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Bugs, Weeds, and Water

Penulis:

Bab 1: Chapter 1

"Zoe - eeeey, Ru - beeey, Cel - eeeeste!" Aunt Flory called over the triplets' heads for the third time as they huddled under the wooden porch beneath her. "Get your sorry behinds in here for lunch, or there's going to be trouble. I mean it this time." Her tone, previously one of mild exasperation, slipped into irritation.

'Good. That would teach her. Maybe next time, Aunt Flory would think twice before telling her to drop the subject of finding her father again. As if she could. The problem was that Aunt Flory didn't understand. No one did.'

Fourteen-year-old Zoey Starling clamped her hands over her sisters' mouths while listening to Aunt Flory stew above them. She wasn't worried. Though often frustrated by what she referred to as her nieces' shenanigans, Aunt Flory rarely got angry. It wasn't in her nature.

Peering through the floorboards overhead, Zoey could hear Aunt Flory's labored breathing as she paced the porch, scanning the horizon for any sign of the girls. Spying on Aunt Flory was one of Zoey's favorite activities. Hiding from her was another, so she was pleased to be doing both at the same time.

Her sister, Ruby, squirming to free herself from Zoey's grasp, bit hard into her finger. Stifling a cry, Zoey released her.

Ruby grinned with satisfaction as she wiped her mouth.

'She should have known better than to let Ruby hide under the porch with them. You couldn't count on her not to draw attention to herself. Ever.'

Celeste was quiet as usual, mesmerized by a spider riding the air currents on a thin silken thread.

Aunt Flory bent over to lift a sack of birdseed, her broad shadow blocking the slivers of spring sunlight squeezing between the floorboards. The wind caught her oversized print dress, flapping it like a flag over the porch. Watching Aunt Flory strain under the effort, guilt overcame Zoey. 'She'd promised to fill the feeder that morning but had somehow forgotten.'

"Lazy as red dogs on a summer's day," Aunt Flory grumbled as she filled the feeder until it overflowed, the seeds tapping the floor above Zoey's head like raindrops. Dropping the sack, she lumbered across the porch, grinding a shower of dirt between the planks into the girls' hair. She slammed the screen door behind her.

"Why are you picking on Aunt Flory again, anyway?" Ruby asked, her eyes cool as polished jade. "What did she do to you?" She swiped her hand through a curtain of cobwebs. "I'll give you thirty seconds. Then I'm going back inside. I'm hungry."

"Shh, wait," Zoey hissed, still watching the empty porch above them. "Wait until it's clear. Do you want Aunt Flory to catch us?"

"I'll tell her it was your idea," Ruby sniped. "I'm sure she'll be interested to know you were spying again."

"You wouldn't dare," Zoey said. "Because then I would have to tell her why her perfume disappears so quickly."

"It's got alcohol in it," Ruby said, flipping her hair. "It evaporates."

"Sure," Zoey said. "On your skin." Zoey absent-mindedly brushed dirt from Celeste's hair. As the oldest of the triplets by ten minutes, Zoey often felt responsible for her youngest sister. 'Unlike Ruby, who rarely concerned herself with anyone's opinion but her own, Celeste was fragile and sensitive. Celeste needed her.'

The silky texture of Celeste's hair filled Zoey's mouth with the loamy bouquet of cinnamon and nutmeg. She swallowed, letting the flavor, as well as love for her sister, wash over her. 'It was almost too much.' She suddenly felt light-headed. Her heart raced. She took a deep breath, steadying herself against Celeste as she struggled to keep the world upright. 'Strange. It was the second time in a week she'd felt this way. Maybe she was getting sick.'

Still riveted on the spider, Celeste didn't seem to notice, though she tensed slightly to support Zoey's weight, clutching closer to her chest the stuffed lion that she carried everywhere. Their mother's childhood companion, technically Lancelot belonged to all three girls, but Celeste had long ago claimed it as her own.

Zoey and Ruby were happy to let her have it. Though Lancelot's ear was torn and his whiskers missing, his was one of the few faces Celeste trusted outside the family. "My Earth Angel," she often whispered in his ear as she held him close. Zoey assumed she'd picked up the phrase from television; an activity that, if not restricted by Aunt Flory, could immobilize her in its hypnotic blue embrace for hours.

Continuing to take deep breaths until her head cleared, Zoey calculated the easiest way for them to sneak into the house without Aunt Flory seeing them. Just then, the back door opened, and Aunt Flory reappeared. This time, she wasn't alone. Zoey shivered. With the sunlight blocked, the space under the porch suddenly felt cold and damp.

"Let them miss their lunch," a thin nasal voice scolded Aunt Flory. "They won't do it again. I've warned you against spoiling those girls. You've got your hands full enough around here without all their shenanigans."

Zoey immediately recognized the voice and its disapproving tone. "It's Verna," she whispered to Ruby, rolling her eyes.

Ruby rolled her eyes too. "Nosy old bat."

No wonder Aunt Flory sounded more irritated than usual. Verna often put her on edge when it came to Zoey and her sisters. Without children of her own, she was full of free childrearing advice that usually included punishment of one kind or another. Verna had been Aunt Flory's best friend since childhood. While Aunt Flory had turned forty little more than four months ago, on the same day the world celebrated the arrival of 1990, Zoey always thought of Verna as much older. Verna had long lost any youthful joy that she may have once possessed, while Aunt Flory still glowed with it.

Aunt Flory usually took her friend's criticisms with a grain of salt. Occasionally, however, Verna's criticism could coerce her to confess that she might have bitten off a bit more than she could chew when it came to raising the triplets. Still, she didn't believe harsh discipline was the answer to any of the world's problems.

"What good would it do for them to miss lunch?" Aunt Flory asked with a sigh. "It just makes them cranky."

With another soft groan, Aunt Flory picked up the bag of birdseed again and teetered down the porch stairs. Zoey pressed herself against the house and pulled Ruby and Celeste close. Aunt Flory's heavy leg rested on the bottom stair just inches from their reach.

"Just what you need; more mouths to feed," Verna clucked as she watched Aunt Flory fill three more bird feeders perched in the grass. "Don't you have enough work to do around here?"

Aunt Flory laughed. "Nonsense. I love feeding the birds. I could watch them for hours if I had the time."

"Zoey Mae Starling, Ruby Rose Starling, don't you dare teach Celeste to disobey me," Aunt Flory called again as Zoey watched their shadows cross the lawn. Aunt Flory's was broad and wide, while Verna's was angular and wiry. As usual, a king-size cigarette dangled from Verna's lips, dark wisps of smoke swarming over her head.

"A good lickin' would straighten them out," Verna said as she followed Aunt Flory back up the stairs. "It was certainly good enough for me. I wouldn't dare pull any of the stunts they do."

"You can't blame Celeste," Aunt Flory argued. "She doesn't know any better. She follows whatever the other two do."

"I'm not convinced of that, "Verna retorted. "I doubt you know half what goes on in that girl's head."

"Now that's for sure." Aunt Flory laughed. "But I'm determined to figure it out. She's already made incredible progress. I could spit when I think about that doctor who tried to convince me that she would never amount to anything. He should be stripped of his license, plain and simple."

Zoey imagined the disapproval pinching Verna's face at the mention of Celeste and how quickly she would paste on a smile. Verna knew it was best to tread lightly with Aunt Flory when it came to Celeste.

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