Page 17 (1/2)

Myrna stood beside Ruth, her own plate sagging under an eether they watched the hunt Children darted around the village, shrieking and screas Little Rose Tremblay was knocked into the pond by one of her brothers and Timmy Benson stopped to help her out While Madaault whacked Tirateful she wasn’t ten any ether?’ Myrna asked

‘No I don’t "wanna",’ Ruth said ‘Have to get home’

‘How’re the chicks?’ Myrna took no offense from Ruth; to do that would be to live in permanent offense

‘They’re not chicks, they’re ducks Ducklings, I suppose’

‘Where do we get the real eggs?’ Rose Tremblay stood in front of Ruth like CindyLou Who before the Grinch, holding three exquisite wooden eggs in her pudgy pink palms For soht to Ruth, like les

‘How should I know?’

‘You’re the egg lady,’ said Rose, wearing a soggy blanket She looked a little, Myrna thought, like one of Ruth’s precious duck eggs wrapped in her own flannel

‘Well,warm, where you should be But if you insist on this foolishness, go ask her for the chocolate ones’ Ruth waved her cane like a crooked wand at Clara, as trying to make her way to a picnic table

‘But Clara has nothing to do with giving the kids their chocolate eggs,’ said Myrna as little Rose took off, calling the other kids until it looked like a tornado descending on Clara

‘I know,’ Ruth sneered and limped down the stairs At the botto a sandwich into her ht?’

‘To Clara and Peter’s for dinner, you mean? We all are, aren’t we?’

‘That’s not what I mean and you know it’ The old poet didn’t turn to look at the Hadley house, but Myrna knehat she meant ‘Don’t do it’

‘Why not? I do rituals all the ti you, and we did a ritual cleansing’

Myrna would never forget walking round the village green with the wo the smoke around Three Pines, to rid it of the fear and suspicions that had overtaken them

‘This is different, Myrna Landers’

Myrna didn’t realize Ruth knew her last name, or even her first For the most part Ruth just waved and commanded