The Prophet of Yonwood Read Free Page B

she stayed here a few days longer?
    I can live here real quietly, Amanda said. The dog jerked in her arms and tried to yelp. Even with him. Hes pretty quiet, usually.
    Whats his name?
    Otis. I found him a couple days ago out by the dump. I know he doesnt have no owner, because he didnt have a collar and he was real dirty. I washed him in the laundry sink.
    Nickie scratched the dog behind his small, pointed ears. He was a light-colored dog, a sort of strawberry blond, with round brown eyes. His fur grew in a way that made his face look like a ragged sunflower.
    From somewhere downstairs came Crystals voice. Nickie! Where are you?
    Nickie dashed into the hall and shouted down. Upstairs!
    Come on down! called her aunt. Lets get settled in.
    She went back into the bedroom. Okay, she said. I wont tell about you, but you have to be really quiet. Stuff some rags under the doorthis door and the hall door both. Ill try and keep my aunt from coming up here. If shes going to, Ill try to warn you.
    Oh, thank you, Amanda said. Thank you a lot. Its just for a couple days. Im looking for a job, and when I get one Ill find me a place of my own.
    Nickie nodded. Goodbye, she said, and she dashed back down the stairs.

    For dinner that night, they had tomato soup from a can Crystal found in a cupboard. They sat at the big dining room table and ate while the rain beat on the windows. On a pad of paper, Crystal started making a list of all the things shed have to do to get the house ready for sale:Call cleaning service. Call auction house. Call salvage place. Talk to lawyer. Call painters. Call plumbers. It was clear to Nickie that Crystal would be spending a lot of time on the phone.
    Crystal, Nickie said. I dont see anything so awful about Greenhaven. Why do you say its awful?
    Its huge and dark and impossible to clean. The kitchen is unspeakable. The plumbing is ancient. The whole place smells like mice. Thats just for a start.
    But it could be repaired, couldnt it?
    With great effort and expense. Crystal went back to her list.Schedule open house, she wrote. She tapped a long red fingernail on the table, thinking.
    Crystal wasnt exactly beautiful, but she always wore stylish clothes and fixed herself upnail polish, earrings, makeup. Her hair was a sort of streaky blondish color that required frequent visits to the beauty salon. Shed been married twice. First thered been Uncle Brent, and later thered been Uncle Brandon. Now there was no one, which was probably one reason Crystal was more snappish and impatient than usual.
    Crystal, said Nickie, if you could live in any kind of house, what kind would it be?
    Crystal looked up. She gazed at Nickie blankly for a second, her mind elsewhere. Then she said, Well, I can tell you what itwouldnt be. It wouldnt be an old pile like Greenhaven. And it wouldnt be a dinky, tacky little apartment like the one I live in now.
    What, then? said Nickie.
    A gracious house, said Crystal. Big rooms, big windows, a big garden. And She leaned forward and smiled a wry little smile. A nice big man to live in it with me.
    Nickie laughed. Anotherhusband? she said.
    The first two werent quite right, said Crystal.
    Would you want to have a dog?
    Adog ? Heavens no. Dogs ruin furniture.
    But if a dog just showed up and needed a home, would you keep it?
    Certainly not. It would go straight to the pound to wait for a happy life with someone else. She spooned up the last of her soup. Why are you asking about dogs?
    Just wondering, said Nickie, with a sinking heart. I like dogs.
    After dinner, Crystal went to take a bath and Nickie dashed up to the third floor. She tapped on the door of the nursery, and Amanda, in her pajamas, opened it. Otis stood on his hind legs to greet Nickie, and she hugged and petted him. Everything okay? she asked Amanda.
    Yeah, Amanda said. Im being real quiet.
    Good, said Nickie. Because I found out Crystal doesnt like dogs. We have to be extremely careful.
    Okay, said Amanda. Ill put him under the