The Universe is a Very Big Place Read Online Free PDF Page B

in. No wonder Mrs. Felding thought they were negligent.
    Spring clawed at the side of her face, trying to stave back the itch that was creeping across her head. This was a new development in her body’s repertoire of stress management. At least the eye twitch had gone. Mrs. Felding had threatened to call child protective services on her and Jason again. She had done so at the beginning of the year when she thought the boys looked abnormally skinny and were being starved at home. She had done so again around Christmas-time when Blaine had admitted to the class that his daddy’s home was sometimes a tent. And again after spring break when Shane had come to school with a black eye, courtesy of a mock sword fight with his brother, but ‘highly suspicious’ according to their teacher.
    Though child protective services did not find any evidence of abuse, it was always on Spring’s mind that someday they could snatch her children away. She had seen this happen with some of the parents in the carnival circuit––kids taken away in unmarked station wagons for being dirty or missing school as their frantic parents chased behind, promising to get them back. The memories   of childhood friends being snatched up by badge-wearing adults still made her get up at night and check to see if her own boys were still in their beds.
    "Shane’s making faces at me,” Blaine tattled from the backseat. The hair on the back of his head stood up extra high today, as if wanting to call attention to itself.
    "Am not, you stupid-head,” Shane defended, sticking his Kool-Aid coated tongue out at his brother. Their father was always touting the healing effects of Kool-Aid and often sent the boys to school with a packet for snack-time. He argued that this would give them each a full day’s supply of vitamin C, according to the package.
    Spring stared in quiet fascination as a French-fry was launched across the backseat, hitting its mark. “Ouch!” Blaine said. “You hit me with the pokey end!"
    She parked the car and sat for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “This is how people go insane,” she mumbled as something larger and fuzzier flew within her peripheral. When she had counted to ten she turned to give them a stern look. “Boys, please be good for Mommy when we see the counselor. Pretty please?"
    The twins paused, a ketchup packet poised for assault. “Counselor?”  
    That caught their attention. They had seen many school therapists during their two years in Elementary School and knew the drill. “I love counseling,” said Blaine, the schemer of the two. "They give you candy and toys and you get out of class."
    "We aren’t in class, dummy,” Shane, who loved to be right, corrected his brother, leaning over to stab Blaine with the foot of a G.I. Joe.
    "Mommy. Shane’s being disruptive!"
    "Boys please?” Spring pled, her voice heavy with desperation. She hated bargaining with the twins, but wasn’t sure what else she could do. The only punishment that seemed to work on them was Time Out, but they were already buckled in. "If you are good we can go to McDonald's after, okay? But if you are bad then there is no McDonald's. None."
    Blaine unfastened his safety belt and leaned over to whisper something in his brother’s ear. Shane nodded. “Okay,” Blaine said, extending a hand for his mother to shake. “Deal."
    The counselor was a prune of a woman who introduced herself as Ms. Droll. Her hair was graying and secured in a neat bun near the nape of her long neck and her skin was the color of skim milk diluted by water. She had the look of something that had been left in the freezer too long. In stark contrast to her own appearance, her office was warm and colorful. The walls were painted a soothing lavender and the windows were large and smudge-free. Smiling pictures of children hung on the wall and classical music played tastefully in the background. Spring sat on the beige couch across from Ms. Droll and nervously tapped her