Chapter 24: Keep

On Saturday my mother's kitchen was too small for four people, and nobody cared.

Teddy sat on the counter, because there were only three chairs.

Opal sat in the best one with a slice of pie in front of her and her orange lipstick untouched.

"I've decided that I live here now," she said. "It's warmer than the penthouse."

"The radiator's broken," I said.

"Then it's warmer than the penthouse in spirit."

Dalton stood at the stove, stirring my mother's soup.

He held the wooden spoon.

He kept glancing at the radiator under the window.

It knocked once, loudly.

"Susie," he said. "May I ask something?"

"You've been dying to ask for ten minutes."

"The radiator."

"Go on."

"And the back step. And the ceiling."

He took an envelope out of his pocket.

"I wrote them down so I wouldn't just call someone."

I took the envelope and read it.

Radiator. Back step. Ceiling. Ask first.

Teddy leaned over from the counter and read it upside down.

"That's the most romantic thing I've ever seen," he said. "And he's bad at it."

"Yes," I said.

Dalton looked up.

"To all three?"

"To all three." I folded the envelope and put it in my pocket. "I'll pay half."

"Susie."

"Half," I said. "Of the plumber, the carpenter, and the roofer. It's my mother's house."

He opened his mouth to argue.

Then I watched him put the spoon down very carefully and say, "Half."

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