Page 18 of Them Bones

Her nostrils flared and she ground her teeth, but she fought to keep the irritation out of her voice. “Want to make something extra? Something just for us?”

He looked at her funny.Yes! Yes! Finally, he’s going to say something!

But then he reached under the counter and pulled out a box – cinnamon rolls – and held it out for her.

“What’s this?” she asked, eyeing him.

“Extra.”

He just stood there, staring at her, holding the box. Eventually he looked at her funny again, like she was a little bit dumb, and then set the box down beside her, picked up his backpack, and disappeared out the back door.

Val from the Money Mart showed up around 7:30, rubbing her pregnant belly and waddling in for her morning gossip session.

“You feel okay today, Sabrina?” she asked, her mouth full. “You seem out of sorts.”

“I’m fine,” Sabrina snapped. “Just tired. I came in early to help the baker.”

“Oooooh,” Val moaned, “I knew something tasted different! You should help more often! This is definitely the best cinnamon bun I’ve ever had.”

“It’s just because you’re pregnant,” Sabrina grumbled.

Shethought the cinnamon buns were dry.

SHANE

Shane had settled into an easy routine. He and Dustin would wake up every morning before dawn, and Dustin would quietly show him the measurements for different types of bread and pastry. He liked sourdough best, but Laney favoured cinnamon rolls, so Shane made them daily. On weekdays, Laney would go to school during the day. Dustin didn’t, and Shane wasn’t sure if he was skipping or supposed to be home, but he didn’t ask. Shane had hated school and didn’t blame the kid if he didn’t want to go.

Dustin would disappear into his room during the day, emerging at lunchtime to cook, his fingertips dusted dark with charcoal. While Shane always felt like an equal partner in their lessons in baking, lunch and dinner seemed to be Dustin’s domain so Shane just sat at the counter quietly watching.

Laney would come home around 3:30 every day, cheeks pink from the cold, her bruise finally fading, and would annoy them both with constant, snarky chatter that made Shane laugh until his ribs ached.

They were always quiet at dinner, communicating in that curious, quiet way of theirs. It was getting easier every day. Afterthey ate, they’d watch tv in the living room until Laney passed out, and Shane would carry her to bed.

Tuesday and Thursday mornings, he got up extra early and went to the bakery. There was always an envelope of cash labelled “Dustin”, but he never encountered Andy, only the curly-haired girl whose name he couldn’t remember. She was always batting her eyelashes at him and peppering him with questions but had never once asked about what had happened to Dustin, where he’d gone.

Shane didn’t like her.

They never talked about Laney’s mom, or brother. His nerves jangled slightly whenever he thought about them, and how he’ddefinitelyhave to leave when one of them eventually showed up, but he stuck around anyway, even knowing it would end.

In the afternoons, Shane kept himself busy around the house. He’d hung the French doors in the basement, fixed the door to his – well, the brother’s – room, reorganized the laundry room, scrubbed the grout in the shower, taken the empty liquor bottles from the cabinet to the liquor store in exchange for some coins, and sorted the front hall closet where he’d found a heavy wool men’s winter jacket and tall winter boots. They were old and dusty, and he suspected they had been Jerry’s, whoever he was. But they were warm.

He liked the weekends best, when Laney was home all day. She made the house seem crowded, lighting it up with her charm and making too much noise.

Shane taught them how to play poker, and Dustin cleaned them out every time. They bet chores, but Dustin only ever bet dishes. At this point, he didn’t have to do dishes for infinity.

It was a Sunday when Laney bet Dustin a haircut and – shockingly – won.

She set up a chair in the basement where the hair could be easily swept up off the linoleum, and draped what looked like an old Dracula cape over him. She furrowed her brow with concentration, snipping the kitchen scissors in the air twice, before sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth and reaching towards him –

Shane plucked the scissors out of her hand.

“I’ll do it,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because you’re awful at it,” he laughed, eyeing Dustin’s terrible haircut.

“I’ve never done it on someone else before, only mine,” she whined.

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