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Show Feppencint Konday She didn't have to. I did a fair job by myself. It was kind of nice to have her input now and again. "Tell him to enjoy it. Barton will only be here another week." It surprised me that Andrea thought Matt needed room to breathe. He seemed to like Renae hanging all over him. Grandma Ruby smiled her teenage smile and patted my frizzy curls. "Then you won't have much longer to put up with him. A week isn't so long." There's very few people that could get away with patting my head like a child. Besides Ruby, ma was probably the only other one. Ma knew how I felt about things like that too, and hadn't patted me for a year or more. Grandma knew how I felt too, but somehow she thought it didn't apply to her. I guess it didn't either, because I let her do it. Grandma Ruby was wrong again. With Barton around, the days dragged slowly. Renae was around a lot too, which made the long days miserable. I decided it was easier putting up with her hostility than her newfound friendship. We both knew it was a friendship for show, and I didn't know why she bothered. Barton wouldn't have cared what Renae thought of me, but I guess she was afraid to take the chance. On Tuesday she even ate school lunch with Andrea and me. I'd have just as soon had a meatloaf sandwich than to try and enjoy chicken salad with Renae. I noticed Andrea even seemed to lose her appetite, which was unusual. "Barton says his father will probably be the next Senator from Ohio. Isn't that exciting?" "Yes," I said truthfully. It would be exciting. I liked what little I knew about politics. I likedUncle William too. I liked chicken salad when it wasn't sticky and tasteless, like it was today. |
