Survived By Secrets

6 • Soda Bottles

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Nancy sat on the stairs, her knees drawn up to her chest. She watched her parents through the openings in the railing. Her mother fumbled around the kitchen.

Wallace sat at the table in the kitchen, sheets of paper spread out in front of him. He picked up one, furrowing his brows as his gaze glazed over it.

"What is that?" Myrtle came from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Nothing." He glanced away and then scooped up the papers in a pile. Though it was hard to see her face, Nancy could see her mother narrow her eyes. Then she shook her head and went back into the kitchen.

Nancy then heard footsteps from behind her, coming down the stairs. It was Lawrence and she got up and went down the steps. He followed behind her. "We're going outside to play," she said as they stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Wallace nodded without looking up.

Nancy and Lawrence both ran towards the front door and she could hear her mother say, "Be on time for dinner," as they shut the door behind them.

As she stepped outside the sun left freckles of warmth on her skin and she looked up at the clear sky, squinting. "What do you want to do?" Lawrence asked.

"I don't know." They walked onto the sidewalk, kicking at small stones in their path.

"We could look for empty soda bottles. Then we can buy penny candy at Jay's shop."

She looked up at the sky again, her eyes focusing on a cloud. It was shaped like a candy bar and it made her smile as she continued to watch it slowly float across the sky. "When you're walking it looks still but..." She stopped on the sidewalk. "When you stop..." She continued staring at it as Lawrence watched her, rolling his eyes. "And you stare at it long enough, you see it moving!"

"So are we going to look for soda bottles or what," he asked, annoyed. They kept walking down the street on their desperate search for soda bottles. They went a few blocks without seeing anything and then, to their luck, there was an empty one laying on Mr. Kent's lawn. Nancy took a step onto the grass.

"No, don't go on his lawn. You'll get in trouble." He grabbed her tiny arm, holding her back.

"I'll be quick." She wriggled free then ran onto the lawn, the grass crunching under her feet. She snatched the soda bottle from where it lay in the grass and then quickly ran back to where Lawrence stood. "See."

"Hey, how many times do I have to tell you to not go on my lawn?" His rough, gravelly voice made them snap their heads to where the tall man stood in his doorway. "Do you want to find out what happens to kids who don't listen?"

They shook their heads.

"Don't come on my lawn again! You hear me?"

They nodded their heads as the man slammed his door. The sound raising the hairs on Nancy's arms. They continued to walk through the streets. They picked up soda bottles silently, shaken from the warning they had received. They stopped when Nancy placed the tenth bottle in Lawrence's arms.

"How much candy is this worth?" she asked.

"A lot." He smiled. Then they made their way to Jay's shop. It wasn't far from where they were. They walked a few more blocks until they saw the sign at the top.

They entered the tiny store. It smelled like fresh coffee, donuts, and a sickly sweet odour.

"Hey kids," the blond haired man greeted. From what Nancy knew, though it was called Jay's Shop and the man's name was Jay, it wasn't his shop. It was his father's who got it from his father and they were both named Jay. She never thought it was possible for someone to give their child their own name.

"So, what you got there?" His eyes went to the soda bottles they juggled in their arms.

"We want to trade soda bottles," Lawrence said. They waddled to the counter, careful not to drop one. They laid them out on it and Jay began counting.

"Ten," he said. "So you get twenty cents." Nancy smiled at the thought of how much candy she could buy. "So, what do you want to buy?"

"Um..." Nancy tapped her chin as she looked around the store. Then she and Lawrence went off in different directions, rummaging shelves for candy.

"You guys been good?" Jay asked, his elbows propped up on the counter.

"Well Mr. Kent doesn't seem to think so," Nancy said. She looked up from the shelf where she was standing at.

Jay shook his head lightly. "Don't worry about him. You're good kids. He's just an old man frustrated with his life."

***

"Wallace, I know Darrel is your bookkeeper but I don't know what else to think."

Lawrence's ears pressed against the oak door. He had to listen carefully because Myrtle spoke softly on the other side of the door.

"Margie knew about his affair. He has a reason to kill her."

"Doesn't mean he did it." He could hear Wallace pause and then Lawrence could hear footsteps pacing around the room. "Myrtle, you're going too far."

"Maybe I'm not going far enough. I need to know who killed her."

"No one knows who killed her and Roland."

Lawrence then heard silence. He could hear footsteps again but this time it was coming closer to the door. He got up in a swift movement and then ran down the hallway to his room. He opened the door and knelt down beside his bed. Stopping to catch a breath. He lifted up the sheets and pulled a wooden box from under the bed. He opened it and took out a small piece of paper and a pen. He tapped the pen on his chin, trying to remember the name. He then scribbled Darrel Kent on the paper and underneath he wrote affair and secret.

"Did you solve your mystery?" Nancy stood in the doorway of his room.

He shook his head. "Not yet."

She left the doorway and came to sit on his bed, swinging her legs. "Can I be a detective like you?"

"You're not old enough."

"When will I be?"

"Never!" he laughed. And she crossed her arms across her chest. Lawrence closed the box and placed it back under his bed.

"What is your mystery about? You never tell me!"

"It's a secret," he replied. "Can you keep one?"