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Show Peppermint Monda; Chapter 10: The Resting Place It was amazing how empty the house was without Russ. He may have been almost helpless, a quiet kid, and only seven-years-old, but he had made our home alive. Russ was dead now and the house had died with him. There was a heavy silence everywhere. There was also a knot in my heart that wouldn't go away. Ma didn't tell us much about the way Russ died. She just said he had looked so quiet and peaceful she thought he was sleeping. I never looked in the casket because I wanted to remember Russ alive. I wanted to remember him sipping spagetti and doing his math. I wanted to remember him laughing, the way he had with Jake. Jake came the day Russ died. He talked to ma and pa for a minute, then left with the coon and Cheddar. Ma said the bird was too painful to have around. Jason and I would have liked to keep Cheddar, but I respected her wishes. Cheddar had seemed lost anyway. He knew Jake the best besides Russ, so it was probably better that way. I was reminded of Russ everywhere I looked, even without the eagle. The whole Carson family, including their grandma, came to offer their sympathy. Matt said something about what a great kid Russ was. I couldn't answer because my bottom lip was shaking too much to talk. I just stood next to him and listened, watching while his perfect curls blurred through my tears. Andrea didn't say anything, but I understood. She was probably going to write a poem about her feelings. It was easier for her to express herself that way. I wouldn't be able to understand what she had written, but at least she would feel better. Mr. and Mrs. Carson talked to pa and ma while the twins ran wild through the house. Their grandma did her best to |
