That was one thing Lorna could believe. Peggy would be there for her. Remarkably, she’d been there for Lorna and her family for several years. It defied logic. Her family had done nothing to deserve such devotion from a good person like Peggy.
She thanked Peggy again, promising to see her soon, and as she dragged herself out to her car, she paused to kick the giant rooster. It did nothing for her other than hurt her foot.
She went home with her mother’s wishes burning a hole in her pants pocket.
Chapter 11Lorna Now
Lorna let herself in through the front door of the house and spotted Bean sitting in the hallway with Agnes. He was leaning against his door, legs outstretched, flipping through the pages of a book. Agnes had her head in his lap and was snoozing. Lorna glanced at her watch; it was ten past four. He’d forgotten his key again. If he were her kid, she would have fixed this forgotten key problem in a day.
As much as it annoyed her, a part of her was also glad he’d forgotten his key. Something about the boy and the dog made her feel... something. Nostalgic, maybe? But looking at him was a little like looking at a work of art that spoke to her. She liked Bean, which, if she thought too long about it, would make her question her mental state, because since when did she have any affinity for eight-year-old boys? But lately, she’d talked more to Bean than anyone else. He didn’t make her feel awkward; she was surprisingly free of awkwardness with him. Free to be herself. He didn’t judge her. Or at least not that she could tell. It was entirely possible he was going home and telling stories about the weird lady across the hall. Except she didn’t think so—she had the impression that Bean liked her too.
“Excuse me?” Lorna said. “How did Agnes get in here?”
Bean looked up. “Hi, Lorna! Miss Liz let her in from the backyard.”
That back door from the main hall was supposed to always remain locked. Lorna sighed with exasperation. “Is no one concerned about home security?” she complained as she moved forward.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let anyone snatch her,” Bean said, parroting her concern from the first time she’d found him in the hall.
“I knowyouwouldn’t, but what about the rest of the people in this house?” She slid down the wall and sat beside him on the floor. He eyed her with surprise. “I know,” she said. “I’m not the type to sit on the floor. But honestly? This week I’ve been on the floor a lot.”
“I like the floor,” Bean said.
“I’m starting to hate it less. You forgot your key again, didn’t you?”
“Yep. That means I have to wash dishes after supper because there are conskences. But I don’t mind because I like all the suds. Yesterday I made this huge tower, then—bam—I knocked it down,” he said, demonstrating how he’d swung his fist through weightless bubbles.
She wondered what he’d do with a giant metal yard rooster. “What are you looking at?”
“It’s a book about desserts. I’m going to get my baking badge. But I have to decide what to bake. Do you like cake?”
“Only idiots don’t like cake.”
He grinned. “Is it your favorite?”
“Probably, although I could be persuaded to like pie or ice cream or cookies just as much. What’s your favorite?” she asked as she eyed a key lime pie on the open pages of his book.
“Umm... I don’t know. My dad doesn’t let me have sugar.”
“What? That’s appalling. What is the point of life if youcan’t have a sugary dessert occasionally? In fact, it ought to be a law.”
Bean glanced at her sidelong, clearly afraid to agree with such a bold statement.
“Come in, and I’ll see what I’ve got with sugar.”
“Dad said not to bother people,” Bean said.
“You’re not bothering me.”
“Can Aggie come, too, or does she have to go outside?”
“Of course she comes too.”
The two of them leveraged themselves up to standing with about the same amount of grace. “Come on, Aggie,” Bean said, and headed for Lorna’s door.
Once Lorna opened the door, Bean and Aggie rushed toward the kitchen. She paused to put the codicil on her desk next to the stacks of envelopes. In doing so, she had to step over a white envelope on the floor that had been pushed under the door, sealed with a red heart sticker. She picked it up and flipped it over.Liz Foster, 2B.Inside was a handwritten note:
I would love to hear if you made any progress with our landlord. Feel free to knock anytime, 2B.
