Free Puppet Wrangler by Vicki Grant Page A

eh?) But Kathleen didn’t want her to think that the only reason she waited for her was because Mum brought her food.
    So she ran down and gave Mum a big hug. 27 Mum had her hands behind her back and said, “I’ve got a treat for you.”
    You know the ending. No homeless Queenburger for Kathleen that night. Mum had bought her the sweater.
    By this time, Kathleen really did have tears in her eyes.
    She said it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. And it was especially nice coming from Dodo. (This was where Kathleen started talking in this really high-pitched voice and swallowing a lot.) All sorts of guys 28 wanted to take Mum out back then, 29 but Mum always said no because she was too busy studying.
    Kathleen said she did study a lot, but that wasn’t the real reason Mum wouldn’t go out with them. She was too proud to admit that she had nothing to wear. (The Burger Palace uniform just didn’t cut it on a big date, I guess.)
    But instead of buying herself something, Mum spent her hard-earned money on Kathleen. The money she had left, that is, after she’d paid for her tuition and helped Grammie out with the groceries.
    Figures. That’s just like Mum.
    Kathleen managed to pull herself together. Boy, was that a relief. It was a nice story and everything, but I really didn’t want to have to hold Kathleen up while she bawled her eyes out over a pink sweater. 30 I was already scared she was going to get mascara on it and we’d have to pay for it.
    Kathleen just gulped a couple of times, though, touched up her makeup and we kept right on shopping.
    There were no more tears after that, but the stories just kept coming. Every little sock or hair band I picked up reminded her of something.
    Like how Dad dropped into the Burger Palace for a Duchess Dog one day when he was at med school and then ate there every night for the next four months until Mum agreed to go out with him. 31
    Like what a good dancer Dad was. 32
    Like what beautiful curly hair Dad had. 33
    Like what nice long legs Dad had.
    I was starting to think Kathleen had a crush on Dad, but I figured that was ridiculous. He was so much older than she was. It would have been like me and—hmmmm.
    Oh. Right.
    It would have been like me and Nick. I sort of laughed.
    Kathleen looked at me and sort of laughed too. Then she came right out and admitted that she’d had this big crush on “Mitch”—Dad, that is—for years.
    Completely innocent, of course.
    Of course.
    Kathleen said I had to realize what it was like for her family back then. Mitch was like a knight in shining armor 34 rescuing them from this horrible situation. Their no-good father left them with nothing but bills, and then along came this kind, handsome, wonderful man. A doctor too—or just about! It was as if everything was going to be all right from the moment he bought that first Duchess Dog.
    I could sort of imagine Dad making them feel that way.
    He must have been pretty amazing, I mean, before he lost his hair and everything.
    Kathleen could even be kind of funny. She told this one story about how, when she was twelve or so, she walked in on Mum and Dad “kissing.” (There was no way they were just “kissing,” but that’s what she said.) Anyway, Mum got all prissy and flustered and said that Mitch—the doctor—was just showing her where her spleen was. (See what I mean? They weren’t just “kissing.”) I really laughed because I could just picture Mum doing that. It’s like when I catch her eating Oreo cookies or ketchup chips or something highly unorganic like that, and she tries to make out as if she’s doing some sort of scientific research on junk food or something.
    That whole day we spent together was fun. Kathleen even took me to her hair appointment. They didn’t have any openings, but Kathleen made a big fuss with the receptionist about all the money she spends there