"Hey Dad," I said after I gulped down my orange juice. "This place is really something. When we get back to the city I am going to have a lot to tell my friends." I was just trying to draw him out.
"Yeah, I suppose so, Larry," he said, noncommitally, looking intently at his juice as if he could divine the truth in it.
"So when do you think we can go back to town?" I asked, getting bolder.
He hesitated, cleared his throat, and looked at Mom, as if seeking inspiration. She refused to look at him, and continued spreading jam on her bread. She said nothing, careful to keep away from a potential situation.
"I really am not sure," Dad replied. "But we won't be going back to town for a few months yet. I have to finish my work here." He reached for the salt cellar.
"A few months?" I said, really getting pushy now. I suppose that extreme tedium had made me bold. "Would you say, not more than a year?"
"I can't say anything right now," he said, trying to look irritated, but succeeding only in showing his uncertainty.
I thought about it as I slurped on my corn flakes. I had a sudden inspiration.
"Hey Dad, Mom," I said. "Can't I go back to the city and live with Aunt Flo while you attend to your work here? You could come as soon as you finish." I really had no hope they would accept the suggestion, but was calculating in my immature way that they would be shamed into setting a definite dateline for our return to the city.
My Dad surprised me. "That is the first workable suggestion we have heard from you since we came here. I will talk to Flo, and to your old school to see if they will accept you back."
My Mom looked up, and spoke up for the first time. "I don't think that is a good idea. How will he manage without us?"
Dad turned away from he and looked at her. I could only see his profile, and I had the distinct impression that he winked at her. "Oh, he will manage fine. Flo is quite capable, and you know that. She has brought up four children."
My Mom looked back at my Dad, and her face stilled. The frown went out of it. I knew there had been some unspoken communication between them, and I was curious.
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