Lib

We managed the barter with Ms Slokowski and received our turkey already dispatched, thank goodness. Wayne helped me dip it in boiling water to make it easier to pluck, and Mom insisted we save most of the down. Just wanted the wing feathers and told us he was going to make quill pens for us from them.

This was the part of life on the farm that I wasn't crazy about—the dismembering part. Oh, I know the turkey had been dispatched humanely but we still had to deal with feathers, guts and body parts, bleah. A fifteen-pound bird has a LOT of that stuff.

But once we got our bird eviscerated, washed and packed in the freezer, I had more than enough spare meat for a hearty soup, heavily peppered and full of vegetables. Good thing, too, because frost hit early and hard for the next few days, freezing up the water pans for the chickens and icing over Mrs. Jones' bucket.

Dustin came out to see if Mom was willing to trade a few skeins of yarn for eggs. Apparently, his mom was a big crocheter, and had some fancy stuff that was too heavy for socks. Mom was more than willing to load Dustin up with eggs along with a crock of honey cinnamon yogurt in exchange.

"Ooh, thanks, Mrs. Haberstein!" Dustin told Mom. "She'll love it!"

"Want soup too? I asked him. "I can lend you one of our big thermoses and you can bring it back next Hellfire game day."

"Awesome!" he enthused, grinning at me. I grinned back, reaching into the cupboard for one.

"So, Physics getting any easier?"

"No," his expression shifted to a scowl. "Mr. Callahan can't teach for squat! When I don't get something, I ask questions, but he doesn't answer them! Just tells me to read the textbook and keeps going. If this keeps up, I'm gonna have to retake the class and that suuuuucks."

"Callahan isn't much good," I agreed. "Have you talked to Mr. Clarke?"

Dustin brightened. "No, but that's a great idea . . . although he's more of an Earth Science kinda teacher."

"True, but he might know someone who could maybe tutor you?" I suggested gently. "I know you were one of his favorites."

He considered it, nodding a little. "Maybe."

I tried to keep my tone light. "So . . . any more . . . rats out there?"

Dustin shifted into a more serious expression. "No, haven't heard about anything like that, although I saw they're adding more razor wire to the fence around the lab."

That was a little alarming and I made a mental note of it while I poured soup in the thermos. Dustin's grin at receiving it warmed me though, and I gave him a hug too.

"Thanks, Lib!" he called and carefully loaded the goodies in his backpack before climbing onto his bike and heading down the turnoff to the road. I watched him go before washing my hands and stepping outside. Definitely chilly now—I could still see my breath even in the afternoon light. I looked towards Hawkins Lab, but at this distance the details were blurry and I had to take Dustin at his word about the fence.

As I stepped back inside, I glanced at the calendar, and a small note in Mom's handwriting was on Saturday: Wayne bd.

I raised my voice. "Just! Can you come down for a minute?"

He came bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen, sliding on his socks and grinning. "Yeah?"

"Did you know it's Wayne's birthday this Saturday?"

His eyes widened, and he shook his head. "No! Oh man! We gotta get him presents and a cake, Bert!"

I nodded. "Okay, but you need to find out what his favorite flavor of cake is for me, okay? Say you're doing a survey for school or something."

Just nodded. "Yeah. We should get him some pizza for dinner too. That's very birthday."

"It is," I agreed, "But not until Saturday."

Just mimed locking his lips and we grinned at each other.

Eddie

I knew Wayne's birthday was soon, but I'd forgotten how soon until Lib reminded me. Luckily there was still time, so I took Just with me the next day into town to shop. The nice thing is I knew my uncle well enough to know his sizes, so we got him a new sheepskin lined denim jacket and three sets of work gloves, along with a seat warmer for his truck.

And Just got him a Dremel Multi-tool.

I offered to help pay, but he wouldn't let me, and pulled out the most crumpled collection of bills and change to give Mrs. Byers. She offered to wrap it for him and Just agreed, picking out the green paper with the balloons on it.

"We need wood, too," Just pointed out, so I took us to the Acme lumberyard and remodeling shop where everything smelled like sawdust and varnish. I wasn't sure what Just was looking for, but he headed to the counter and looked at the huge man there right in the eye.

"I want some basswood, buckeye, and maple, please."

The man leaned down and looked at Just. "Dimensions?"

"Probably a couple of two by fours, cut down," I told him. "Or even smaller. It's for carving, not building."

The man nodded. "Sounds good, although that maple will need a drill."

"Got one," Just beamed. "It's a birthday present for Wayne!"

The guy kind of softened and I got it; it's always cool to see a little kid shopping for someone. He came around the counter and motioned to Just to come with him down one of the big aisles. "Well damn, if it's for Wayne then we gotta go big. Let's see what we have in the Odds and Ends box."

And that's how Just and I walked out with about sixty bucks worth of different wood chunks for Wayne's carving for FREE. The guy even threw in a couple of packs of sandpaper in different grades and a headlamp as well. Just told him about the turtle Wayne had done and kept thanking him.

"It's all good, young'un," the man told him. "Whittlin' is a fine old art and I'm just glad to see it continue. Come on back if you need more—I'll give you all the pine and white ash you could ever use."

I added my own thanks. "Really appreciate this, man," I told him. "My uncle's gonna be thrilled!"

The clerk nodded. "Bring a few pieces by once in a while, that's all I ask. I'd love to get a gander at them."

In the Riviera, Just asked me if I knew what Wayne's favorite cake was.

"As far as I know he likes all of them, but I think it's pineapple. He said when he was in the navy he was in the tropics and really liked them."

Just considered that. "Pineapple. I didn't know that could be somebody's favorite."

"Yeah well it's a big world. Chocolate and vanilla aren't the only cakes out there. There's carrot and ice cream and angel food-"

"And cheese and baby," Just added.

"Baby?" I panicked for a second.

"Yeah, babycakes. That's what Lib calls you sometimes. Although a cake made of a real baby would be gross and wrong."

Relieved, I drew in a deep breath. "I agree. Just like you should never eat a soap cake."

"Not unless you curse," Just told me. "But having soap in my mouth makes me want to curse MORE, so it doesn't help."

I laughed. "You're gonna find life has a lot of those weird realities, Just."

We made it home as the first flakes started to fall, and after I carried in our purchases, I let Lib know what we'd gotten. She nodded and hugged me.

"I'm so glad you guys are here with us," she murmured into the hollow of my throat. "I really am."

I hugged her.