Finding Madelyn (5 page)

“You sleep on the sofa?”

“Well yeah, I don’t have a bed and the floor is too hard.”
She frowned and rubbed her bottom.

“So what do you do for fun?”

She shrugged.

“No brothers?”

“No sisters
,
either.”

He imagined life without Harland and smiled.

“We could go down to the library and read.” Her eyes grew and it occurred to him they’d never gone to the library. “Do you know how to read?”

“Me and Mama read every night from the Bible. She says it’s the only book I ever need to read.”

“One book?”

She shrugged,
“It’s the only one we have.”

He jumped up from the floor and dragged her along, downstairs, through the parlor, and into the library. She stopped just inside the door.

He picked out three books from the shelves that were his and Harland’s. Then headed back out the door, having to back step to drag her along.

“You don’t read in there?”
She was trying to look back as he pulled her along.

“Mama says we can’t ‘cause me and Harland get to playing and end up breaking something. So
,
we get a book and go to our rooms or wherever with them.”

She nodded.

In his room, he climbed into the window seat where he could watch for the rain to go away and she followed. He opened the book using their knees to hold it open so they both could see.

“The Sea Hare,” Galen began.

And they spent at least one hour every time she was there reading in his window seat. The stories changed, Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew, even fairytales. The only thing that didn’t change was the way she listened and caught on to the words herself.



“I can’t play, Galen.”
Standing in the backyard, s
he poured more hot water in the bucket of soap.

“What do you mean you can’t? We’re all going down to the river.” It was the summer he turned thirteen.

“Mama says I have to start working. That I can’t b
e running around with you this summer.”

Six years she’d done just that. They’d played baseball, read in the window, and explored the town. This year his mama told him they could go to the river with Harland when his brother wasn’t at Daddy’s office.

“Well you’re too young to be working.”

“I am not.” She dropped the sheets in the bucket. “Most of the kids out by me were working last year. I’ve been working with Mama for weeks now. She’s talking abou
t working here more since you all
are getting older and picking up jobs around town
,
too.”

“We’ll see. I’ll just go tell Mama.”

“She already knows.” She called toward him as he went in the back door.

Thirty minutes he’d tried. Thirty minutes he failed.

“Galen, I can’t make her mama let her go. She has to do right by what Maddy needs. In a few years she’s going to be marrying age and she will have to know certain things.” His mother was no help.

Marrying age? She was only eleven. They couldn’t already be thinking of giving her to some guy. Of course, several of the g
irls from around the street had been acting funny. He was thankful it was mostly toward Harland.

He pulled his bike from the garage, watching her use a step stool to hang the sheets she’d washed.
Most girls weren’t Maddy
.



Galen called down to the fro
nt desk.

“Local calls
,
only.”

He didn’t laugh, “What time does the diner close?”

“Eight sharp.”

“Thank you.” He hung up.

Twenty minutes until she locked up. He wanted to be the last person in there.

He walked down at five minutes until eight, ignoring the little old man laughing behind the counter.

“She’s gonna slap you
,
yet.”

The wind whipped around the building as he hurried along. This time when the bell jingled over the door, no one looked at him odd. There was no big lug that wanted to smash in his head as he took the same seat
he’d eaten in this afternoon
. The waitress, Paula, even smiled at him. She walked to the serving window and knocked twice, the grin grew.

She sat down a glass of water for him and went back to the window in time to pick up a plate of food that appeared by Maddy’s unseen hands. She set it in front of him and leaned on the counter.

“Galen, huh?” Paula winked.

Before he could say anything, a loud bang came from the kitchen and Paula turned on her heals. There was a look exchanged through the window and the girl retreated to wipe down empty tables. The last table cleared out before he finished and Paula locked the doors behind them.

He finished the last of the potatoes that were with the pork chop and Paula grabbed his plate, setting down coffee.

“Thanks.”

Another bang came from the kitchen. Paula didn’t jump so high this time but did report to the hole in the wall. 

“Go home,” Maddy
’s voice carried
.

Paula started to open her mouth.

“Full pay until your normal time.”

“Fine by me.” Paula took off the apron, exchanging it at the door for a coat. The door locked behind her.

He sipped the coffee, listening to her bang around in the kitchen. Slowly he drained the cup, and then slipped b
ehind the counter to refill it because there was no way he was asking her to do it.

Trying not to make a sound, he looked through the hole in the wall, watched her toss things around. She was tense, her back rigid, and she seemed to be mumbling to herself. Some things never change.

He set his coffee in the window and rolled up his sleeves as he walked through the door. The spatula came flying and he ducked before it hit him.

“Get out of my kitchen.”

“I figured if I help, you would get done quicker.”

“I don’t need help, Galen.”

He picked up the spatula and tossed it in the sink. “You might not need it but I’m offering just the same. What can I do?”

“You can go home.” She drained the water from two sinks on the side
wall.

“Already said I can’t do that. I meant it.”

“What am I supposed to do?”
She turned to look at him,
her eyes wide.

“Tell me what happened.”

