Taking Terri Mueller Read Free Page B

anything interesting?”
    â€œMan on a pink horse,” she said, still a little snappy.
    â€œDid you see the sky?” He pointed. The sun was setting, huge, fiery red, with a band of pure green just above it. A strange sunset.
    â€œIt’s a sun show,” Phil said. “The greatest art on earth! Did you ever see anything like that?”
    â€œOnly about a thousand times.”
    He rolled his eyes. “Thirteen, and already a full-fledged skeptic.” He put his arm around her waist. “You go ahead, get those goldfish—”
    â€œNo, I don’t want them.”
    â€œA couple goldfish would be nice. They’d swim round and round all day, round and round and round and—”
    â€œAll right, all right.” She had to laugh.
    A few days later, while she was fixing lunch, the phone rang. She was surprised. It had been installed only the day before. “I bet it’s Daddy,” she said to Barkley, picking up the receiver.
    â€œHello—Terri?” a woman said. “This is Nancy Briet. Remember me?”
    â€œSure. Hi, how’d you get our phone number?”
    â€œYour father called me this morning.”
    â€œHe did?”
    â€œOh, sure, we’ve had quite a few nice little conversations these past couple weeks.” That was news to Terri. “Listen, I want you two to come to dinner. I promised, remember!”
    â€œHow’s Leif?” Terri said.
    â€œOh, super! I’m getting him enrolled in day care for the fall when I go back to school. Oh, boy, am I scared about that!” She gave a big laugh. “Listen, your father said check with you on a good day for dinner. How about Friday night?”
    â€œOkay,” Terri said.
    â€œCome hungry. I’m going to cook up a storm.”
    The Friday dinner went so well that on Sunday, Phil, Terri, Nancy, and Leif all drove out to a county park for a picnic. While Phil and Terri worked on the fire, Nancy played with Leif. “My leafy Leif, my little tree.”
    â€œNot a tree.”
    â€œOh, excuse me! You’re a branch.”
    â€œNot a branch!”
    â€œA twig?”
    â€œNo!”
    She picked him up and held his face to hers. “I know, you’re just my Leif.”
    â€œYou look like Madonna and Child,” Phil said.
    â€œWe do?” Nancy looked pleased.
    â€œMadonna in blue jeans,” Terri said, “and Child with mud on his nose.”
    â€œOh, Terri, you know how to help a woman keep her feet on the ground,” Nancy said. Later she was surprised to find out Terri’s age. “I thought sure, fourteen or fifteen.”
    â€œWhat’s the difference?” Phil said.
    â€œOh, a lot, Phil. A year at that age—? A lot .”
    â€œYou only thought I was older because I’m tall,” Terri said. She was almost always the tallest girl in her class.
    â€œNo, that isn’t really it.” Nancy turned to Phil. “There’s something about your daughter—I would call her very poised. She knows how to be around grown-ups, don’t you agree?”
    Terri wished they’d drop the subject. Maybe she appeared poised to Nancy, but what she felt was embarrassed to be talked about in that confidential way, as if she weren’t present.
    â€œLet me tell you,” Nancy said, “I’ve had girls Terri’s age babysitting Leif, and oh boy, they can be real little pains. Just so self-absorbed.”
    â€œWant to play, Leif?” Terri turned her back, but of course she could still hear Nancy and her father.
    â€œThat’s a very, very nice kid you’ve got there, Mr. Mueller.”
    â€œI like her.”
    â€œWell, I do, too!” Nancy said, but from the way she had been looking at Phil, Terri thought it was him she really liked. He did look very handsome and full of fun that day in Levi’s, sneakers, and a Mickey Mouse tee shirt that said, Don’t Mouse With Me.
    At first, Terri