Dismantled Read Online Free PDF

lipstick put on all wrong.
    This morning, she’s just plain old friendly Bernice with her gray hair in a ponytail, her pale liver-spotted skin scrubbed clean.
    “Good girls,” she says. “Kids can get homesick at camp. A postcard from a friend will put a smile on their faces. You each take a root beer barrel. On the house.”
    “Thanks, Bernice,” they both chime, reaching into the plastic bin on the counter.
    Mel rolls her eyes, unwraps her candy, mouths the words mental case, and Emma steps hard on Mel’s foot to shut her up. They both start laughing.
    Emma is sure she can still see a trace of green just under her fingernails even though she scrubbed her hands with hot water and a brush. It took them almost forty-five minutes to clean up the paint. Mel kept saying it was good enough, but Emma was sure her dad would be able to tell.
    “This floor is a mess,” Mel said. “It’s already covered with paint splatters and grease and Christ knows what all. Trust me, Em, the only one who’s going to notice whatever little smudge of green we left is you.”
     

    O N THE POSTCARDS, THEY write down words carefully copied from Suz’s journal: DISMANTLEMENT = FREEDOM . To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart. They address the postcards to Spencer Styles, Valerie (Winnie) Delmarco, and Suz Pierce with PLEASE FORWARD in big letters beneath each address.
    “If you write that, whoever lives there will send it to the right address,” Mel explains. “My dad showed me. His sister, my aunt Linda, she moves around a lot, and whenever we write her, we put that on the envelope.”
    Emma nods, watches Mel drop the cards in the out-of-town mailbox outside.
    “Now what?” Emma asks.
    “Now we wait for something wonderful to happen,” Mel says.
     

    “N INE ,” E MMA WHISPERS ONCE they’re back at home, Mel already halfway to the kitchen where Emma’s mom is making the girls their favorite: grilled cheese and bologna sandwiches. Mel says bologna is made from the lips and buttholes of pigs, which is totally gross, but makes eating it kind of like a double-dog-dare, which is why it’s their favorite.
    Emma lingers in the front hall, stares into the great unblinking eye of the moose, and realizes for the first time (how could she never have noticed it before?) that Francis’s eye, the iris a rich brown flecked with sparkling gold, is exactly like Danner’s. Then, she’s sure she sees it: the lid closing for a mere fraction of a second, the moose giving her the tiniest of winks.

Chapter 2

    “L OOK , D ADDY , I’ M A frog!"
    Dog paddle. Frog kick. Splash. Legs bent. Extended. Pretzel-thin limbs. Her face goes under. Henry holds his breath too. His heart beats double time in his chest. His breath goes whistley. He knows she’ll drown. He’s seen it in his nightmares a thousand times.
    Since summer vacation started ten days ago, Emma’s been in the pool every day, sometimes with Mel, which he can’t bear. Too much horseplay. They pull each other under. Pretend to drown. He yells at them and they yell back, laugh, call him the Fuddy Duddy Daddy . Mel says he needs to Take a chill pill, and Emma only laughs harder at that, which makes his chest ache.
    Emma swims to the side of the pool, touches the white cement wall, bobs up, smiling, blond hair slicked back. She has Tess’s small, elfish nose and Henry’s deep brown eyes.
    “Dad! Did you see me? I’m a frog!”
    He lets himself breathe. Bites his tongue to keep from saying the words: Are not. Now get the hell out of the water.
    His jaw hurts from keeping it clenched tight. He opens it wide, like he’s yawning, trying to get the muscles to relax.
    He watches Emma go under, holding her breath, her lime green bathing suit shimmering through the water. She has a special waterproof watch she uses to time herself. Tess gave it to her on her birthday. He gave her a camera. A nice one. Digital. For taking pictures on land. Safe old solid ground.
    Emma pops