A Girl Called Al: The Al Series, Book One Read Online Free PDF Page A

married,” I said. I wish I had known before Al did. I don’t know why but I do.
    â€œI was just a shaver,” he said. “She wasn’t much older’n you two. Pretty as a picture too. But it wasn’t a good thing. No, it wasn’t a good thing. We was too young. She took our baby daughter and went back to her mama and papa. Too many diapers, too much work, not enough fun, not enough money. Like I say, she didn’t know how to cook. Didn’t want to learn. It’s a bad thing to get tied down too young. Remember that, ladies.”
    â€œMr. Richards, whatever happened to your baby daughter?” Al asked.
    â€œWell,” he said, “she’s not a baby any more. She has two, three babies of her own. Must be one of ’em about your age. I sent ’em a box of candy last Christmas, I think it was. I don’t know if they got it, come to think. I never did hear if they got it.”
    We all sat quiet for a minute.
    â€œI’ll show you how to make a white sauce,” he said. “First, you melt your butter, then stir in your flour slow like, then add milk, stirring all the time. Don’t stop stirring or she’ll lump up on you. Very handy thing to know.”
    â€œWhat do you do with it when you’re finished?” Al asked.
    â€œCreamed potatoes,” he said. “Creamed tuna fish. Creamed eggs.”
    We looked at him.
    â€œMr. Richards,” Al said, “what I would really like to know is how to skate like you do. Skate on the floor with rags. Would you teach me how to do that?”
    â€œWell now,” he said, getting some rags out from under the sink, “that’s a puzzler. I been doing it for so long I can’t recollect when I started. I’ll tell you one thing, though. It’s not as easy as it looks.”
    Al took first turn and she wasn’t too good.
    â€œGlide, glide, that does it,” Mr. Richards hollered.
    Al gave up after a couple of falls. I went next. I wasn’t much better.
    â€œShow us again,” I said. “It looks so easy when you do it.”
    â€œYoung folks ain’t changed a bit,” Mr. Richards said, tying the rags around his sneakers. “Think they can do anything they try first time around. I told you it wasn’t as easy as it looks.” And he skated smoothly around the edges of his shining linoleum, smiling a big smile.

Chapter Ten
    After church on Sunday my mother started buttering slices of bread and wrapping them in wet towels and waxed paper. They were so thin you could practically see through them.
    Teddy came into the kitchen. For once his nose wasn’t running, but he had his mouth hanging open in a way I hate. He looks like a moron when he does it.
    â€œMom,” I said, “I thought you promised.” I looked at him hard. “You have anything to do this afternoon!” I asked. “A science project over at your friend’s house, or how about the movies?”
    â€œThe movie is one of those movies for mature audiences only,” Teddy said with a smirk. When Teddy smirks I would like to slap his face.
    â€œDad’s taking me to the hockey game,” he said. “Boy, what a relief it’ll be to get out of this house. What a lot of baloney a tea party is anyway. How come you’re getting so fancy just for old Al and her mother?”
    â€œGood question.” My father came into the kitchen. “Unanswerable, but good. What have we here?”
    My mother took a blue box out of the refrigerator.
    â€œSwiss Chalet!” Teddy howled.
    The Swiss Chalet is a very expensive bakery where my mother goes only when my grandmother—my father’s mother—is coming to visit, which she does only about once a year. My grandmother, who is little and round and going bald like my father, has a terrific sweet tooth.
    â€œLet’s have a look,” my father said.
    My mother opened the box like it was full of eggs or a