Stay out of the basement (4)

Stay out of the basement (4)

His pale, freckled face turned serious.
" You know. I mean, Why ? " he asked, obviously uncomfortable.

She and Casey had never discussed this in the four weeks since Dad had been home.
Which was unusual since they were pretty close, being only a year apart. 

" I mean, we came all the way out here so he could work at PolyTech, right ? " Casey asked.

" Yeah, Well...he got fired, " Margaret said, half-whispering in case her dad might be able to hear.

" But why ? Did he blow up the lab or something ? " Casey grinned.

The idea of his dad blowing up a huge campus science lab appealed him.

" No, he didn't blow anything up, " Margaret said, tugging at a strand of dark hair.

" Botanists work with plants,you know. They don't get much of chance to blow things up. "

They both laughed.

Casey followed her into the narrow strip of shade cast by the low ranch-style house.

" I'm not sure exactly what happened, " Margaret continued, still half-whispering.
" But I overheard Dad on the phone. I think he was talking to Mr.Martinez. His department head.
Remember ?
The quiet little man who came to dinner that night barbecue grill caught fire ? "

Casey nodded. " Martinez fired Dad ? "

" Probably, " Margaret whispered.
"From what I overheard, it had something to do with the plants Dad was growing, some experiments that had gone wrong or something.

" But Dad's real smart," Casey insisted, as if Margaret were arguing with him.
" If his experiments were wrong, he'd know how to fix them. "

Margaret shrugged.
" That's all I know, " she said.
" Come on, Casey. Let's go inside. I'm dying of thirst  "

She stuck her tongue out and moaned, demonstrating her dire need of liquid.

" You are gross,  Casey said.
He pulled open the screen door, then dodged in front of her so he could get inside first.

" Who's gross, " Mrs.Brewer asked from the sink.
She turned to greet the two of them.
" Don't answer that. "

Mom looks very tired today, Margaret thought, noticing the crisscross of fine line at the corners of her mother's eyes and the first strands of gray in her mother's shoulder-length brown hair.

" I hate this job, " Mrs.Brewer said turning back to the sink.

" What are you doing ? " Casey asked, pulling open the refrigerator and removing a box of juice.

" I'm deveining shrimp. "

" Yuck ! " Margaret exclaimed.

" Thanks for the support, " Mrs.Brewer said dryly.

The phone rang.

(つづく　4/5)