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Back The Cloud Chamber Save as PDF
Chapters (35)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Author’s Note
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. Twenty-Four
  30. Twenty-Five
  31. Twenty-Six
  32. Twenty-Seven
  33. Twenty-Eight
  34. Twenty-Nine
  35. Thirty

There was more, but after that Nate stepped away so as not to hear. All he knew was, his father took a swing at Bo Everson and a minute later they were climbing back in the cab of the truck and heading home to Montana.

There was no talk on the ride home. Nate closed his eyes but couldn’t sleep. No stop at the Tidy Town.

They were back at their farm by dawn the next morning. When his mother heard what happened, she just shook her head, like she knew it all the time.

Seven

AT HOME AFTER SCHOOL IT WAS LIKE NOTHING HAD happened. Rufus was loading hay in the barn, and a line of laundry hung across the line. Mom was standing at the sink.

“We’re going to buy my party invitations today, right?” Junie asked.

“That’s the plan,” she replied.

Normally, Nate liked drives with his mother. They’d talk about the day, and sometimes she’d turn on the radio, and they’d sing along with the country station, making fake accents like they came from Texas or someplace, with his mom on harmony and him and Junie on the melody.

Today, though, he knew they wouldn’t be singing. He wanted to talk, and he had so many questions. Where did the police take Dad? How did he get hurt? Would he be okay?

But something in his mother’s manner—her back perfectly straight, hands glued to the wheel—prevented him from saying anything. It was as if she’d posted a sign on her back that said KEEP QUIET. She mentioned a recipe for hermit cookies that Aunt Sal had given her and brought up her old subject of Junie’s pony, Bucky, who was costing too much to care for.

“If I had any sense, I’d give that horse away,” she said. “He’s nothing but trouble.”

“Bucky’s just getting used to us,” Junie told her, same as she always did. “He’s going to let me ride him, wait and see.”

Forget about Bucky for a minute, Nate wanted to yell. Tell us about Dad! He felt like punching something, but he only kicked the back of the seat cushion.

Up front, Junie was talking about a visit her class’d had that day from a dental hygienist, who’d explained about tooth decay and the importance of brushing after every meal. “That’s so interesting,” their mom said when Junie told her how a cavity starts. Nate got the feeling that’s what she’d say if he read off the population statistics for every county in Montana or even all the names in the phone book.