Vintage Read Online Free

sucking up. I really do like the bag. And I’m definitely not after an inheritance. I’ve got enough problems trying to deal with my mom’s estate.”
    The word “estate” was misleading, April thought. Before her mom died, she’d always thought the word implied some sort of wealth. She learned she was wrong after seeing all the letters from banks trying to collect debts from the nonexistent assets of her mom’s “estate.” Now she just piled all the letters up and dropped them off periodically at the lawyer’s office.
    “Can I get you anything to drink?” April asked.
    “No, thank you, I’m fine,” said Mrs. Barrett. “Let’s just have a seat.”
    April led her into the living room. They sat down opposite one another in worn wing chairs.
    “So.” Mrs. Barrett leaned forward. “One of the other committee members stopped by your school to drop off some forms for you the other day.”
    April sucked in her breath. She was busted.
    “The front office said you’ve been absent lately. Have you been ill?”
    By reflex, April folded her arms in front of her midsection. “Not exactly.”
    “April,” said the older woman after a pause. “Why do you think I’m here today?”
    April sat up straighter. “I thought I was required to meet with you as a condition of my scholarship. That’s what you said on the phone, anyway.”
    “That’s not entirely true. Well, for you it is.” Mrs. Barrett repositioned a gold watch on her bony wrist. “What I mean is, in the past we haven’t required other scholarship recipients to meet with a committee member. But because of your special circumstances, having lost your mother so recently, we thought it would be a good idea to make sure someone checks in on you.”
    April couldn’t decide whether to be touched or annoyed. She was so tired of everyone feeling sorry for her. Most of her interactions lately were stripped down, sanitized through a filter of pity. What people didn’t know, though, was that April had been taking care of herself for years, even before her mom died. There were plenty of times when her mom was so out of it that April had to do everything around the house: grocery shop, renew the license plates, make sure the bills got paid.
    “You can tell me what’s going on,” Mrs. Barrett said. “I won’t tell the rest of the committee, not if you don’t want me to.”
    “Okay, but you can’t tell anyone else. Not yet, anyway,” April said. She figured there was probably no point in lying. It would be impossible to hide her condition soon enough, if it wasn’t already. Recently she’d caught a lot of people staring at her belly. That shop lady with the tattoo, Violet, had done it the other day at the vintage store.
    “I won’t tell anybody,” Mrs. Barrett said. “That is, unless you’ve committed a crime.”
    “Well, it’s not a crime as far as I know,” April said. “I’m pregnant.”
    April had only uttered those words aloud once before, to Charlie, after she’d taken the home pregnancy test. He’d responded with a marriage proposal.
    Mrs. Barrett’s response was less enthusiastic. She looked shocked, and April was certain she was going to lose her scholarship on the spot. Surprisingly, the realization didn’t sting very much. April wanted it to sting, wanted to feel any sort of sensation other than the hollow ache she’d been feeling since Charlie left. Losing him so soon after losing her mom, though in a different way, burned like ripping the bandage from a still-seeping wound.
    “You can’t just drop out of high school,” Mrs. Barrett said. “If you’re embarrassed or worried about what your classmates will think, I’m sure we can talk to your teachers and figure something out.”
    “I’m not embarrassed,” April said. “I didn’t stop going to class just because I’m pregnant. I was also bored.”
    Mrs. Barrett put a hand to her temple. “I have to say this is terribly disappointing. How will you be able to go to