Page 122 - My FlipBook

L IS A J. L A W R E N C E

Greta said hello and Ash nodded as they slipped into their
chairs.
Then it got quiet. No one spoke for a while, besides the
odd comment from Alice, like “You feed freeloaders well,
Dad” or “This tastes great—just lacking a little shame is all.”
Greta noticed Ash gripping his fork like a caveman discov-
ering utensils for the first time. But he followed Greta’s rules
and didn’t speak.

Then Elgin cleared his throat. “I think we should talk
about this…situation.”
And Alice talked. “Any jobs yet?” They shook their heads.
“How convenient.”
“We’re trying,” Greta said, breaking her own rule.
“You’re obviously not trying hard enough. Have you even
made résumés? You know you have to apply for more than ADVANCE READING COPY

one job, right?”
Ash glowered over his lamb kebabs. “Really? I thought
people would come knock on our door and offer us jobs.”
“You think you’re funny? You think this is funny?”
“Okay, okay.” Elgin waved his hands to calm them. “I’m
sure something will work out soon.”
Now Greta gripped her fork too and shot Ash a look. The
more he talked, the more she wanted to kill Alice. Stop it.
“For your information,” Ash said, ignoring Greta, “we

do a lot to earn our way here, like grocery shopping, snow
shoveling and cleaning.”
“And how exactly is that helping me?” Alice snapped.

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