“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said, trying to smile.
“She spent the money,” he said, wise beyond his years. “What can we do?”
“I’m going to see if Lucinda will drive me to the food bank,” I said, trying to reassure him.
“Mom said the car has no gas.”
“That’s right. Damn it. I frikin’ forgot that!” I said as my frustration at Lucinda escalated.
“It’s okay, Katelyn, how many times before did we not have any food? Lots.” Kevin said, patting my arm.
His comfort was my undoing, and I laid my head back, wishing I could cry. Kevin continued to pat my back like an adult would. I felt wretched letting him see me so down, but I was so sick of nothing ever working out.
“Come on, let’s go,” he said, pulling me up from the chair.
“To where?” I asked, completely confused.
“We’re going to Old Man Wither’s. He said if we ever needed anything to come see him,” Kevin said logically.
“Okay,” I said, not daring to question his logic. I could tell he was trying to be the stronger one.
Mr. Wither wasn’t in the gas station so Kevin and I tromped through the snowdrifts to get to his front door.
“Bathroom?” Mr. Wither said as a greeting when he opened the door.
“No, we need your help,” Kevin said, puffing out his chest and standing tall.
Mr. Wither smiled at him and glanced at me. His smile disappeared as he took in my gloomy expression. “Are you hurt?” he asked, herding us into his house.
“No, but we want to know if you can give us a ride to the food bank,” Kevin said, still speaking for me. “We'll help work around the store to help pay for the gas. Right, Katelyn?” he said, looking at me.
“Absolutely,” I agreed, smiling slightly at his bravado.
“Well, I’m sure I can think of a few odd jobs you could do around here,” Old Man Wither said with a twinkle in his eye. “But I reckon a round trip to Bozeman in my old beat-up truck would run us close to fifty dollars in gas. I’m thinking it'd be much easier if I give you cash and you and your sister can get a few things you need from the store here,” he said to Kevin, not leaving room for me to protest.
“I reckon that makes sense,” Kevin said, picking up Wither’s phrase.
I couldn’t help but giggle as Old Man Wither roared with laughter. “Sounds like a done deal to me,” he finally said when he stopped laughing.
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He counted out five twenties and handed them to Kevin, not looking at me. I wanted to protest, but knew that it would fall on deaf ears. Besides, could I really deny Kevin the nourishment his underweight body so dearly needed?
“I’ll pay it back,” I promised.
“I know you will, my dear,” he said, patting my shoulder.
“Come on, I’ll give you a lift over to the store. I need to have a meeting with Maxwell anyway.”
“Woohoo,” Kevin said, jumping up and down with excitement like the walk across the street was just too far for him.
Old Man Wither left Kevin and me at the front door so we could start our shopping while he headed toward the management offices at the far front corner of the store.
Kevin and I made quick work of our shopping, buying only the essentials to get us through the next few weeks. We got our usual staple items like generic peanut butter, Top Ramen soup, mac and cheese, and several frozen dollar pizzas. I resented that I had to add girlie products to the cart, but there was no arguing with stinking Mother Nature. The only impulse item I allowed us to get was a rotisserie chicken for Christmas Day. I planned on serving it with peas, rolls and mashed potatoes, but chafed at the idea of spending ten dollars for one meal, especially since Kevin and I would be out of school for two weeks and would be eating breakfast and lunch at home. Kevin was a sport during the shopping trip and found it
a game to find the cheapest priced items he could.
“How about these for dinner one night?” he asked, holding up a can of Vienna sausages.