Coming Apart (9780545356152) (8 page)

“Time to go in?” asked Rudy. “Let's get you a biscuit.”

Inside, Mr. Pennington took a cookie from the jar of doggie treats, and Jacques ate it, tail wagging.

“Ha,” said Mr. Pennington with a smile. “You're going to prove that doctor wrong. What does she know about your spirit?”

Jacques gave Rudy a grin and headed for the living room. Mr. Pennington remained in the kitchen, cleaning up his breakfast dishes and thinking about what to fix for supper.

He heard a sharp intake of air from beyond the kitchen door.

“Jacques?” Rudy paused to listen. “Jacques?”

He stepped into the dining room and saw Jacques lying on the floor.

As Jacques had grown older, Rudy had wondered if one day the old dog might die in his sleep, and whether Rudy would be able to distinguish sleep from death. Now he saw that death looked very different from sleep. Jacques was lying absolutely still, legs stretched before him, tongue protruding slightly, eyes open. There was nothing sleeplike about the rigid, surprised posture.

“Well, boy.” Mr. Pennington's voice caught and he raised a trembling hand to his lips. Then he bent over and stroked Jacques's body, feeling not lifelessness, but something between life and death. No beating heart, but warmth, and that silky fur, and Jacques's particular musky scent.

At last Mr. Pennington straightened up and reached for the telephone. “Min,” he said. “Jacques is gone.” He listened for a moment. “Thank you.”

Min arrived at Mr. Pennington's house two minutes later. She put her arms around her friend and held him close.

“I called the vet,” said Rudy, dabbing at his eyes with a limp handkerchief. “The office isn't open today, but she'll meet us there anyway.”

“We'll take my car,” said Min.

Rudy wrapped Jacques in the blanket he had slept on since he was a puppy and carried him to the car. He held Jacques while Min drove, and he never stopped stroking his ears. “I love his ears,” he said to Min.

There wasn't much to be done at the vet's office. The doctor greeted Rudy and Min at the door, took Jacques, blanket and all, from Rudy, and laid him on an examining table.

“When did it happen?” she asked.

“Less than an hour ago. We'd been out in the yard and he seemed happy, and then we came inside and a little while later I found him lying on the floor.”

“I can assure you it was painless,” said the vet.

“I wish I'd been there with him at the very … the very moment,” said Rudy.

Min reached for Rudy's hand. “Maybe he wanted to spare you.”

“Maybe.” Mr. Pennington turned to the doctor. “What's to be done now?” he asked.

“We can have him cremated, if you like. We'll have his ashes ready for you in a couple of weeks.”

“All right,” replied Mr. Pennington.

“I'm very sorry for your loss,” said the vet. “Jacques was a wonderful dog. He was a favorite here in the office.”

Mr. Pennington smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate your coming in today.”

When Min turned onto Aiken Avenue a few minutes later, she said, “Would you like me to come inside with you?”

“No. Thank you. I need to do this on my own.”

And Mr. Pennington walked into his empty house.

On Monday afternoon, Flora found herself alone. Ordinarily, she walked home from school with Olivia and occasionally with Nikki, if Nikki had permission to stay in town for a couple of hours. But today Flora was on her own. And when she reached home she was still on her own, since Ruby was attending a rehearsal of the Children's Chorus.

“Hi, King. Hi, Daisy,” said Flora when the cat and dog greeted her at the door. “I guess it's just us this afternoon.” Flora let Daisy out into the backyard. She thought about Janie. She fixed herself a piece of toast. She thought about Janie some more. She glanced at her homework assignments and did a bit of calculating in her head. She figured she could finish the assignments by bedtime if she started them the second dinner was over.

“Yes!” she exclaimed aloud.

Flora let Daisy back inside. “Change of plans,” she announced. “Sorry, but you and King are on your own after all. I'm going to go to Aunt Allie's.” She picked up the phone and dialed Needle and Thread. “Min?” she said. “I decided to go to Aunt Allie's, so that's where I'll be this afternoon.”

“That's fine. Did you ask Allie if it's all right with her?”

“No, but I know she needs me. She said she has to catch up with her work.”

“Okay. Be home by six.”

Flora hopped on her bicycle and pedaled down Aiken Avenue. On either side of her, the trees seemed to rush by, bare branches reaching into the sunshine. She flew past withered ivy vines and empty garden plots and didn't know whether to wish that winter would finally arrive or that spring would hurry up and make an early appearance.

When Flora turned into Aunt Allie's driveway, she was grateful to see that the car was in the garage. She left her bike on its side by the front walk and rang the doorbell.

“Flora!” said Allie a few moments later. “I wasn't expecting you this afternoon.” Allie was holding a squirming Janie in one arm and a notebook in the other.

“I thought you might like some help.”

There was just the briefest pause before Allie said, “Thank you. I could use a hand this afternoon.”

“Great. That's what I'm here for.” Flora stepped inside and took the baby from her aunt. “Hi, Janie. Hi, Janie,” she cooed. “Okay, Aunt Allie, you just go on and get some work done.”

Allie disappeared into her study, and Flora sat on the couch in the living room with Janie. She stroked her soft curls and touched the tip of her nose. “You are so, so, so, so, so cute,” she whispered. “Let's see. Do you need your diaper changed? Yes! You do. Let's go upstairs.”

Flora and Ruby and Min had helped Allie to decorate Janie's nursery, and now Flora looked around it with satisfaction. She had made several of the things in the room — a pink cushion for the rocking chair and, with Min, curtains and a matching crib set. Soon Flora would finish the quilt.

“Then I think I'll start on some more rompers for you,” she told her cousin.

