Free Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald Page A

her attention back to theboy across the street. She thought he looked like the lifeguard from the pool, but she couldn’t be absolutely sure.
    The boy was no longer staring at her house. He had curled himself into the same position she had seen him in many times. And each time he did, she was reminded of the hermit crabs, curling into their scavenged shells, that she sometimes found along the Nantucket beach, near the Wards’ summer rental.
    She could not have said why, but something deep inside her seemed to sense his pain. That was why she stood, her forehead pressed against the window screen, watching over the boy until she heard her mother’s car in the driveway.
    m eredith Ward came through the back door balancing two bags of groceries and her briefcase. Without a word, Jenna grabbed one of the bags and set it on the counter.
    Her mother began putting away the groceries, all the while grumbling about one of her clients.
    “That Porter woman at Fennel is going to drive me into an early grave,” she announced, slamming two cans of soup onto one of the cabinet shelves. Then, as if she suddenly realized her unfortunate choice of words, she rested her palms on the kitchen counter and took a deep breath. “Sorry. Bad day.”
    Jenna knew the Fennel department store chain was one of her mother’s biggest accounts. “Want me to fix dinner?” she asked. Usually she wasn’t this accommodating. But her mother looked thoroughly exhausted. Besides, she wanted to get dinner over with as soon as possible so that she’d have enough time to take a shower before Jason showed up.
    “Oh, would you?” Her mother seemed grateful. “I’d love to take a few laps in the pool and cool off.” Then she laughed. “I guess you can tell I need cooling off.”
    Her mother went upstairs and returned wearing her bathing suit and carrying a towel. “Make it something light, okay?” she said. “I’m not really all that hungry.”
    From the kitchen window, Jenna watched as her mother stepped onto the diving board. Meredith Ward was an excellent swimmer, and probably the most graceful diver Jenna had ever seen. She barely made a splash when she hit the water.
    After a few minutes Jenna turned her attention to dinner. What could she make that was light? She began to rummage through the refrigerator. She finally decided on a simple salad and some yogurt with fruit and granola mixed in.
    She was adding fresh strawberries to the yogurt when her mother, towel wrapped around her wet hair, came into the kitchen. “I needed that,” she said. “There is absolutely nothing like a few laps across the pool to work out a little tension.” She lifted her shoulders up to her ears a few times, then tipped her head first to the right, then to the left, stretching her muscles.
    Her mother glanced at the table. “That salad looks terrific.” She reached into the cupboard for two glasses. “I’ll pour us some iced tea.”
    Jenna finished stirring the strawberries into the yogurt. When she turned to set the bowl on the table, she realized her mother was still standing in front of the refrigerator. The glasses sat empty on the counter.
    “Mom?”
    Meredith Ward was staring at something on the refrigerator door. She lifted her hand as if it were made of concrete and pressed it against a sheet of paper.
    Jenna looked over her mother’s shoulder. The door was plastered with photos, dentist and doctor appointment cards, lists, cartoons, and various clutter all held in place by an assortment of magnets. She saw that her mother’s hand was restingon a sheet of lined notepaper. Jenna recognized her father’s “Honey Do” list.
    “Who crossed this off?” Her mother’s voice was barely audible.
    “Crossed what off?” But Jenna knew she was talking about the first item on the list: PATCH LEAK IN ROOF . She wanted to snatch the paper from the door and tear it into a thousand pieces.
    A deep, gut-wrenching moan came from her mother. It was so sudden and