Page 141 of Maple Mountain
“Yeah.”She nodded, her eyes dimming.“With my mom.This is her favorite movie.Washer favorite ...”
I glanced at Poet who mouthedshit.
A somber pall settled over the room.Hadley came back and glanced around, taking in the scene.Lenni’s upset face.The quiet.
“Who’s painting my toenails?”Hadley asked.
“I’m not getting near your feet,” Salem teased.
“You’re one to talk.You were the one who used to run around barefoot walking in creeks without shoes.Her feet were always cut up,” Hadley said to Lenni.
“And then I traded bare feet for heels,” Salem said with a wink.
“Ick, heels,” Poet said.
“Right?”Jane commented with a shake of her head.“I had to start wearing orthotics when I was about Lenni’s age.”
“What’s that?”Lenni asked as she stroked a hand down Mildred’s back.
“You go to the foot doctor and they take these molds of your feet and they make these shoe inserts,” Jane explained.“I have no arch.So, my feet roll inward.It caused a lot of knee problems when I played sports.”
“I used to have braces,” I announced.“All through high school.”
“But look at that smile now,” Poet said.
I beamed at Lenni, who mimicked my grin.
“You have pretty teeth,” I said, poking her tooth, causing her to laugh.“What color do you want your toes?”
“Can I do red?”she asked.
“No,” I said.“Not until you’re fifteen.”
“Why?”she asked in confusion.
“Because that was the rule my parents made for me,” I said with a shrug.“At the time I thought they were strict.Now I’m starting to understand.”
“Understand what?”Lenni asked.
“Understand that they had the hardest job in the world.”I tugged on a strand of Lenni’s hair.“So, pick another color.”
“I’m doing this one,” Jane said, holding up a bottle.“It’s pink, and it shimmers.”
“That sounds fun,” I said to Jane, taking the bottle from her and examining it.“What do you say, Len?You want to be matchy-matchy with me?Or are you too cool for that?”
“I’m too cool for a lot of things,” she informed me.“But yeah, we could be matchy-matchy.”
“It’s pink,” I reminded her.
She smiled.“I like pink.”
Hadley was conked out by the intermission of the movie and Salem struggled to keep her eyes open.Lenni was wired thanks to the sugar, so she helped Muddy clean up the remains of the ice cream bowls.
My phone buzzed somewhere from underneath Mildred.I had to roll her over to get it out from under her.She took that as a sign to show me her belly, her tail wagging.
I ran a hand down her chest as I read Archer’s text.
Archie
