CHAPTER TEN

Ruth and Grace

imageuth leaned on the windowsill she was supposed to be dusting and watched Laurel and Bess walk toward the woods with their instrument cases in hand.

“How come they get to blow off their chores while we’re stuck in here?” she said.

Her twin, Grace, joined her at the window. “They just thought of it first, I guess.”

“I guess. Hey, you know what would be funny? If we went down and put all those taters and such back in the ground.”

Grace shook her head. “Too much work. You know what would be funnier?”

“What?”

“If someone hid their instruments and replaced them in their cases with stones wrapped up in T-shirts so the cases would still weigh the same.”

Ruth turned to her twin with a grin. “You didn’t.”

“I’m not saying I did or didn’t. I’m just saying it would be funny.” She paused, then grinned as well. “But I sure thought they’d find out before now.”

“If there’d been a dance last night,” Ruth began.

Grace nodded. “And there they’d be, invited up onstage and opening their cases.”

They started to giggle and slid down onto the floor with their backs to the wall, unable to stop, the one constantly setting the other off.