Dirty Faces - Book 2

Chapter 14: Comics and Crutches

Chapter 14: Comics and Crutches

Adam was, for all intents and purposes, a girl. He had come to that conclusion over the summer. They would never say as much, but he knew everyone else thought it, too. When he was younger, back in Cleveland, he could chalk it up to simply being a child, but now he was older. And things were different here, making it all the more apparent.

That morning at breakfast, Ginny had whined that the summer was passing too quickly. But it wasn't for him. True, there were days Jack and Kody took him fishing with them, and a couple times he'd even tagged along with Kody to work. They didn't mind taking him fishing, he knew, but he also knew that Kody had been put up to bringing him to work with him. For that reason, though he'd picked up a few basic automotive skills, he hadn't much enjoyed his time at the service station.

They had come to realize a while back that he would not, in fact, break when subjected to their wisecracks, and thus commenced picking on him the same way they all picked at each other. Nonetheless, it was still an undeniable fact that he was not, and could never be, like them. As he stared out the truck window that Saturday morning, he knew that when Kody got off from his short day at work, he would probably go sit with Leslie on her front step until suppertime; if he wasn't home for supper, Aunt Susan would just assume he'd be there after he had supper with Leslie's family. When Jack was done with his chores and whatever he had to do in the fields, he would re-embark on his quest to see how far he could get with practically every girl in town.

Aunt Susan pulled the truck up in front of the company store and put it in park. Across the street, on the dirt patch beside the schoolhouse, Ginny, an actual girl, was playing baseball. It was a real shame, Adam thought, that he could cook better than her. He could also clean, can, and pickle as well as the finest of housewives. Long days spent with Aunt Susan or Aunt Betty, or simply alone at the house, had ensured that.

He had also put on some much-needed weight as a result of those long days indoors. Anyone would be a fool to pass up whatever baked goodness Aunt Betty had sitting on the counter or fresh out of the oven; and after all those hungry nights back in Cleveland, he wasn't about to refuse second helpings any time Aunt Susan offered. Despite the fact he still caught every cold, cough, and sniffle that came within a mile of him, and aside from that stupid crutch, he at least looked relatively healthy now.

Adam opened the truck door, grabbed his crutch, and followed Aunt Susan into the store. The little bells on the door jingled, alerting Mr. Kelly of a customer. “Good, morning, Susan,” he said, straightening up some cans at the end of an aisle. “Just can't keep away from this place, can you?”

“I try to pick up things when I leave here, but it never fails, I forget the most important stuff,” Aunt Susan replied.

“Good seeing you, Adam,” said Mr. Kelly.

“Thank you, sir. You as well.”

The storekeeper's eyes appeared to smile, but one could never be quite sure because his mouth was entirely obscured by his bushy, auburn mustache. Adam wondered if he was aware he sold in this very store all the necessary equipment to remedy that.

Aunt Susan picked up a shopping basket and looked at Adam. “I know you know how I am when I shop. You can look around, if you'd like.” Adam nodded and turned to go look at the comic books along the wall. He did know how she was when she was shopping; they would be there a while. It didn't bother him one bit, though, to be stuck at the store for ages every week. Rather, he looked forward to it. It gave him a chance to catch up on the latest escapades of the superheroes in All-American Comics.