Man in the Moon Read Online Free Page A

his mouth.
    “Stay inside today,” Mama said. “It’s too hot for both of you.”
    I wasn’t going to argue with that. Unless, of course, Mr. Lunas decided to spend the day inside.

    Ricky and I did stay in. We hid in our cave most of the day. It’s not a real cave. Just the narrow space under the piano. We played cards, and dinosaurs, and I Spy, and a bunch of other silly games that we made up ourselves—like sitting on the piano pedals to see if our butts could hold both of them down at once. After three tries, I almost did it, but I ended up with a sore heinie instead. We finally crawled out at three o’clock to watch afternoon cartoons.
    We were sprawled on the living room floor when Mr. Lunas came in and sat on the couch. As he was getting fatter, his smile was getting fuller. “You kids been having a good day?”
    I wanted to keep watching cartoons and not say anything. Pretend like we didn’t hear him. But Ricky rolled over and grinned. “Mr. Lunas! Are you going to watch cartoons with us?”
    “Sure,” he said, crossing his legs.
    I didn’t say a word. Instead I got up slowly, deciding I’d skip cartoons and sneak off to my room. As I passed by the couch, Mr. Lunas reached out and grabbed my arm. I froze on the spot, my guts turning upside down.
    “You know, Janine,” he said, “you don’t have to be afraid. I won’t bite you.”
    I sort of had the feeling that he really wouldn’t, but I still couldn’t get that vision out of my head: Him laying on the ground with that crazy look in his eyes, staring up at the sky. But why? Could Mr. Lunas have been a hobo who just liked sleeping outside? Or maybe it was too durned hot for him to sleep inside. Mama and Daddy sleep on the porch, and that’s kinda like outside. He must’ve had some good reason.
    It took a lot of doing, but I forced myself to smile at him. “I’m just going to go help Mama shell peas.”
    Darn!
Those words just shot out of my mouth without me thinking about them first. Now I was really mad at myself. But I kept my word and spent the afternoon shelling peas.

    That night we sat under a half-moon, Daddy whistling and Mama fanning herself with a magazine. Ricky rolled a toy car around in the dirt, making zooming noises under his breath, while I got lost in a daydream about when I grow up to be a movie star. I could see myself on that big drive-in screen, while Cheryl and Debbie sat in a car watching me perform.
    Mr. Lunas sat in the lawn chair with his head tilted back, Buddy at his feet. He told Mama he was working a kink out of his neck, but I knew better. His gaze was fixed on that velvet sky. The stars filled it like spilled diamonds, and although only half of the moon was showing, I could see the shadow of the other half, waiting its turn to shine.
    “Can I have a go-cart?” Ricky asked, rolling his toy car over Daddy’s worn-out brown shoe.
    Daddy held his sides and laughed like Milton Berle had just got pied in the face. “Son, as soon as I strike oil, I’ll get you that go-cart.”
    Ricky flipped the toy over and rolled the wheels with his palm. “Can’t we use Green Stamps?”
    “No!” Mama said sharply. “We need those Green Stamps for an emergency.”
    Daddy winked. “Yeah, like an emergency bedspread or chicken fryer.”
    Mama gave him a bitter look.
    Mr. Lunas kept staring up, even as he spoke. “Ricky, a go-cart sounds like a fine vehicle.”
    “Too fine,” Daddy said. “He might as well ask for a Cadillac.”
    Ricky just slumped a little and murmured, “Zoom.” No oomph at all, just “zoom.” It’s a strange word to hear when there’s no meaning attached. Kind of like Ricky was saying it while falling down a well.
    Just then a dog howled in the distance and both Buddy and Mr. Lunas perked up.
    “I wonder what that crazy old hound’s howling about,” Daddy said, taking a sip of iced tea.
    Mr. Lunas tapped on the arm of his chair. “Do you know why dogs bark at the moon?”
    No one answered