The sun was warm and the sky was good, and pretty soon I got back to Lone’s house. The fire was out and Baby stunk. Janie had knocked over her easel and was sitting on the floor by the door with her head in her hands. Bonnie and Beanie were on a stool with their arms around each other, pulled up together as close as they could get, as if it was cold in there, although it wasn’t.
I hit Janie in the arm to snap her out of it. She raised her head. She had grey eyes—or maybe it was more a kind of green—but now they had a funny look about them, like water in a glass that had some milk left in the bottom of it.
I said, ‘What’s the matter around here?’
‘What’s the matter with what?’ she wanted to know.
‘All of yez,’ I said.
She said, ‘We don’t give a damn, that’s all.’
‘Well, all right,’ I said, ‘but we got to do what Lone said. Gome on.’
‘No.’ I looked at the twins. They turned their backs on me. Janie said, ‘They’re hungry.’
‘Well, why not give ‘em something?’
She just shrugged. I sat down. What did Lone have to go get himself squashed for?