Read All About It. Valerie Tripp

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СКАЧАТЬ pulled her article out of the typewriter and marched outside to sit on the steps and wait for Dad to come home. She brought her book about Robin Hood to read while she waited.

      She had not been reading long before the screen door squeaked open and slammed shut behind her. Kit didn’t even lift her eyes off the page.

      Charlie sat next to her. “Hi,” he said.

      Kit didn’t answer. She was a little put out with Charlie for adding to the trouble in Stirling’s room.

      “What’s eating you, Squirt?” Charlie asked.

      “Nothing,” said Kit as huffily as she could.

      Charlie looked at the piece of paper next to Kit. “Is that one of your newspapers for Dad?” he asked.

      “Yup,” said Kit.

      Charlie picked up Kit’s newspaper and looked at the headline. “‘It’s Not Fair,’” he read aloud. Then he asked, “What’s this all about?”

      “It’s about how it’s wrong to blame people for things that are not their fault,” said Kit. “For example, me, for the mess this afternoon.”

      “Aw, come on, Kit,” said Charlie. “That’s nothing. You shouldn’t make such a big deal of it.”

      “That’s easy for you to say!” she said.

      Charlie took a deep breath in and then let it out. “Listen, Kit,” he said, in a voice that was suddenly serious, “I wouldn’t bother Dad with this newspaper today if I were you.”

      Kit slammed her book shut and looked sideways at Charlie. “And why not?” she asked.

      Charlie glanced over his shoulder to be sure that no one except Kit would hear him. “You know how lots of people have lost their jobs because of the Depression, don’t you?” he asked.

      “Sure,” said Kit. “Like Mr. Howard.”

      “Well,” said Charlie, “yesterday Dad told Mother and me that he’s closing down his car dealership and going out of business.”

      “What?” said Kit. She was horrified. “But…” she sputtered. “But why?”

      “Why do you think?” said Charlie. “Because nobody has money to buy a car anymore. They haven’t for a long time now.”

      “Well, how come Dad didn’t say anything before this?” Kit asked.

      “He didn’t want us to worry,” said Charlie. “And he kept hoping things would get better if he just hung on. He didn’t even fire any of his salesmen. He used his own savings to keep paying their salaries.”

      “What’s Dad going to do now?” asked Kit.

      “I don’t know,” said Charlie. “He even has to give back his own car. He can’t afford it anymore. I guess he’ll look for another job, though that’s pretty hopeless these days.”

      Kit was sure that Charlie was wrong. “Anyone can see that Dad’s smart and hardworking!” she said. “And he has so many friends! People still remember him from when he was a baseball star in college. Plenty of people will be glad to hire him!”

      Charlie shrugged. “There just aren’t any jobs to be had. Why do you think people are going away?”

      “Dad’s not going to leave like Mr. Howard did!” said Kit, struck by that terrible thought. Then she was struck by another terrible thought. “We’re not going to lose our house like the Howards, are we?”

      “I don’t know,” said Charlie again.

      Kit could hardly breathe.

      “It’ll be a struggle to keep it,” said Charlie. “Dad told me that he and Mother don’t own the house completely. They borrowed money from the bank to buy it, and they have to pay the bank back a little every month. It’s called a mortgage. If they don’t have enough money to pay the mortgage, the bank can take the house back.”

      “Well, the people at the bank won’t just kick us out onto the street, will they?” asked Kit.

      “Yes,” said Charlie. “That’s exactly what they’ll do. You’ve seen those pictures in the newspapers of whole families and all their belongings out on the street with nowhere to go.”

      “That is not going to happen to us,” said Kit fiercely. “It’s not.”

      “I hope not,” said Charlie.

      “Listen,” said Kit. “How come Dad told Mother and you about losing his job, but not me?”

      Charlie sighed a huge, sad sigh. “Dad told me,” he said slowly, “because it means that I won’t be able to go to college.”

      “Oh, Charlie!” wailed Kit, full of sympathy and misery. She knew that Charlie had been looking forward to college so much! And now he couldn’t go. “That’s terrible! That’s awful! It’s not fair.”

      Charlie grinned a cheerless grin and tapped one finger on Kit’s newspaper. “That’s your headline, isn’t it?” he said. “These days a lot of things happen that aren’t fair. There’s no one to blame, and there’s nothing that can be done about it.” Charlie’s voice sounded tired, as if he’d grown old all of a sudden. “You better get used to it, Kit. Life’s not like books. There’s no bad guy, and sometimes there’s no happily ever after, either.”

      At that moment, Kit felt an odd sensation. Things were happening so fast! It was as if a match had been struck inside her and a little flame was lit, burning like anger, flickering like fear. “Charlie,” she asked. “What’s going to happen to us?”

      “I don’t know,” said Charlie. He stood up to go.

      “Wait,” said Kit. “How come you told me about Dad? Was it just to stop me from bothering Dad with my newspaper?”

      “No,” said Charlie. “No. I told you because…” He paused. “Because you’re part of this family, and I figured you deserve to know.”

      “Thanks, Charlie,” said Kit. She was grateful to Charlie for treating her like a grownup. “I’m glad you told me,” she said, “even though I wish none of it were true.”

      “Me, too,” said Charlie. “Me, too.”

      After Charlie left, Kit sat on the step thinking. No wonder Dad had not been happy about the Howards coming to stay. He must have been worried about more mouths to feed. And no wonder Mother had been short-tempered today. When she said that even though it was nobody’s fault, they were still in a mess, she must have been thinking of Dad. It wasn’t his fault that they’d fallen into the terrible, slippery hole of the Depression, and yet, and yet…it surely seemed as though they had. Just like the Howards. Just like the kids at school. Just like the people she’d read about in the newspaper.

      The СКАЧАТЬ