Family Reunion Read Online Free Page B

to pause. I am the only person I know who loved middle school, and I would have been willing to stay there indefinitely, being an eighth grader. Eighth is such a relaxing year. You study only what you've studied before. I like that. When I said so to DeWitt, he narrowed his eyes, and shortly after receiving this information, he paddled away with his sister. DeWitt was the kind of person who would always be panting for the next stage, like Joanna, while Angus is the kind of person who is so busy in the moment, he forgets past and future. And I am the kind of person who wants to sit and think, watch and wonder, without really participating all that much.
    Down on the dock where I lay watching DeWitt row, there was not the slightest breeze, but in the blue sky a strong wind rushed clouds along, as if they had an urgent commitment in another world.
    I moseyed back into the house, where Angus was lickingicing from a cake Annette had baked. There's something about a summer house that entices you into the kitchen. The night before, we had been up for hours making corn tassel dolls because I had read about them in an ancient Lois Lenski book. Maybe Vermont hours are slower than New York hours, or perhaps Vermont kitchens are roomier and sunnier.
    Angus ran a finger around the cake rim and scooped up a dollop for me. I licked it off his finger. Yummy. “You know what Joanna said to me the other day, Angus?” I said. I took my own icing scoop. There were now sled tracks where our fingers had plowed and the chocolate-cake earth showed through.
    “What?” Angus got milk out of the refrigerator.
    “She said she's always wondered if Daddy has a son by his first marriage, and she would meet the son and have a crush on her own brother.” I poured us each a glass of milk. “Isn't that silly, Angus? The whole idea of Daddy having another son?”
    Angus gave me a funny look. “But Shelley,” he said, “Dad does have another son. His name is Toby.”

Vermont was quiet, the sun hot, the lake shining. Down by the water Annette turned a page in her book.
    “What are you talking about?” I whispered.
    “Toby,” my brother repeated unhelpfully.
    “Toby who?” I demanded.
    “I don't know. I just know he is.”
    “Is what?” I was shrieking now, but still whispering. Annette was aware of nothing. For that matter, Angus was aware of nothing. He began gathering supplies for one of his endless projects. I followed him. He rounded up two pairs of sunglasses, one to wear and one to perch in his hair. The pair he was wearing had miniature green venetianblinds, so I had to look through slots to see his eyes. “Dad does have another son” I quoted. “His name is Toby. What kind of sentences are those?”
    Angus pawed through the rainy-day box of broken crayons, dry Magic Markers, tracing paper and construction paper. It had been abandoned by the previous summer-home owner, and we hadn't discarded it, because you never knew when you might need a coloring book. Angus extracted some relatively clean paper and fished around for pencils.
    “Angus! Exactly how did you learn about Toby? Give me all the details. Now.”
    Angus shrugged. “Don't know the details.” He checked the pencils to see how sharp their tips were.
    “You do too know. If you don't give me a real answer, I'll stab you with your pencils. Information as important as that would stick with you. Especially with you. I bet you have a whole separate file in your computer for family secrets.”
    Angus looked thoughtful. He's always ready for a new project. But he shrugged a second time. “I have to get downtown,” he informed me, although downtown is a rather strong word for this village. “I can't waste more time on this.” From the stack of folded aluminum outdoor chairs, he chose a low folding beach chair, the kind where your bottom practically touches the sand. He gathered his necessities, slinging the flimsy beach chair over his shoulder like ahuge