Part 14 (1/2)

”Goodvoice

”Hey, Dad”

”Hi,” I said

”You two have quite the project going on in here,” he said casually, as if Natalie and I were in the middle of an especially ambitious macrame project

”What do you think?” Natalie asked, as she used the broken legs of Agnes's ironing board to swat the last bits of plaster away near the door to the barn

”I think it's a spectacular e juice over to the cupboard and pulled down a glass He inspected it for signs of life before filling it with juice

”That's all?” Natalie was disappointed She'd had her heart set on a scene One that could possibly end with cash

”Well,” he said, ”I would hope that whenever you're through doing whatever you're doing that you'll clean up like adults”

Natalie said, ”We need so and we need ht then because two patients had quit treatment

”A couple hundred”

”A couple hundred dollars!” he bellowed He added his now elass to the mound of plates, pans and empty milk cartons that had been in the sink all week

Natalie played favorite daughter ”Oh, c'ive your youngest, hter two hundred dollars?” She fluttered her eyelashes playfully

This alorked

He proet dressed Natalie pulled a chair out from the table, shoved the crap off, and sat heavily

We were filthy and exhausted but not bored

”That was good,” she said, like we'd just had sex

”Yeah But what do we do now?”

There was the proble and its insulation were now three feet deep on the floor and on top of everything It would take at least as long to get rid of it as it did to take it down

She peeled a scab off her knee, revealing a sash ”We'll shovel it outside, throw it behind the barn”

”When?”

”Later”

”What do we do now?”

”Take a nap”

I woke up that afternoon at about four and groggily walked out ofa plate under the faucet She dried it on her apron and placed it in the cupboard Then she shuffled through the debris to the refrigerator She opened the door and hunched over to inspect the labels of the condiments ”We never have any relish in this house,” she said ”Who's eating all the relish?

I couldn't reerator ”Maybe Hope ate it”

”That Hope,” she said ”She should know better” Agnes took her pocketbook from its position at the top of theto run to the store and pick up a fresh bottle If anybody needs a clean plate there's one in the cupboard” She left through the back door of plates on the kitchen table ”I' to run to the store and pick up a fresh bottle If anybody needs a clean plate there's one in the cupboard” She left through the back door

I walked upstairs to Natalie's room and pounded on her door ”Wake up, wake up, wake up”

She answered the door wearing a sheet toga ”What time is it?” She yawned

”Late”

”What's the kitchen like?”

”Agnes washed a plate,” I said

She yawned again ”Oh”

”I guess we should get to work on it,” I said

”Yeah,” she said Then she turned around, holding the sheet against her chest and began hunting through the mounds of clothes on her floor for her skirt Natalie wore the saolden feathers on it She'd sewn it herself The edges were beginning to fray fros Somehow she was able to slip into both the skirt and a black tank top without ever re debris out of the kitchen and carrying it outside behind the barn It took dozens of trips But by evening, the kitchen was free froet these dishes washed,” Natalie said

So we created our own asse All the commotion had caused the roaches to retreat deep into the walls so Natalie hardly screa in the now clean kitchen, Natalie co ”It's weird how it seeh there was no longer a low ceiling hanging over our heads, the blackness that stretched up was evenover our heads, the blackness that stretched up was even ht

Natalie phoned her dad at the office and he told us he'd give us a hundred dollars to install a skylight Natalie told hih; that we'd need at least a hundred and fifty After ten ive us a hundred and twenty-five

”So we can use a hundred for the ,” she said, ”and the rest we can spend on beer”

This seeood plan to me ”But are you sure we can buy afor a hundred dollars?”

”We don't need to buy a ,” she said ”We can take theout of the pantry and use that Then we can just block that up ood nobody looks out that ay”

Over the next few days, orked with unco to remove thefro accuracy But by using an axe we found in the barn as well as a hammer and a rock, ere able to free thefro cross-ventilation that made it easier to breathe in the dusty kitchen

Farthein the pantry was creating the hole in the roof for the new skylight