Chapter 10

“This is pretty neat,” Lewis said, sounding very grown up all of a sudden.

“It is a nice place, isn’t it?” Peter had just said that when his mother came into the hallway, took one look at the two of them, and passed out cold, dropping to the floor like a rock from a hilltop. Peter just had time to literally leap over the hallway rug and catch her before her head hit the floor. At the ruckus, Dick came wandering up from the back hallway, took one look and asked, “What the hell did you do to Mom? She always said you’d be the death of her one day; did you finally kill her?”

Lewis began to cry. Peter punched Dick in the kneecap, which was the nearest part he could reach, and said, “Let’s get her on the sofa. Can you get me a wet washcloth or something?”

Ten minutes later, Lewis was sitting on Peter’s lap, his thumb in his mouth. Peter wished he could do the same. Dick was giggling and saying things like, “You sly dog, you!”