Page 39 of The Payback Adventure
“Not as pretty as you, but you can have her.”
“Thank you.” Caitlin pointed at the swing. “What’s that?”
“A swing for a porch.”
“May I have this, please?” Abby held a science book, then noticed what they were discussing. “We used to have a porch swing. My mommy used to sit on it with us, and we’d wait for Daddy to come in from the fields.”
“What happened to the swing?” Henry asked.
“It fell apart after our parents went to heaven,” Abby said. “Elisabeth was so sad.”
Elisabeth always seemed a little sad, even when she smiled. Henry would fix that. She needed more in her life than working, cooking, and cleaning. She needed happiness, love, and a porch swing. “Do you think she would like this?”
Abby nodded.
Sam walked up with a comic book. “Can I get this?”
Caitlin grinned. “Henry’s buying a new porch swing.”
“That doesn’t look new to me.” Sam frowned. “It’s too old and beat up.”
“That will make it cheaper to buy.” Henry hoped the swing and the items the kids picked out were less than twenty dollars. He had his paycheck in his pocket, but he needed Elisabeth to cash it for him since he didn’t have his cell phone nor his bank card. “We can fix the swing so it looks brand new.”
Sam raised a brow. “Do you know how to do that?”
“No,” Henry admitted. “But between all of us, we can figure it out and surprise Elisabeth with it.”
The wariness in Sam’s eyes reminded Henry of Elisabeth. “Why would you buy her a swing?”
“Because it might make her smile.” He picked up the swing. “Let’s see if we can afford all this.”
They made their way to an older lady who the kids called Mrs. Showalter. Gray curls stuck out from the bright yellow bandanna she wore on her head. Big beaded earrings dangled from her ears. She wore a multicolored muumuu with large flowers on the fabric.
“How much is the porch swing, the doll, book, and comic?” Henry asked.
“We’re going to paint the swing and give it to my sister,” Caitlin added.
“That’s thoughtful, dear.” Mrs. Showalter added up the items on a small calculator. “Thirty dollars will cover everything.”
Too much. Henry had never bargained before. This was his first time looking at a price tag. But he didn’t want to disappoint the kids. “Fifteen.”
Mrs. Showalter narrowed her brown eyes. “Twenty-five.”
Still too high. He had one last shot. “Twenty.”
She nodded once. “Sold.”
The girls cheered. Sam mumbled, “Whatever,” but he grabbed his comic.
Henry handed over his twenty.
“You drive a hard bargain, young man,” Mrs. Showalter said.
Satisfaction flowed through him. He’d never felt so good buying gifts. “Thanks.”
Mrs. Showalter smiled. “No, thank you.”
The four of them stood around the newly purchased swing. Henry wasn’t sure what to do with it. “Now we have to figure out how to get the swing back to the farm and refinish it without Elisabeth finding out.”
