Read Promises to Keep for Free Online Page A

you.”
    Tillie and the butcher laughed loudly, but I was ready to leave. I didn’t like seeing Wally covered in blood. Something about it gave me a feeling of dread.
    Valerie must have sensed the same thing, because she started to fuss, which thankfully pulled Tillie’s attention away from Fred. We hurried through the rest of our shopping, checked out with Hazel, who plied Tillie with coupons, then loaded the wagon back up with Valerie and our sack of groceries, and headed out.
    We were on Grand Avenue not far from Marie’s Apparel when I was startled by a familiar figure in the distance. He was a tall man, broad-shouldered, wearing gray slacks, a blue cotton shirt, and a fishing hat. He was walking away from us, so I couldn’t see his face, but it was the hat that caught my eye.
    I stopped abruptly, my sneakers anchored to the sidewalk by my own uncertainty.
    Tillie took a few more steps before she realized I wasn’t keeping up. She stopped and looked back at me. “What’s the matter, Roz?”
    I didn’t answer. The man had turned a corner and disappeared. Or, I told myself, maybe I was just seeing things and he hadn’t really been there at all. I was hot and tired and hungry, and Mom said sometimes when you’re not feeling quite right, your mind can play tricks on you. Even if the man was real, lots of men wore fishing hats, didn’t they? The tan hemp kind with the one brown strip around the base and all the artificial lures fastened to it like Christmas tree ornaments.
    “What is it, Roz?” Tillie asked again.
    I shook my head. “Nothing.”
    After all, Daddy was hundreds of miles away in Minnesota, wasn’t he?

chapter

5
    The next morning I awoke with a sore throat and a fever. Mom stood over my bed, frowning as she shook the thermometer down.
    “I haven’t found a doctor for the children yet,” she said to Tillie, who was plumping up my pillow with her beefy fists.
    “She doesn’t need a doctor,” Tillie said. “I’ll take care of her.”
    “Maybe I should stay home, though, and – ”
    “Nonsense.” Tillie slid an arm under my shoulders, lifted me high enough to slip the pillow back under my head, and lowered me down again. “You go on in to work and don’t worry for a minute. I know how to care for a sick child.”
    In spite of the fever, a small chill ran up my spine. Visions of castor oil and mustard packs flashed through my head.
    Tillie tapped my shoulder with one finger. “I never put much stock in castor oil,” she said.
    “How did you know?” I whispered.
    “We’ll start with a cayenne and vinegar gargle and go from there.”
    “But I hate vinegar!”
    I was talking to her back. She was headed for the door, already on her way to mix up the vile concoction.
    I grabbed Mom’s hand. “Don’t go to work, Mom. Please don’t leave me alone with her .” I nodded toward the door through which Tillie had just disappeared.
    Mom smiled. “You’ll be fine, honey. Anyway, if I don’t work, I don’t get paid, and we need the money.”
    “But, Mom! I don’t want Tillie taking care of me. She’s so . . . well, you know. She’s strange.”
    Mom looked thoughtful for a moment. “I know she seems a little eccentric at times, but really, what would I do without her? I’m beginning to think of her as a godsend.”
    “I don’t want to gargle any cayenne and vinegar. Mom, please stay home. She’s going to kill me with her poisons.”
    Mom laughed. “Oh, Roz, don’t worry. A little vinegar isn’t going to hurt you. And it will probably help. On my way home from work I’ll stop by the drugstore and pick up some throat lozenges.”
    I pulled my hand away from Mom’s and slid down under the covers. “You don’t love me, do you?” I moaned.
    Mom leaned over and kissed my forehead. “I love you very much, Roz. That’s why I’m working and trying to provide for you.” She straightened up. “Now, it’s getting late, and I’ve got to go. You behave for Tillie, all