Chapter 132
The dog didn’t seem to like the idea of Jimmy going inside where he could no longer be petted, but Peggy assured him, Samson, he was called, that there’d be plenty of time for that later, and Frank held the door open as the boys followed Peggy inside, Janette behind them. “You’re welcome to come in, too,” Frank said to Jordan, but Elliott noticed him give a wave of his hand, though he was smiling, and he sat down on the hood of the Buick.
Peggy and Frank’s house was just as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. The living room was right inside the entryway. All the furniture was clean without a single hole anywhere to be seen. The floral print was lighter than the old, dirty couch at home, in shades of blue and white, and the reclining chair next to it looked like a great place to fall asleep listening to the radio.
Elliott walked around the corner, still holding Jimmy’s hand tightly and froze. There in front of them, on the floor, across from the couch, was a contraption he’d only heard about and never really seen with his own eyes. Until now. “Is that a….”
“Television set?” Frank finished. “It is. It’s brand new. We just got it a few months ago.”
“Wowee!” Jimmy exclaimed, letting go of Elliott’s hand and taking several steps toward it.
“Don’t touch it, honey,” Janette said.
Jimmy shook his head, as if to signal that he wouldn’t. He stared at the box for a long time, and Elliott couldn’t help but smile at the look of awe on his little brother’s face. From cockroaches to cheeseburgers to television sets. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all, even though he did think it was weird that Jordan wasn’t coming inside. There was something no one was telling them.
“Won’t you have a seat?” Peggy asked, offering a place on the couch. Elliott stepped over and grabbed Jimmy by the shoulder, pulling him away from the electrical box of wonders. He looked at the light colored sofa and then back at Peggy, who nodded that it was really okay for them to sit there, and Elliott sat down on the edge of it, afraid he might get it dirty with his old holey jeans. Jimmy sat down and scooted all the way back so his shoes were dangling off the end, the torn sole in the bottom of his right sneaker showing his sock. Even from here, his eyes didn’t wander far from the television.
Frank sat in the recliner, and Peggy perched on the arm while Janette took a seat on the other side of Jimmy. “We’ve been thinking about getting an additional sofa, a smaller one,” Peggy said apologetically, as if her house didn’t meet the brothers’ standards. No one said anything in return so she cleared her throat and said, “So… Jimmy, you’re in the first grade? Is that right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded, managing to look her way for a moment.
“He’s seven,” Elliott filled in for her. “And I’m twelve. I’m in sixth grade.” He almost started talking about his classes and his friends, but then he remembered he’d be going to a different school now. He ran a hand through his hair and tried not to think about that, especially not to think about Carla.
“Do you like school?” Frank asked. “Do you play any sports?”
“No, sir,” Elliott replied, and then realizing that might be misleading he said, “I mean, I do like school. Mostly. But I don’t play any sports. Yet. I was thinking about it, though.” He remembered Jordan’s comment that he should play football, and it sounded like a good idea to him. It might give him a chance to make some friends.
“And what about you, Jimmy? Do you like school?” Whenever Peggy looked at him, her smile broadened, as if he were the little boy she’d always wanted but never had.
“Yep,” he replied, running his tongue along his bottom lip and then staring back at the TV.
Elliott elbowed him, though not hard. “Say, ‘Yes, ma’am.’”
Jimmy groaned, more from the correction than the pain. “Yes, ma’am,” he snarled.
Peggy smiled awkwardly. “It’s okay,” she said. “We aren’t used to having children around, so we aren’t used to being called that.”
“You both have very good manners,” Frank remarked.
“So, uh, we were thinking… you could both have your own rooms, if you’d like. Or you could share if you’d rather.” Peggy offered a small smile, not sure what their reaction might be.
Elliott’s eyebrows shot up. “Our own rooms?” The thought of having his own personal space was more than he had dared to hope for.
“Can I have a television set in my room?” Jimmy asked.
All of the adults laughed as if he were the most adorable person ever to walk the face of the Earth. “I don’t think that would be a very good idea, but you could have a radio.”
“A radio?” Jimmy repeated, his face brightening. They didn’t even have a radio in their house anymore, not one that worked anyway.
“Me, too?” Elliott asked, excitement overtaking him.
“Sure. Now, Janette only called yesterday to tell us you were coming, and we don’t have a lot of clothing and toys or books for either of you yet, but now that you’re here, we could go into town tomorrow and see what we can find.”
“But tomorrow’s a school day,” Jimmy reminded them, and Elliott fought the urge to elbow him again.
“We know, but we thought you might spend the next couple of days here at the farm and then start school on Monday,” Frank explained.
“A four day weekend?” Elliott beamed. Things were getting better and better.
“Is that all right?” The cheering answered Peggy’s question pretty quickly.
“Well, then, why don’t we go upstairs and look at your new rooms?”
At Peggy’s suggestion, they all stood, but before they headed over to the stairwell, Janette said, “I think this is where I leave you, boys.”
“You’re not going to stay?” Jimmy asked, the excitement in his face falling away.
“No, I’m afraid not,” Janette replied, clasping her hands in front of her. “Jordan and I have to get back home. We have some work to take care of.” Her eyes flickered to Peggy, and there seemed to be another silent exchange there, before she was looking at Jimmy again, and then at Elliott.
As if their only lifeline against what could potentially be an awful decision was about to be cut off, Elliott and Jimmy looked at one another for a long while before Elliott decided it was okay. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt he could trust these people—all of them.
Saying, “Thank you for rescuing us from the hellhole that was our home for our entire lives and tearing us away from our horrific mother,” seemed out of line, so instead, Elliott said, “Thank you for the cheeseburgers, Ms. Janette.”
“And the ice cream,” Jimmy added.
“You’re quite welcome.” She smiled at them for a moment before stepping over and giving each of them a tight squeeze, messing up their hair, and then stepping toward the door.
Frank offered his hand. “Thank you, Janette.”
“You’re welcome. Call if you need anything.” She looked at Peggy, and the women nodded each other, another signal to Elliott that something wasn’t quite right, but he could hardly ask what was happening.
The sound of Janette’s footsteps echoed toward the door and Peggy repeated, “All right. Let’s head upstairs.”
Jimmy took off, but Elliott walked a little slower, still clutching the pillowcase. All of this seemed like a dream that was too good to be true, and even though he was happy for his little brother, he was pretty sure he was going to wake up soon enough. Things like this didn’t happen to kids like him. To Jimmy? Maybe. But the end of the day, all Elliott Sanderson deserved was a shitty mattress in a broken down home and a mother who thought he was trash. Accepting all of that was over now was the surest path to disappointment that ever existed.