She shook her head. “Not now.”

“Why not?” He raised his voice.

“I’ve had kind of a hard day. Having a ghost walk in on you is a little . . .”
She stopped and leaned against the
sink
. Her eyes closed and she looked to be praying.

“You really thought I was dead?”

“Three years is a long time.”
Came out nice and calm.

“It’s not like I could send you letters.”

“Well you’re not going to blame that on me.” She
was back to being shrill, then
pushed off the sink and went past him into the diner.

“I didn’t blame you,” he barked back. “What was I to think when I came home and you weren’t there? When Harland told me you ran off with the payroll? When . . .” He stopped this time.

“When he told you I ran out on
his
engagement?” She stopped moving.

“Yeah.”

“I heard about Kate, too. I’m sorry.”

He took a deep breath,
“Thank you.”

“I close the diner on Saturday and Sunday this time of year. Come by Saturday and we’ll talk.”



Before the breakfast crowd was done on Friday, Maddy had dropped three dishes, two spatulas, and one cast iron skillet that just missed her toes. Her mind was too busy trying to figure out what to tell Frank about Galen, and what to tell Galen about an
ything, to worry about washing extra dishes, or smash
ing
toes.

Galen sat down where he could see her through the window. She kicked the onion she dropped at the sight of him across the kitchen and picked up another. At least Frank had stayed away this morning, thus far.

Darla gave him a soda today, and
his
blues twinkled like the last star over the ocean at sunrise. He looked through to her and she looked down at the grill.

She tossed on a hamburger with all the fixings. Then looked back through the window where he was still staring at her. This time she stared back.

So much filled her head. Far more than Frank. Far more than figuring out what to tell Galen. She could close her eyes and see him as he grew up.
Seven
years old with pudding on his chin from licking the bowl. Eight when he’d wrecked Harland’s bike because she was on his. His knee bled for an hour. Their first kiss.

She looked up and he was still watching her. His lips were full and she was delighted to know he hadn’t grown a mustache. The corners turned up and she wondered what shade of red she was turning. His lunch went into the window.

Those lips had inspired more than one romp through the woods. It was only right since that’s where it had started. However, the day as a whole had
resulted
in
that first
kiss
.



Her and Mama had left the Langley’s on time and didn’t hurry walking home. It was such a beautiful fall day. The leaves were changing color, the mums were out in full, and animals scurried across the road storing food for winter. They’d talked about th
e kids of the prominent neighborhoods. They’d talked about the Winter Dance and the possibility of her going this year.

“I’d have to have a new dress and that is too expensive.” Maddy objected, kicking a pebble up the hill.

“I’ve been saving for something special. If you want to go?”

“I’d love to go.” She quickly added. “But there has to be something else more important for the money.”

“You are important, baby.” Cassie wrapped an arm around Maddy’s shoulder.
Mama always knew what to say when she needed it.

“You’ve been working just as hard as me lately, too.” Cassie continued. “Think about what you want and we will see when we can go shopping.”

Maddy didn’t think she’d ever felt so good. A dance. One that most of the county would be at. She could dance, correction, she would dance. The possibilities made a smile that even her father’s foulest mood wouldn’t remove.

The moment she stepped on the porch, she proved that statement wrong.

Donald Murphy stood just shy of six foot. He wasn’t a tall man, he wasn’t muscular, he wasn’t outstanding at all
;
but he could scare Maddy with a look. His voice could send her crawling behind the couch, before she out grew the hiding space.
These days she always ran, didn’t matter where, just away.

Still, he was her father and
she loved him the same. S
he just didn’t receive much back in the way of love.

“Where have you been? What are you smiling about?” He pushed her down to the floor.

Cassie put herself between them. “Now, Donald stop that. She’s smiling ‘cause I told her she could go to the dance.”

“With all those boys there? I don’t think so.”

His voice grew louder. It had been a long time since she’d seen him like this.
He normally didn’t pay her any attention.
She slid her rear end down the stairs as quiet as she could without standing to make a larger target.

“We talked about this.” Cassie ran a hand down his arm.

“She’ll just end up ruining her life.”

“It’s her life to ruin.” Cassie’s voice stayed calm.

“I’m her father and I won’t allow it.”

Maddy could feel the tears pushing, her eyes stinging, but she held them back.
Only her heaving chest could give her away.

“Don’t you start talking like that.” Cassie pressed her finger into his chest to push her point. “She does without most things. She will have this.”

“Damn it, Cassie.” He grabbed up her arms. “You don’t understand boys.”

“You better believe I do. I’ve got you don’t I?” She yanked her arms out of his hands.

Maddy had seen this play out a few times. They argued, louder and louder by the minute until either Cassie walked away, or until he won. She’d never seen Cassie win an argument.

It was that simple. The smile was gone and there was nothing she could do about it. There would be no dance. There would be no spinning around the floor with a cute boy. There would be no beautiful dress.

The tears dropped like falling stars that she couldn’t swipe at as quickly as they were moving. If he saw her cry, it wou
ld be worse. She backed away fa
rther.