OCR Text |
Show Twisters . . . 90 I tried thinking about Mom and Ryan and what they'd be doing if they were spending the night in that big old store. Maybe the K Mart people had opened the cafeteria and were making pizza for everyone. I had a really crazy thought next. What if the K Mart was doomed to be our summer home? That might not be too bad! I pictured the video games and the over-size toy department, the aisle of kitchen things Mom always had to look at, those stacks and stacks of Pampers *•- hey, no more diapers to fold! K Mart would be a lot more interesting place to live than the armory. Then I remembered the armory had a basketball court and I couldn't decide which would be better. I opened my eyes to check on Stacey. I couldn't understand why she'd rather count some strange baby's toes than finish drinking her 7-Up. Wasn't she ever coming back7 I finally got up and went to the bathroom. I splashed my face and arms, took a big drink, then watched as the water pressure fell off right before my eyes. The stream reduced to a trickle, then stopped. I turned the faucet off, waited, tried it again. Nothing but drips. I had no way of knowing that would be my last drink of water for a long, long time. "The water's quit," I whispered to Stacey when I went back into the main room. "In the john, too?" she whispered back. The baby had fallen asleep in the big chair, Stacey was sitting on the floor, patting its grubby-looking undershirt, I shrugged, I hadn't thought to check the John. She gave me a grim look, sent me to tell the two mothers, who thanked me in whispers for the bad news. |