Free Sugar House (9780991192519) by Jean Scheffler Page B

spotters."
    "Ha, very funny. Well, the cut isn't too bad,
I'll be all right. Can't wait to show the guys at school. They'll
be so jealous." The boys sat looking at the arrowhead together
until a small boat pulled up to the back dock.
    "That's the Papoose ," Jimmy said. "She
runs from here to Amherstburg."
    "How come there's only men getting on?" asked
Joe.
    "They sneak over to the city to grab a pint
of beer or two. They only stay an hour or so, while the women rest
at the Women's Cottage. They get back before they're even
missed."
    Joe watched the men board the Papoose .
They were laughing and joking, clapping one another on the back as
they headed out into the river. Then, a familiar face caught Joe's
eye, and he realized his father was on board. Ojciec recognized his
son, too, as the boat pulled away. A startled look crossed his face
and then changed to a smile as he winked at Joe and waved goodbye.
Joe realized that his father was inducting him into a secret man's
world and understood that Ojciec trusted him not to tell his
mother.
    "Hey, Joe, look at this dead walleye that
washed up on the shore." Jimmy had wandered down the beach about
twenty yards and Joe ran to catch up. The fish was lying on its
side, and one of its eyes had been pulled out by a seagull.
    "Ewww… disgusting," said Joe as he touched
the scales of the smelly fish with his fingertips. Jimmy turned it
over with a stick and insects climbed out of the hole where the
fish had been bitten. Joe pushed the fish back into the water with
the stick and they walked farther down the beach. The boys spent
the rest of the afternoon together; they lay on the beach for a
while talking about school, family and friends. Later they walked
over to the playground and went down the slides and played on the
swings. The boys pushed each other so hard on the small merry
go-round they fell off laughing into the dirt.
    Jimmy lent Joe his bicycle and taught him how
to ride. Joe got the hang of it pretty quickly, and they headed
over to the bicycle track. The oval track was built to insure a
slight angle at the turns and Joe was soon peddling around with the
other cyclists. He was too small to give much of a challenge in any
of the races, but he enjoyed himself just the same. After a while
they walked to a second ball field and joined a game with several
boys. Before long, Joe had to say goodbye to Jimmy.
    "Hey, Joe, sorry I was such a sourpuss when
you were in the garden. I don't want to take your best marble.
Here, I wanna give it back to you."
    "Keep it, Jimmy. It wasn't my best marble. I
just told you that. I always carry a couple of old ones in my
pocket just in case." Joe winked and smiled at his new friend.
Turning away, he headed off toward supper.
    Joe found his family seated at a small wooden
table in the sunlit dining room. His father was there, looking no
worse for wear; and Matka and Frank were well rested from an
afternoon nap at the Women's Cottage. They ordered perch dinners
with potatoes and carrots. The menu advertised that the fish had
been caught from the Detroit River that morning. While they waited,
Joe told his family about his adventures with Jimmy, careful to
leave out seeing the Papoose ride off to Canada. Matka said
she had found a lovely lounge chair to take a rest in on the porch
of the Women's Cottage and Frank had taken a nap in one of the baby
hammocks that hung in the shade near there.
    "Frank slept longer than he ever does at
home, Mikołaj. Maybe you could string up a hammock in the backyard
for him to take his naps in from now on."
    When dinner arrived, the family dug in. The
fresh air made them ravenous. Ojciec decided that chocolate ice
cream was needed to satisfy his family's appetite. The smooth, cold
ice cream tasted delicious, and Joe finished before the others.
When supper was over, Matka told Joe that she and his father were
going to the dance hall.
    Joe took Frank by the hand and walked up the
stairs to the gallery, where he found a