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“Nope I cried” His babyish r soundedhim?

“Then what did your mom do? Did she stop?”

He shook his head “She did this” He put his hands back on his ribs, scrunched up his face like he was straining, and the knuckles on his good hand turned white at his ribs

She remembered the bruises Mara had noticed on Levi’s torso Bruises Jem surely would have noticed when he picked the boy up after his weekend visit Could it have been fro “lesson”?

“Was she mad at you?”

“I dunno”

“Did you tell your dad about learning to swim?”

“Uh-uh” Levi shook his head, cliain “Mommy did”

“When he came to pick you up?”

“Uh-uh On the phone Dad was gone away a long tiame”

“Who was playing a game?”

“Moame and it was fun”

“Then your dad called and your mommy told him you’d learned to swim?”

“Yep!” He put a piece in place—the nose of the engine face

“Did you tell him that you cried when you learned to swim?”