A cluster of children sat on the...
A cluster of children sat on the pavement,
playing some sort of game
"Who is this boyfriend?" asked Lina
But just at that moment, Lizzie trippedShe'd been
strutting along being beautiful, not paying attention to
her feet, and the edge of her shoe caught on an uneven
place in the pavementShe staggered and fell, and as
she fell she lost her grip on the sackIt hit the ground
and toppled sideways, and some cans spilled outThey
rolled in all different directions
Lina reached for Lizzie's arm"Did you hurt yourself?"
she asked, but Lizzie went scrambling after the
cans so quickly it was clear she wasn't hurtWanting to
help, Lina went after the cans, tooTwo had dior china rolled
under a benchAnother was going toward the children,
who were on their feet now, watching Lizzie's wild
spider-like motionsLina picked up the cans under the
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bench, and for a second her breath stoppedOne of
them was a can of peaches"Peaches," it said right on
it, and there was a picture of a yellow globeNo one she
knew had seen a can of peaches in yearsShe looked at
the other oneIt was just as amazing--"Creamed
Corn," it saidUna remembered having creamed corn
once, as a thrilling treat, when she was five years old
There was a shout She looked upOne of the
children had picked up a can"Look at this!" he
cried, and the other children gathered around chanel reporter bag him"Applesauce!" he said, and the children murmured,
"Applesauce, applesauce," as if they had never heard
the word before
Lizzie was on her feetShe had all the cans except
for the two in Lina's hands and the one the child had
picked upShe stood there for a moment, her eyes
flicking back and forth from Lina to the childrenThen
she smiled, a bright fake-looking smile"Thanks for
helping me," she said"I found these on a back shelf at
the marketWhat a surprise, huh? You can keep those
She waved the back of her hand at the children, waved
again at Lina, and then took off, holding the sack by
its neck so it hung beside her and banged against her
legs
Lina didn't follow costume jewelry chanel herShe walked home, thinking
about Lizzie's sack of cansYou simply did not find
cans of peaches and applesauce and creamed corn on
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the back shelves of marketsAnd if the
cans hadn't come from a market, where had they come
from? There was only one answer: they had come from
the storeroomsSomehow, Lizzie had gotten them
because she worked in the storeroom officeHad she
paid for them? How much? Or had she taken them
without paying?
MrsMurdo had cooked a dinner of beet-and
bean stew for them that night When Lina showed her
the two cans, she gasped in astonishment"Where did
you get these?" she asked
"From a friend," said Lina
"And where did your friend saddle christian dior get them?"
Lina shruggedMurdo frowned slightly but didn't ask any
more questionsShe opened the cans, and they had a
feast: creamed corn with their stew, and peaches for
dessert It was the best meal Lina had had in a very
long time--but her enjoyment of it was tainted just a
little by the question of where it had come from
The next morning, Lina headed for Broad StreetBefore she started delivering messages today, she was
going to have a talk with Lizzie
She spied her half a block from the storeroom
officeShe was sauntering along looking in shop windowsA long green scarf was wound around her neck
Lina ran up swiftly behind her
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Lizzie whirled cartier must 21 aroun
