Alice Bliss - Laura Harrington [63]
“I like it in here.”
“Me, too.”
“I wish you could drive it.”
“That would be cool.”
“Maybe one day.”
“When Dad gets back.”
“I heard on the radio, in the car, with Janna’s mom . . .”
“Don’t listen to the radio.”
“Car bombs and casualties. They give the numbers but not the names.”
“That’s in case the families don’t know yet.”
“Do you know, Alice?”
“Do I know what?”
“Is Daddy still alive?”
“Yes, he is.”
“You’re just saying that. Like if I asked you is there really a Santa Claus.”
“Ellie . . .”
“But you don’t really know, do you?”
“Nobody knows. But that’s what I believe.”
“Honest?”
“Honest.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“I wish we could just drive over there and pick him up.”
“Yeah! A couple of oceans and nine thousand miles, but yeah . . .”
“Today. Right now. I wish we could—”
“Me, too.”
Alice puts her arm around Ellie.
“Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Just close your eyes,” Alice says, closing her own eyes. “Now breathe in,” she says. “What do you smell?”
“Oil.”
“Try again.”
“That nasty tarp.”
“Yeah. What else?”
Ellie wrinkles her nose. Alice waits.
“Daddy.”
April 26th
Angie had not been as freaked out by Alice getting suspended as Alice thought she would be. She even talked to the principal, she even defended Alice, and they agreed to reduce her suspension from two days to one. Alice has had to write a lengthy apology to Jennifer White and her parents, and Mr. Brooks, and Mr. Fisher. She is also now a provisional member of the track team. Sort of like being on probation. If she has another infraction, she’s off the team.
So she’s back in school. Not so great. And back on the team. Much better. Ginger, Alice now knows, is the team’s long-distance star, and for some unknown reason she has taken Alice under her wing.
At the start of practice, Ginger hands her a polypro T-shirt.
“This will keep you warmer. And cooler. And drier.”
“Wow. Thanks,” Alice says, pulling the T-shirt over her head.
Ginger hands her a pair of socks.
“Try these. They’re the best I’ve found.”
“Hey, I can’t take all this stuff.”
“My mother’s a little compulsive in the shopping department. I have dozens.”
Alice hesitates.
“Really. Try ’em.”
Alice sits down in the grass to put on the socks.
“Hurry up!” Ginger is dancing around on the grass.
“Okay!”
“Let’s go!”
And Ginger is off with Alice in pursuit.
“Do you know the route?” Alice shouts at Ginger’s back.
“Pretty much.”
“And if we get lost?”
“It’ll be fun.”
Keeping up with Ginger is a tall order, but Alice is determined not to lose her as they make their way around the course through the Mendon Woods. Alice’s endurance is improving and so are her times. Running is the only place where she can forget what’s going on in the rest of her life. She loves falling into a rhythm, starting to know her reserve, and pushing it, the steady driving forward. She sings inside when she runs, sings like an airplane, like a motorcycle, like some kind of powerful engine, humming along.
She gets home after practice to find Gram in the kitchen, standing on the top step of the stepladder.
“Gram, I don’t think you should be on that ladder.”
“Well, look who’s here!”
Alice drops her backpack on the floor.
“What are you doing up there?”
“Where’s Ellie?”
“She’s coming a little later. They had band practice.”
“Band?”
“Yup.”
“She plays an instrument now?”
“The recorder. They all have recorders. You remember. You bought it for her.”
“I did?”
“In the fall.”
Alice hangs her jacket over one of the kitchen chairs.
“Hand me that piece of shelf paper.”
“What are you doing?”
“Cleaning out your mother’s shelves. They were . . .”
“A big mess. I know.”
“Lots of people don’t care about cupboards. Close the door, forget about it. I like to know they’re fresh. It’s a simple thing. A little lift in the spring.”
“I’m worried about you up on that ladder.”
“I’m fine.”
“You could cut the pieces and I could lay them down.”
“I am actually very skilled at this. After all these years. Good old Con-Tact paper.”
“Are you implying I’d make a mess of things?”
“Not