Wolf Dreams

It was a week before Kevin and Kate had another chance at the window. For three days it rained cats and dogs, and then Great-grandmother decided to do her gardening in the mornings and spend her afternoons in either the kitchen baking or in the front room, knitting.

“I think she’s suspicious, Kevin,” whispered Kate as they made their way to the basement playroom for the second day in a row.

“Nah. I bet she doesn’t even know about the window herself,” replied Kevin, adjusting his tie.

“Are you nuts? Great-grandmother not know about the window?” Kate glared at him, annoyed by the insult to Great-grandmother. She shook her head, and stomped off to the corner where the books were. She spent the rest of the afternoon reading and ignoring Kevin.

Finally, in the middle of the week, nice weather and Great-grandmother doing the gardening outside coincided and Kevin and Kate were free to try again with the window.

Things did not begin well. First they argued over who would get to be outside first. Then they argued over what they would do. Then Kevin, who had lost the first argument, climbed up on the stepstool and promptly fell off, knocking a framed picture off of a nearby table and cracking the glass in one corner.

“At this rate, you’ll tip off Great-grandmother and cost us money!” sniped Kate, as she opened the front door.

“Just do what I said, and we’ll be fine,” replied Kevin, who had won the second argument, as he moved the photo to the back of the table to hide the crack.

Huffily, Kate went out into the front yard as Kevin grumpily climbed back on the stepstool. They had put fresh batteries in the walkie-talkies, and after making sure they could hear each other, Kate set to work.

Since they had just missed finding money in a mud puddle the week before, Kevin thought that there was a good chance of finding money in the gutter today, especially with all the rain in the past week washing debris into a huge puddle in the street in front of the house. Kate pulled her rainboots out of the bushes at the front and began walking through the puddle. Kevin kept telling her that she didn’t look excited or happy through the blue window so she needed to wade in more.

Kate waded out farther and farther into the street, and was almost to the edge of the puddle when Kevin gave a happy shout through the walkie-talkie. “Kate! Look right around there. Through the blue window you’re waving something in your hand!”

Kate leaned over and began to poke around in the mud with a stick, and moments later was pulling up a piece of paper…She turned, laughing, to show Kevin that it was just a coupon for diapers when she heard, “Kate, look out!”
Kate turned just in time to get a face full of muddy water sprayed up by a car going past on the other side of the street. Spluttering, she slogged back over to the sidewalk and spoke furiously into the walkie-talkie, “I knew this was a bad idea. Just because someone else found money in the street doesn’t mean that there’s always money there. I’m soaked. I’m going home to change. You can tell Great-grandmother whatever you want.” And Kate stomped off.

Kevin came home a half-hour later, looking a bit put out. “I told Great-grandmother that you got something on your dress and came home to change. She looked at me kind of funny, though, and I don’t know if she believed me.”

Kate shrugged and scowled. “I don’t care. I couldn’t go back in all muddy like that, could I? That really was a dumb idea, Kevin.”
“Hey, you should know to watch out for cars in the street!” Kevin replied hotly. He slammed the door on the way out of Kate’s room. They didn’t speak for the rest of the day.

The next day, they stayed home because Great-grandmother was going to be out for the afternoon. They spent the entire time bickering and quarreling about anything they could think of, until their mother finally sent them to their rooms.

At supper, their parents asked them what was going on. “You two always get along so well. What is the matter with you?” they asked.

“Nothing,” replied Kate, glaring at Kevin.

“Nothing,” replied Kevin, glaring at Kate.

As they went back to their rooms after supper, Kate whispered to Kevin, “Tomorrow, we’ll do things my way!” And with her nose in the air, she went off to bed.

-She Wolf (c)2008