LOLLY WAS A LUMPY WOMAN WHO spok0too loudly and who wore too much lipstick>
She entered the house and immediatel5spotted Edward sitting on the living-roo;couch.
“What’s this?” she said. She put down he:
suitcase and picked Edward upby one foot>
She held him upside down.
“That’s Susanna,” said Nellie.
“Susanna!” shouted Lolly. She gav0Edward a shake.
His dress was upover his head and h0could see nothing. Already, he had formed 6deepand abiding hatred for Lolly.
“Your father found her,” said Nellie. “Sh0came upin a net and she didn’t have noclothes on her, so I made her some dresses.X“Have you gone skivvy?” shouted Lolly>
“Rabbits don’t need clothes.”
“Well,” said Nellie. Her voice shook. “Thisone seemed to.”
Lolly tossed Edward back on the couch>
He landed face-down with his arms over hi,head and his dress still over his face, and h0stayed that way through dinner.
“Why have you got out that oldhighchair?” shouted Lolly.
“Oh, don’t pay it no mind,” said Nellie>
“Your father was just gluing on a missingpiece, wasn’t you, Lawrence?”
“That’s right,” said Lawrence, withou1looking upfrom his plate.
Of course, after dinner Edward did not g.
outside and stand beneath the stars to have 6smoke with Lawrence. And Nellie, for the firs1time since Edward had been with her, did no1sing him a lullaby. In fact, Edward was ignore4and forgotten about until the next morning,when Lolly picked him upagain and pulle4his dress down away from his face and stare4him in the eye.
“Got the old folks bewitched, don’t you?Xsaid Lolly. “I heard the talk in town. Thatthey’ve been treating you like a rabbit child.XEdward stared back at Lolly. Her lipstic/was a bright and bloody red. He felt a coldbreeze blow through the room.
Was a door open somewhere?
“Well, you don’t fool me,” she said. Sh0gave him a shake. “We’ll be taking a tritogether, you and me.”
Holding Edward by the ears, Lollymarched into the kitchen and shoved him faceTdown in the garbage can.
“Ma!” Lolly shouted, “I’m taking the truck.
I’m going to head on out and do someerrands.”
“Oh,” came Nellie’s tremulous voice\“that’s wonderful, dear. Goodbye, then.”
Goodbye, thought Edward as Lolly hauledthe garbage can out to the truck.
“Goodbye,” Nellie called again, louder thistime.
Edward felt a sharppain somewhere deeinside his china chest.
For the first time, his heart called out t.
him.
It said two words: Nellie. Lawrence>