The Surf Guru Read Online Free PDF Page B

cry.
    â€œI’ve had my own kitchen designed,” he said. “I based it on yours. I’d like to fax you the plans. Could you take a look and tell me what you think?”
    â€œSure,” she lied. “Happy to.”
    When the fax came in, Kacy studied the plans, making comments on the paper with a thick black felt-tip. She kept her notes brief. MAKE ISLAND WIDER. WHERE IS HOBART? LOCATION OF SINKS=DUMB. She faxed the plans back to him an hour later, then opened the best bottle of scotch in the house and toasted her brand-new vow never to call him again.

    Time passed. It got hotter, and people complained about the humidity. Lawns browned under the sun. The free-tailed bats gave birth to their pups under the Congress Bridge, and every evening hundreds of tourists watched them blacken the sky as they flew in search of food.
    Kenny went to day camp, which he loved, even though he was banned from arts and crafts after gleefully showering everyone in grout on Mosaic Ashtray Day. Roger lost a trial, got steamrolled in two settlement negotiations, and spent his nights buzzed on Lone Star, watching Astros games with Kenny snoozing on his lap. Kacy couldn’t tell if Roger looked content or inert, and she was irritated by the possibility that it could be both.
    April spent most of her time in her room or out with Skillet. She wore hats when she left the house, but Kacy doubted she kept them on. Her fears were confirmed one afternoon at the fitness club, when her friend Helen Swindon asked if April was ill; when Kacy said no, Helen tactlessly mentioned the name of a hairdresser who “worked miracles.” That night, Kacy slipped a note under April’s door: It’s OK if you don’t like any of your hats, but you need to wear one. Do you want people to laugh at you? Let me know what you like, and I’ll buy it. Please . I love you. After that, April started wearing a navy wool watch cap she had bought on her own. It was ugly, Kacy thought, completely unladylike and far too warm for a Texas summer, but April wore it happily, and it was better than no hat at all.
    For Kacy, it was a summer of work, work, work. Orders poured in for weddings and museum functions and book-release parties and golden anniversaries and retirement dinners. The local weekly honored Kacy’s Kitchen with a Best of Austin award, finally. She didn’t sleep much, and when she did, she usually woke up with a headache and a sore jaw. Even so, she worked right through the discomfort and fatigue, humming through her coffee-fueled days in high gear. She was never late with a job, never cut corners, made sure everything was perfect. It made all the difference between being the best and being nobody.
    Summer ended. April and Kenny went back to school. The nights turned chilly, and the bats flew back to their caves in Mexico. And still Dinaburg did not call.
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    The day before the high school closed for Christmas break, Kacy got a call from Mr. Gomez, April’s social studies teacher. He was worried about April, he said, because when he’d looked in on the class during their final exam, he’d seen her pulling out her own hair.
    â€œAre you sure?” she asked. “That doesn’t sound at all like April.”
    â€œI saw her. She stopped when she saw me looking.”
    â€œWell, better her own hair than someone else’s.”
    â€œI’m serious, Mrs. Burroughs. It could be a sign of some, ah, psychological issues. And, ah, if something’s wrong, I’d like to see her get, ah, help. She’s a special girl—”
    â€œWe know that,” Kacy said.
    â€œâ€”and I’m concerned for her.”
    â€œYour concern is appreciated, Mr. Gomez. I’ll look into it.”
    â€œIs there anything you can, ah, tell me? I mean, how are things at home? If you don’t mind my asking.”
    Kacy did mind. “Things at home,” she said, “are just fine, thank