Rich Shapero Read Online Free

hole. Then he put his finger on his cheek where Fristeen had kissed
it.
    They're done now, Robbie thought.
    But when he left the bathroom, they were
still arguing. So he snuck out of his room and crept along the hall.
    Mom was saying something about a moose.
    "How many times have we been over
this?" Dad said.
    "You trust his judgment?"
    "He knows what to do," Dad said.
"They don't stalk kids."
    "Or a bear—"
    "The chance of that—" Dad began.
    "What if he gets lost?" Mom's
voice rose. "What if he falls? What if he breaks his leg—"
    "Felicia—"
    Robbie pictured the disbelief on Dad's
face.
    "Stan's boy is six," Dad said,
"and he's free as a bird. You ought to get to know Jenny—"
    "Once was enough."
    "Stan said she enjoyed the morning you
spent—"
    "Greasing her well pump?" Mom
said. "Next time we'll shovel out her privy."
    Silence.
    "There are a lot of boys Robbie's
age," Dad said, "wandering these forests. That's what this is all
about." "For you, not for Robbie." "He has to take some
risks," Dad said. "Please—don't tell me about Illinois."
"He's got a mind of his own." Dad laughed and repeated in a squeaky
voice, "'I was exploring."'
    Robbie heard the admiration in Dad's voice.
"I'm glad he isn't content to twiddle around in the Clearing." Dad's
scorn filled their small home. More silence.
    "You're turning him against me,
Jack." Mom was faltering.
    "The look on his face—" Mom cut
herself off. She was getting sad.
    "It's my fault," Mom said.
"This never would have happened if I'd been here."
    Dad said nothing.
    "I'm gone all the time," Mom
said.
    "Three days a week?"
    "It's too much."
    "That's insane," Dad said.
    Silence again.
    "Oh, Jack—"
    Robbie could barely hear her now.
    "He's changed," Mom said.
    "He's your son."
    "With work— And school in
September—"
    Robbie turned and headed back to his room.
    "I'm losing him," Mom said.
    **
    When dinner was ready, Dad came to get him.
    "Say you're sorry. Remember."
    But Robbie did better than that. He circled
the table and pulled out Mom's chair for her. It made them both laugh.
    "I'm sorry." And he meant it. He
loved Mom.
    The food wasn't special, but he ate
everything on his plate. Afterward, they would talk and agree to change the
rules, and there wouldn't be any more arguing.
    They cleared the dishes and sat back down.
Nothing remained on the table except the two waxen cylinders, white and unlit.
    "We set the boundary at the
Clearing," Mom said, "when you were five. You're older now. You have
better judgment. You can climb the Hill—you've proven that. So we're changing
the rules." She glanced at Dad. "You can go to the top of the
Hill."
    "But—"
    Dad's expression warned him.
    Robbie shook his head. The new rule didn't
make any sense. "There's a place higher up—Where You Can See—"
    "If you think the limits should be
changed," Dad said, "we'll talk about it. Give it a little time. Alright?"
He winked.
    "Alright."
    "You got Trudy in trouble today,"
Dad said. "I know."
    "And Mom was really upset. They just
want to know where you are."
    Robbie nodded.
    "The top of the Hill. No
farther," Mom said. "I should be able to see you from the deck."
"We won't."
    The words slipped out before Robbie could
stop them. "We?" Mom prickled with fresh alarm. "Me and—"
Robbie shrugged and grabbed his milk. "Any friends of mine."
    "You were with someone."
    Robbie took a swallow. "Yep." He
set his glass down. His indomitable air had its effect. Mom's jaw dropped. Dad
tried to straighten his laugh with his hand. "Well, who was it?" Mom
asked.
    "Fristeen," Robbie said, pointing
through the window. "She lives over there."
    Mom's head bowed. "What next?"
    Robbie waited for her to continue, but she
just sat there. Dad leaned back from the table with a blank look on his face. What's
happening? Robbie wondered. Dad's attention shifted. He reached
for the mail and began to thumb through it. "She's—" Robbie searched
for a word. "Amazing." "That's beside the point," Mom
sighed. "It had