at the envelope in her hand. That was Scrappy’s handwriting all right. Giant wiggly printing, like a first grader wrote it.

I put Wishbone’s leash on and took him out front. I sat in Gus’s lawn chair by the garden and stared down at the envelope.

Miss Charlie Reese

If Mama had sent me a letter (which she never would) she would have written Miss Charlemagne Reese to aggravate me. Then she would probably tell me goodbye because she was starting her new life without me.

I studied the envelope some more. Wake County Correctional Center was printed in the corner.

Well, now, that didn’t sound nearly as bad as county jail. I think folks in the county jail have to stay for a long time. But if Scrappy was just getting corrected, maybe that wouldn’t take too long.

I sniffed the envelope to see if I could smell his aftershave, but I couldn’t. I took out the folded notebook paper and smoothed it on my lap.

Dear Charlie,

It’s your old Scrappy pappy here saying hello and how are you?

I am fine.

This place is okay except for the lumpy gravy and lousy pillow.

Jackie came to visit and brought me Hershey bars and toothpaste.

I bet you are having fun with Gus and Bertha. Tell them I will send some money when I can.

Love,

Scrappy

I turned the paper over to see if there was more on the back.

Nope.

That was it.

I looked at the word love. I traced the letters with my finger. Then I folded the paper up and put it back in the envelope.

* * *

The next day, I was bored by lunchtime. I’d practiced sit and stay with Wishbone. I’d helped Bertha inspect the okra to figure out how many jars we’d need for pickling. I’d looked for four-leaf clovers over by the back porch, but I didn’t find one. Then I’d shared my peanut butter sandwich with Wishbone, and that was it. Nothing else to do.

So I figured I’d ride Lenny’s bike down to Howard’s. I hooked Wishbone’s leash on the handlebars and off we went.

When I got there, the Odoms’ house was buzzing like a beehive. Cotton was making something with sticks and rocks in the small square of shade next to the porch. Burl and Lenny were over in the driveway peering at the engine of Burl’s motorcycle. Every now and then, one of them would bang on something with a wrench. Dwight was tossing a basketball into the hoop on the streetlight pole at the edge of the yard. And Howard? I couldn’t believe what he was doing. A crossword puzzle! Sitting on that ratty couch on the porch doing a crossword puzzle. What kind of kid does that on the first day of summer?

“Hey,” he said, adjusting his glasses.

Wishbone jumped on the couch next to him and flopped over on his side, panting.

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