A Roast on Sunday Read Online Free

here,” Willow said darkly. “Why aren’t you having breakfast at your girlfriend Sally’s house?”
    “She’s not my girlfriend .”
    “You finally see sense or did she dump your ass?”
    “Willow,” Maggie warned. “Stop cussing or I’ll wash your mouth out with honeysuckle soap.”
    Washing with Maggie’s honeysuckle soap left your skin feeling like it been kissed by the sun and massaged by the soft feet of bumblebees. However, a useful side effect had been discovered by parents, in that if used to wash a kids mouth out it left them unable to say a cross or nasty word about anyone or anything for a few days. Willow was still smarting from the last time her mother had carried through with the threat. She’d called her fellow classmates ‘sweetie pie’ and ‘sugar cane’ for days, even the ones like Sally Jameson who she couldn’t stand. It had been a truly horrible experience and one she had no desire to repeat.
    “Sorry mum.”
    She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms across her chest. She watched Nick as he devoured the food Maggie had placed in front of him. 
    “So what happened?” she asked him again. “Did she decide you’re not good enough for her after all?”
    “Something like that,” Nick mumbled. He would never tell Willow the truth, that Sally had given him an ultimatum. It was either her, she announced, or Willow.
    “You can’t go out with me and still be friends with her,” Sally declared, confident that he would make the right choice.
    And he had. He’d given her a two finger salute and said, “Righto, see you round then,” and walked away leaving her staring open mouthed after him. He’d pay for it, he knew. Sally would make his life a living hell for the next few weeks until a fresh victim caught her eye. But he had no regrets. Willow had been his best friend since he was six years old.
    “What are you two planning on getting up to today?” Maggie asked them as she poured hot water into the sink in preparation for the breakfast dishes.
    “That depends,” Nick said with a mournful look at Willow. “Am I forgiven?”
    She pretended to consider it. “Ok,” she finally said. “I’ll forgive you. But only if you do my homework.”
    She saw her mother’s mouth start to open in protest.
    “ Help me do my homework, I meant to say. Help , not do.” She grinned at her mother.
    “I should think so.”
    “No problem,” shrugged Nick. He’d already done his own on Friday afternoon, first thing when he got home. So he already knew the answers.
    “If Nick helps me with my homework today, we can help you at the stall tonight, right?” Willow asked her mother.
    “I guess so. But only if it’s ok with Nick’s mum.”
    “ Yeah she won’t mind,” Nick said. “Where’s Dot and Ray?”
    Dot, short for Dorothy, and Ray, were Willow’s grandparents. It was their house that Willow and Maggie lived in, and had done for most of Willow’s ten and a half years.
    Maggie scowled at the mention of her parents and the pan she was cleaning got a particularly vicious scrub.
    “Dot’s gone bush again, and as for Ray, your guess is as good as ours,” said Willow.
    “That woman acts like she’s fourteen not seventy four,” Maggie muttered. “Honestly” she turned and cupped her daughters face and traced the freckles on her nose with a finger tip, leaving a soapy bubble on the end, “if I end up as inconsiderate as her promise me you’ll lock me away in an old folk’s home or take me out back and shoot me. I don’t want to be a burden.”
    “ Ok,” Willow agreed, rolling her eyes at Nick. It was something her mother had said to her many times.
    “Right,” Maggie placed the last plate onto the dish rack, dried her hands on a tea towel and checked her watch. “You two get cracking on that homework. I’m going to head into town to set up the stall for tonight. If I don’t get there early enough I’ll miss out on the best spots.”
    She took the soap out of the