The Late Child Read Online Free PDF Page B

were teenagers in Oklahoma, Pat had done nothing but try to steal Harmony’s boyfriends, what few she managed to have before leaving home at age sixteen. Pat didn’t stop stealing boyfriends just because her little sister left home, either—so far she had stolen three husbands from various women in the Tulsa area, and got all of them to marry her. The third one had just dropped dead on a golf course the year before. Harmony was a little surprised that Pat hadn’t already got busy and stole a fourth husband.
    Neddie, however, had been married all her life to Dick Haley, a farmer. Harmony had only met Dick a few times. He was a stern Baptist who refused to come to a sinful place such as Las Vegas, even though his sister-in-law lived there.
    â€œWhat about Pat, is she married again yet?” Harmony asked—it was mainly a ruse to keep Neddie on the phone a few more minutes.
    â€œShe’s working on it,” Neddie said. “Pat wasn’t meant for the maiden life.”
    â€œNeddie, her feelings might be hurt if I don’t call her myself—she likes attention,” Harmony reminded her sister, though Neddielived about a mile from Pat and probably didn’t need to be reminded.
    â€œCall her if you want to, Harmony, but do it quick,” Neddie said. “We got to get cracking right now.”
    â€œI’m just afraid she’ll say I told you so,” Harmony said. “I know she did tell me so but if she tells me she told me so right now I may go crazy—I may anyway, Neddie.”
    â€œWell, you lost a child—it’s something I ain’t had to suffer, thank the Lord, and neither has Pat,” Neddie said. “She might suffer it yet though—and I might too. All our kids take dope. They’re all just about to the point of being drug addicts.”
    â€œDrug addicts?” Harmony said. She wasn’t used to thinking of people back home in Oklahoma as drug addicts—much less her sisters’ children.
    â€œYes, and little Deenie has already been in trouble twice for forging her mother’s name on checks,” Neddie said. “She does it so she can buy drugs for that worthless hulk she’s shacked up with.”
    â€œGood Lord, she’s only about seventeen, isn’t she?” Harmony asked, shocked.
    â€œRight, her birthday was last week—you should have sent her a card, hon,” Neddie said gently.
    â€œI’m sorry—I know I’m not the best at keeping up family ties,” Harmony said, ashamed of herself. Even Pat, despite being disapproving, had never failed to send Pepper and Eddie cards or little presents on their birthdays. The cards and little presents always came just on the right day, too—both Pepper and Eddie had always known that they had aunts who cared. She herself had been shamefully lax; she did mark all her nieces’ and nephews’ birthdays on the calendar, but then she would forget to turn the pages of the calendar, as the months went by, or forget to check it. Eventually she would always get around to mailing cards and presents—she had Deenie’s card in her purse at that moment—but they always drifted in quite a few days late.
    â€œNeddie, I’m going to call Pat myself, I just think it’s better—do you think I should call Billy too?” Harmony asked.
    â€œBilly’s in jail,” Neddie informed her. “He made one too manyobscene calls to his old friend Mildred, so they nailed him again.”
    â€œUh-oh,” Harmony said.
    â€œHer husband’s a dead shot, too,” Neddie said. “This is a small town. Married men don’t take kindly to having their wives get dirty phone calls in the middle of the night.”
    â€œI thought Billy would outgrow all that,” Harmony said.
    â€œThat’s what we’ve all been hoping,” Neddie said. “But Billy’s fifty years old and he’s still doing