Free Meet the Austins by Madeleine L'Engle

quiet for comfort. Nobody said anything.
    Daddy said, “It sounds rather like hoarding to me, anyhow. How about it? Who’s the culprit?”
    Still nobody said anything.
    Mother said, “I didn’t realize I was starting anything. You’re allowed to buy candy with your allowance. I just want to know who’s been putting it in a boot.”
    I wasn’t the one, so I looked curiously and a little anxiously around the table at everybody else. I saw that John was looking
around, too. Suzy was staring straight ahead with a set expression, and Maggy was staring at Suzy.
    Rob said, “I didn’t do it.” He couldn’t very well. His allowance is six cents, five cents for Sunday school and a penny for emptying the wastepaper baskets every Saturday morning. Maggy gets five dollars from Mr. Ten Eyck every week, but Mother and Daddy put four dollars and seventy-five cents of it in the bank for her, so she only has a quarter to spend, like Suzy.
    We all knew it was Suzy, but Daddy said, “John, do you know anything about this?”
    â€œNo, Daddy.”
    â€œVicky?”
    â€œNo, Daddy.”
    â€œMaggy?”
    Maggy looked down at her plate, across at Suzy, and down at her plate again. She didn’t say anything.
    â€œDid you put the candy and gum in the boot?” Daddy asked.
    â€œNo, Uncle Wallace.”
    â€œSuzy?”
    â€œNo,” Suzy said, and didn’t look at him.
    â€œNo what, Suzy?”
    â€œI don’t know anything about it,” Suzy said.
    â€œAbout what?”
    â€œAbout who took the candy and put it in the boot.”
    â€œ Took the candy?”
    Suzy didn’t answer.
    â€œWhose boot was it?” Daddy asked Mother.
    â€œRob’s.”

    Rob has more than once been known to confuse the truth with his imagination, but he was looking right at Daddy now, and anyhow we all knew it was Suzy, and that it was more than buying candy and gum with her allowance and saving it in the boot.
    Mother said, “Suzy, why don’t you tell us about it?”
    Suzy shouted out, “I haven’t anything to tell!” and got up so roughly that she knocked her chair over, and ran pounding upstairs, where we could hear her crying at the top of her lungs.
    Maggy said, “Suzy took the candy from the store.”
    Daddy said, “Don’t tell us about it, please, Maggy. We want Suzy to tell us.”
    â€œBut she stole it,” Maggy started.
    â€œMargaret. I said that we want Suzy to tell us.”
    Upstairs, Suzy was still crying at the top of her lungs. Mother started to push back her chair to go up to her, but Daddy said, “Leave her alone, Vic. We haven’t finished eating dinner yet.”
    It had started out to be such a nice family meal. And now we were all upset. Rob got up and started for the stairs, and Daddy shouted, “Robert, sit down!”
    And Rob said, “But I want to go to Suzy.”
    â€œLeave Suzy alone,” Daddy said, “and finish your dinner.”
    Â 
    We had strawberry mousse for dessert, and none of us enjoyed it. Suzy kept crying, and Mother finished her dessert and said, “Excuse me, Wally. You children do the dishes tonight, please,” and went upstairs.
    We did the dishes with a lot better grace than usual. Daddy went into the study to read and Rob played records. He’d
played Pinocchio three times from beginning to end before Mother and Suzy came back downstairs.
    â€œWhere’s Daddy?” Mother asked.
    â€œIn the study.”
    â€œWell, let’s all go in, then,” Mother said. “Suzy has something to say.”
    We went in and Mother took Suzy firmly by the hand and they followed us.
    â€œSuzy has something to tell us all,” Mother said.
    Suzy stood there, gulping, and finally she flung herself into Daddy’s lap and just sobbed over and over, “I’m sorry, Daddy, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
    Daddy