Peter and Veronica Read Online Free PDF Page B

gently, “Just give him a chance.”
    A very tall, powerful, blond man emerged from the kitchen. His son motioned in their direction, and Veronica’s uncle approached them.
    “You wanted to see me?” he said.
    Peter smiled benignly at him, and then motioned with his head at Veronica, and waited for the reconciliation scene.
    Mr. Ganz looked at Veronica then back at Peter. “Well, what is it?” he asked impatiently.
    Peter was astonished. Veronica’s uncle did not know who she was. Why, in his family, everybody knew everybody else down to the third cousins, four times removed. He could feel Veronica stiffen next to him, and he said quickly, “Uh, could I have a glass of water, please?”
    Mr. Ganz impatiently filled a glass with water and slapped it down on the counter. “Now what’s up?” he demanded.
    Peter sipped his water, glanced at Veronica with her eyes down on the counter, and beyond her to a case filled with Danish pastries.
    “Nice place you got here—Mr. Ganz?”
    “How do you know my name?” said the man suspiciously.
    “That your boy over there?” Peter asked.
    Mr. Ganz’s eyes narrowed.
    “Nice boy,” Peter said nervously. “Have you got any girls?”
    “Look, who sent you over here?” Veronica’s uncle said, bending over him.
    “Nobody. I just wondered if you had any daughters or maybe nieces, because it’s nice having girls in a family,” Peter said lamely.
    “I’m going,” Veronica said, rising.
    Veronica’s uncle put out a huge hand and caught Peter’s jacket with it.
    “What do you want, kid? What kind of a game are you playing?”
    “Let him go!” Veronica yelled. She pushed her uncle’s hand away, and Peter said sadly, “O.K., Veronica, you’re right. Let’s go.”
    “Veronica?”   said   Mr.   Ganz.   He   came    quickly around the counter and loomed above them just as they reached the door.  “Veronica?” he said to Veronica. “Are you Veronica?”
    “Yes,” said Veronica, trying to skate around him to the door.
    “Veronica Ganz?” He put his hand on her shoulder and looked at her. She struggled for a moment and then stood there with her eyes on the ground.
    “Well, what do you know,” said Mr. Ganz slowly. “It’s Veronica.”
    He propelled her over to one of the tables and eased her into a seat. Then he sat down across from her and suddenly began grinning. “The image of Frank,” he said. “The image of him.”
    “You didn’t know who I was,” Veronica said, stubbornly keeping her eyes away from his.
    “Just for the minute,” said her uncle, “and that kid kept on talking. I didn’t know what he was up to.”
    He looked up at Peter who had slowly followed them over to the table. “Come here, boy, sit down.” Peter sat down carefully next to Veronica, and Mr. Ganz laughed and said, “Well, that’s a good joke on me. Do I have any girls in my family?” He laughed a loud, hearty laugh and leaned over to poke Peter’s shoulder. “You’re a real comedian, son. What’s your name?”
    “Peter Wedemeyer, sir.”
    “Yes, sir, Peter Wedemeyer, you’re a real comedian.” Veronica’s uncle laughed some more. Then he looked Veronica over again and said, “Wait till I write your father and tell how his beautiful daughter came to visit me and played a joke on me.”
    Veronica’s face turned red, but she still kept her eyes down and didn’t say anything.
    “You know, just the other day I was saying to your Aunt Margaret that you and Mary Jane must be grown-up now, and that one of these days I was just going to have to come over and see the two of you. Just the other day I said it. Isn’t that funny?”
    “Her name is Mary Rose, not Mary Jane,” Veronica said between her teeth.
    “That’s what I said—Mary Rose, and here you are. Isn’t that great! So many times I wanted to run over and see the two of you, I can’t tell you.”
    “But you never did,” Veronica said, looking up at him finally, with a serious