She changed Janie's diaper, marveling at her own expertise. “And now let's find you a new outfit.” Janie was wearing a purple jumper and a white T-shirt, both of which were clean, but Flora felt the need to change the outfit anyway. “Here we go,” she said as she guided Janie's arms through the sleeves of a striped onesie. “Perfect.”

To Flora's delight, Janie was wide-awake and happy, so she carried her downstairs and laid her on a blanket on the living room floor. “Look at all your toys. And your books! Here. I'll read to you.”

Janie lay on her back and waved her arms in the air while Flora read
The Snowy Day
to her. “One day you'll see snow for yourself,” Flora said. “Of course, we need cold weather for that, but we'll get some eventually.”

Flora was telling Janie about snowstorms and snow days when she realized that her cousin had fallen asleep. With a sigh she carried her back upstairs and laid her in the crib. She tiptoed out of the room and down to Allie's study, where she peeked around the door. Her aunt was sitting in front of her laptop, typing furiously.

“Aunt Allie?” said Flora, and Allie jumped. “Sorry. Am I interrupting?”

“You startled me. But I'm awfully grateful to be able to get some work done. This is wonderful, Flora. Thank you. What are you and Janie up to?”

“She just went down for a nap,” Flora reported. “So I was wondering what you wanted me to do now.”

Allie sat back in her desk chair. “Let me see. I'm not sure.”

“Do you want me to take care of Janie's laundry again?”

“Do you really want to? You could go home if you like. I'll probably have close to an hour of writing time before she wakes up.”

“No, no, I'll stay!” Flora insisted.

“Well …”

Aunt Allie glanced surreptitiously at her watch, and Flora caught the small motion.

“I know, I know,” said Flora. “You have limited time. That's why I'm going to stay to help. Won't it be nice if I get things done for you now, and then you won't have to worry about them later?”

“Yes,” replied Allie, but she let a small sigh escape.

Flora clapped her hands together briskly, the way Min sometimes did. “Okay. So, what needs doing? Should I organize Janie's books? I noticed that they're a little out of order.”

“Really?” murmured Aunt Allie, whose eyes were on the computer screen. She turned back to Flora. “Sorry. What did you say? Janie's books are out of order?”

“Yes. I mean, they're all just tossed randomly into her bookcase. I could straighten them out — and put them in alphabetical order.”

“If you really want to, okay. But do you think you can do that without waking Janie?”

“Yes. And if I can't, I'll come back downstairs and see what else needs to be done.”

“Mmm,” said Allie, who was once again gazing at the screen.

Flora tiptoed back up to Janie's room. She eased the door open and settled herself in front of the bookcase. The case was low, with just two shelves, and on the top sat a lamp and several toys. Flora placed the toys in Janie's toy basket and then kneeled on the floor in front of the books. Gingerly, she slid a stack of books into her lap, immediately checking to see whether this had wakened Janie. It hadn't. She was slumbering peacefully. Flora silently emptied both shelves, divided Janie's reading material into picture books and board books, then put the books into alphabetical order according to the author's last name, and finally slid each one tidily back onto the shelves.

There. A good job well done.

And Janie's nap was in full swing.

Flora slipped back into Allie's study. “Finished!” she announced.

Allie turned slowly from the screen. “What?” she said. “I mean, excuse me?”

“I guess you're in the middle of something, aren't you?”

Allie nodded vaguely.

“Well, the books are done. And Janie's still asleep.”

“Flora, really, you've been a huge help this afternoon, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. But why don't you go home now? I hate to think of you hanging around here when things are so quiet. I don't —”

Flora cocked her head. “Did you hear that?”

Allie switched on the baby monitor that sat atop a filing cabinet. A whimper, rather cranky sounding, filled the study.

“She's up!” exclaimed Flora. “I'll take care of her! You go back to work, Allie. I have everything under control.”

Flora dashed upstairs again and made a beeline for Janie's crib. “There you are, sleepyhead!” she said softly. “Did you have a good nap? I'd better check your diaper again.”

Flora spent the next few minutes once again changing Janie's diaper and then unnecessarily changing her outfit, too.

“You are the cutest, cutest, cutest girl in all of Camden Falls!” announced Flora, hoisting her cousin in the air. “Let me get you a bottle, and then maybe we can go for a walk outside, since it's so warm.”

After Janie had been fed (expertly, in Flora's opinion), Flora poked her head into Allie's study. “Here she is, all dressed and fed and ready to go outside. It's pretty warm today. We could take a nice long walk.”

“That's a good idea,” replied Allie, and she helped Flora settle Janie in a nest of blankets in her fancy new stroller.

“We'll see you later,” called Flora as she wheeled Janie down the driveway to the sidewalk.

Allie's neighborhood was bustling. The streets here were lined not with the large and aging homes of Flora's neighborhood but with smaller, newer houses, and in the yards of most of them were bicycles and tricycles and ride-on toys, basketball nets and skateboards and plastic slides. Flora saw kids playing and dogs being walked and a group of boys heading somewhere with a bat and ball.

“Maybe,” said Flora to Janie, “there are other babies in these houses, and one day they'll be your friends. You and your friends will grow up together and go to Camden Falls Elementary, just like Ruby and I did. And you —”

Flora stopped talking when she heard someone call her name.

“Flora? Is that you?”

Flora had wheeled Janie two blocks in one direction, turned around and gone three blocks back in the other direction, and now had turned around a second time and was approaching Allie's driveway. She looked over her shoulder.

Climbing out of his car in the driveway of the house across the street was her English teacher, Mr. Barnes. He waved to her.

Flora waved back. Then, feeling both proud and shy, she wheeled Janie up her teacher's driveway. “Have you met my new cousin?” she asked.

“Not officially,” replied Mr. Barnes. He set his briefcase at his feet.