Family
There was no number on the next bus. Jack stepped back. He expected it to pass by, headed for the depot. But it stopped in front of him.
The doors wheezed open.
The sun shone in Jack's face. He couldn't see the driver.
"Hop on, son," a voice said.
"This is the wrong bus," Jack said. "I need the Number 26."
"This will do. Hop on, Jawbreaker."
Jawbreaker! Jack raced up the stairs. "Grandpa!"
"Why am I the only one who ever makes the bed?" Harriet said.
Theodora looked up.
"Because you're the only one with thumbs," she said. "See?" She held out her paws. "Bears don't have thumbs. So it's hard for us to do jobs like that."
"Penguins don't have thumbs either," Vera said. She held out one orange flipper for Harriet to see.
"Nor do sheep," Lambie said.
"Cats don't have thumbs either," Tiger said. "But that's not why we don't make beds."
Time for Flowers, Time for Snow
"Don't move," came a harsh whisper. "Don't try to turn around. I've got a gun."
Someone had come up behind me from the dark hallway that led to the bedrooms.
That same someone snapped off the light at the switch on the wall. That left us alone in the dark, me and someone with a gun and a harsh whisper.
