The Old House Read Online Free PDF Page A

kitchen. “It’s time for my nap,” he said to nobody in particular.
    It hadn’t taken long to load the dishwasher, and Cassie smiled at Buddy. “I guess we’d better get you settled, hadn’t we? If you were going to stay for a while, we’d clear out that back bedroom upstairs. But it’s got an awful lot of junk in it, and we figured since you’ll probably be back with the rest of your family within a few days, maybe you wouldn’t mind sleeping in the little sewing room. It has stuff stored in it, too, but it’s not like upstairs.”
    Again Addie put down her letter to comment. “What makes you think she’s only going to be here for a few days? They don’t know where Dan is, do they? Or if he’s even coming back?”
    â€œOf course he’s coming back,” Buddy said quickly, shocked.
    â€œHe never was very responsible,” Addie asserted, to Buddy’s further indignation. “Always doing things on the spur of the moment, without thinking of the consequences.”
    Buddy bit her lower lip. That wasn’t the way she thought of her father at all, but in Addie’s house it probably wasn’t polite to say so.
    â€œThat was a long time ago,” Cassie said soothingly. “I’m sure he’s changed since then. Come along, Buddy, and we’ll get you fixed up.”
    â€œIt’s Friday. School’s still open. Somebody should take her over and sign her up,” Addie said.
    â€œSchool?” Buddy couldn’t keep still for that. “Aunt Cassie’s right. I’ll probably only be here a few days. There’s no need to go to school for that little time.”
    â€œNobody knows for sure, do they?” Addie asked. “The law says kids have to go to school, and there’s no reason to get behind.”
    â€œAll right, just in case Dan and Bart don’t show up by the first of the week, you can take her over and talk to Herbert,” Cassie said. “Afterwe get her squared away in the sewing room. Max could do it, but those seventh graders are off for a couple of days, I guess, so you’ll have to do it.”
    She led the way, and Buddy followed, disturbed by everybody else being in control and making decisions for her. “Who’s Herbert?” she asked, pausing in the doorway of the small room opening off the dining room.
    â€œHe’s the school principal. We went to school with him, years ago. Was a friend of Gordon’s, actually. They both went away to college the same year. Gordon never came back home to live, always felt this was a hayseed town with no future. But Herbert’s parents wanted him to come home to work as a teacher, and finally enough people died off, so he got to be principal. Here, let’s put your suitcase on this chair. You can just leave it there and take your things out as you need them, if you want to. Or if it turns out you’re here longer, I think there are a couple of empty drawers in that chest. The daybed’s all made up for you. There’s an extra blanket right here.”
    The room was very small, and crowded with cardboard cartons as well as a sewing machine. But no drunks could peek in the windows at her, and there was a bathroom just a few doors away. She’d be in a house, not a car. She didn’t know if this kept her from being homeless or not, but she’d feel homeless until Dad and Bart came and got her.
    â€œThank you,” Buddy said, swallowing around the lump in her throat. She hoped Addie wasn’t right about her being here indefinitely.
    Addie came to the doorway, putting her letter back into its envelope. “There’s an extra twenty-five dollars in here to buy a present for Grandpa’s birthday,” she said. “Where on earth does he think we’re going to be able to shop? Why couldn’t he have bought a gift himself, in that big city, where they have hundreds of stores to