Crunch Read Online Free PDF

crud. Here goes.
    “W-well, bike parts have…uh…they’ve taken a huge hit during the crunch.” The words went tripping over my lips.
    “So you said.” His volume went up. The look on his face could have killed mildew. “But this is preposterous ,” he said.
    That’s when I felt my limbs drain.
    Mr. Gilmartin pressed on. “I know bikes well enough to know that this is something like triple what it should be. Same for the lousy derailleur cage. And the tube, too. Is your father here? I want to speak to him.”
    “H-he’s not,” I said.
    “When will he be back?”
    “Uh…it’s hard to say, Mr. Gilmartin. We’ve had some bad luck. He’s caught up north due to the outage—”
    “Then you’re going to have to explain this tome.” He shoved the tab at me and said, “I’m not satisfied.”
    I gulped. Stick to the facts, I thought. I took a breath. “We actually haven’t marked anything up. I’ll show you the invoices. We’re paying more too. We’ve kept our labor price at a minimum—”
    “I’m not talking about the labor price!” he said. “I’m talking about simple things that don’t even have moving parts!”
    “Sir, please let me show you our costs.” Finally, he followed me into the shop. I fumbled with the invoice. I showed him each line item, even though part of me felt like I shouldn’t have to. “You are right,” I said. “Some costs have tripled.”
    “I know I’m right. I just don’t see how it’s possible,” he said. He whipped his wallet out of his back pocket. “But you have me over a rail, haven’t you?” he said. “You know I’ll pay. I need the bike.”
    He did pay. Practically threw the bills at me.
    I walked him back outside. “We appreciate your business, Mr. Gilmartin. If you have any problems…well, we guarantee our work.”
    He never answered me.
    I leaned on the fence, waiting for my hollow limbs to fill again. “Well, that sure stunk,” I said to myself.
    “Hey, Dew.” Lil had come around from her side of the barn. She was covered in smudges—the sign of a good art day.
    “Hey,” I said. I flapped Gilmartin’s bills against the fence rail.
    “I’ve seen some happy people pedaling out of here,” she said. “Good job.” Then she called for Angus and Eva, who came running out of the shop as I went back inside.
    “Happy…except for that last one,” I mumbled.
    I didn’t want to tell Lil much about the Bike Barn. She had her thing to be in charge of while Mom and Dad were away, and I had mine. Of course it was in the back of my mind that Lil was ultimately in charge of Everything Marriss. The Bike Barn fell under that bigger umbrella and I knew she felt that way too. But as long as there were no problems, that wouldn’t come up.
    Gilmartin had paid and he was gone. I popped the lid off our peppermint tin. Couldn’t help buttake a whiff. It still smelled of peppermints every time I opened it. There was a pretty good roll of bills in there, and I added Gilmartin’s to the coil. I was going to have to make another bank deposit soon. Dad had taught me how, and I liked biking up to the drive-through window. But I also liked another picture that I held in my mind: us kids handing Mom and Dad a good wad of cash—all from the Bike Barn—when they got home. Okay, me handing them the wad. Whatever. I just wanted them to know I’d done it; I’d kept the shop going with no major troubles.
    I set the tin on the back of the workbench. I leaned around the door to the paddock. “Vince,” I called, “you coming to help me with the pit fire? It’s time.”
    I was up for a huge meal. And no grouch was going to sour my chowder.

11
    “THEY’RE HERE!” I HEARD LIL SING OUT.
    I looked up from the coals. Pop Chilly and Mattie were coming down our driveway. Pop pedaled his seniorcycle, as he called it—a big green tricycle with a tractor seat and a huge wire basket on the back—into the yard. Mattie rode her pale blue cruiser (with her new tire) and