Wishing for Someday Soon - Page 17
Several minutes later, I finally had to prompt him to make a choice. He was torn between chips and his favorite candy, Peanut M&M’s.
“Why don’t you get the M&M’s since they have peanuts inside, that way it’s like you’re getting a double treat?”
“Good idea,” he said, grinning at me.
I plunked some change into the vending machine for him and headed over to the soda machine to get us a drink.
“Here you go, sis,” he said, offering me the open bag of candy as we settled onto the hard resin seats.
“No thanks, kid, I’m not all that hungry.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, not quite believing me.
“Positive,” I said, trying to block out the smell of his candy so that my stomach wouldn’t growl and betray my lie.
Kevin munched happily on his unexpected treat while I read my book until the laundry was ready to be switched around.
A little later, while the laundry was tumbling in the dryers, I gave Kevin a ride in the laundry cart since the facility was still empty of other patrons. He loved it when I would pretend I was going to crash the cart into something, only to jerk the cart to a stop at the last possible moment. The belly laughs that poured from him made me giggle in delight. Moments like this only clarified why I could never leave him.
Our fun came to a close as the clothes began to dry. Lucinda was seriously obsessive compulsive about her clothes getting wrinkled, and only hers mind you, which seemed like an oxymoron considering that the majority of the time we lived in the car. Though I felt the whole idea was ridiculous, I’d taken enough hits over the years to know it had to be done right. So, as each piece of her clothing became dry, Kevin and I would pull it out and shake it vigorously before smoothing it out on the folding table and rolling it like Lucinda preferred. Rolling the clothes before they were packed helped eliminate wrinkles and crease lines and Lucinda had come to appreciate this method.
Kevin and I finished the laundry as the sun was setting outside, making the temperature fall rapidly. While we waited for Jim and Lucinda to return, I made Kevin change out of his thin worn-out jeans into a pair of the long johns and thicker jeans we had purchased earlier. He also grabbed one of his hot-from-the-dryer, long sleeved shirts to put on over his t-shirt.
Lucinda and Jim pulled into the parking lot as I was sliding into one of my new hoodies. The warmth from the dryer engulfed me and chased away the chill that had begun to creep into the badly-insulated laundromat.
I handed over the change and watched Lucinda as she counted out the three remaining bills.
“How many loads did you do?” she asked, causing Kevin to
stiffen beside me.
I patted his hand in the dark, reassuring him. “Four,” I lied easily, not feeling any guilt. Kevin having something in his empty belly outweighed lies in my book. “The washers were seventy-five cents each, and each load took fifty cents worth of drying,” I added before she could ask, accounting for every cent we’d spent.
Chapter 5
The next day of school went much like my first day had gone except I now had my own desk in each of my classes.
As luck would have it, my new desk was located smack dab next to Max’s which seriously shook my resolve to ignore his advances. He was as attentive as the day before and I couldn’t help but respond to his easy nature as he continued to pepper me with questions.
“How'd your assessment go?” he asked as we headed out of math class later that afternoon.
“Um, I’m not sure. Hanson said he would go over it tonight,” I said, trying to sound blasé.
“Well, my offer still stands,” He said.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“But…”
“No buts, I’m just not sure what I'll need help with,” I answered, trying to skate around the real issue.
“No prob. It all comes easy to me.”
“Wow, cocky much?” I asked, laughing at his pretend hurt expression.
“Ha-ha. Nah, I'm not sayin I don't have my faults. Don’t even think of asking me to make anything in the kitchen, that's a complete disaster.”
“Ha, me too,” I laughed.
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