Page 61 of Drawing Home
“LT Burger?”
Penny nodded. At least her mom was trying to make it up to her. LT Burger, with its waffle fries and milk shakes, was her favorite. Her phone buzzed in her hand—a text from her father.
“Dad wants to take me to the beach tomorrow,” she said.
Emma glanced at her. “What happened to helping at the historical society? You made a commitment to Angus, Penny. It’s not right to just bail on him.”
It struck Penny as funny when her mother used words likebail. It reminded her that her mother had been young once. Maybe she’d bailed on a few things in her time. Maybe she could still remember what that was like.
“Mom, I said okay to helping out at the historical society because no one wants to hire a fourteen-year-old for a real job.”
“Did you even try?”
“Yes! A few places. I really wanted to work at BuddhaBerry. The owner said next summer. And fine, I know you said I can’t sit around the house alone all day. But things changed. Dad is here for now, but who knows how much time I’ll get to have with him? The historical society isn’t going anywhere.”
Emma pulled into a parking spot. They walked to the burger place in silence.
Penny’s phone buzzed again, this time with Mindy’s response to the photos she texted of the house.
That place is sick!
Penny contemplated what to write back.Thanksseemed weird;I know,obnoxious. Was she overthinking it? God, she hated how hard she tried. But the sting of the other day at the beach was still with her. She just had to move past it.
Inside, LT Burger was all white subway tile, funky lamps, chalkboard menus, and wire ceiling fans. They sat at a table near the orange-topped wraparound bar. Penny didn’t need a menu. She always ordered the standard burger, waffle fries, and, for dessert, the Death by Oreo milk shake.
“Penny,” her mother said. “I need you to stop fighting me on everything. Do you think I like always having to be the bad guy? I don’t. But I’m trying to do what’s best for you even when that makes you upset with me. It’s important in life to do the right thing even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. Do you understand?”
Penny nodded. She thought she did. Basically, her mom was as tired of arguing about everything as she was. And, really, she didn’t want to add to her mom’s stress.
“I’m sorry,” Penny said.
Emma shook her head. “I’m not complaining. I love you. I just want you to know that I’m not trying to make you miserable. But I’m the adult and I see the big picture in a way that you can’t. You have to trust me and not view every decision as me taking something away from you.”
“But when you tell me I have to work at the historical society instead of spending the day with my dad, that is taking something away from me.”
Her mother leaned back and sighed. “You know what? How about a compromise? Work at the historical society for a few hours in the morning and early afternoon, then your dad can pick you up for the beach and dinner.”
Penny smiled. “Good deal.”
The waitress took their order. Her mom must have felt better after the talk because she ordered their milk shakes as appetizers instead of dessert.
And then Penny’s phone buzzed in her lap with a new text from Mindy.
Party at my place Friday nite.
Penny glanced at her mother.
Okay, maybe what her mother didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. Penny didn’t need to debate every little thing she wanted to do.
She just needed to be more careful not to get caught.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Bea was heartened by the discovery of the old will, but she knew it wasn’t necessarily a smoking gun. She had no intention of sitting back and waiting for lawyers to get the job done. There were still drawings to be found, and so her destination that afternoon was the whaling museum.
The Sag Harbor Whaling Museum was a white Greek Revival mansion with a temple-front portico bearing, in gold letters, the wordsMASONIC TEMPLE. Two enormous whale jawbones framed the doorway.
The building had double-height ceilings and a magnificent oval staircase. The only blight on an otherwise noble interior was a gift-shop counter. And it was there that she found Angus, ringing up souvenirs for a family with small children.
