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“You mean our candy?” Lisa said. “The talking about boat trailers, but also I am dying.”
5
candy that we earned?” The second, meant only for my sisters and me,
This was exactly what our mother was was “If you do not immediately step forward
talking about, but she didn’t want to say this with that candy, you will never again experience
in front of the Tomkeys. In order to spare their freedom, happiness, or the possibility of my
Narrative
feelings, she wanted them to believe that we warm embrace.”
always kept a bucket of candy lying around the I knew that it was just a matter of time before
house, just waiting for someone to knock on she came into my room and started collecting
the door and ask for it. “Go on, now,” she said. the candy herself, grabbing indiscriminately,
“Hurry up.” with no regard to my rating system. Had I been
My room was situated right off the foyer, and thinking straight, I would have hidden the
if the Tomkeys had looked in that direction, they most valuable items in my dresser drawer, but
could have seen my bed and the brown paper instead, panicked by the thought of her hand on
bag marked MY CANDY. KEEP OUT. I didn’t my doorknob, I tore off the wrappers and began
want them to know how much I had, and so I cramming the candy bars into my mouth, des-
went into my room and shut the door behind perately, like someone in a contest. Most were
me. Then I closed the curtains and emptied my miniature, which made them easier to accom-
bag onto the bed, searching for whatever was the modate, but still there was only so much room,
crummiest. All my life chocolate has made me and it was hard to chew and fit more in at the
ill. I don’t know if I’m allergic or what, but even same time. The headache began immediately,
the smallest amount leaves me with a blinding and I chalked it up to tension.
headache. Eventually, I learned to stay away My mother told the Tomkeys she needed
from it, but as a child I refused to be left out. The to check on something, and then she opened
brownies were eaten, and when the pounding the door and stuck her head inside my room.
began I would blame the grape juice or my “What the hell are you doing?” she whispered,
mother’s cigarette smoke or the tightness of my but my mouth was too full to answer. “I’ll just
glasses — anything but the chocolate. My candy be a moment,” she called, and as she closed the
bars were poison but they were brand-name, door behind her and moved toward my bed, I
and so I put them in pile no. 1, which definitely began breaking the wax lips and candy neck-
would not go to the Tomkeys. laces pulled from pile no. 2. These were the
Out in the hallway I could hear my mother 20 second-best things I had received, and while it
straining for something to talk about. “A boat!” hurt to destroy them, it would have hurt even
she said. “That sounds marvelous. Can you just more to give them away. I had just started to
drive it right into the water?” mutilate a miniature box of Red Hots when my
“Actually, we have a trailer,” Mr. Tomkey said. mother pried them from my hands, acciden-
“So what we do is back it into the lake.” tally finishing the job for me. BB-size pellets
“Oh, a trailer. What kind is it?” clattered onto the floor, and as I followed them
“Well, it’s a boat trailer,” Mr. Tomkey said. with my eyes, she snatched up a roll of Necco
“Right, but is it wooden or, you know . . . I 25 wafers.
guess what I’m asking is what style trailer do you “Not those,” I pleaded, but rather than
have?” words, my mouth expelled chocolate, chewed
Behind my mother’s words were two mes- chocolate, which fell onto the sleeve of her
sages. The first and most obvious was “Yes, I am sweater. “Not those. Not those.”

168
Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample.
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.

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