Where Petals Fall Read Online Free PDF Page B

she might grab anything she passed.
    Junie ran after her. “Sarah, wait!” She scooped her up into her arms from behind. Sarah’s face was a pinched mess of anger. She cried, wriggling her way out of Junie’s arms, then banged on the side of the van with her little fist.
    What the hell? When Junie had told Sarah about her grandfather’s death, she had reacted with little more than silent tears. Had she finally understood what had happened? Junie knelt beside her.
    “Honey, I know you’re sad about Grandpa.” She touched Sarah’s slim back. “He’s with God now, but he’s still here.” She laid her hand on Sarah’s chest, feeling Sarah’s heartbeat pounding against her thin cotton shirt. “Come here.” Junie pulled Sarah close, holding her struggling body until she relented, sobbing into her mother’s shoulder.
    When she finally calmed down, extracting herself from her mother’s grasp, Sarah clung to the door handle of the van, refusing to move.
    “Come on, Sarah. Let’s play ball.” Junie tried to entice her toward the backyard. “Wanna get a cookie?” Just get out of your own head, maybe? Junie never knew how to get through to the new, troubled Sarah. She had become so introverted that even enticing her with the usual games or goodies sometimes weren’t enough to reach her, but Junie didn’t know what else to do, so she did the best she could. She reminded herself not to get angry and chastise Sarah. Whatever had caused her to regress was obviously beyond her control, despite what Brian might think.
    Sarah hung on the door handle, staring at Junie with a blank expression.
     “Okay, you hang there. I’m going to play ball.” Junie turned and walked toward the backyard.
    It was a standoff, one that had become all too familiar. The will of a four-year-old was enough to break even the strongest of motherly intentions. Junie thought of Brian’s comment— She’s doing this for attention —and remembered her pledge to take a stronger stance with regard to Sarah . It went against every parental vein in her body, but she did not turn back and coddle Sarah and didn’t beg Sarah to join her. Junie sat on the back porch and waited. Time crawled by. Every few minutes Junie peered around the side of the house, only to see Sarah standing next to the van, the fingers of her left hand wrapped like a vice around the door handle.
    The quiet nearly made Junie unravel. Everything reminded her of her father. Junie had once refused to look at a particular dead bug he’d found, and she’d been just as adamant as Sarah was now. Her father had tried to coax her gently toward him. He’d used science, not bribery of goodies. He’d tried to lure her in with explanations of “neat presentations.”
    Junie looked quickly at her father’s toolshed, then to the sparse flower garden against the fence that she’d help him define with rocks from the woods. Junie heard a low moan, then realized it was coming from her. She couldn’t believe he was gone. Junie looked toward the sky, knowing her father didn’t believe in any type of spiritual contact after a person died, and she wished he did.
    “I miss you, Daddy,” she whispered to the clouds.  After forty-five painful minutes, Junie went to the front yard and decided to take a different tack with Sarah. She threw a green plastic ball up into the air, catching it and laughing, drawing Sarah’s attention.
    “Wanna play?”
    Sarah shook her head.
    Junie shrugged, continuing to toss the ball.
    Sarah watched intently, angry eyes shifting from where Junie stood to Peter’s house in the distance behind her.
    Junie turned around, expecting to see Peter—he wasn’t there. She walked toward Sarah. Sarah clasped the handle tighter. Junie walked past her to the side yard, where Sarah could focus on only her.
    Eventually Sarah slunk toward her, spreading her fingers out in front of her. Junie tossed the ball. Sarah caught it against her stomach, then threw it back. “Nice