25

—

At Nicola’s house everyone had chores. Jackson, being five, had the easiest. He replaced the toilet paper when it ran out. Because of June Bug, he didn’t even need to put it on the roll. He just left it on the windowsill. Nicola set and cleared the table. Jared, unless he forgot or managed to con Nicola into doing it for him, took out the garbage and shoveled the walk.

During dinner that night, Jared argued his case for his own computer. All his friends had one.

“I wish he did, too!” Nicola said.

Mina laughed. “That’s nice. You don’t usually side with your brother.”

“If he had a computer of his own, then I could get on the family computer when I need it.”

“You can get on the family computer any time you want,” Terence said.

“No,” Nicola said. “Last time I had to take out the garbage for him just to check my email.”

Terence frowned, which caused Jared to shoot Nicola an evil look.

Jared’s annoying behavior annoyed their father. But Terence getting mad, the way he did now, made Nicola feel sorry for her brother. Because of hormones, Jared probably couldn’t help being annoying.

“Let me get this straight,” Terence told Jared. “You made your little sister do your chore just so she could use the computer, which she has the right to use anyway?”

Head down, Jared shoveled in some casserole.

“And now you’d like me to reward you by buying you your own computer?”

Mina put her hand on Terence’s. “Let’s just drop it.”

“No,” Terence said. “I’d like Jared to explain why he should be rewarded for being lazy and selfish.”

“Why are you always picking on me?” Jared exploded.

“Because I want you to grow up to be a decent person! You have to do your share around here, young man!”

Jared threw down his fork. His chair scraped across the floor.

After he had stormed from the table, Mina turned to Terence. “That was harsh.”

Terence snapped back, “You baby him too much!”

Nicola shrank down. She hated it when her parents argued. Jackson did, too. His bottom lip quivered and he began kicking the leg of the table so that the dishes rattled.

And Nicola blurted, “Everybody around here should just use their hearts a little more!”

In the silence that fell over the table, they could hear Jared smashing something in his room.

“You’re right, Nicola,” Terence said. “I’ll go apologize.”

Abruptly, dinner was over. Nicola cleared the table, shuttling back and forth from the dining room to the kitchen with the dirty plates, June Bug at her feet. With Mina occupied getting Jackson into the bath, and Terence having a Talk with Jared, the coast was clear.

Nicola lined up the dishes on the floor. June Bug licked each one clean. Nicola sat on the floor beside her, hugging her knees. She picked up a fork June Bug had scoured with her tongue and spent a minute trying to balance it on one finger.

She thought of something then. When the little dog had finished her chore and Nicola had loaded the dishes in the dishwasher, she went to call Lindsay.

“So there was a big fight here at dinner. My dad said Jared’s not doing his share. I think that’s why they’re not helping each other.”

“Who?”

“Mrs. Tanaka, Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mrs. Michaels.”

“Huh?”

“It’s why they’re not just walking out. If angels help each other, nothing’s added. They’re already one hundred percent pure goodness. But we’re not. We change the balance, not them. Only the good things we do count.”

“So we have to be the angels?”

“I think so. And we have to do what Mr. Milton asked us,” Nicola said. “We have to get them out.”