Chip didn’t wake up even when Mom carried him to bed. Justin lit another candle and stuck it on the back of the toilet so Mom could see to take her bath. Then he went to bed.
Kate warmed up the hot chocolate. Carrying two cups, she went to the bathroom door. “Mom?” she called. “Want some hot chocolate?”
“You bet I do! Come on in, honey.”
Mom was in the tub looking as if she’d like to stay there soaking in the hot bath forever. Her long blonde hair was down, trailing in the water. It was already so wet that it didn’t matter if it got a little wetter. Kate sat down on the floor with her back against the tub, and together they sipped their cocoa.
Mom put her hand out and stroked Kate’s hair, which was still damp. Kate glanced over her shoulder at Mom’s face. Mom smiled at her in a way that made Kate think this was the most special moment they had ever had together.
There are times not to tell your parents what’s on your mind, and times to tell them everything. Kate felt like this was the time to tell Mom all the things she’d been keeping secret.
“We brought Sugar in first,” Kate said, “because she’s going to have a baby.”
Mom chuckled. “That goat of yours eats like a pig. She’s not pregnant; she’s just fat.”
“No, Mom. She’s going to have a baby.”
Mom was still smiling. “What makes you think so?”
“Mr. Wilson said.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Wilson. You know, he has that big white billy …”
The sentence died in Kate’s throat because Mom had stopped smiling. Instead of looking pleased, she was looking upset.
Kate got her voice back and said quickly, “Billy’s a real good goat. He takes first prize every year at the fair.”
“Look, Katie, we cannot afford—”
“We already paid,” Kate explained. “With duck eggs. Mrs. Wilson says they’re better than regular for baking. And Ruby says—”
“Ruby?” Mom interrupted.
“The Wilsons’ daughter.”
“The one who dropped out of school and ran away from home?” Mom stood up and reached for a towel, which she wrapped around herself.
“Ruby,” Kate repeated. “Who used to live in New York but now she’s come home, her and Luther, and—”
“Is this the same Luther that Chip talks about all the time?”
“Well, yes.”
“I thought Luther was somebody in Chip’s class.”
“He is. He’s the Wilsons’ grandson and he’s in Chip’s class. He’s Chip’s best friend.”
“How do you know these people?” Mom asked. There was a sharpness in her voice that made Kate nervous and caused her to stumble, not sure exactly how to explain something that a second ago had seemed so simple.
“Well, uh, we just go there and—”
“Go there?” Mom demanded. “When do you go there?”
“Uh, well, Chip usually walks home with Luther after school, but Justin and I have our own homework to do, so we mostly go on weekends.”
“What about Chip’s homework?”
“I told you,” Kate said impatiently. “Chip and Luther are in the same grade. They have Ruby and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson all three to help them. When I have to help Chip, it takes so long sometimes I don’t even get my own homework done!”
“Kate,” Mom said in a voice so sharp Kate felt as if she’d been slapped. “It is your responsibility to look after Chip, yours and Justin’s. I do not want you kids going down there every day. I don’t want the neighbors to think I can’t look after my own children.”
“I just thought …” Kate started in a small voice. Then all the excitement and fear and exhaustion of the night flooded in on her. She felt as if it was impossible to explain anything. “Never mind,” she said. She got up and went out of the bathroom with a tight ache in her chest. It was the most special moment she and Mom had ever had, and it had barely lasted one minute. Mom didn’t even seem to care that Sugar was going to have a baby.
Kate climbed into bed and lay there listening to the wind howling and the rain pounding against the house. With the electricity off and no moon or stars and wooden shutters covering the windows, it was the blackest darkness Kate could remember.
She saw a wavering light in the hall and knew it was Mom, carrying the candle. She stopped at Kate’s door and whispered, “Katie?”
Kate pretended to be asleep, and in a second Mom went on down the hall to her own room.
Kate didn’t know why she had pretended to be asleep. But she had thought it was a good time to talk to Mom, and it turned out not to be. Maybe there would never be a good time.
When the light disappeared, Kate knew Mom had blown out the candle and gone to bed. Kate got up and tiptoed into the kitchen. She heard a couple of little click-click-click steps. Sugar was no longer lying down. Kate felt around in the dark until she found a sleeping bag. Then she took hold of Sugar’s collar and led her back to her bedroom.
Kate knew that in the morning she’d find little round marbles of poop on the floor, but she didn’t care. She spread the sleeping bag next to her bed and climbed into it, then tapped the back of Sugar’s knees. The goat folded her thin legs and lay down next to Kate on the floor.
Kate put her hand against Sugar’s soft belly and waited. In a moment she felt a small kick from inside, and then another, and another. Kate smiled. This baby was all legs. Either that or it was twins.